Arizona State Men’s Basketball Head Coach Bobby Hurley
Opening Statement...
“Anytime you go on the road and in conference games, you can find yourself in a dog fight. So, not surprised, especially the way I saw Oregon State play in the second half versus Arizona. Young players woke up and I got to compliment Oregon State and Wayne (Tinkle) and the job he’s done and definitely who he’s brought in here. He’s got some guys that he build with. So the future is going to be really good here down the line.”
On creating turnovers...
“I think it was more we couldn’t get stops. We had the one stretch where I told the guys, it was 8-5 at the under 16 and when we got to the under 12, it was 17-5. So, we had that stretch in the first half where we were ineffective and couldn’t score. Outside of that, it was mainly our inability, again in this game, to not defend the way we’re able to defend.”
On missing “easy” shots...
“We were missing layups, we missed some foul shots, it was a little bit of everything in the first half. But we were just close in the deficit that way, had the game within striking range. We picked up our level of intensity defensively and we played cleaner on offense. So, it was better. I mean the one thing we got to do though late in games, we get up nine points we got to rebound the ball, we had a couple of bad rebounding possessions and they were able to hit some three’s and cut the deficit and make it really tight finish.”
On having the largest comeback on the road since 2018...
“I mean early in the game, we got down a significant margin really early, so there was still a lot of basketball left to be played so that kind of makes it a little bit easier. I touched on it, we picked up our intensity and our activity on defense through our press and I think that woke our guys up. We were not moving at the same pace Oregon State was through the first eight minutes of the game.”
On sitting at 6-1 in Pac-12 play and looking ahead to Thursday’s game against UCLA...
“We have three true conference road wins, we’re 3-0 on the road, which is great. You can’t ask for a whole lot more and I think it amps up the magnitude of Thursday’s game certainly. Kind of want to enjoy this one and road sweeps are rare in our league and we’re able to get one here this week and then we will get ready for Thursday.”
On blocked shots
“That’s what we do, we do block and we got the length and the athleticism around the basket to do that.”
On Frankie Collins’ play down the stretch
“It’s huge, he doesn’t hang his hat and you’re going to miss shots, you’re not perfect. But he’s been a constant on the ball defender for us, so it’s not like he just showed up for that possession and got it done, it was a really good defensive play.”
Arizona State Men’s Basketball Guard Frankie Collins
On first half defense…
“Yeah, we were playing good defense, contesting shots. They just had home court advantage.”
On playing tight down the stretch…
“It’s just mostly us staying together. It’s fun to be in games like that, for us to stay together, put together some stops and try to string together some baskets, it’s fun.
On forcing key turnover with less than :25 remaining…
“I got tripped up by the guy behind me. I couldn’t just stay on the ground, I had to get up. I saw him and just gave the high hand.
On message for ASU students to come against UCLA…
“We hope they’re there and for the ones who can’t make it, we still love you. We want them to have fun.
On being 6-1 into UCLA…
“It’s just us being us, staying out there and playing together defensively. I think we’ll be able to give them a run for their money.”
On if he feels like the underdog…
“Yeah, we’re always the underdog. We love being the underdog.
On it being fun seeing new teams in the Pac-12…
“Yeah, especially UCLA because they have a great point guard over there in Tyger Campbell. After working out with him, it’ll be fun to play against him for the first time. It’s a big stage and you dream of playing on it.”
On Tyger Campbell…
“My uncle trained both of us. We used to live together for like three months. I grew up watching him play.”
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