Cheatham gives ASU rep a boost as he busts his way into the NBA
There’s no way outsiders would have predicted it a month ago, but Arizona State men’s basketball has forced its way into the NCAA Tournament conversation.
It would have been easy for this group of Sun Devils to give up after losing five of seven, including a 40-point loss to St. Mary’s and a 28-point loss to Arizona.
But ASU coach Bobby Hurley has created a culture of success that’s starting to feed itself from within.
“Hurley’s one of those guys who knows how to get everything out of you,” former Sun Devil forward Zylan Cheatham said.
Cheatham is using the skills he honed
under Hurley to bust into the NBA and to boost his alma mater.
He’s stayed in regular contact with former teammates such as Remy Martin, Rob Edwards and Taeshon Cherry.
“Usually before big games,” Cheatham said.
‘I’ve been putting in the work’
He checked in with the ASU guys early in the season when he stopped by
South Mountain High School to donate $10,000 toward a new intervention center, where students can get counseling and support outside the classroom, in partnership with Ethos for Good and Roc Nation Sports.
It’s a huge chunk considering Cheatham will earn about $80,000 this year as an undrafted rookie.
“I’m not a solidified NBA player by any means,” he said. “But ... at the end of the day, I’m a professional basketball player. I have a platform. A lot of people know me and respect what I stand for. I’m not waiting until I blow up to really start trying to do things in the community.”
He came to that mindset brother was killed last year.
“Since my senior year of college, I’ve been putting in the work in south Phoenix and in the Arizona State community,” he said.
Being able to affect positive change, he said, “it means the world to me.”
Around the time Cheatham’s donation was announced, the Sun Devils were off to an 8-2 start. But it wouldn’t be long before they collapsed to 10-7, including 1-3 in the Pac-12.
It looked like ASU was out of it. The narrative was shifting from “Hurley guides ASU to the Big Dance in backto-back seasons” to “Hurley couldn’t X and O his way off a tic-tac-toe board.”
Cheatham, for his part, was raising hell every time he stepped onto a court.
He became one of the G League leaders in rebounding with the Erie (Pa.) BayHawks. And when he was called up by the Pelicans, his primary job was to go against Zion Williamson in practice.
He relied on lessons he learned from Hurley throughout the process.
“He taught me a lot of things,” Cheatham said. “The one that sticks out is just work ethic. Being relentless in my approach every day. Not settling for anything mediocre or anything that’s less than greatness.” after his struggling.
“My primary message was to stay with it … It’s a long season. There’s a lot of ups and downs,” he said.
He told them to trust the time they spent in the gym during the off-season. He told them to relax a stay in the moment. He told them there was no magic formula, only more hard work.
The message clicked.
ASU has surged, winning five of six, including victories over Arizona, UCLA and USC.
Bracketologists from USA TODAY and NBC Sports are projecting ASU into the field of 68. ESPN and CBS Sports have the Devils on their bubble watch. And ASU has moved up to No. 53 in the NCAA’s NET rankings.
Wins in upcoming games at Stanford and Cal would set up a showdown against No. 17 Oregon at Desert Financial Arena that could all but lock ASU in for a third consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance, something that hasn’t happened since the 1960s.
There are eight games left in the regular season. Then there’s the Pac-12 tournament in Las Vegas.
It could all go sour from here. Then again, it could grow. Outsiders might not see it, but ASU’s success under Hurley is based on internal values that are starting to feed into themselves.
It all starts with hard work. “You’ve just got to figure Cheatham said. it out,”