TEMPE – A cloud of uncertainty hangs over coach Bobby Hurley and his Arizona State men’s basketball program in 2025.
Hurley enters the final year of his contract, and ASU completely overhauled its roster this past offseason with only two returners from last year’s squad. The unpredictability of the Sun Devils led to them being picked to finish last in the Big 12 Preseason Media Poll.
“My team is a little bit mysterious,” Hurley said at a preseason media availability. “Just in terms of not having a lot of film on some of these guys who we have, particularly from overseas … I don’t feel like we’re a team that is the bottom of any league.”
After back-to-back losing seasons, the Sun Devils will look to right the ship in what could possibly be the final year of Bobby Hurley’s tenure in Tempe.
Contributing writers: Adam Kunin, Taylor Gautney, Colin Hogan
Led by Pepperdine transfer Moe Odum, ASU possesses a blend of experience and youth at the guard position. What will Hurley’s backcourt look like this season?
After losing key pieces in the backcourt, including leading scorer Alston Mason and promising young talent Joson Sanon, Hurley dove into the transfer portal to find his guards.
Just in the guard room alone, there are six brand new players ready to lace up for the Sun Devils. The only returners to the backcourt are sophomore Trevor Best, a youngster who arrived in January of last year, and sophomore Quentin McCoy, who only played five total minutes.
Best, now in his second year with the Sun Devils, is the only team member who scored a basket for ASU last season. He provided some scoring in spots last season, scoring 40 total points in only 11 games played.
Highlighting the new additions is four-star senior guard transfer Moe Odum. The Valley is the third stop for the guard from the Bronx, New York, after spending two seasons at Pacific and one at Pepperdine.
Known for his incredible ball-handling skills and stellar playmaking ability, Odum playstyle resembles that of a traditional pass-first point guard. Just last season, the guard finished fourth in the nation in assists per game with 7.5 and 15+ points in 15 different games.
Another transfer that could produce in the backcourt is senior Anthony “Pig” Johnson. The former NAIA player has already made a strong first impression for the Sun Devils, accounting for 27 points, seven rebounds and five assists in an exhibition against Texas A&M.
“A guy like Johnson should be like what our identity is,” Hurley said. “He’s a blue-collar guy. He was an NAIA player last year, and he had 27 points on Sunday.”
Hurley acquired two more key guard transfers through the portal in junior Bryce Ford and sophomore Noah Meeusen. Meeusen recently traveled with Odum and Hurley to the Big 12 Media Days, representing the Sun Devils in Kansas City.
Meeusen brings overseas experience to the team, a common theme for the squad this season. The 6-foot-5 Belgian brings height and physical presence to the backcourt. In his most recent season in the BNXT League, he averaged 6.7 points and 1.2 steals per game.
Although he will miss a few weeks with a rolled ankle, according to Hurley, Meeusen will be a key piece to the flow when he is fully healthy.
Ford also impressed in the scrimmage against Texas A&M last Sunday. The Toledo transfer from Scottsdale, Arizona, recorded a strong 37.2 three-point percentage last season.
The Pinnacle High School graduate helps stretch the floor for the Maroon and Gold and serves as a reliable option for Hurley on offense.
One more key addition to the squad is senior Adante’ Holiman. The transfer from Georgia Southern recently earned to All-Sun Belt Conference third team honors.
Holiman also scored a team-best 16.9 points per game along with 2.2 rebounds and 2.3 assists.
Additionally, junior Vijay Wallace was supposed to be in the rotation for ASU, but after dislocating his ankle in the preseason, he’ll need to get season-ending surgery.
New faces, young talent and experienced basketball players embody the identity of the backcourt. Expect ASU to lean heavily on its guard, especially early in the season as it works to figure out its rotations in the frontcourt.
– Gautney
International transfers highlight a frontcourt that comes into 2025 as a bit of an unknown. What can we expect from this group?
The frontcourt offers areas of both promise and uncertainty for Arizona State.
This offseason, Hurley rebuilt the unit with a mix of mid-major and overseas talent. With new faces across the board, it may take time for the Sun Devils to gel as players settle into roles, especially with two potential key contributors still working back to full strength.
Graduate student forward Allen Mukeba and sophomore Marcus Adams Jr. missed some time in the preseason due to injuries. Hurley said both could open the year on minutes restrictions, but once healthy, each will have the opportunity to make an immediate impact on the wing.
Mukeba, an Oakland transfer, averaged 14.6 points and 7.5 rebounds last season. The former Golden Grizzly has proven to be an effective two-way presence, characterized by high-level physicality and efficiency.
The 6-foot-8 forward plays more like a traditional big man. He earned second-team All-Horizon honors while shooting a conference-best 56.9% from the field, imposing his will in the paint with his strength and physicality.
Mukeba is jumping from the mid-major level to the Power Four, but he is confident he will adapt.
“I have already played against Big 12 teams, so it’s going to be the same thing,” Mukeba said. “I know I might not be able to go into the paint like I usually do. I might need to shoot a little bit more, which is not a problem.”
Adams is also transferring in from a mid-major after earning All-Big West second team honors at Cal State Northridge. He averaged 16.1 points on 52.6% shooting with shooting at nearly a 40% clip from three, making him a useful offensive piece for ASU when fully healthy.
With Mukeba and Adams sidelined for ASU’s scrimmage at Texas A&M, sophomore forward Santiago Trouet and junior forward Andrija Grbović stepped up. The duo combined for 30 points and proved to be able to score on all three levels.
Trouet transferred in from San Diego, where he started 25 games while averaging 8.7 points and 6.8 rebounds. Grbović is one of the many overseas additions for Hurley. He averaged 7.1 points on nearly 60% shooting in 28 games for Derby while playing in the Adriatic Basketball Association.
Hurley’s offenses have typically leaned on guard play, but that may change this season.
“We have to transition our thought process from ‘Hey, let’s put our head down and drive’ to ‘Let’s get these guys touches,’” Hurley said. “The guards (have) got to really focus on getting those guys touches inside.”
The biggest X-factor for the Sun Devils may be freshman center Massamba Diop. The 7-foot-1 big man played overseas last season for Gran Canaria, where he averaged 16.1 points, 7.9 rebounds and 2.6 stocks (steals and blocks) while playing in the Spanish professional league.
The frontcourt is full of hungry hoopers ready to make a name for themselves.
“We all came here to redeem ourselves,” Mukeba said. “We want to play at the highest level, and we’ve got to prove ourselves we can do it.”
– Hogan
With limited resources and uncertainty surrounding his future with the program, Bobby Hurley had to find new ways to build his roster this year. How did Hurley approach this offseason?
Hurley enters the final year of his contract with no talks of an extension in the works prior to his 11th season in Tempe.
On the heels of back-to-back sub. 500 seasons, and without a single win in the first round of the NCAA tournament to his name in his entire coaching career at Arizona State, ASU’s head man faces immense pressure to deliver – even with limited resources.
He had to get creative to build a team this year, opting to recruit internationally. Five players on the Sun Devils’ roster own experience playing professional basketball overseas.
“They (international players) were less expensive relative to American players this year,” Hurley said. “I think they figured out the system and they maxed it out. And they were going to max it. I think that’s the reason for the shift.”
While there are some differences between the college game and international play, he believes that having players with professional experience will help ease the transition for some of his younger players.
“I think the biggest adjustment is (the) pace of play,” Hurley said. “Just the American game is faster, so they’re trying to get acclimated to that.
It’s underrated how well-coached some of those guys can be when they get to you. … All these guys have been good at picking things up, and they’re coachability is very high.”
He also focused on reaching into the mid-major pool to find players with experience and reliability, which helps combat the difficulties of a major roster turnover.
Even if Hurley’s recruitment strategy to target yields a mixed bag of returns, it’s likely worth the risk to try to find the most talent and experience, given the tight NIL budget at his disposal in comparison to some of the other programs in the Big 12.
“(With) this team, I don’t know if the upside is as high (as last year), but the coachability, the attitude, how they conduct themselves every day, they’ve been very push-button to work with and very enjoyable to coach,” Hurley said.
The roster’s makeup might also lead to a shift in ASU’s identity and play style this season. Traditionally, Hurley embraces a faster pace of play that emphasizes the scoring of his guards.
But with seven players standing in at least 6-foot-8, the Maroon and Gold could look to slow it down and feed the ball into the low post on a frequent basis.
Nonetheless, whether its through their big men or through dynamic guard play, ASU will have to find a clear identity to lean on to withstand an unforgiving and talented Big 12 conference.
Arizona State will begin its season on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. MST when it welcomes Southern Utah to Desert Financial Arena.
– Kunin
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