Hurley expecting big things in Year 4

As much as the Sun Devils accomplished last season, Bobby Hurley always expected his fourth Arizona State basketball team to be the breakout success.

“The time is now,” Hurley said Tuesday after ASU’s opening 2018-19 practice. “We made the strides and we got some people excited about what we’re doing, especially with how we started last year. This is when we’ve got to put it all together.”

The Sun Devils did that for half a season in 2017-18, going 12-0 in nonconference including a win over Kansas and rising to No. 3 in the national polls. But they slipped to 8-10 in Pac-12 play, barely making the NCAA Tournament and losing 60-56 to Syracuse in a First Four game to finish 20-12.

The top three scorers from that team – guards Tra Holder, Shannon Evans and Kodi Justice, who combined to average 47.4 points per game – are gone. But “Guard U” is now “Big Guard U,” according to Zylan Cheatham, one of two transfers who sat out last season and are expected to have central roles for the new-look Sun Devils.

“We’ve got some bigger guards, guys with size who can handle the ball and make plays,” said Cheatham, a 6-8 forward from Phoenix who previously played at San Diego State. “Even our frontcourt guys (Romello White, Vitaliy Shibel) have expanded their games, shooting 3s and mid-range and starting the break even sometimes.”

Where Holder and Evans were 6-1 and Justice 6-5, ASU’s guards now include 6-4 Rob Edwards and Luguentz Dort and 6-7 Elias Valtonen along with returning 6-0 Remy Martin. The Sun Devils also are bigger in the frontcourt up to 7-0 center Uros Plavsic.

“Every time you have the size, it’s always a benefit,” Martin said. “But not only the size, we have guys out there that can actually pass, move. It’s just a bonus, that’s all we take it as.”

ASU has six scholarship players back to go with the two transfers and four freshmen from a recruiting class ranked top 10 in the nation.

Senior forward De’Quon Lake and freshman forward Taeshon Cherry are out short term with knee injuries. Junior forward Mickey Mitchell will be out longer, Hurley said, with a back problem that will keep him out for several weeks at minimum.

The Sun Devils play an exhibition game against Arizona Christian on Oct. 30 before opening their season at home vs. Cal State Fullerton on Nov. 6. Their non-conference opponents include Mississippi State (in Las Vegas), Nevada (in Los Angeles), Georgia and Vanderbilt in away games and Kansas at home on Dec. 22.

“There’s a lot of promise to do some great things,” Hurley said. “I think our ceiling is very high. I’d anticipate we would be playing our best as the year progresses as some of our younger players make their adjustments and we really gain an identity.”

That identity is even more international with Dort (Canada), Valtonen (Finland) and Plavsic (Serbia) joining Shibel (Ukraine). Drazen Zlovaric (Serbia) has joined Hurley’s staff after formerly being at Cleveland State, where Plavsic initially committed.

“Down low, we’ve got tall guys and we’ve got athletic guys on the wings that can do multiple things,” Edwards said. “Then the guards, most of our are stronger and athletic than a lot of other guards we’re going to play.”

Martin – who played in high school with former Tempe Corona del Sol product and current Kings rookie 6-11 Marvin Bagley III – said, “When you get size on a team, it just creates more havoc for the other team. Not many teams probably have a 7-foot guy that can stretch the floor and do so many things. It’s a privilege to play with those type of guys.”

Cheatham has cut his hair, once long with dreadlocks tinted red, to coincide with a new season and new start. Martin tried out a James Harden beard look during the summer but the sophomore decided it made him look too old.

Hurley isn’t so concerned with how his players look – “I don’t get involved in those calls. It’s their own individuality and what they choose” – but how they play, especially on defense and rebounding, both of which figure to be improved.

“If you ask me who will start, I couldn’t give that answer and it’s not because I don’t have enough guys,” Hurley said. “I have maybe too many.”