Arizona State will debut an entirely rebuilt roster when it opens the new season against Southern Utah on Tuesday in Tempe, Ariz.
Coming off a 13-20 season and a 15th-place finish in the Big 12 Conference, the Sun Devils are entering the season with 14 new faces.
Among the departures were center Jayden Quaintance and guard Joson Sanon, former five-stars who transferred out. The two combined for 21.3 points per game and 11.3 rebounds per game.
Arizona State added guard Moe Odom, a transfer from Pepperdine who was fourth in the nation with 7.5 assists per game. Odom projects to be one of the Sun Devils’ most impactful players.
Arizona State coach Bobby Hurley also focused on adding European players in the offseason, with four players coming from European leagues last year. Among them is Andrija Grbovic, who is expected to play a large role this season.
“You know, international players are very happy making a bump, a significant bump, from where they were in Europe,” Hurley said. “Get an education and play college basketball and the best conference in the United States.”
Arizona State lost Vijay Wallace (leg), a juco transfer from Triton College, who was taken off on a stretcher and brought to a local hospital during a 95-88 exhibition loss to Texas A&M. There was no official update on Wallace’s status for the season as of Thursday.
The Sun Devils were picked to finish last in the preseason Big 12 coaches’ poll, and no players were named with preseason All-Big 12 honors.
For Southern Utah, Rob Jeter’s team is coming off a 12-19 season and an eighth-place finish in the WAC. The Thunderbirds were picked to finish last in the preseason WAC coaches’ poll.
The Thunderbirds lost arguably their two best players, Dominique Ford and Jamir Simpson, to the transfer portal. Despite losing 30.6 points per game just from those two, Jeter believes his frontcourt will pick up the lost production.
“It is all about pairing talent and personality,” Jeter said. “We have a group that plays the right way and fits who we are trying to be. Our frontcourt is a big part of that.”
–Field Level Media
