Seen and heard in Tempe: On ASU's arena, Hurley's upgraded wardrobe and The Beard

TEMPE — Arizona fans on Saturday helped breathe life into Desert Financial Arena, a place that Sun Devils coach Bobby Hurley called “sterile” because of his team’s play.

The place might be consistently more alive next season. Or at least more comfortable.

ASU announced earlier this season that the 51-year-old building will receive a $100 million renovation over the next three years. The Sun Devils will continue to play in the arena while new loge boxes, club-level seating, new restrooms and a new video board are added, among other features.

The project is expected to run through December 2029. The first phase will start this May, when the court will be replaced, and 729 seats in the lower bowl will be swapped for padded seats with cupholders.

ASU is also planning to add 200 “premium” seats that are wider and have 2 inches more leg room, along with four “Hollywood” seats at key courtside spots between the ASU bench and the scorer’s table.

New restrooms and a sound system are scheduled to be installed in the 2027 phase.

“The renovation of Desert Financial Arena is about more than updating a building — it’s about creating a space that energizes our entire ASU community,” ASU AD Graham Rossini said.

Opening spirit

With over a third of the fans inside Desert Financial Arena wearing red Saturday, it wasn’t a surprise that ASU’s opening introductions didn’t work out so well.

“U of A” chants drowned out the audio of the intro, although home fans could still try to get in the spirit by watching a video of Sparky dribbling a basketball that was in flames.

Also, except for ASU standouts Moe Odum and Massamba Diop, introductions of each player were met with an equal mix of boos and cheers.

Holmes sees fit 

UA signee Cameron Holmes says UA coach Tommy Lloyd has made an effort to get to many of his home games at Goodyear Millennium this season, and he said he's consistently watched the Cats on television.

As a fan, sort of.

“They're a great team,” Holmes said. “They play inside-out basketball. They get it to the big man. Defense is the priority over there. I feel like I'm a defensive guy. That's why I feel like I'm so good for that system.

“Every game that I've watched they just run their stuff to perfection. Of course, you're gonna make mistakes, but they play through their mistakes and they keep their head up after every mistake.”

Already well familiar with UA forward Koa Peat, who played for Gilbert Perry the previous four seasons, and UA guard Brayden Burries from the club ball circuit, Holmes said he didn’t expect the Wildcats to stay undefeated this late into the season, yet also said he wasn’t surprised either.

“Brayden and Koa put the work in. They don’t run from it,” Holmes said. “They never have hid from it. They’re both dogs.”

Upgraded attire

After wearing a gray “Guard U” hoodie on Jan. 14 at McKale Center, ASU Bobby Hurley went all out Saturday with a suit and tie.

Not surprisingly, though, the coat was off about 40 seconds into the game, allowing Hurley a little more freedom for his sideline activity.

New rhythm

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After a neatly packaged schedule of Wednesday and Saturday games for the first three weeks of the conference season, Arizona hit a different rhythm this week. The Wildcats followed a game with West Virginia last Saturday with a road game at BYU on Monday, then had the past five days off to prepare for ASU.

While UA will have a full week off before hosting Oklahoma State on Feb. 7, the Wildcats will be mixing in two more Monday games and a Tuesday game after Saturdays the rest of the way.

“I don't really have a strong preference one way or another,” Lloyd said. “I actually kind of enjoy the Saturday-Wednesday. I think it gives you a little more time to kind of spread things out and prepare. But that being said, when you have the one day turnaround, you also have to start weaving some of that second game preparation into your earlier week of practice.

“It was nice going Saturday to Monday. It allowed us to breathe a little bit this week.”

Beard sighting

ASU managed to generate a rousing applause during a timeout late in the first half, when former Sun Devil star James Harden strolled down the sideline.

The Beard was introduced as a “Clippers guard and ASU legend.” He spent the 2007-08 and 2008-09 seasons at ASU, becoming the Pac-10 Player of the Year and a first-team all-American as a sophomore, when he averaged 20.1 points and led the Sun Devils to a second-round NCAA Tournament appearance.

Former ASU standout running back Cam Skattebo, now of the New York Giants, was also in attendance.

Home whites

With ASU choosing to wear black jerseys with gold trim, Arizona went with its home “1997 style” white uniforms.

The Wildcats have previously played only in navy "1997 style" uniforms during road games this season, but navy was too close in color to the Sun Devils' dark jerseys to be worn Saturday. 

Gold digging

As always Saturday, there were plenty of gold “No Pitty for the Kitty” T-shirts in Desert Financial Arena. But most of the gold shirts in the ASU student and band section said “Give Em Hell Devils” while a few others said “Forks Up” and one had small lettering proclaiming a “gold rush.”

Who knew?

Count Tim Benson, the Phoenix-based basketball veteran who is the father of UA assistant coach TJ Benson, among those a little bit surprised by Arizona's 22-0 start.

"I don't know if anyone knew they would do it," Benson said. "But they have the pieces."

The big number

22.5: Average points from Phoenix native Peat in two games against ASU this season.

Quotable

"There are maybe a few other places that have this authentic of a relationship between the basketball program and their fan base. To be honest with you, that's what makes the job so special.  I want nothing more than to deliver for those fans." — Lloyd, when asked about the resounding cheers from UA fans at Desert Financial Arena