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.

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 variety of ways so I think we have some firepower. A lot of guys that can put the ball in the basket and Joson is near the top of the list in that group.”

On team chemistry

“It’s really solid. The chemistry, the guys are playing together, playing the right way. We’re not perfect. We’re going to make mistakes but they’re on the unselfish side. They’re competing for each other. Some of my better teams I’d put this one in that category right now. We haven’t done anything yet but they compete every day and they’re not lopsided scores in segments and competing.”

On nonconference schedule

“I like the nonconference schedule, lot of neutral site games in front of us, certainly the game against Duke is an exciting opportunity to right away compete against one of the best teams in the country early and get tested and see where you are and get back to work and prepare for the season. Really good mid-majors, Santa Clara, GCU, UMass in their backyard, I like our neutrals with Florida and New Mexico. There are a lot of good nonconference games where we’re trying to extend ourselves. The Gonzaga game, that’s a big one.”

Is it too difficult?

“I want to know what I got. That’s just always how I’ve done it. We’ll play most teams, most anybody. Pick up the phone and call us. That’s been our mindset. I want to see what our weakness is, maybe you get exposed in one or two of them and then you figure some things out. It’s a learning process in the nonconference.”

On the Big 12

“The Big 12 is loaded. It’s what you’d expect. We’re going to have our hands full. Our conference slate here at home is strong with potentially four top 15 teams – Iowa State, Arizona, Baylor, Houston. Some heavy hitters coming here. Exciting games for our fan base.

“It’s a very physical league. It’s viewed as more physical than our league was last year so just not calling a lot of fouls right now, trying to create more of that environment so we’re prepared for the physicality. You have all top-tier programs. It’s blue bloods, teams that have had a ton of success in the NCAA tournament.”

On potential starting lineup

“We’ve had Jayden (Quaintance) and Shawn (Phillips) on the court at the same time and I like that combination. It wasn’t great today but it has been really good. JQ’s passing ability, high-low and kicks to Shawn and Shawn close to the basket knows how to finish. Then also the rebounding prowess with the two of them on the offensive glass is really good with their physicality and their athletic ability.”

On turnover because of NIL

“A part of it is the state of college basketball. Nothing wrong with players going out and seeing what’s best for them and I’m not the type of guy that wants to hold someone back but at the same time if you are able to put together an NIL collective like we’ve been able to this year, you’re going to see an elevated roster in terms of talent and hopefully, that translates into results and if you keep working with the collective and keep doing the job to raise money then you can, hopefully, you can retain guys you want to retain.”

On going back to Duke

“It’s surreal. I want to find ways to showcase the program and this is, before the season starts, is a way to build and with a top team, had the history they’ve had and to test ourselves. The game is going to be televised, there are a lot of teams doing secret scrimmages I want to know sooner. I want to get these guys in front of a crowd. I want them to feel that type of environment and for the younger guys, they’re going to have a big impact on what we’re doing.”

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: ASU basketball coach Bobby Hurley talks Big 12, tough schedule