NCAA Basketball Recruiting: Impact of 5-star Jayden Quaintance's shocking move to Arizona State
Impact of Jayden Quaintance’s move to Arizona State
The Arizona State program seems to be at an inflection point. They’ve missed the NCAA Tournament in three of the last four years, coming off a 14-18 campaign. Coach Bobby Hurley was potentially on the hot seat but he got another year and so far, is making the most of it.
The roster-building this offseason was strong even before the news. They added a pair of high-scoring transfer guards in Alston Mason and BJ Freeman, along with the return of old ASU guard, Austin Nunez. Ball State transfer Basheer Jihad averaged around 18 ppg last season and should be an upgrade over the forwards they had last season.
The Sun Devils do bring back role player Shawn Phillips at center, who could start if Quaintance isn’t ready out the gate, due to how young he is. But from a talent standpoint, there’s a good chance that the five-star big man simply takes over the position.
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Considering that they’re heading to the Big 12 next season, ASU needed as many breaks as possible as a program to have any hope of competing out the gate. So far, it’s hard to see them having a better offseason, with the addition of Jayden Quaintance being the current cherry on top.