By Miguel Mike Medina
Photo Credit: AZ Central
The Arizona State Sun Devils men’s basketball team is having a nightmare season. It’s probably the worst season during Bobby Hurley’s tenure as head coach.
The Sun Devils’ conference record is 13-15 (4-13). Hurley is a played coach and is well respected. It’s tough to see him going through this. The cards have been stacked against him and this program.
Is Hurley on the hot seat? Is there harmony or no harmony between Hurley and the players?
There have been so many injuries and distractions to the program. The Sun Devils have injured players like Jayden Quiantance, Joson Sanon, and Austin Núñez, who have only played four games this season.
For example, BJ Freeman is no longer part of the Sun Devils program because of his behavior.
Freeman averaged 13 points over 25 games. His last game was against the Houston Cougars, which they lost 80-65. Freeman finished with 17 points.
Freeman and the Sun Devils family did not turn out to be a good marriage after all.
Freshman Amier Ali is playing tremendous basketball for the Sun Devils. Ali could be a focal piece going forward for the Sun Devils.
He’s averaging 28 minutes in the last five games. His numbers have gone up after starting 12 minutes in the first 21 games of the season.
Since he’s a freshman, one would think that maybe he was struggling with his confidence or didn’t get enough chances to prove himself. Well, we are now seeing a young player who is starting to hit his strides.
Ali is bringing sunshine and positivity to the Sun Devils’ lackluster season.
Ali had a great performance last weekend against the Kansas State Wildcats. He went four of eight from the field and three of six from the three-point line. The Sun Devils won that game 66-54.
The Sun Devils lost the following game to BYU 91-81 on Wednesday. The team has three remaining games left in the season, so this is a good opportunity for them to close it out on good terms.
ASU will play the next two games on the road. The Sun Devils will take on Utah Utes on Saturday night, Arizona Wildcats on Tuesday, March 4th, and the season finale at home against Texas Tech on Saturday, March 8th.
Miguel Mike Medina is the publisher of The MMM Journal. He can be reached at medinamiguelmike@gmail.com and themmmjournal@gmail.com
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