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Pac-12 Basketball Preview: Arizona State Sun Devils

By Alex Weber

DAYTON, OH - MARCH 14: Romello White #23 of the Arizona State Sun Devils and Paschal Chukwu #13 of the Syracuse Orange battle for the ball in the second half during the First Four of the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at UD Arena on March 14, 2018 in Dayton, Ohio. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
DAYTON, OH - MARCH 14: Romello White #23 of the Arizona State Sun Devils and Paschal Chukwu #13 of the Syracuse Orange battle for the ball in the second half during the First Four of the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at UD Arena on March 14, 2018 in Dayton, Ohio. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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It’s here! The 2019 Pac-12 Basketball Preview! To get you ready for another season of Pac-12 hoops, here’s a preview of each and every squad in the conference, from the contenders…to the pretenders. 

Arizona State Sun Devils

Head Coach: Bobby Hurley

2017-18 Record: 20-12

2017-18 Pac-12 Record: 8-10

Postseason: Lost in First Four to Syracuse

Key Losses: Tra Holder (18.2 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 3.4 apg), Shannon Evans (16.5 ppg, 3.5 apg), Kodi Justice (12.7 ppg, 2.7 rpg)

Key Returners: Romello White, Remy Martin, Mickey Mitchell

Projected Starting Lineup 

G: Remy Martin (9.6 ppg, 2.9 apg)

G: Rob Edwards (16.5 ppg, 4.5 rpg; Transfer)

F: Mickey Mitchell (5.8 ppg, 5.2 rpg)

F: Taeshon Cherry (Freshman)

C: Romello White (10.5 ppg, 7.1 rpg)

Bench: Zylan Cheatham, Luguentz Dort, De’Quan Lake, Kimani Lawrence, Vitality Shibel

2018-19 Season Outlook

Last year’s Arizona State squad experienced a Macauley Culkin type of success arc. Each came out of the gates scorching hot with two impressive performances: wins against Xavier and Kansas for ASU, and Home Alone One and Two for Culkin. Then, a major issue derailed both of them: horrible defense and cocaine. And by the time all was said and done, both are revered as What Could Have Been’s. What a shame.

Oh well. Unlike for child actors, college basketball teams get a reset ever 12 months, and this ASU team looks poised to build off last year’s success and firmly establish themselves in the Tournament field.

Best Case Scenario: Arizona’s defense, which was abysmal I conference play last year, actually becomes the team’s strongest aspect. With Romello White and De’Quan Lake, Bobby Hurley has two elite defensive big men who will clean the glass and block shots (an especially apparent train for Lake). And on the outside, Remy Martin was easily the best defensive guard on roster ab year ago, and he should be one of the team’s leaders in minutes. However, for this team to play to this strength, their pace of play will have to go down a bit. Last season, with Holder and Evans, this squad ran teams to death. But consequently, they got ran to death too–and with a bad defense nonetheless.

With a slower pace and a far more reliable defense, the Sun Devils could be quite a tricky matchup for most Pac-12 foes, and we haven’t even gotten into the offensive side, so let’s do that now.

With the three leading scorer’s from a year ago departing, things may look bleak from the outside. I beg to differ. Here’s a truth ASU fans may know, but are not willing to admit. In conference play last season, Tra Holder just simply wasn’t good. His field goal percentage plummeted well below 40 and his three point shot wasn’t falling either. With some fresh blood and more shots for efficient players like Mitchell, Martin and White, the offense, while lacking its top talents from a year ago, could see more balance and discipline; and less of Tra Holder thinking he’s Trae Young and jacking low quality shots. Best case, I think this team could be a real contender in the conference, and even sneak into a top-8 seed in the NCAAT.

Worst Case Scenario: The losses of Evans, Holder and Justice are too much on the offensive end and ASU struggles to find scoring all year. Also, Bobby Hurley fails to adjust his system according to his roster, and experiences a major down year with ASU playing the exact same style as a year ago, except with worse overall offensive talent and they fall to the bottom half of the league.

I know, that’s pretty harsh. However, it’s a real possibility. Roster awareness is one of the most important aspects of coaching basketball. It’s all about how you play someone. Similarly with actors: Kevin Hart isn’t going to be good as the lead character in A Star is Born, but throw him in 21 Jump Street and he’s absolutely hilarious. Hurley’s cast of players better fits the Virginia mold than the Villanova mold, but Hurley might be a bit too stingy to change his ways.

Bottom Line: Hurley needs to know weather or not he’s got a team of Bradley Cooper’s or a team of Kevin Hart’s. The roster is plenty talented, but how its utilized will define Arizona State’s success this season.