ASU Basketball Practice Observations

gabeswartz · Oct 27, 2021

Arizona State MBB Practice Notes/Observations Oct. 27

ASU basketball practice was open to the media this afternoon and I was able to observe about 40-45 minutes of practice for the Sun Devils. Here’s what I saw and heard:

Participation:

Forward Jalen Graham and forward Marcus Bagley both did not participate in the five-on-five portion of ASU’s team drills Wednesday. According to a source within the program, Graham was being held out of contact drills due to a concussion and Bagley was being held out as a precaution with a sore knee.
Along with Graham and Bagley – who each missed Saturday’s closed-door scrimmage with New Mexico State – guard Jay Heath did not play as well. He was absent attending a funeral but was back at practice Wednesday.

Scrimmage Notes:

Bobby Hurley talked post-practice about the closed-door scrimmage against NMSU, declining to go into specifics about the contest (due to NCAA rules) but noting that it was one of the most impressive showings of any team he’s had in that setting. A source within the program said Arizona State easily handled the Aggies and saw standout performances from Toledo transfer Marreon Jackson, Ohio State transfer Luther Muhammad and forward Alonzo Gaffney.

Practice Notes:

A majority of the practice viewing for the media was five-on-five action before position groups broke into shooting drills to close things out. The first thing that stood out with ASU playing without Bagley and Graham was the frequency with which Bobby Hurley still used his bigs. At almost all times Kimani Lawrence was playing power forward alongside either Gaffney or freshman center Enoch Boakye. There was little – if any – of Hurley playing Marreon Jackson, DJ Horne and Jay Heath together. After practice, Hurley mentioned being scarred by the lack of rebounding last year and that’s probably a good reason for why Hurley won’t use super small lineups as much this year. Not to say that Horne, Heath and Jackson are poor rebounders – they certainly don’t appear to be – but I think last year’s rebounding deficits may have changed Hurley most in that regard.
It only took a few minutes before the voice of Luther Muhammad could be heard bellowing across Desert Financial Arena. Muhammad was a vocal participant defensively for ASU and spent much of the practice encouraging his teammates. When he wasn’t participating in the five-on-five work, he was by far the most vocal non-participant in the arena.
A lot of time was spent by Hurley trying to implement half-court sets for his offense. The free-wheeling nature of the ASU offense has often been criticized but there was great movement off-ball by DJ Horne, Jay Heath and Luther Muhammad and some really impressive catch-and-shoot opportunities. Pindown screens and post-ups were also being used with more frequency, and I think the style of offense I saw today definitely lends itself to playing a slower tempo (in comparison to previous Hurley teams and KenPom adjusted tempo measures we spoke about in the Huddle earlier last week).
The physical tools are there with Enoch Boakye but at times Wednesday it looked like he was trying to overpower his opponent in the post and he didn’t have the greatest results finishing around the rim. Given his offseason injuries it wouldn’t be surprising to see him start slow and improve noticeably as the season progresses.
Gaffney received high praise from Hurley post-practice and said he’s been one of the most positive surprises thus far. It’s easy to see the electric athlete that he can be and his confidence to shoot could allow him to serve as a great option to spread the floor in five-out sets. When he catches on pick-and-pop opportunities there’s no hesitancy in him to shoot.
The shooting drills for ASU were really impressive. The guard group of Jackson, Muhammad, Horne, Heath and freshman Jamiya Neal each had stretches of consistent makes with Horne standing out as the most consistent. Hurley said post-practice based on previous career percentages from deep he would pick Horne to win Friday’s 3-point contest at Moonlit Madness. “Let’s get a streak going,” Muhammad said during one drill before ASU’s guards made nine consecutive as a group from deep. As the shooting drills commenced Marreon Jackson encouraged Jay Heath. “Known down Jay, can I get 3 of them?” he said before Heath’s shot swished through the net. “Yessir,” the reigning MAC Player of the Year added following the make.
After surgery on both shoulders, Muhammad told me post-practice that he is pain-free and feels great about his shot. He acknowledged that injuries to the shoulder usually bother a shooter’s rhythm but he said the loss of pain has freed him up to have a better stroke. He also mentioned it's made him more aggressive and confident defensively, which matches with the intensity he defends with.
On a team full of fresh faces, most of the hype surrounding freshmen has been around Enoch Boakye but Jamiya Neal looks like an extremely promising piece. The Ohio native who played prep basketball locally consistently caught my eye Wednesday with elite athleticism and solid offensive fundamentals. For someone who could get playing time mainly because of his athleticism and defensive tools, Neal shoots the ball with a great base and gets really good rotation on his shot. In a crowded backcourt it might be hard to see tons of minutes this year but it wouldn’t shock me if Neal is an early contributor more than people may be anticipating. Long-term he’s a great asset for ASU.
Given that he’s a 52.5 percent free throw shooter for his career, the development Jalen Graham has made at the free throw line is noticeable. The ASU big man had good from and good rotation on his attempts from the line when ASU worked on that at the end of practice.

Any other questions? Let me know and I'll do my best to answer.

gabeswartz · Oct 27, 2021