Bobby Hurley is having the kind of summer a lot of college basketball coaches would love to have.
Not only has the ASU boss been able to jump ahead of Arizona and several other COVID-restricted Pac-12 rivals by holding summer workouts since July 20, but he’s also bringing in five-star guard Josh Christopher and four-star forward Marcus Bagley. Hurley also just received standout guards Alonzo Verge and Remy Martin back from the NBA Draft pool.
Not surprisingly, as a result, the Sun Devils are likely to be ranked in most preseason Top 25s and considered a certain contender for the Pac-12 title.
“To see us projected in a majority of them, and in the 10 to 25 range, is very exciting,” Hurley said on a Zoom call with Arizona media this week. “I think we’ve worked hard to get to this point and I think it makes sense that people would view us that way based on what we have returning and the guys coming into the program.”
But there’s a tempering to Hurley’s excitement these days, and only one of them is the fact that those expectations will make it difficult to sneak up on anyone. Even teams who take a comfortable 22-point lead over them in the first half, as Arizona did at Tempe last season before Martin engineered ASU’s shocking 66-65 comeback win.
“Teams will target us more,” Hurley says.
The rest of Hurley’s hesitation these days stems from the same issue affecting the rest of the planet. Among other things, the coronavirus means he can’t even really see his guys these days.
Only about half of the Sun Devils have showed up for workouts at ASU’s Weatherup Center and, among those who have, they are all masked up even on the floor. The Sun Devils started on the first allowable day, July 20, but only with strict protocols. The Wildcats, by comparison, aren’t scheduled to begin workouts until Aug. 12.
“There’s your daily interviews where you’re taking a survey about potential symptoms, there’s temperature checks, there’s weekly COVID tests for players and staff — and that just basically gets you in the building,” Hurley said. “From there, we wipe down all the basketballs and equipment after each set of workouts, we’re operating in very small, consistent pods of guys so we’re not getting cross-contamination of the entire program at one time. And then all the coaches, staff and players are wearing masks during workouts.”
Hurley said neither he nor his staffers have been approached by players indicating they weren’t comfortable with the setup. About half of them have arrived, including Bagley, while Hurley said Josh Christopher and older brother Caleb are among those who have not yet arrived. ASU has also been working to bring in 17-year-old Ukrainian forward Pavlo Dziuba, who is needed to help replace the offseason transfer of Romello White to Mississippi.
ASU coach Bobby Hurley takes a seat near Arizona forwards Zeke Nnaji, left, and Jake DesJardins before January’s game in Tempe. The famously intense Hurley is tempering his enthusiasm because of sports’ uncertainty due to COVID-19.
Of those who have arrived, Hurley said forward Jalen Graham reported to Tempe at 6 feet 9 inches — another inch taller than he was a year ago. Bagley, meanwhile, has been “just draining shots at a ridiculous clip” in skill workouts.
But, again, the enthusiasm and tempo is tempered. Even for the famously intense Hurley.
“By this time of year, usually I have my foot on the gas,” Hurley said. “This is usually the end of our summer program so we would be doing a lot of live work and full contact. But this is a different summer. We’ve dialed it back considerably. I’ve used my eye test to take a look at each guy and see where they are physically, and then base my workouts on that.
“I was very conservative. I tried to give them way more recovery time than normal, and considering that they’re using masks when they’re working it’s been a challenge.”
After three years of Martin’s high-energy play, Hurley probably doesn’t need much to figure out what to do with his star point guard. But having Martin back is also something Hurley says he’s conflicted about.
“I want what’s best for Remy,” Hurley said. “A part of me was upset for him that he didn’t get the stage that he needed. I think the Pac-12 Tournament and the NCAA Tournament would have put him in a better position to be recognized as a draft pick. In addition … he didn’t have a chance to do individual (predraft) workouts against other guys who were projected to be drafted so he didn’t get that typical NBA feedback.
“I think that he realized the best way to enhance his own brand was to come back and there’s a lot of things that he could accomplish individually — being a potential All-American, having a chance to be Pac-12 Player of the Year, and go down as one of the greatest Sun Devils in the history of the program.”
Not playing in the NCAA Tournament may have hurt ASU guard Remy Martin’s NBA draft stock, coach Bobby Hurley says.
Despite the chance to get ahead this summer, Hurley says he hasn’t had a particular sense of urgency because there’s no telling what the schedule will be ahead in September and beyond.
Or, for that matter, if there will be a delayed season, a modified season or no season.
“I would be foolish to say that I know what the future holds in the short term,” Hurley said. “I think we’ve been living in that world now for several months, with all the information about the virus and how it’s been moving around, and the impact that’s had on sports and in the entire country.
“That being said, I know that we have a lot of smart people within the NCAA in the Pac-12 behind the scenes who are planning for everything, knowing that is a very fluid situation. So if vaccines and treatments aren’t available, we’re going to have a Plan A, Plan B and Plan C. But I do have a lot of confidence that there will be a season.”
