There have certainly been talented basketball players in Tempe in recent years but a lack of results have led to this new era. Randy Bennett shockingly took over as Arizona State’s head coach a few months ago after spending a quarter century building a mid-major monster up at Saint Mary’s. He now heads into the Big 12, trying to finally build the Sun Devils into a winning program in this league.
With this head coaching change, it’s not shocking to hear that very little of last season’s roster will be back next season. Top players like Anthony Johnson and Moe Odum were out of eligibility anyways but Arizona State also lost plenty of transfers, most notably losing Massamba Diop to Gonzaga. Bennett and his new staff found a ton of pieces from the portal themselves, but also returned rising senior guard Bryce Ford from last season.
Big men in the paint
The Sun Devils grabbed size with a pair of 7-footers, getting Ben Defty from Boston University and Nathanial Garcia out of Cal Baptist. There’s great potential from Marcus Vaughns from LSU, while Emmanuel Innocenti is an intriguing veteran piece from Gonzaga. It wouldn’t be surprising to see Joel Foxwell and Dillan Shaw become the starting guards after brilliant work as freshmen at Portland and Saint Mary’s respectively.
However, it’s another player following Bennett from Saint Mary’s that we’re considering the most vital on this new roster. Paulius Murauskas is a 6-8 forward from Lithuania who actually began his career as a bench piece at Arizona. He then spent the last two years with Bennett and the Gaels while becoming one of the best frontcourt players in the WCC. He’s fresh off a junior year where he put up 18.4 points and 7.6 rebounds per game, helping Saint Mary’s to a 27-6 record.
After putting up those monster numbers last season, there’s certainly the expectation that Murauskas can follow up that success as a senior under the same head coach and same system. The day-to-day action in the Big 12 will certainly be more difficult but let’s not ignore that he was considered one of the top available names in the portal. Regardless of that connection to Bennett, landing Murauskas was a major win for the Sun Devils.
Interesting times in Tempe
There’s a certain flavor among the talent on this new roster and we’re far from certain on how everything will shake out for Arizona State. However, the Sun Devils added numerous players who can help bring them a step or two closer in the Big 12, especially if those backcourt pieces can take their own big steps as a sophomores. Expect Murauskas to be the top scorer and leader and for his success to determine what kind of season transpires in Tempe.
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