Hurley returns to lineup that sparked ASU basketball’s hot start

Less than a month ago, No. 21 Arizona State was the hottest team in college basketball. Including a win over then-No. 2 Kansas, ASU began the season 12-0 and rose to its first top-five ranking in over 30 years.

But the Sun Devils have since struggled to a 3-4 record in Pac-12 play, leading coach Bobby Hurley to shift his starting lineup back to the one that allowed his team to such a hot start.

With a starting lineup of senior guards Tra Holder, Shannon Evans and Kodi Justice and redshirt freshman forwards Vitaliy Shibel and Romello White, ASU won its first 11 games of the season. Still, Hurley saw room for improvement in his starting five.

Shibel started the first 11 games of the season but underwhelmed, averaging 3.4 points and grabbing 2.5 rebounds in 16 minutes per game.

Sophomore forward Mickey Mitchell, on the other hand, exploded in his first few games.

After playing just six uneventful minutes against Kansas in his first game eligible after transferring from Ohio State, Mitchell combined for 20 points and 18 rebounds in home wins over Vanderbilt and Longwood.

That was enough for Hurley — he moved Mitchell into the starting lineup and sat Shibel down as a reserve.

After the change, though, the Sun Devil offense struggled.

In the seven games to end nonconference and begin Pac-12 play with Mitchell in the starting five, ASU averaged 81 points per game, down from the 89.8 points scored in games Shibel started.

Meanwhile, Shibel’s role shrunk. He played 10 minutes just twice and scoring only five total points in the following seven games. He never found a groove coming in as a reserve, but Shibel said it didn’t impact him much.

“Of course you’re going to feel better when you start the game,” Shibel said. “But at the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter … whatever coach wants me to play, I will.”

After a 86-77 loss to Stanford last Wednesday that moved the Sun Devils to 2-4 in Pac-12 play, Hurley pulled the trigger on a move back to the original starting lineup.

“He told me he needs a spark coming off the bench,” Mitchell said. “And he thought I was it.”

Indeed, Mitchell’s two best scoring games this year — 12 points against both Longwood and Cal — came as a reserve. Overall, Mitchell is shooting 11 percent better and averages over a rebound more per game as a reserve than as a starter, and those numbers both improve if not counting his six-minute shift in his first outing.

With that in mind, Hurley felt it was time to return Shibel to the lineup.

“(Mitchell) made a lot of impact plays … and energized our team coming off the bench,” Hurley said. “Vitaliy had become accustomed to starting and I thought that he might play a little better in that role and I knew that Mickey would produce coming off the bench.”

And it worked. The Sun Devils returned to the win column by topping Cal 81-73 Saturday, with Shibel contributing eight points, making all three of his shots from the field. Mitchell turned in his first career double-double, scoring 12 points and grabbing 11 rebounds.

Despite the success against Cal, Hurley did not commit to starting the same unit moving forward, as he said the situation is fluid.

“That’s not to say this is the lineup that will stay consistent through the rest of the year,” Hurley said. “We’re just going to plan this game to game.”

ASU returns to the court Thursday to face Utah in Wells Fargo Arena.