Massamba Diop shows more of enticing upside in ASU basketball’s win over Utah Tech
Massamba Diop flashed more of what made him such an enticing pickup for ASU men's basketball in its win over Utah Tech on Sunday.
Watch: State of the Sun Devils: Previewing Arizona State's offense ahead of the college football season | 22 mins
TEMPE — Massamba Diop flashed more of what made him such an enticing pickup for ASU men’s basketball in its 81-66 win over Utah Tech on Sunday.
Diop got ASU’s scoring started with a pure stepback 3 and later showed more traditional center stuff with two offensive rebounds on the same possession to get a bucket to go down. He also had three dunks and nearly had a fourth of the reverse variety.
OH MY GOODNESS MASSAMBA DIOP 🤯 pic.twitter.com/0iIAclND9j
— Sun Devil MBB (@SunDevilHoops) November 9, 2025
He later flashed some of the positional passing at 7-foot-1 that Hurley has been impressed by with a skip pass from the top of the key to a corner 3-point shooter.
While his defensive motor could use more consistency, he has the runway to attack screening actions above the level and the tools to protect the rim in help or straight-up situations.
“His future, it’s scary how good he can be.”
Bobby Hurley on the development of ASU center Massamba Diop and how his outside shot opens up the offense. pic.twitter.com/pPjY67yoQy
— Arizona Sports (@AZSports) November 9, 2025
The center who previously played in Spain and is originally from Senegal garnered attention in NBA Draft corners when his fluidity at his size caught eyes on plays like a coast-to-coast layup in the opener.
Diop led all scorers in the game with 18 points, and he’s already getting the strongest ovations from the crowd when exiting.
Moe Odum, who had 14 points and six assists, called his big man’s potential sky high.
“We’re right behind him. We want him to do good. I’m on him every day,” Odum said postgame. “I’m telling him like, ‘hey, you young, but I see a lot in you,’ … We’re not letting him miss a day. We’re not letting him take a day off. We’re on him. We want him to do really, really good.”
The Sun Devils (2-0) separated from Utah Tech (2-2) late in the first half when they surrendered just one two-point make over a 9.5-minute run. The only other two made Trailblazer baskets during the stretch were contested 3s.
Defensive contain was an area of emphasis after ASU allowed 44 points in the paint to Southern Utah, and it turned the category in its favor against Utah Tech to a 38-22 advantage.
ASU also took much better care of the ball against Utah Tech (19 assists to eight turnovers) than it did in the opener (17-14).
The Sun Devils’ lead grew as high as 23 with 5:16 remaining. The Trailblazers then went on a 13-0 run to cut it to 10 with 2:37 left before ASU closed on a 6-0 run.
ASU will next host No. 21 Gonzaga on Friday as former ASU guard Adam Miller and former GCU wing Tyon Grant-Foster will make their returns to the Valley at 9 p.m. MST.
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Comments
4 Comments
It's not bad if you consider the fact that the UofPay didn't manhandle Utah Tech that much more than ASU did. The reality is, the UofPay is College Basketball Royalty. Tommy Lloyd is an excellent coach and an excellent recruiter. Before I saw any games, I was worried they might get killed in the Big 12, and while they still could, I'm not nearly as worried as I was before I saw what Hurley is putting on the lloor.
Hurley's the best that ASU can do until they dump Crow and ASU has a President who will really support the 2 major sports: Basketball and Football. I don't think the UofPay football program will ever get there. The real money the UofPay has really comes from Organized Crime/ Gamblers aligned with the Men's basketball program. Organized Crime/ Gamblers have screwed UofPay Men's basketball so many times I wonder if the two have a special handshake or kiss they share.
Fact is: The UofPay is College Basketball Royalty, so they're able to sign much better talent. The UofPay has also developed a really loyal, very supportive fan base for it's Men's program. They'll always be UofPay going back to the Sean Miller days when somehow the UofPay bought their way out of the NCAA going SMU on them, forcing their Men's Basketball operations to go dark for a couple years, which is what was deserved.
Import to remember, that Men's College Basketball, just like the NBA, is DOMINATED by Organized Crime/ Gamblers who 100% control who wins and who loses once the Dance Starts. Who wins the Dance has nothing to do with talent or about being fair. Organized Crime/ Gamblers decide it all. Anyone thinking that the game is somehow played above-board is just completely delusional. The reality is that both College and NBA Basketball are more rigged than Professional Wrestling. Instead of acknowledging that reality, the majority of the UofPay faithful have adopted the Ostrich Strategy, combined with drinking the Kool-Aid, and just relish the McKale atmosphere (great place to play) If that makes UofPay fans happy, I say go for it. But when the Kool-Aid drinking stops, just like fans of Pro Wrestling, I gotta ask UofPay fans: Why are they so heavily invested in something that's completely rigged?
Prior to Tommy being the coach at Arizona, they have owned the Devils in hoops, to the point of calling Desert Financial "McKale North", and given today's NIL/transfer portal situation, calling them U of Pay is very "meh". State's AD is going to let Bobby play out his contract, and then find his Dill-Dilly of basketball, to try and make the basketball program as relevant as their hockey and golf in Tempe.