Arizona State has had quite the roster turnover since their season ended. While Bobby Hurley is staying to coach on the final year of his contract, the Sun Devils saw every single one of their scholarship players enter the transfer portal except for Trevor Best.
Since then, Hurley has added eight transfer players and four high school recruits to get to 12 scholarship players. He has one more scholarship to give out, and potentially two more pending the final decision on the House v NCAA settlement. It's unlikely that the final few spots will go to any huge name, though, so let's take a look at where this roster currently stands.
Projected Starting 5:
G Moe Odum
G Adante' Holiman
F Marcus Adams Jr.
F Andrija Grbovic
C Allen Mukeba
This exercise requires a lot of projection, which is probably an indictment of the state of this roster right now. The two most likely starters, though, are Moe Odum and Marcus Adams Jr. Odum figures to start at point guard after coming in from Pepperdine, where he finished fourth in the nation in assists per game. Meanwhile, Adams is Arizona State's highest-ranked transfer, and his 39.5% three point figure is certainly appealing.
Allen Mukeba is probably a safe bet to start, at least early on. He's a small ball big at just 6'6", but Mukeba is an efficient player; he averaged 14.6 points and 7.5 rebounds while leading the Horizon League with a 56.9% field goal rate. Andrija Grbovic has four years of professional experience playing overseas and offers great floor-spacing talent, having shot 44.7% from three last year.
Adante' Holiman is the biggest wild card in this projection, as Hurley could opt to make him the team's first option off the bench instead. A scoring aficionado at Georgia Southern, Holiman led the Sun Belt in scoring last year playing point guard. His talents could easily fit alongside Odum, though, and give the Sun Devils two ball handlers on the court at the same time.
All in all, this starting five would give Hurley a ton of experience, though none of it coming on the level of the Big 12. Still, Odum is an elite facilitator now flanked by experienced scorers in Holiman, Adams, and Grbovic with an efficient rim runner in Mukeba.
Bench Players
G Trevor Best
G Vijay Wallace
G Bryce Ford
F Jaion Pitt
F Santiago Trouet
F Kash Polk
C Marcus Jackson
In the event that Hurley wants Holiman to be his sixth man, Trevor Best would almost definitely be the one to move into the starting rotation. Best joined the team in January as an early enrollee in the 2025 recruiting class, a rarity in college basketball. Best only saw action in 11 games, all as a backup, but he hit on 40% of his threes. As the only returning player, though, Hurley might want to reward Best with a starting role, especially if he wants Holiman in that sixth man role.
The trio of Vijay Wallace, Bryce Ford, and Santiago Trouet round out the bench options with previous experience. Wallace and Ford are both catch-and-shoot guards who excelled at the lower level - Wallace at Triton College and Ford at Toledo - while Trouet was a rare bright spot for San Diego this past season as a stretch four. All three players have valuable skillsets, but it's fair to wonder if any of it will translate to the Big 12 level.
There will also be three incoming freshmen, all of whom should get a chance for some minutes here and there. Marcus Jackson is likely to start out as the primary reserve big, though it wouldn't be surprised if he became the starter at some point. Jackson was the ninth-ranked center in this class and is a merchant for both alley-oops and blocks, making a potentially dynamic pairing with Odum.
Jaion Pitt was the fourth-ranked prospect in Arizona and comes with a huge seven foot wingspan. His length and grit has the makings of a valuable glue guy, though his offensive game needs work. Kash Polk is seen as a fairly raw stretch four, possessing good shooting and ball skills for his position but lacking in rebounding and defense. He might see the fewest minutes for this team as he works on the finer points.
Hurley had cited depth as a key weakness of this most recent season, and to be fair, his bench is probably just as good as his starting five, at least when you compare their individual experiences. Arizona State looks to have better overall depth, with several talented freshmen and some accomplished lower-level transfers with skins on the wall.
Overall, though, this roster lacks star power. Given how the Sun Devils under Hurley have often relied on isolation wins, that should be concerning. There is great potential in a pick and roll offense run through Odum with an emphasis on drive-and-kick principles, given the rim-running abilities of both Mukeba and Jackson alongside so many sharpshooters.
Of course, the question will be if these skills hold up against Big 12 teams filled with faster and longer and more refined bodies than any of these players have ever faced. Hurley seems to be counting on this group to win with overall team cohesion over star players making plays in big moments. It's a virtual about-face from last year's approach, and it will be fascinating to watch how it unfolds.