Arizona State Basketball: Sun Devils need Jose Perez to be an impact addition
Arizona State Basketball made one last addition to the 2023-24 roster in Jose Perez. What will he add to the team this season?
When former West Virginia guard Jose Perez was dismissed and entered the transfer portal, two teams immediately emerged as new contenders for his services. One was Ole Miss, as well as Arizona State Basketball. Both got visits from the grad transfer in the past week, but in the end, it was the Sun Devils that got his commitment.
ASU made the NCAA Tournament last season but essentially had to start over, losing four of the five top scorers. Only point guard Frankie Collins returns, who averaged 9.7 ppg and 4.3 apg on 40% shooting from the field. The question is whether the group of newcomers is good enough to keep the team viable.
Brycen Long averaged 14.8 ppg and shot 42% from three-point range at Houston Christian, though going from the Southland to the Pac-12 will be a challenge. Malachi Davis is a top-tier JUCO transfer newcomer, while Brealon Green is a four-star freshman newcomer. Adam Miller is a transfer from LSU and could be a starter but he needs a waiver from the NCAA (two-time transfer) to play this season an as of this article, he’s yet to receive one.
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That would leave a lot of unproven talent for the Sun Devils to rely on. And Perez adds to that, as he never actually played at West Virginia. He was great when he was at Manhattan at the MAAC level but struggled when he was at Oregon before. Plus, the 6’5 grad transfer has a career 40% shooting percentage (30% from deep) in four years in college.
But the reality is that without knowing Miller’s status, it’s important that ASU gets another potential rotation player, especially so late in the offseason. If Perez works out, it’s a genius move by Coach Bobby Hurley that can be the difference between making another NCAA Tournament appearance or being back on the hot seat. And if it doesn’t work out, he’s a one-year rental that doesn’t block the progress of future commits.
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Either way, it looks like we’ll have a final chapter of the Jose Perez saga, with Arizona State Basketball being the last stop.