ASU Basketball: Non-Conference Schedule in Review
By Trevor Booth
A Comparison to Last Year’s 12-0 Start
Last year’s breakout ASU basketball squad serves as a slight comparison for this year’s team. The 2018 Sun Devils formed an identity off 3-point explosions, evoking a resurgence inside a now-respected program.
Despite an uninspiring finish to that team’s season, the seeds were planted. With just the right amount of care and direction, those seeds have since grown into the very roots that anchor the program.
Coach Bobby Hurley set the precedent to win at the highest level and field a competitive lineup at all times.
While the teams play different, this year’s squad boasts similar attributes of pride and hustle.
The ‘17-18 team had a defined personality lying with Tra Holder, Shannon Evans and Kodi Justice. Each of them were equally responsible for the successes, and failures, of the roller coaster season.
“Guard-U” was their name. The trio shot 20.1 3-pointers per contest. But that was their game – they lived by the three and very much died by the three.
Their rise to a No. 3 ranking in the AP Top 25 and a 12-0 record was fueled by a 39.9 percent clip from downtown and an offense that scored 91 points a game. It was undeniably a juggernaut.
But times have changed. Yes, this ASU team is still elite on one end of the floor, just not the side you’d expect.
Following Hurley’s lead, the Devils have modeled the attitude of their coach and play hard on each defensive possession. Led by the stand-out abilities of Luguentz Dort and Zylan Cheatham, ASU can now go toe-to-toe with the best guards the NCAA has to offer.
While opponents are scoring 72 points per game, the impact shows in the other teams’ shooting percentage. Dort, Kimani Lawrence, Rob Edwards, Remy Martin and Cheatham are one of the most switchable five-man groupings in the country.
ASU is holding opponents to 46 percent from the field, and 31 percent from three, a testament to their communication and dedication to defense.
So while the teams are different in play style and keys to success, their situations are eerily similar. Both teams excel on one end of the floor but struggle on the other.
Until this year’s ASU team (48 percent from the field) can find offensive consistency, it won’t reach its full potential.
This team’s ceiling is still high. It’s not crazy, even with a below-average Pac-12, to see ASU making a run in March. The defense will be there, and that should be enough to get them into the Big Dance.
But if they want to make an impact, they need offensive production – something last year’s team used as their calling card.