ASU's Bobby Hurley Ready To Put Last Season Behind Him

TEMPE, AZ — The 2020-21 regular season was one to forget for Arizona State University men's basketball head coach Bobby Hurley.

To say that the Sun Devils' season was difficult would be an understatement, with Hurley and company posting an 11-14 record after entering the year ranked in the AP's preseason top-25 rankings.

Fast-forward a month, and Hurley's outlook has improved considerably, thanks to landing a quartet of transfers and five high school recruits.

Hurley believes his seventh season in Tempe could be his best yet, thanks to adding players like AJ Bramah from Robert Morris and 6-foot-10-inch high school forward Enoch Boakye during the offseason.

"I've worked as hard as I've probably ever worked in an offseason that I can remember, in terms of not wanting it to end when it did and trying to do something about that so that we're not in this situation again," Hurley said.

"My goal is to never go through a season like this again, and there are no guarantees or promises about that."

Hurley believes that the addition of players like Boakye and Bramah, in addition to returning players like Kimani Lawrence, could be a difference-maker for ASU in 2021.

Lawrence saw a sizable jump in production during the latter half of his senior season, scoring in double digits in seven of his final nine games.

The experienced forward decided to take advantage of the NCAA's extra year of eligibility rule because of the COVID-19 pandemic to return to Tempe for his fifth year.

Such a decision was music to Hurley's ears, given how Lawrence attacked the boards down the stretch, including hauling in 20 rebounds against Washington on Feb. 25.

"I think the way [Kimani] played the second half o the year, the last 10 or 12 games, really can springboard what he'll do with this bonus season," Hurley said of Lawrence. "He's a guy that can provide leadership and understands the system and the expectations so I think having him make that announcement was huge."

Players like Lawrence, Boakye and Bramah are tasked with replacing a number of Sun Devils that left during the offseason, either to enter into the 2021 NBA Draft or the NCAA Transfer Portal.

Hurley will have to find a way to replace the likes of Remy Martin, Josh Christopher, Alonzo Verge Jr., Marcus Bagley and Holland Woods, who combined to average 64.9 points per game a year ago.

He's ready for the challenge ahead, saying last year's lack of success after notching three-straight 20-win seasons has lit a fire under him.

"I'm so motivated and hungry based on the taste that last season left in my mouth," Hurley said. "I was like, 'I'm not revisiting that again.' So I took a couple of days off, because I felt exhausted after the season, felt drained.

"But then I got busy as kids were announcing that they were going to the portal and was very aggressive on the phone."

Hurley believes there will be more more seasons like 2020, at least from a transfer of talent perspective, given the NCAA's new one-time transfer rules.

The rules, which allow athletes to transfer once without having to sit out a full season, as was previously required, will require coaches like Hurley to contend with more roster turnover than in past years.

"I think it's going to be what college basketball is like moving forward," Hurley said. "This is now a new era. Student-athletes are going to have the same rights as everyone else to maneuver and have a chance to figure out what's best for them and so it's going to be the new world.

"And you've got to be ready for it and you've got to bounce back and be prepared. I'm not sure it'll be to the extent that that it was this year in terms of the turnover and the transition year in and year out. But there were a lot of things to work through. There were days you felt good about steps you were making and and strides you would take in other days, so it was a roller coaster ride really the last six weeks or so."