There was a vibe, an urgency around the ASU’s practice facility on Wednesday afternoon -- the Sun Devils making their final preparations before heading off to Los Angeles on Friday and then Shanghai, China on Saturday.
Officially, they’re going halfway across the world to play a basketball game -- a non-conference contest against Colorado on November 9 -- but, of course, there’s a mile-long, non-basketball-related itinerary waiting for the Devils in China.
The litmus test coming out of next Saturday's game may be a tad illegitimate, given the distractions surrounding, and the myriad events occupying, the game. Nonetheless, it will be the first look at the new-look Sun Devils, an indication how Bobby Hurley wants to configure his lineup and an early look at ASU’s newcomers.
Last week, the Sun Devils topped UC Santa Barbara in a ‘secret scrimmage.’ Remy Martin had 23 points. JuCo transfer Alonzo Verge had 18. Romello White finished with 14 points and eight rebounds. On Wednesday, Hurley and Martin spoke about the scrimmage and what to expect from the Sun Devils a week before their first game.
Here were some of the main takeaways.
ASU should start off healthier than in the past two years
Perhaps it’s just coincidence that in each of the last two years ASU’s struggles began just as it was getting its roster healthy. Or maybe, in the case of 2017, it was just that they got to Pac-12 play. Or, in 2018, that they played good teams in Nevada and Vanderbilt away from home.
OK, it was probably a combination of everything.
But it does seem odd that, in each of the last two seasons, the Sun Devils played their best basketball with a limited roster. In 2017, Mickey Mitchell (transfer) and Kimani Lawrence (injury) weren’t activated until December.
In 2018, Remy Martin battled an injury throughout the non-conference slate and Rob Edwards played the opener, then was out a month with a back injury.
In essence, the Sun Devils couldn’t work out the early-season kinks early. Hurley had his lineup ... then everyone got healthy and he had to maneuver new pieces into the rotation. That’s not easy.
Like most programs, the Devils this year had their fair share of offseason injuries but none, Hurley said, are expected to linger into the season.
“I think we’ll get (sophomore forward) Taeshon Cherry back today and (junior forward) Khalid Thomas today, so that’s real positive,” Hurley said. “It’ll give us an opportunity to experiment with some other lineups and give some other guys a chance.
“So we’ve been hampered by that some, just with, again, minor stuff where we just couldn’t bring it all together. So I think we’re going to have now a week leading into this game where we will have a majority of our team together and then I’ll get a firmer handle on what we’re going to do.”
Remy Martin should take his biggest leap yet
His freshman season, Remy Martin was this puffy-haired enigma that played the game at a million miles an hour and was a defensive pest. Last season, he was hampered a bit but still shot over 40 percent from the field and doled out five assists a game.
His turnovers from year one to year two, though, doubled. At times, Martin’s speed was his greatest asset. At times, it led to mistakes.
Will this season be the one everything comes together, that he becomes the equipped all-around players that could be considered the best point guard in the conference? Time will tell. The scrimmage, however, was a good start.
“He was just across the board, almost a flawless game,” Hurley said of Martin. “So he’s in tremendous form right now going into the season.”
Not only did he show that his ability to score improved (He had 23 points against UCSB, a total he only achieved twice last year), but he also contributed all over the court. He had nine rebounds (He has never had nine boards at ASU) and seven dimes.
“I went out there and just played my game, didn’t rush anything, hit open shots, made the game simple,” Martin said. “Take what the defense gives me, hit the open shot, make my free throws. And those all start to add up.”
Romello White will be asked to do a lot
Zylan Cheatham -- gone. De’Quon Lake -- gone. So who’s left down low for Arizona State? Well, Romello White and a whole bunch of new faces.
White, a redshirt junior, will likely carry the load amongst the Sun Devils’ big men. Sophomore Taeshon Cherry may help in the paint. So, too, will Lawrence. But that pair largely earned their stripes along the perimeter last season.
The Sun Devils welcome 6-foot-9 JuCo transfer Khalid Thomas -- who, given his age and size, seems like a good bet to garner important minutes -- Jalen Graham, a 6-foot-9 freshman forward who played alongside White at practice this week, and Andre Allen, another 6-foot-9 JuCo transfer.
ASU has options down low -- just not experience.
Hurley said White has worked on his finesse around the basket and his passing from the post -- two common knocks over the past two seasons. With no Cheatham, too, he’ll be expected to become a more dominant force in the paint, both in terms of rebounding and defense.
“He’s a veteran, he gets a lot done when you get him the ball and he gets his touches. And he’s been very efficient, he’s not just trying to bully his way to the basket,” Hurley said.
And because there’s no certain options behind him, White becomes that much more vital.
“The fact that he could carry so much weight on his shoulders as far as the big man role,” Martin said. “And he can also score whenever he wants to. But just his ability to pass and willingness to pass is amazing.”
Alonzo Verge may become ASU’s X-factor
The scouting reports from the Sun Devils about Verge -- he can score. And, apparently, he doesn’t get flustered when shots aren’t falling.
“He wasn’t as good as he was in that first half (of the scrimmage), but just had a monster second half,” Hurley said of Verge. “And a lot of guys can’t bounce back from maybe a poor start, but he showed that he could in the scrimmage.”
The two-time junior college All-American arrived in Tempe with rave reviews for his scoring ability. He led the nation in points last year, averaging nearly 31 a game while breaking nearly every scoring record at Moberly Area Community College.
The early quotes about the 6-foot-3, 197-pound guard seem to indicate that’s translated just fine to the next level.
“I know where to find him, I know he’s going to hit the open shot, he’s done a lot in the offseason to make me feel comfortable giving him that ball and making him shoot the ball,” Martin said.
“I think he understands who I am, and I understand who he is. And I think that the respect is there.”
In time, Verge may turn into the 2019 version of Luguentz Dort, the scoring option for ASU who can single-handedly swing a game, who can play off of Martin and Edwards and create a backcourt capable of creating matchup problems every night.
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