Adam Miller: Opponents have been more connected than ASU

TEMPE — Senior guard, and maybe ASU’s most vocal leader, Adam Miller pointed out a lack of connectivity after the Sun Devils’ 72-66 overtime loss to Baylor.

The first half performance on Saturday felt eerily similar to the one ASU got in the second half of a loss to Kansas on Wednesday, when it was outscored 38-13.

“When we were at Kansas, you could just feel the game trickling away, and it’s like, ‘When are we gonna stop the bleeding?'” Miller said. “And it’s not about one person, we gotta do it as a whole. I think that’s the biggest problem we have. We gotta be a group in doing what we do, and we just gotta be together.

“Like, the teams we’re going up against, they know exactly what they want to do, and I could feel it. They’re more connected.”

The three assists to seven turnovers (6-for-23 shooting) in the first half against Baylor indicated connectivity issues much like the two assists to 12 turnovers (5-for-23 shooting) in the second half against Kansas.

It’s also not the first time ASU has struggled out the gates.

Over the past six games, it has made a shot in the first two minutes of a game only once: an 81-61 win over Colorado on Jan. 4, which is the Sun Devils’ (10-5, 1-3) only win in conference thus far.

Effort has been one of the more consistent parts about this year’s ASU squad when comparing it with past iterations, but Saturday was the first game where the Sun Devils just didn’t have it to start a home game.

“We came out flat. You just can’t come out like that, especially at home. You gotta be juiced up,” Miller said. “Last home game, I feel like we came out and there was a little bit more of a burst. We got young guys and guys moving up from different conferences and stuff like that, so maybe just still just trying to get a hold of the conference and stuff like that. But you just can’t come out like that.”

BJ Freeman (UW-Milwaukee, Horizon League), Alston Mason (Missouri State, Missouri Valley Conference) and Basheer Jihad (Ball State, MAC) have all made major jumps in conference competition as key starters on a team that has made the jump from Pac-12 to Big 12 basketball.

Miller said the Sun Devils played with their hair on fire much more consistently in the second half to push the comeback forward.

As other players are getting comfortable with their new roles, Miller is still getting comfortable with his own as a leader.

“I try to lead by example all the time,” Miller said, making note of his 3-for-9 shooting performance with one turnover and no assists. “It’s hard having that balance … knowing if I’m not going, I still gotta speak up.

“Sometimes it’s hard to do that when I’m not at the forefront, but I always gotta remember that I gotta lead the team regardless of what’s going on, ’cause I got a lot of experience and I know what coach (Bobby) Hurley wants.”

Adam Miller, Hurley point out Kansas trip travel issues

Already dealing with a shortened bench due to injuries to Joson Sanon and Austin Nunez, a blowout loss to No. 11 Kansas after leading at the half became especially sour with a nasty travel situation surrounding it.

“We had flight issues even before the Kansas game. We got back super late with everything being backed up,” Miller said. “And how that game ended, we didn’t do what we were supposed to do as a team, as a ball club, so a little bit but that’s not an excuse.”

Hurley had previously called the travel situation a “disaster.”

“Things happen in life, but we got into Kansas late … then after the late game on Wednesday, we get back here at 3 in the morning,” Hurley said. “I’m not saying that’s the reason, but we just didn’t look like the team that I am used to seeing, especially out of the gate. … It was a whole different game in the second half in that regard.”

The coach said he’ll plan trips earlier in the future to give more margin for error but noted it was “excuse-making” as he searched for an explanation for why it looked so much worse than he expected to start.

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