Bobby Hurley thinks Remy Martin, Alonzo Verge will return to ASU,
Arizona State may have had three players declare for the NBA draft, but coach Bobby Hurley thinks there is good chance two of those will return.
During a weekly radio appearance Friday on Arizona Sports’ 98.7 FM, Hurley said he has been in regular contact with junior guards Remy Martin and Alonzo Verge and thinks there is a good chance the two end up coming back for a senior season in Tempe.
Neither has been projected as a draft selection, nor has junior forward Romello White who declared, then later decided to enter the transfer portal.
Players that have declared can still return to school if they withdraw from the draft by June 15. In the meantime they can go through an evaluation process and get feedback on what areas they need to improve to better position themselves for the draft after their next seasons.
The chances for players not projected to be selected has been hurt by the current health crisis which is preventing players from having private workouts or participating in a combine.
The Sun Devils are coming off a third straight 20-win season and likely would have advanced to the NCAA postseason as well had that not been canceled as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
There is an air of excitement around the program with the addition of two high school standouts ranked in the top 30 nationally in Joshua Christopher of Mayfair (Calif.) and Marcus Bagley of Sacramento Sheldon which has resulted in ASU being mentioned in many preseason national projections for next season.
Martin (19.2 ppg) was the second leading scorer in the Pac-12 last season behind Oregon point guard Payton Pritchard who has since graduated, so Martin would likely be the favorite to land conference player of the year honors should he return.
With a lot of scoring options around him, Martin would likely better be better able to showcase his ability as a ball distributor because he wouldn’t have to shoulder as much of the scoring load as he did last season.
Verge (14.3 ppg) was the Sixth Man of the Year in the conference and was a potent weapon during a stretch run which included a seven-game win streak.
ASU adds Aztecs
The Sun Devils also announced the addition of home and home non-conference contests against reigning Mountain West Conference champion San Diego State, which went 30-2 and was sixth in the final national poll of the season.
ASU will host the Aztecs on Dec. 10, then play in San Diego the following season.
Hurley’s schedule already includes Creighton, projected by some as a Top 10 team, as well as the Diamond Head Invitational.