ASU Basketball: End of ‘Guard U’ a chance to grow

A rollercoaster season came to end for ASU basketball as the Sun Devils dropped a 60-56 nail-biter to Syracuse in the First Four of the NCAA Tournament.

Arizona State men’s basketball coach Bobby Hurley is known for his passion on the sidelines. But what can be lost in translation is his emotion off the court.

Following the team’s early exit at the NCAA Tournament, the former Duke standout addressed the media calmly with a solemn expression on his face as Shannon Evans and Kodi Justice looked on.

“My heart’s broken that I can’t coach Shannon Evans, Kodi Justice and Tra Holder anymore,” said  Hurley.

As expected.

A seven-point Sun Devil lead evaporated in the closing minutes in front of a record crowd in Dayton, and with it came the conclusion to the careers of Hurley’s three most-tenured players.

Evans was recruited by Hurley to play at Buffalo before the two came to ASU while Holder and Justice developed under the tutelage of Hurley for three seasons.

As seniors, the trio became ‘Guard U’ and catapaulted the program into national relevance with a No. 3 ranking in the Associated Press poll in addition to marquee wins over Xavier and Kansas.

For some, it is a bittersweet ending. After all, Holder, Evans and Justice helped put ASU back on the map.

While there may be a readjustment period in finding a new offensive identity, the end of ‘Guard U’ gives the Sun Devils the opportunity to continue to grow as a basketball program.

Although ASU proved to be an entertaining team at times, an unsustainable percentage of made three-point shots early in the year became an over reliance down the stretch. Additionally, hot shooting was able to mask defensive lapses far better in November than in February.

Going forward, the offseason gives Hurley time to develop sets that entail more off-ball movement and will likely feature returning players in Remy Martin, Romello White and Kimani Lawrence while factoring in newcomers Taeshon Cherry and Luguentz Dort.

Defensively, the guards are more versatile on the wing and the size increase provided by Cherry and Zylan Cheatham gives the Sun Devils more depth in the frontcourt than they’ve previously had under Hurley.

The concept of Holder, Evans and Justice not being on the floor at the start of next season is a strange thought to have just hours after their final collegiate game.

Next: ASU Basketball: Heartbreaking loss to Syracuse ends Devils’ 2018 season

However, what Sun Devils fans should be thinking about is the abundance of talent Hurley will have available on opening night. More importantly, his new group appears ready to pick up right where ‘Guard U’ left off.

All quotes in this article were obtained firsthand by Devils in Detail unless otherwise noted.