No.19 Gonzaga presents a stiff early season test for the Sun Devils

Ahead of the 2023-24 season, Arizona State head coach Bobby Hurley brought in a marquee transfer looking to reshape the program. A four-star high school recruit, the Chicago native transferred to Tempe after spending the beginning of his career at Illinois and LSU. 

Guard Adam Miller averaged a career high of 12 points per game in his first season under Hurley, as the Sun Devils finished just 14-18 and 8-12 in their final season in the PAC-12; however, Miller’s production on both ends of the floor was a bright spot moving into the new year. 

After multiple key pieces departed ASU, the team was revamped ahead of the 2024-25 season, with three five-star freshmen coming to the program. Miller was the veteran on the team, but the redshirt senior averaged just 9.8 points a night, and the maroon and gold finished just 4-16 in the Big 12 in its inaugural season in the conference. 

Miller departed the program after the season and transferred to No. 19 Gonzaga in Spokane, the team the Sun Devils face off against in Tempe Friday night. For Hurley, the meeting with his former player will be a heartfelt one, but he cleared up that there are no hard feelings between the two. 

“I’m a human being,” Hurley said Wednesday. “It’s going to be a little weird, seeing him in a different jersey and having coached him for a couple of years, but he gave the program everything he had. Never cheated us of anything and always rooting for him, obviously.” 

The Bulldogs will enter the Friday matchup sitting 3-0 and coming off an impressive 90-63 victory over No.23 Creighton in Spokane on Tuesday. Miller started the game scoring 11 points in 20 minutes, and the Bluejays shot just 18-of-47 from the floor. 

Outside of Miller’s production, Gonzaga’s bread and butter is through the interior with graduate forward Graham Ike and junior forward Braden Huff. The duo combined for 34 points against Creighton, and their showcase of interior talent forced Hurley to make a point in practice on Wednesday.

“They’re big guy, they’re going to try and duck in,” Hurley noted. “They do a lot of high-low, and they understand angles and positioning very well. So, you know, in practice it’s like, hey, man, you can’t let your guard down in post defense. Like, if you let these guys, if you sit behind them in the post, it’s lights out.” 

Fortunately for Hurley, his roster is loaded with size and length; eight players stand 6-foot-8 or taller, including two 7-footers. Having the additional size in the starting lineup and off the bench was a key factor in Hurley’s decision to recruit this offseason to compete with physical teams across the nation. 

The issues ASU has been looking to address over its practices this week are execution for the full duration of a contest. Despite beating Utah Tech by double figures last Sunday, Hurley’s side allowed a 13-0 second-half run that allowed the visitors a lifeline when the game looked down and out as a contest. A slip-up, Hurley knows his team cannot afford against the Bulldogs. 

“We talked to the team about the importance of finishing a game and how it would be unacceptable to play the way we played for that three-minute stretch at the end of the game,” Hurley said, noting Utah Tech scoring 13 unanswered points to cut a 23-point deficit to just 10. “If we do that for like 90 seconds versus Gonzaga, we’re gonna have a very little chance to win. 

“We showed it to the guys the mistakes that were made in those moments, and hopefully they’ll learn from it.” 

ASU has had its share of close contests in the preseason. During two exhibition defeats to UC Irvine and Texas A&M, the maroon and gold lost by single-digit margins and led against the Aggies at halftime. That experience is likely to be tested again as Gonzaga comes to town.

“It’s unrealistic to think that you’re going to come out and put Gonzaga away,” Hurley admitted. “We’re going to have to fight through some very tough moments and show character in this game, and hopefully all the reps we had and the work that the guys have put in for months now will show and give us enough resilience that we need in a game like this.”

Fortunately for Hurley, the team had nearly a full week between contests, which allowed the Sun Devils to mix in rest while also getting out and running to fix mistakes as a unit. 

Gonzaga, however, enters the road game after playing Last Saturday and Tuesday, giving ASU a noticeable advantage playing on its home court while enjoying extra time off. 

“We utilized it to get fresh again,” Hurley said on the extended break. “I thought we exerted really good energy in Sunday’s game. So it enabled us to get fresh, and then, on Wednesday, the guys were pretty locked in in practice. I think that time does give you a little bit of an edge in terms of preparation.” 

Still, injuries remain an issue for the team in its early days. Hurley noted that Georgia Southern transfer guard, senior Adante’ Holiman, has to keep waiting to make his ASU debut. According to Hurley, the guard who averaged 16.9 points per game in 2024-25, shooting 38.6% from beyond the arc, is still weeks away from a return. 

On a positive note, sophomore guard Noah Meeusen is inching closer to getting on the hardwood. The 6-foot-5 Belgium native is recovering ahead of schedule and could see the floor over the next few games. 

Regardless of Friday’s outcome, game three of 36 is unlikely to make or break the season. Understanding Hurley’s mindset on the matchup is fixated on the performance of his players and what they can learn going into the rest of the season. 

“It’s not as much about Gonzaga,” Hurley noted. “It’s also like figuring out who we are and what we’re good at, and playing an opponent like this will expose you and also tell you a lot about your team.”

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A player who’s had his fair share of run-ins with the Bulldogs is senior guard Moe Udom. The Pepperdine transfer has faced off against Gonzaga five times in the West Coast Conference for the Waves and Pacific. His best game came last season when he scored 24 points and dished out eight assists in a 89-82 defeat. 

Odum noted that the most difficult issues for a team like Gonzaga come down to the program’s consistent effort and intensity.

“Their intensity from jump ball is just super high,” Udom said. “Even their bench is into it. One little play, their bench is up, and they have a crowd everywhere they go. So, it’s just super hard to like really beat them as a five because you’re not just playing five, you’re playing the coaching staff, you’re playing the people on the bench, you’re playing the fans.” 

Still, Odum knows effort is a two-way street, and has praised his teammates over the early portion of the season, that extra resolve can fix many problems on the hardwood. 

The issues Odum is looking to work through on the roster will be adjudicated over time on the floor together. 

“I feel like we got more work to do, but I’m super happy with it,” Odum said on the Sun Devils’ 2-0 start. “I feel like the stuff that’s mostly problems on every other team, we don’t have those problems. So, now it’s more about just building more chemistry and being on the string as one.” 

Odum’s experience against the visiting Bulldogs will play a key role in ASU’s ability to defeat its first-ranked opponent of the season. The guard is averaging 11.5 points and seven assists after two games, and although he’s only scored in double figures just twice in five meetings with Gonzaga, suiting up for the maroon and gold has given him a newfound mindset.

“I feel like I’m just starting fresh,” Odum said. “With a whole new team, everybody wants to win. No egos.”