Arizona State Sun Devils men's basketball at a glance
Coach: Bobby Hurley (Seventh year, 118-100 at ASU)
2021-22 Record: 14-17
Key players lost: F Kimani Lawrence (10.1 ppg, 6.3 rpg), G Marreon Jackson (10.4 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 4 apg) to graduation, G Jay Heath (10.6 ppg, transfer for Georgetown), F Jalen Graham (9.9 ppg, 4.6 rpg, transfer to Arkansas).
Returning starters: G D.J. Horne (Jr., 6-1, 175, 12.5 ppg, 2.9 rpg), F-C Alonzo Gaffney (Sr., 6-9, 200, 4.2 ppg, 3.6 rpg), Marcus Bagley (Jr., 6-8, 215, 10 ppg, 4 rpg)
Returning reserves: C Enoch Boakye (So., 6-10, 240), G Luther Muhammad (Sr., 6-3, 195, 5.2 ppg, 2.3 rpg), G-F Jamiya Neal (So., 6-6, 185)
Impact transfers: G Desmond Cambridge Jr. (Sr., 6-4, 180, from Nevada), G Devan Cambridge (Sr., 6-6, 215, from Auburn), G Frankie Collins (So., 6-1, 185, from Michigan), F Warren Washington (Sr., 7-0, 225, from Nevada)
High school recruits: F Duke Brennan (6-10, 235, Hillcrest Prep), G Austin Nunez (6-2, 170, Wagner HS, Garden Ridge, Texas)
What needs to improve: Offense was ASU's biggest issue last season as the Sun Devils ranked 306th out of 350 Division schools in scoring (65.4 ppg). That was 11th in the Pac-12, with only Cal faring worse. It was 304th in field goal percentage (41.2%) and 309th in 3-point shooting (30.7%). Rebounding was another problem as ASU was 323rd in rebounding margin (-4), that was 10th in the Pac-12.
What was adequate: ASU was 150th in assists per game (13.4) and 117th in assist to turnover ratio (1.12 pg). The Sun Devils average 4.2 blocks, ranking 66th in that department. Overall in scoring defense ASU gave up 67.2 ppg, placing fifth in the conference.
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From the coach:
"Distribution of playing time will be something I’ll have to handle very well. We’re extremely deep, especially on the perimeter. I’d be comfortable playing a number of guys at those spots. Maybe that’s kind of a reactionary thing by me with all the injuries we’ve deal with in the past two years to say, "Hey look, if one guy goes down it’s not going to derail what we’re doing.' So we have options. We can play small, we can go really big, so I think there is versatility to our roster."
— Coach Bobby Hurley on the makeup of his team
Reach the reporter at Michelle.Gardner@gannett.com or 602 444-4783. Follow her on Twitter @MGardnerSports.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: What to know about Arizona State men's basketball in 2022-23
