TEMPE, Ariz. — Arizona State head coach Bobby Hurley is more hopeful than he’s ever been heading into a basketball season. After the program lost key players like Frankie Collins and Jamiya Neal to the transfer portal in the spring, Hurley spent his offseason aggressively retooling his roster. The Sun Devils only have four players returning from the 2023-24 season: Adam Miller, Shawn Phillips Jr., Brycen Long and Bobby Hurley. The new additions are expected to make an immediate impact as the Sun Devils make their transition into the Big 12 and the most intriguing player Hurley successfully recruited is 16-year-old Jayden Quaintance. The six-foot-nine center de-committed from the University of Kentucky in April and the former McDonald’s All-American is already making a positive impression on his new teammates in Tempe.
“To be able to see his love for the game this early, I just feed off those guys,” ASU senior guard Adam Miller said. “I want just make sure I do the most and do what I can to help him have the best season that he can.”
Sun Devil Men’s Basketball had one of the strongest recruiting classes in the country in 2024, a remarkable accomplishment following a disappointing final season in the Pac-12. Quaintance, a five-star recruit, is already projected to be a 2026 NBA Draft lottery pick but the big man is already creating preseason hype around ASU.
“He's a grown man physically, you know, and how he competes. But his mentality is very advanced for a 16-year-old. He's got his act together. He is very focused. He works as hard at it as anybody in the program for that age. He’s very grounded,” Hurley said of Quaintance. “His upbringing shows he’s been raised really well to be about the right things, and he’s been extremely coachable, too. He's ‘yes, sir, yes, coach, I got it.’ But there are things that he does that coaches can’t teach. He’s very a very gifted guy.”
This is Hurley’s 10th season at the helm and he’s under contract at ASU through the 2025-26 season. The Sun Devils are still working toward becoming consistent winners after failing to make the NCAA Tournament last season. Miller, who will be ASU’s floor general this season, says the optimism among the group is all thanks to Hurley’s approach to recruiting.
“Don’t eff with Bobby Hurley. When you think he’s out, he comes right back. I think it’s just kudos to coach and he can compete with anybody. Don’t mess with Bobby Hurley,” Miller said. “He had a different mindset going into this offseason he kept telling me ‘I’m going to bring you some help. I’m gong to get you some help. I just need you to lead. As I’m at home getting my game ready to come back I just see more guys and more guys and I’m seeing the vision. It’s up to me to help lead these guys and for these guys to find their niche within coach Hurley and we’ll play some basketball. Let’s bring some fun to the Valley, bring some fun to Tempe. That’s all we gotta do.”
Arizona State’s complete Big 12 Conference schedule has yet to be released but we know the Sun Devils will host Arizona, BYU, Colorado, Kansas State, Texas Tech, Baylor, UCF, Houston, Iowa State and TCU in 2024-25. The Sun Devils will travel to Cincinnati, Kansas, Oklahoma State, Utah and West Virginia.
Follow the conversation with Lina Washington on X and Instagram: @LWashingtonTV. If you have a sports story idea, email Lina at LWashington@12News.com.
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