A program takes on the personality of its head coach. It's not just a cute cliché but more of reality regardless of sport and regardless of what level of competition it’s being played at.
A freewheeling Arizona State offense wasn't a scheme that Bobby Hurley employed as a last resort when everything else failed but rather an offensive system that reflected his basketball philosophy. I've said before that it really does remain an enigma to me how Hurley’s father, who had such an illustrious career as a high school coach in New Jersey that he landed in the Basketball Hall of Fame, has an approach to the game that is night and day of that of his son in terms of on-court discipline.
I'm not oblivious to the fact that coaching in different eras is obviously the catalyst for that difference. And I'm not saying that Hurley’s teams in Tempe are ones that run with zero discipline, but at the same time, it's more than fair to say that the discipline on the floor has not been at a high and consistent level that has really benefited the program for long stretches of any given season.
Sure it's an offensive system that is attractive to highly skillful players, but the overall structure of your system still has to be one that can adapt to the chess matches played by opponent’s staffs. Guard U works great when you're able to catch non-conference opponents by surprise, and your primary players on the team are just enjoying one long hot shooting streak. But when you have an entire conference just sitting back and carefully studying that scheme, and you cannot counter what the opponent is throwing at you schematically, then you end up in a magically bizarre 2017-2018 campaign where you start the season and absolute fire with an undefeated 12-0 mark beating two no. 1 one regional seeds in the NCAA tournament just to proceed to finish in eighth place in the Pac-1,2 get bounced in the first round of the conference tournament, and sweat out selection Sunday worse than a hike on Camelback mountain on a July afternoon.
Nonetheless, that season was progress from years past, not only in the Hurley tenure but just in ASU’s basketball this century.
The name Sam Cunliffe may be comical of frustrating for ASU fans to recall. He was ranked no. 36 in the 2016 class at the time was considered the crown jewel of Hurley's recruiting efforts but later on, seemingly had a surprising transfer out of the program after displaying in 10 games respectable averages 10 points and five rebounds and certainly showing his potential as an impact player and a mainstay in the starting lineup. ASU fans got the last laugh, if you will, when they saw him transfer to Kansas to witness two losses by the Jayhawks to the Sun Devils while riding the bench for long stretches, and that's putting it kindly. He did transfer after one year in Lawrence to Evansville, where after posting similar stats over there, and did opt out of last season due to the pandemic.
The reason I'm bringing up this blast from the past is that he cited that he believed the program Hurley was running in Tempe was not big on player accountability, which prompted him to leave unexpectedly. Sure, that's a damning statement to make, and granted, there have been numerous occasions of various players, even starters, that Hurley has disciplined before and after Cunliffe's arrival.
Nonetheless, I'm not so sure that his statement is devoid of validity altogether because it seems as if year in and year out media members and fans alike are pointing out time and time again and ASU team that runs an undisciplined offense, where shot selection is questionable at best and not the smartest basketball decisions are being displayed in critical moments.
It's fair to say that the fact that we did not see consistent improvement in that area, along with a commitment on defense, a better recruiting strategy that can land frontcourt players who can rebound at a high level, have also been aspects that have stuck out like a sore thumb in recent years.
Granted, they were not detrimental in a sweeping manner as ASU in the 19-20 season was well on its way to capturing a third consecutive trip to the NCAA tournament, a feat so rare in Tempe that it was only achieved in the late 1960s by legendary coach Ned Wulk. And there's no denying that Hurley is responsible for bringing the excitement back to WFA/DFA with back-to-back seasons that averaged 10,000 fans and re-expanding the arena's capacity taking down the notorious upper-level “curtains.”
But as much as you want to blame bad dumb luck of a Covid season and numerous non-pandemic issues that continuously affected ASU’s key players, you can’t but help if that lack of accountability Cunliffe mentioned years ago was more than just a disgruntled ex-employee venting, so to speak. Maybe it’s a culture that finally took a toll on a program that could truly use a “circling of the wagons” and a coaching staff that, despite mountains of adversity, would be able to concur, maybe not all, but a good deal of those obstacles.
Talking to folks closer to the situation, Jalen House’s entrance into the transfer portal, one that has all day lit a plethora of red lights and questioning the immediate future of this team, did have to do with House's belief that he was underutilized. Even his exceptional play off the bench in the last handful or so games couldn’t erase those sentiments and make him want to return next year to a potential bigger role.
It was a given that Holland Woods was going to eat up some of House’s minutes once it was determined that the NCAA’s eligibility freeze made sense for him to play this year, knowing it wouldn’t affect the one year eligibility he had left and the original plan to just lace them up in the 2021-22 campaign.
But when you see House average 5.3 ppg 2.0 rpg, posting 31 assists and 34 steals in
15.7 mpg, versus Woods’ average of 6.7 ppg 2.2 rpg 47 assists, and 25 steals in 26.2 mpg; I can see House’s frustration.
BUT if House was content with the current culture at ASU, the fact that he’s Sun Devil legacy and just having overall trust in his coaches that his playing time could change and he could average 10 minutes per game, why wouldn’t he stay in Tempe?
If you want to shake your head following House’s action and feel that he’s blowing matters out of proportion, that’s certainly your prerogative. In my humble opinion, the optics of House entering the transfer portal area alarming. And at this point, ASU has to hope its three signees are playing well above expectations and that it can hit a towering home run, if not multiple home runs, in the transfer market as they did with Zylan Cheatham.
And if next season, some will say against all odds, proves to be a very rewarding season for ASU basketball, and defying critics, then I can see Jaelen House’s transfer be the wake-up call needed to change to a more productive course for this program.
A freewheeling Arizona State offense wasn't a scheme that Bobby Hurley employed as a last resort when everything else failed but rather an offensive system that reflected his basketball philosophy. I've said before that it really does remain an enigma to me how Hurley’s father, who had such an illustrious career as a high school coach in New Jersey that he landed in the Basketball Hall of Fame, has an approach to the game that is night and day of that of his son in terms of on-court discipline.
I'm not oblivious to the fact that coaching in different eras is obviously the catalyst for that difference. And I'm not saying that Hurley’s teams in Tempe are ones that run with zero discipline, but at the same time, it's more than fair to say that the discipline on the floor has not been at a high and consistent level that has really benefited the program for long stretches of any given season.
Sure it's an offensive system that is attractive to highly skillful players, but the overall structure of your system still has to be one that can adapt to the chess matches played by opponent’s staffs. Guard U works great when you're able to catch non-conference opponents by surprise, and your primary players on the team are just enjoying one long hot shooting streak. But when you have an entire conference just sitting back and carefully studying that scheme, and you cannot counter what the opponent is throwing at you schematically, then you end up in a magically bizarre 2017-2018 campaign where you start the season and absolute fire with an undefeated 12-0 mark beating two no. 1 one regional seeds in the NCAA tournament just to proceed to finish in eighth place in the Pac-1,2 get bounced in the first round of the conference tournament, and sweat out selection Sunday worse than a hike on Camelback mountain on a July afternoon.
Nonetheless, that season was progress from years past, not only in the Hurley tenure but just in ASU’s basketball this century.
The name Sam Cunliffe may be comical of frustrating for ASU fans to recall. He was ranked no. 36 in the 2016 class at the time was considered the crown jewel of Hurley's recruiting efforts but later on, seemingly had a surprising transfer out of the program after displaying in 10 games respectable averages 10 points and five rebounds and certainly showing his potential as an impact player and a mainstay in the starting lineup. ASU fans got the last laugh, if you will, when they saw him transfer to Kansas to witness two losses by the Jayhawks to the Sun Devils while riding the bench for long stretches, and that's putting it kindly. He did transfer after one year in Lawrence to Evansville, where after posting similar stats over there, and did opt out of last season due to the pandemic.
The reason I'm bringing up this blast from the past is that he cited that he believed the program Hurley was running in Tempe was not big on player accountability, which prompted him to leave unexpectedly. Sure, that's a damning statement to make, and granted, there have been numerous occasions of various players, even starters, that Hurley has disciplined before and after Cunliffe's arrival.
Nonetheless, I'm not so sure that his statement is devoid of validity altogether because it seems as if year in and year out media members and fans alike are pointing out time and time again and ASU team that runs an undisciplined offense, where shot selection is questionable at best and not the smartest basketball decisions are being displayed in critical moments.
It's fair to say that the fact that we did not see consistent improvement in that area, along with a commitment on defense, a better recruiting strategy that can land frontcourt players who can rebound at a high level, have also been aspects that have stuck out like a sore thumb in recent years.
Granted, they were not detrimental in a sweeping manner as ASU in the 19-20 season was well on its way to capturing a third consecutive trip to the NCAA tournament, a feat so rare in Tempe that it was only achieved in the late 1960s by legendary coach Ned Wulk. And there's no denying that Hurley is responsible for bringing the excitement back to WFA/DFA with back-to-back seasons that averaged 10,000 fans and re-expanding the arena's capacity taking down the notorious upper-level “curtains.”
But as much as you want to blame bad dumb luck of a Covid season and numerous non-pandemic issues that continuously affected ASU’s key players, you can’t but help if that lack of accountability Cunliffe mentioned years ago was more than just a disgruntled ex-employee venting, so to speak. Maybe it’s a culture that finally took a toll on a program that could truly use a “circling of the wagons” and a coaching staff that, despite mountains of adversity, would be able to concur, maybe not all, but a good deal of those obstacles.
Talking to folks closer to the situation, Jalen House’s entrance into the transfer portal, one that has all day lit a plethora of red lights and questioning the immediate future of this team, did have to do with House's belief that he was underutilized. Even his exceptional play off the bench in the last handful or so games couldn’t erase those sentiments and make him want to return next year to a potential bigger role.
It was a given that Holland Woods was going to eat up some of House’s minutes once it was determined that the NCAA’s eligibility freeze made sense for him to play this year, knowing it wouldn’t affect the one year eligibility he had left and the original plan to just lace them up in the 2021-22 campaign.
But when you see House average 5.3 ppg 2.0 rpg, posting 31 assists and 34 steals in
15.7 mpg, versus Woods’ average of 6.7 ppg 2.2 rpg 47 assists, and 25 steals in 26.2 mpg; I can see House’s frustration.
BUT if House was content with the current culture at ASU, the fact that he’s Sun Devil legacy and just having overall trust in his coaches that his playing time could change and he could average 10 minutes per game, why wouldn’t he stay in Tempe?
If you want to shake your head following House’s action and feel that he’s blowing matters out of proportion, that’s certainly your prerogative. In my humble opinion, the optics of House entering the transfer portal area alarming. And at this point, ASU has to hope its three signees are playing well above expectations and that it can hit a towering home run, if not multiple home runs, in the transfer market as they did with Zylan Cheatham.
And if next season, some will say against all odds, proves to be a very rewarding season for ASU basketball, and defying critics, then I can see Jaelen House’s transfer be the wake-up call needed to change to a more productive course for this program.
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