Arizona State will be without one of its best bench players for the remainder of the season. Per insider Jon Rothstein, junior guard Austin Nunez will have foot surgery and be unable to return to action for the Sun Devils.
Nunez was averaging just 2.0 points-per-game in four contests played this year (eight points total) but had been hampered by injury over the last few weeks.
He still has two years of eligibility left, having spent the 2021-22 season in Tempe before transferring to Mississippi for year and then returning home. It's unclear if he will be entering the transfer portal for next season.
Austin Nunez's season-ending surgery takes a key depth piece away from the team
Head coach Bobby Hurley will need to reevaluate his long-term roster plans this season now that Nunez will be gone for the year.
But since he's already had five games to adjust to Nunez's absence - all five being wins, by the way - it might not be too hard of an improvisation. The Sun Devils have thrived with freshman Jayden Quaintance leading a supporting cast of Adam Miller, Alston Mason, Basheer Jihad and BJ Freeman in the starting lineup.
Plus freshman Joson Sanon has stepped right up into Nunez's sixth-man role off the bench, averaging 15.9 points-per game and getting solid minutes every game (27.7 on average).
Where the potential danger comes in is if further injuries befall the Sun Devils down the road. With Nunez having no chance of returning this year, they can't really afford any more knocks.
ASU has yet to truly dominate a good opponent this season, winning most games by single-digits. Meaning, the less switch-up options Hurley has at his disposal, the greater chance there is to get out-run by foes with deeper benches late in games.
Nunez was on the team for a reason, and losing his abilities will be huge in the long run. But fans can still hold hope that Hurley and the boys will figure out how to turn their current Nunez-less system into a well-oiled machine the rest of the season.