James Harden pledges support for Arizona State basketball NIL

There is no question who the most high profile player in Sun Devil hoops history is these days; it's current Clippers star James Harden. The Arizona State alum is an 11 time All Star who led the league in scoring three straight years and was named MVP in 2018.

In addition to being one of the most prolific scorers the NBA has ever seen, the bearded wonder was also the face of the last Arizona State team to reach the Round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament, a streak that seems destined to continue for at least one more year with the way things are going.

While Harden can no longer offer his contributions on the court for his alma mater, he remains steadfast in his support of the basketball program. Harden recently spoke on this to Front Office Sports, pledging to assist with NIL efforts in Tempe.

"NIL, nowadays, is the most important thing. Just because kids want to be compensated for their play and their work, which makes sense. I wanted to be a part of helping the team and the school get players because we're a very, very great program, and a great school. So if NIL is the problem, then I can help with that. "

According to Front Office Sports, Harden made a donation to the basketball side of Arizona State's NIL collective, the Sun Angel Collective, the amount of which was said to be in the "high six figures."

That helped empower head coach Bobby Hurley to land several huge names this year, notably freshman phenoms Jayden Quaintance and Joson Sanon, as well as prized transfer guard BJ Freeman.

Of course, that hasn't translated to success on the court. Quaintance has been one of the best frosh bigs this year, currently in the top five among freshmen in both rebounds and blocks, but Sanon has been wildly inconsistent on offense; his 40.3% field goal percentage is second lowest on the team.

Meanwhile, Freeman had emerged as the focal point of the offense, but he developed a troubling habit of improper conduct on the court, twice being ejected and later being suspended for an incident that occurred between he and another teammate. On Sunday, Freeman was dismissed from the team for conduct detrimental to the program.

The losing didn't help, either. The Sun Devils had lost six in a row prior to Freeman's dismissal, and even though they won on Sunday, Arizona State is 13-14 with a dismal 4-12 record in the Big 12. Only Colorado is below them in the conference standings.

Still, Harden's commitment to his former program is commendable, and it certainly aided Hurley in putting together what is unquestionably the most talented roster he's ever had. The results haven't been pretty, but it's not for a lack of trying on Harden's part.

This kind of public show of support from the program's most recognizable alum should also do wonders for Arizona State if, indeed, they end up making a coaching change once this season is over.