ASU Basketball: Sun Devils’ 2018-19 Season in Review
By Trevor Booth
Positives and Future Outlook
When Bobby Hurley was hired four years ago, his standard was to compete for national and conference championships. This season, ASU moved from ninth to second in the Pac-12 and won an NCAA Tournament game.
While it didn’t approximate the long-term goal, the result indicated proper steps. The Sun Devils relied heavily on offense for the past three seasons, but were able to center an identity around defense and rebounding with a roster of Hurley’s recruits.
Looking ahead, the latter construct should remain. Uros Plavsic will be eligible after redshirting this year, and Romello White will return along with incoming freshman Jalen Graham.
Upperclassmen Martin and Rob Edwards should be back, mentoring freshmen House and Alonzo Verge. Kimani Lawrence and Elias Valtonen will also provide size and shooting on the wing.
Those options should give the Sun Devils versatility and multiple scoring threats. As everyone grows a year older, that will assist the physical and mental traits, too. – TB
This is a question that revolves around Dort’s pending decision regarding the NBA Draft.
If he opts to return for his sophomore year, the backcourt depth would give incoming recruits Jaelen House and Alonzo Verge time to adjust to Division-1 basketball.
But, should Dort ultimately hire an agent and forgo his final three years of eligibility, responsibility would fall on the shoulders of Martin as well as Kimani Lawrence and Taeshon Cherry. Martin is expected to be the team’s leader with Cheatham gone while Cherry and Lawrence both showed promising spurts this season. – ZP