Bobby Hurley connects with former Sun Devils ahead of ASU-Kansas game

ASU basketball heads back to Allen Fieldhouse for the first time since head coach Bobby Hurley’s program stunned the then-No. 2 Kansas Jayhawks more than seven years ago.

While preparing to face the No. 11 Jayhawks on Tuesday, Hurley looked back on that memorable 95-85 upset win for a boost of confidence and caught up with the Sun Devils who starred in it.

“It was great for me to talk with Shannon Evans, Kodi Justice and Tra Holder over the weekend, because I watched Kansas beat UCF by 50 points on Sunday, and I needed a pick me up,” Hurley told Arizona Sports’ Bickley & Marotta on Tuesday. “I needed a confidence booster. So talking to those guys gave me a big lift.”

Holder and Evans combined for 51 points that game, which pushed ASU to 9-0 and into a No. 5 ranking. Now, Arizona State is conference foes with Kansas, and a new generation of Sun Devils receives the chance to perform on one of the grandest stages in college basketball.

That includes freshman standout Jayden Quaintance, whom Hurley said has been pretty unfazed in his freshman season.

“I mean, at Gonzaga, he was really good in the Florida game. When we played the exhibition at Duke, he was our best player in that game,” Hurley said. “So in some of these big games, he’s really showed up, and he’s played against great competition in his whole life, even though it’s pretty short. He’s only 17. It’s funny, when we won here seven years ago, I think Jayden was 10 years old.”

Fellow freshman sharpshooter Joson Sanon’s availability will be determined before the game due to an ankle issue.

Quaintance and the Sun Devil defense will have their hands full in the paint with Kansas center Hunter Dickinson, who scored 27 points in KU’s 99-48 win over UCF on Sunday.

Kansas outscored UCF 62-10 in the paint for the game, which Hurley shared with his team, saying helping out the bigs down low will be a priority.

Among other keys he brought up, limiting turnovers and simply outworking the Jayhawks are what he’s looking for. In December 2017, the Sun Devils forced more turnovers, drew more fouls and competed on the boards despite a size disadvantage.

“We got to play harder than them,” Hurley said. “They got like a million 50-50 balls against UCF. And if we’re allowing them to win that part of the game, on the road it’s going to be a long night.”

ASU is coming off a 20-point win over Colorado without Sanon. Both teams enter the matchup 10-3 with a 1-1 Big 12 record. Kansas is 7-1 at home.

The game tips off at 7 p.m. on 98.7 and the Arizona Sports app. 

Follow @alexjweiner