Steve Nash visits ASU football to ‘break up the monotony’ of Kenny Dillingham’s voice

TEMPE — Arizona State football practiced this week after hearing Steve Nash talk about how success looks and acts “a certain way,” head coach Kenny Dillingham said.

Dillingham said he often brings in another voice around the halfway point of the season “just to break up the monotony of my voice.”

“It’s funny because he has the same messages that I have when I talk,” the head coach said Wednesday. “It was good for them to hear it from somebody else, from an outside source, ’cause I thought they had a really, really good week.”

“Usually the messaging is similar because when you talk about success and habits and daily improvement, a lot of people have the same belief in the process of what it takes to be successful,” he added.

It wasn’t the first time Nash visited the Sun Devils during Dillingham’s tenure, as the Valley hoops legend talked to them during the 2024 season about how being process-oriented leads to winning.

Managing the emotions that come with sports was part of this season’s message.

Nash relayed that missing a game-winning shot is going to happen at times, but he emphasized the importance of maintaining the process that worked to get in that position.

“I like to hear him talk about how he handles the highs and the lows and to have our guys hear that, I think, is really important for us,” Dillingham said.

What was Kenny Dillingham’s favorite memory growing up watching Steve Nash?

The Suns made at least the second round of the playoffs in three of Dillingham’s four years of high school, as he graduated from Chaparral High School in 2008. Nash was the talk of the town as Dillingham was developing his love of sports.

“He’s made so many just remarkable passes. Like, I remember he was on a fast break, crossed somebody over, like reverse (pass) with his left hand to I want to say Shaq at some point. It’s just like holy cow!” Dillingham said. “I don’t know if there’s one moment. It’s just, that was my era for sure growing up. That was the heyday.”

Another Sun Devil who may remember watching Nash on the Suns is sixth-year quarterback Mikey Keene, a Chandler High School product who’s expected to make his first ASU start on Saturday after replacing Cutter Boley for the second half last week.

Related

Report: ASU expected to start Mikey Keene at quarterback vs. Kansas StateShould ASU start freshman Jake Fette at quarterback?ASU’s first half of the season showed football really is as simple as tackling and blockingKenny Dillingham doesn’t want to give Kansas State any hints about quarterback situationBig 12 kickoff times announced for Arizona State at No. 2 BYU, No. 25 Arizona at No. 8 Texas TechBig 12 power rankings: BYU in the driver’s seat as ASU plummets at halfway point