TEMPE — ASU and preseason No. 7 Duke are set to square off Sunday in a men’s basketball exhibition billed as head coach Bobby Hurley’s return to Cameron Indoor Stadium.
“It’s gonna be mixed emotions. I haven’t really been back there very much in the past, so it’s gonna be a lot of fun getting an opportunity to see (legendary Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski) on the weekend and just treat this like a high-level road game. That’s the primary focus really,” Hurley said Thursday. “The other stuff, it’s nice. I’ll think about it and look up, see my jersey up there, maybe see a couple of those banners.
“Hopefully that’ll give me and the fellas some inspiration.”
Hurley said he was last at Cameron Indoor for a homecoming weekend while his oldest daughter attended Duke several years ago.
“It’s kind of a sacred place to me,” the coach said. “You haven’t really always been great in life everywhere, and that was one place that was kind of special. I was so good there, that’s why I’ve resisted wanting to go back.”
Like Hurley said, however, the primary focus will be the basketball, and he said his team has some kinks to work out after fighting for a win in a closed scrimmage on Saturday. He said he was disappointed with the Sun Devils’ performance on both ends.
“I think we struggled to make shots that I’ve been seeing us make in practice. We fundamentally broke down too much on defense. I just think that we showed some resistance and resilience late in the scrimmage and made some plays, which that was a positive,” Hurley said. “But overall, I wasn’t really pleased and I let the guys know that, and I think they’re self-aware enough to realize that we were nowhere near where we need to be in order to compete at the level we’re hoping to.”
One of the reasons why Hurley has high expectations for the group is the perimeter talent, which he called the best group he’s had as a coach while at Big 12 Media Days this week. He said it’s the struggle to find minutes for deserving players that gives him such a level of confidence.
Duke features its own high-level talent, led by Cooper Flagg, the projected top pick in the 2025 NBA Draft. Hurley said Flagg is deserving of all the hype he’s gotten so far.
What does Duke legend Bobby Hurley see in this year’s Duke squad that features projected top NBA draft pick Cooper Flagg? pic.twitter.com/iUfnZatLVB
— State of the Sun Devils (@AZSportsDevils) October 24, 2024
Hurley drew similarities between the rate of turnover both schools experienced this offseason, both injecting top-10 freshmen into the mix as 6-foot-9 Jayden Quaintance led the way for one of the better recruiting classes in ASU’s history.
Expect to see Quaintance alongside big men Basheer Jihad and Shawn Phillips Jr. at times, as Hurley likes the interchangeability of the three. He added it’s not likely all three would ever share the floor at the same time, because of the perimeter depth that would then be minimized.
Hurley said he hasn’t finalized the rotation, and he’s waiting until the last minute to do so up to the official opener on Nov. 5 against Idaho State.
“I’m trying to get guys out of the mindset of thinking about a starting lineup and just thinking about maximizing your minutes and forcing me to not want to take you out of the game,” Hurley said. “And if you’re out there performing and playing the right way and playing well, then everything will take care of itself.”
The Sun Devils are expected to be at full strength Sunday, as a previous minor knee issue for Austin Nunez was the only significant injury this preseason.
How to watch ASU-Duke exhibition on ACC Network
The exhibition will tip off at 4 p.m. MST on ACC Network, which is available on all major TV providers as part of the ESPN family of channels.
Additionally, streaming platforms such as Hulu + Live TV, Fubo and YouTube TV carry ACC Network, while Sling TV and DirecTV Stream customers may need a more premium package. It can also be streamed through the ESPN app with a service provider login.
“The game’s gonna be televised. A lot of teams are doing secret scrimmages. I wanna know sooner. I wanna get these guys in front of a crowd. I want them to feel that type of environment,” Hurley said earlier in the preseason. “Even for the younger guys who are gonna have a big impact on what we’re doing, Joson (Sanon), (Quaintance) and Amier Ali, those guys will get a chance to play in that environment, and hopefully that helps us in the early stages of the non-conference (schedule).”
Hurley said Thursday two of the three freshmen struggled in the closed scrimmage, and he expects nerves to be an even bigger factor on Sunday with the packed crowd at Cameron Indoor.
“It’s just a great thing for us to get tested this way and see where we stand on Sunday and have more film to be able to break down to start getting ready for the real deal, but yeah it’s gonna happen fast,” Hurley said. “Santa Clara’s obviously really good this year and then you go to Gonzaga. GCU in town here right after that, so there’s a number of these types of games that are gonna be right around the corner, so we gotta put our foot on the gas pedal and get going.”
