Bobby Hurley: ASU ‘fortunate’ with F Marcus Bagley’s injury update

Breathe a collective sigh of relief, Arizona State men’s basketball fans.

All signs point to ASU freshman forward Marcus Bagley being ready to go sooner rather than later following a lower left leg injury in the team’s win over the California Golden Bears on Thursday.

“I’m very happy with where Marcus is and we’ve been very blessed and fortunate to get the medical [information] back that we did get back,” head coach Bobby Hurley told Arizona Sports’ Doug & Wolf on Tuesday. “His Achilles is completely clean, it’s intact. There were no strains or sprains or tears or anything to that area and that was my first initial thought when I saw him go down.

“Like I said I think postgame, your heart stops for the kid. He’s worked so hard, such a gifted kid, has such a bright future as a pro down the line and we just didn’t want to see anything like that happen for him.”

The team plans to evaluate the freshman over the next few days and see how he looks at practice before making a final decision Thursday on whether Bagley will suit up against the No. 24 San Diego State Aztecs.

But Hurley added the prognosis on the forward is “1,000% better than what anyone anticipated” after going down against Cal.

Having missed Monday’s practice, Bagley is expected to practice in a limited fashion Tuesday in hopes of upping his play on Wednesday.

“If he feels that he’s moving freely, he’s playing free and has good strength then we will take a look at it,” Hurley said regarding his game status for Thursday.

“At the same time, if he doesn’t check all those boxes then we’re going to do the right thing by Marcus and protect him and make sure that when he’s ready to go, he’s ready to go.”

It would be a huge plus offensively and on the glass to have the forward back in the lineup against the ranked Aztecs.

Through four games, Bagley is averaging 13.0 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.0 assist. He paces the team in both offensive (6) and defensive (17) boards, a skill Hurley continues to emphasize on his team.

The No. 23 Sun Devils have lost the rebounding battle in all but one game this season. In the team’s win over Cal, ASU was outrebounded 36-27 by the Golden Bears. Even more glaring was the offensive end, with Cal securing 11 boards compared to ASU’s three.

Bagley led the team with seven total rebounds that night, solidifying even more the team’s need for the freshman on the hardwood against an undefeated SDSU team.

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