Devils in Detail
Fansided

ASU Men’s Basketball: Where do Sun Devils rank in Pac-12?

By Sam Ficarro

NEW YORK, NY - DECEMBER 06: Head coach Bobby Hurley of the Arizona State Sun Devils looks on against the Purdue Boilermakers in the first half during the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden on December 6, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - DECEMBER 06: Head coach Bobby Hurley of the Arizona State Sun Devils looks on against the Purdue Boilermakers in the first half during the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden on December 6, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

After Pac-12 had a record 14 players selected in the 2017 NBA Draft, where does ASU men’s basketball rank in the conference?

ASU men’s basketball will boasts one of the more experiences teams in the Pac-12, but where will do the Sun Devils stand in the Pac-12 after the 2017 NBA Draft?

Let’s start with the teams that finished at the top of conference in Arizona, UCLA and Oregon.

Despite the early declarations from three key players, the Wildcats are poised to the Pac-12 favorites and one of the favorites to win the national championship.

Arizona welcomes in the No. 3 recruiting class according to ESPN including the No. 2 overall prospect DeAndre Ayton.

Ayton, a likely top-five pick in next year’s NBA Draft, headlines a stacked roster with returning players guard Rawle Alkins and and Allonzo Trier.

More from Devils in Detail

UCLA, who lost three players in the first round of the NBA Draft, will enter a reboot year as they welcome in the No. 4 recruiting class in the country according to ESPN.

The Bruins will be led by returning players guard Aaron Holiday and center Thomas Welsh as they welcome five-star prospects guard Jaylen Hands and forward Kris Wilkes to the program.

Oregon will be going through a rebuild next season with the declarations of Jordan Bell, Tyler Dorsey and Dillon Brooks to the NBA plus the transfer of guard Casey Benson to Grand Canyon University.

The Ducks will boast a young, inexperienced team but will welcome in the No. 12 overall recruiting class according to ESPN headlined by five-star forward Troy Brown Jr., who will look to replicate the type of production Brooks had at small forward.

Looking to join the top tier in the conference is USC after reaching the second round of the NCAA Tournament last season.

The Trojans return arguably the best backcourt in the Pac-12 in Elijah Stewart and Jordan McLaughlin as well as Bennie Boatwright, who could be a Top-10 pick in next year’s Draft.

Adding to USC’s experienced-laden team is top recruit Charles O’Bannon Jr, the son of UCLA legend Ed O’Bannon.

After Arizona, UCLA and USC, the Pac-12 is pretty wide open presenting a nice opportunity for Arizona State, who return the majority of players plus the eligibility of transfer Mickey Mitchell and redshirt Romello White alongside three new recruits.

Cal and Washington both welcome in new coaches with Stanford looking to improve under second-year head coach Jerod Haase.

Washington State will look to remain competitive in the Pac-12 after the graduation of Josh Hawkinson and Utah and Colorado looking to emerge from the middle-of-the-pack in the conference.

Oregon State looking to return to the success they had two seasons ago when they made the NCAA Tournament.

Next: ASU Basketball: Torian Graham joins Mavericks for Summer League

While the Pac-12 looks like a three-team race, the race in the middle of the Pac-12 might be more fascinating.

Home/ASU Basketball