‘We just kind of let him go.’ Gonzaga’s decision to stick with Braden Huff pays off in big way during ASU win

Nov. 11—Arizona State coach Bobby Hurley took a moment to pass along a quick message to Gonzaga counterpart Mark Few at the conclusion of Sunday’s nonconference matchup at McCarthey Athletic Center.

By the time the two coaches met in the postgame handshake line, Braden Huff had already been announced over the PA system as Gonzaga’s “Player of the Game” following a tightly-contested victory over Arizona State.

Hurley, who saw a bit of the redshirt sophomore while scouting the sixth-ranked Zags last week, came away with even greater admiration of Huff and his game after watching the forward score 21 points off the bench, helping GU hold off ASU for an 88-80 win.

“I talked to coach Few right after the game and mentioned how much I liked Huff,” Hurley said. “He jumped out on the film versus Baylor, just with his length and his touch around the basket.”

After making impact plays on both ends of the floor during an opening-night romp of Baylor, Huff was a major contributor again on Sunday as the Bulldogs beat a second straight Big 12 opponent to improve to 2-0 on the season.

The skilled forward was Gonzaga’s first sub against ASU, entering the game approximately four minutes into the first quarter. Within seconds of checking in, Huff was backing down five-star ASU freshman Jayden Quaintance and flipping in a pretty left-handed hook over the NCAA’s blocked shots leader.

A few minutes later, Huff cut to the basket for a layup before going back to the lefty hook, this time scoring over 6-9 Basheer Jihad. Huff scored his seventh and eighth points — all of them coming within a 4-minute, 47-second stretch — while rolling to the basket, receiving an interior pass from Ryan Nembhard and cleanly laying the ball off the glass.

“A lot of those points were off his assists,” Huff said of Nembhard. “He makes it really easy, all the guards do. Put me in positions to score and I just put it up there and hope it goes on. But yeah, that’s kind of my role. To be aggressive and that’s what I try to…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/just-kind-let-him-gonzagas-045900208.html

Author : The Spokesman-Review, Spokane, Wash.

Publish date : 2024-11-12 04:59:00

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