Despite poor record, ASU’s Bobby Hurley pleased with team development

This season has not brought the record Arizona State and head coach Bobby Hurley were hoping for at 6-9, but the coach is pleased with how the new group is improving as a unit.

Outside of sophomore forward Marcus Bagley, senior forward Kimani Lawrence and junior forward Jalen Graham, the Sun Devils’ roster is molded with new faces of contributors from the transfer portal. That can often lead to chemistry issues early in the season

Hurley told Arizona Sports’ Bickley & Marotta on Thursday that the influx of players from the transfer portal has impacted his style of coaching. Despite how the win-loss column looks, he likes the individual adjustments made following the team’s two games against Colorado and Utah.

“We talked about what happened in that Colorado game,” Hurley said. “We had a good practice and the guys came out very determined against Utah. It was great to see them play better offense.”

The Sun Devils took a one possession game into half against Colorado before falling by 18. ASU bounced back two days later, however with Graham hitting a game-winning shot to take a 64-62 victory over Utah.

how do you follow up a career high?

with a game-winner.

🔱 @jalengrahamm5 pic.twitter.com/rIPm4UaPxL

— Sun Devil MBB (@SunDevilHoops) January 17, 2022

It was a big two games for Graham, who posted a career high 16 points over 20 minutes off the bench in the loss to Colorado.

“He (Graham) and I had a very good talk before the Colorado game,” Hurley said.

“Just to take advantage of every moment left in the season. He had a good way about him, he had a confident look. He is a guy that can really help us score the ball in the paint while we have been struggling to shoot the three this year.”

Arizona State will travel to play Stanford on Saturday at 9 p.m. on ESPN 620 AM and 98.7 FM HD-2.