Hurley: ‘There’s just no minutes’ for ASU’s Marcus Bagley right now

The Arizona State Sun Devils have come out the gates strong behind a 6-1 mark and a Legends Classic tournament victory over the course of the first month of play.

But there’s one player, however, who hasn’t been as much of a presence for this Sun Devils squad as initially expected.

Through the first seven games of the season, forward Marcus Bagley has suited up for just two, averaging 12.5 points, four rebounds and 1.5 assists over 28.5 minutes per game. The last time he entered a game was on Nov. 10 against Northern Arizona.

Then came Bagley’s tweet on the lack of playing time on Sunday, explaining that his benching has nothing to do with basketball or his health, and instead is due to disciplinary action stemming from an exchange with head coach Bobby Hurley after the NAU matchup. Bagley’s post was the second one on the matter following a Nov. 23 tweet saying he was “1000% healthy.”

But when asked about the Bagley situation on Tuesday, Hurley provided some clarity over the matter while on with Arizona Sports’ Bickley & Marotta.

“I’m going to speak with Marcus here in a few hours,” Hurley said. “Yesterday we were off and I didn’t get a chance to talk with him concerning his tweet, and his other tweet about being healthy, which is fine. He’s been at practice so we know he’s healthy.

“I think it’s a byproduct of other guys playing well and just not having the opportunity to get him out on the floor. That’s all it comes down to. … We have a stacked perimeter and right now there’s just no minutes for him.”

And while Hurley didn’t dive into the disciplinary side of things, looking at the roster’s current production, it’s not hard to see why Bagley has fallen out of the rotation.

Austin Nunez, who earned Pac-12 Freshman of the Week honors last week, and Luther Muhammad filled in nicely over the two-game Legends Classic in Brooklyn and Jamiya Neal has been a defensive presence for a team that has hung its hat on that side of the floor this season.

As for the team’s starters, Hurley does not envision Frankie Collins coming off the floor too often as he currently sits first on the team in assists per game (5.1) and second in terms of points per outing (12.9). Then you have leading scorer D.J. Horne (13.1 points per game) doing his thing and Devan Cambridge coming off a Pac-12 Player of the Week nod a week prior.

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