Romello White’s transfer took Bobby Hurley by surprise; What’s next?
May 6, 2020, 3:35 PM | Updated: 5:26 pm
Arizona State forward Romello White (23) is instructed by Arizona State head coach Bobby Hurley during the first round game of the mens Pac-12 Tournament between the Colorado Buffaloes and the Arizona State Sun Devils on March 7, 2018, at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, NV. (Photo by Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
(Photo by Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Romello White’s transfer from Arizona State leaves a big question mark with the program.
Literally — the question mark is what to do about bigs. And without White, ASU’s roster is left with few players with size in the frontcourt that would be likely to get playing time. That leaves a predicament for head coach Bobby Hurley, who is simultaneously celebrating the recruitment of five-star guard Josh Christopher while figuring out how to add up front.
Appropriately, Hurley was late to a conference call with media on Wednesday because he was on a recruiting call that went long. Hurley said ASU has two scholarships available, leaving open the possibility that the Sun Devils add another player(s) before the season gets underway down the road.
“It was obviously not great timing in terms of Romello’s decision, but it’s always any guy’s prerogative to explore their options, and we appreciate everything that Mello did for our program over three years on the court,” Hurley said. “And he’s graduated and I’ve done my job in that department. We wish him the best in finding what he’s looking for this year.”
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Hurley said he expected to have White back on the roster for the 2020-21 season.
“I think you tweak and you change and you highlight better your strengths and then you have to plan for maybe not playing exactly the way you had a vision for,” Hurley said. “And certainly in my thoughts, Mello was a guy I anticipated being back and a little bit blindsided by his departure, but I’m equally as enthusiastic about all the other guys that we have and the talent that we have and being able to see how that works, and I truly believe that that puts us in a position to be one of the better teams in the country next year.”
One such player now on the roster is Jalen Graham, a 6-foot-9 forward who averaged 10.9 minutes per game in 28 appearances last year. He’s the only returning big who got playing time last season.
“I’m very excited about his future and his upside and I just hear it when I talk to him on the phone, just how enthusiastic he is for the possibilities of this season,” Hurley said. “So I think that’s going to just enhance his desire to work on his game more and be more prepared and ready to take advantage of his opportunity this year because we certainly need him on the frontcourt to take another step.”
