Hurley impressed overall with ASU, Miller compares Holder to Suns great

Following No. 17 Arizona’s win over No. 3 Arizona State in Tucson Saturday, Wildcats head coach Sean Miller spoke highly of ASU guard Tra Holder.

Sean Miller compares ASU guard Tra Holder to former Phoenix Suns guard Kevin Johnson. Also says Deandre Ayton and Allonzo Trier played fantastic against the Sun Devils. pic.twitter.com/aDVwFtTTlE

— The Wildcaster (@TheWildcaster) December 31, 2017

“He is just so explosive,” Miller said to reporters after the game. “He’s a monster. He is almost like Kevin Johnson who played for the Phoenix Suns. He just has the ability with incredibly ball handling and quickness.”

The senior guard has made a case for Pac-12 Player of the Year honors with his play this season, averaging 21.3 points per game to go along with 4.8 assists and 1.8 steals.

Against the Wildcats, Holder caught fire, scoring 31 points in the 84-78 loss to Arizona.

Holder was the bright spot for Arizona State against Arizona, as he managed to climb his team back into the game after facing a double-digit deficit late in the second half.

Miller touched on Holder’s ability to draw a foul in the lane, as Holder’s favorite move involves creating contact at the hip with defenders, often times creating and-one opportunities.

And when Holder is given opportunities at the foul line, he rarely misses.

Holder is an 83% free throw shooter on the season, and made 15-of-16 attempts at the line on Saturday.

Despite Holder’s big night, other Sun Devils struggled on offense.

Freshman guard Remy Martin finished with just 11 points after scoring nine in the first half, while sophomore Mickey Mitchell was the only other Sun Devil to eclipse the double-digit mark.

Arizona State head coach Bobby Hurley credited Arizona for their defense.

“We didn’t play our best offensive game and a lot of the credit goes to Arizona and their game plan and desire to defend,” Hurley said to reporters after the game via SunDevilSource.com. “We are a far better offensive team and we just didn’t have our best stuff at that end of that floor.”

While the Sun Devils struggled on offense, Ayton and Trier found a rhythm.

Ayton posted his 10th double-double of the season, finishing with 23 points and 19 rebounds while Trier finished with 23 points of his own.

Most of Trier’s points came in the second half, as he scored just five first half points.

Ayton’s points came in the paint, where he dominated and forced freshman Romello White to foul out in the second half.

“They’re really big inside and it’s hard to get stops late in the game because they’re under the basket,” Hurley said. “We created some turnovers there and found a way to give ourselves a chance late in the game.”

Despite the off night, Hurley remains confident in his team’s ability to battle back late in games like they did Saturday night.

“We are just going to regroup, it’s a marathon,” he said. “It’s fun to be in these games. You live for these games. It was such a hard-fought game, both teams battling and wanted it really bad.

“It was a lot of fun.”

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