Arizona State basketball coach Bobby Hurley talks Big 12, tough schedule, roster

The Arizona State men’s basketball team is coming off a 14-18 campaign, the worst mark in the decade-long tenure of coach Bobby Hurley but there is quite a bit of excitement around the team this season.

Why? Well the move to the Big 12 for starters. It’s the premier conference in the country when it comes to men’s basketball. Hurley also loaded his nonconference schedule with quality opponents like Gonzaga. Then there’s that exhibition game at Duke on Oct. 27.

ASU also has the No. 9 overall recruiting class in the country (No. 2 in the Big 12), highlighted by five-star prospects in Jayden Quaintance and Joson Sanon. So yes, there is a lot for ASU basketball fans to be excited about.

Hurley talked to the media on Friday and tackled all of those topics.

Bobby Hurley’s ASU basketball team has some work to do to make the NCAA Tournament.

On what he sees in his team, which features 8 newcomers

“I think it’s a good mixture of experienced guys, I think we’re pretty skilled. Our shooting should be vastly improved over last year. Overall our ability to put the ball in the basket more competitive around the basket with Jayden Quaintance and Shawn Phillips and Basheer Jihad. Those three guys have been standouts in a lot of different areas, really the last few weeks, but more specifically this week.”

On Quaintance and Sanon

“Jayden Quaintance’s ceiling is scary. You look at him and you think of a physical, rugged type of player that’s going to play with his back to the basket. He’s more like a point guard than he is a center. He’s 6-9. He’s got really good footwork. He can dribble the ball. He gets low. He’s one of our best passers. So he just does a lot of things, very advanced for someone who just turned 17 in July. We have high hopes for him but the reality is he’s 17 and he’s still learning the game and he’ll keep getting better. It’s scary what he can be as he keeps developing.”

On Sonon, he added: “Joson’s adjustment has been very smooth. He can really make shots and he can do it in a…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/arizona-state-basketball-coach-bobby-120139468.html

Author : AZCentral | The Arizona Republic

Publish date : 2024-09-30 12:01:39

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