Bobby Hurley
ON ROB EDWARDS GETTING BACK INTO HIS RHYTHM BY BRINGING HIM OFF THE BENCH:
“I do not know. We had to do something there. I did not want to do it at all, but he responded like a really good player would. I am happy that he worked through it. He is a senior. I just want the best for him in his last year and I am glad that he performed that way. We desperately needed it too. That game (vs. Oregon State) was a big game for us. He stepped up. He also had a great practice today. It was probably one of the best practices he has had all year.”
ON LONG WEEKEND IN OREGON:
“I think those are two very difficult places to play. As far as a pair goes, it is probably the most difficult pair the you could face in a week. So, to go there, give yourself a chance to be playing on Saturday for a sweep, and to be in the game against a top-tier opponent on their home floor was good. I thought there were some real positives to take out of it. We have now eliminated some of the more difficult conference road games and we now have 9 of our last 15 games at home. So, there are a lot of things to be optimistic about.”
ON PICK AND ROLL LOOKS:
“We want to set some early ball screens in the flow of our offense. In our early offense, I think that has freed up Remy a bit, so the defense has a tougher time knowing exactly where the screens are coming from. So, I am pleased with that. If you watched Saturday, you could see that we hit the paint and got the ball out to shooters. We did not always make them, but I thought the overall quality of our shots were pretty good.”
ON HOW COLORADO MATCHUP IN CHINA AFFECTS MENTALITY ENTERING THIS WEEKEND:
“I thought we tried hard, worked at it, and defended pretty well. We got hurt in the paint with rebounding as you would expect with our two most physical front court players out (Romello White and Taeshon Cherry) . A lot has happened since then. A lot has gone on. It is great that we are going to have those two guys available for this game. Colorado is playing very well. They are coming off a convincing win against Utah and they have already beat Oregon. They have established themselves as a one of the front runners early into the conference season, so it will be a real test.”
ON FINDING A CONSISTENT NUMBER TWO SCORER BEHIND REMY MARTIN:
“I have a good feeling that we are going to get from Romello (White) too. I can kind of pencil him in for eight to ten rebounds and about six points would be his minimum. I guess we are hard to prepare for because teams may not necessarily know who it may be that comes through. But, certainly in the Oregon we needed a few more guys to make a shot in that game. 69 just was not enough points against them, especially with how they (Oregon) shot the ball in the first half.”
ON ALLOWING REMY MARTIN TO PLAY HIS GAME:
“I just let Remy be Remy. If I follow him, he will lead me to good places. I have a lot of trust in his talent and ability. His decision making has been improving by the day. He is playing at an elite level. If we had the record that Oregon or some of the other teams, then people would be talking about him right now as play of the year in the conference. We have to do a better job winning games and then I think he would certainly be in that discussion.”
ON ASU WOMEN’S BASKETBALL SWEEPING THE OREGON SCHOOLS LAST WEEKEND:
“Yea, I just hope that they did not take all of the magic out of the building. I hope they saved us some for this week. I was really proud to see that and I am happy for Charli (Turner Thorne) and the ladies. They have been working extremely hard. It just does not get any better than that. I do not know how you can win two more impressive games against top-tier opponents, so that was great to see.”
ON NEW ARIZONA BILL WHICH WOULD ALLOW ARIZONA COLLEGE ATHLETES TO EARN ENDORSEMENT MONEY:
“I did not realize that it was actually in play. To be honest, I did not even get a chance to think about how I would respond. So, if you could give me some time, I could maybe get to that at another point.”
ON KAMANI LAWRENCE AND TAESHON CHERRY PAIRING:
“I like Melo (Romello White) with Tay (Taeshon Cherry). I think those two guys work well together. I also like Mickey’s (Mickey Mitchell) physicality with (Jalen) Graham. So, it is kind of more of that. I do not have a strong opinion on how Kimani (Lawrence) and Tay work together. I think Kimani has been playing better over the last couple of weeks and Tay (Taeshon Cherry) has shown signs that he could take another step.”
ON THE POINTS OF GROWTH WITH TAESHON CHERRY:
“He is playing hard. His shot is a bit erratic right now. He is not making them the way I think he would like to. He is working on them. You can see him after practice getting reps up. He is just too talented of a guys with his offensive skills to not take a step at some point. He is a Sophomore. He is a young player too. We have to keep that in mind. He is a guys who I think could really develop and get better.”
ON JALEN GRAHAM’S EARNING MORE MINUTES:
Experience, maturity, and getting stronger are important for him. When this season ends, it will be critical for Jalen to take another jump and work on his game. He can face up more, in addition to his back to the basket. Putting on another 15 pounds or so could also be nice.”
ON HOW ROB EDWARDS FELT COMING OFF THE BENCH:
“I just thought we had to shift gears and do something. You would have to ask Rob how we felt coming off the bench compared to starting. He started so many games. I do not think that is the issue. He was long overdue to play that way on offense. I am hopeful that he is going to carry over in the game to what he looks like right now in practice.”
ON NOT HAVING A PENCILED-IN STARTING LINEUP:
“I like what I saw from our team in Oregon in both games. One was a very good win and the other was a game that we were in the mix late. So, there is no reason to tamper with the lineup this week. I like the guys that were playing. I like some of the things that our team did. That will b the direction now. That is not to say that there will not be future changes. I cannot project that.”
ON FINDING ANOTHER CONSISTENT SCORER:
“Verge had a good stretch where he clipped off five or six games in which he was our third guy. I do not have any issues with it being a revolving situation as long as there is that guy. I may not know game to game who that guy is. But, that is why I am doing this job. It is not easy to know all the time to know. You cannot predict everything. It is comforting to know that you have two dependable guys: one on the perimeter and one on het inside that you know you can get some scoring out of.”
ON ROB EDWARD’S PLAY:
“It is important for him to be himself. He focused a lot on the defense end in both games in Oregon. He just has to trust his talent and his ability to make shots. He has to play with confidence and hopefully he has regained some of that on our trip to Oregon.”
ON COLORADO NOW COMPARED TO CHINA MATCHUP:
“I thought there offense was in gear. That was indicative of scoring 90 points in there last game. I think a few weeks ago they may have had some lower scoring games where they might have struggled a bit to generate offense. But, they are one of the better defensive teams in the country, statistically. So, our offense is going to have to be sharp, especially in the half court. They (Colorado) are disciplined. They have key players at the right positions: McKinley Wright (IV) has been through these wars and Tyler Bey. They have some really good players. One in the front court and one on the perimeter."
Remy Martin
ON COLORADO GAME BEING A POTENTIAL MEASURING STICK TO IMPROVEMENT FROM CHINA MATCHUP:
“I think so. It will be a good test for us. It is a great opportunity. With how strong the PAC-12 has been, it will be a good opportunity for us. When we played without our bigs, it was hard for us. Now that we have them back, I think we feel a lot more confident going into the game. I cannot wait to go play them. They are a great team. We played them once. We hung in there without our bigs and I think we can do it again.”
ON REACHING 1,000 CAREER POINTS DURING LAST GAME:
“I knew because of social media. Sun Devil Hoops posted that I was two points away. I knew that I was going to get two points in that game, so it was kind of like a must. I had to have scored in that game. I am so focused on trying to win. I really did not care about it. Honestly, it is a great milestone to have in my career, but I did not think much of it because we lost that game. I just wanted to get back int the grove of things and start winning games. That stuff will take care of itself in the end of the day. But, I do not care about those points. I really just care about winning.”
ON BEING RELIED UPON TO SCORE IN EVERY GAME:
“If we are struggling a bit early, I will try to get them going by being vocal, scoring and try to make plays. Whatever is given to me, I will take. I put in a lot of work in the offseason to be able to do those things. I am always in attack mode. That would hopefully open up stuff for everyone else. They continue to tell me to be in attack mode and play my game. I believe in those guys to. I know that Rob (Edwards) is getting back in his grove. Taeshon (Cherry) and Kimani (Lawrence) just had a great practice. It is starting to build and we are getting more confidence as a group. If I score 10 or 20, it does not matter to me, as long as we go out there, play hard, put up a fight, and try to get the win.”
ON GOING AGAINST PAYTON PRITCHARD AND MCKINLEY WRIGHT IV:
“I love it. This is the PAC-12. This is a great conference. I expect that every night. I am mentally and physically ready for it. As a group, we are ready for it. It is a great thing to have. In the end of the day, you always want to play against great players and evaluate yourself how you play against great players and great teams. I am happy that I get the opportunity to play against these great teams every night.”
ON ROB EDWARDS’ BIG GAME:
“His ability to catch and shoot is impressive. I have seen his catch and shoot since he has been here and it has been amazing. He hardly misses. That is why we were unsure why he was not playing how he was. But, he is now shooting the hell out of the ball. You can just see the confidence flowing from him and he is just out there playing his game. We need him to do that. In the end of the day, I am very confident in him that he will end up coming through for us at a great time.”
ON HOW ROB EDWARDS RESPONDED TO STARTING ON THE BENCH:
“You can evaluate a teammate like that when they get taken out of the starting lineup. The next day in practice, he was aggressive and vocal. He also picked the starting group up. As a teammate, it shows that he is for the team and is willing to do the other things that Coach has asked him to do. In the end of the day, he is a player and a great teammate. I love Rob and I love having him on my team. That dude can play and I think that will soon.”
ON TEAM GOALS OVER THE NEXT MONTH:
“Confidence is a big thing. I just think we have to stick to the game plan, be disciplined, and mentally strong. We have the talent and Melo (Romello White) down low. We have guys that can bring it every single day. Talent is a big part, but we also need to stay disciplined and need to do what we have to do to win.”
ON JAELEN HOUSE GUARDING PAYTON PRITCHARD DURING THE SECOND HALF:
“I have always said that Jaelen is a terrific defender. He is also a great teammate. He is someone who goes out there every night to try to stop the other player. That is impressive. Defense is all heart, especially playing against a guy like (Payton) Pritchard. If you have a teammate who picks up the energy like that, how can you not love him. So, I think Jaelen House has an incredible career ahead of him and he will get better every single game."
ON ROB EDWARDS GETTING BACK INTO HIS RHYTHM BY BRINGING HIM OFF THE BENCH:
“I do not know. We had to do something there. I did not want to do it at all, but he responded like a really good player would. I am happy that he worked through it. He is a senior. I just want the best for him in his last year and I am glad that he performed that way. We desperately needed it too. That game (vs. Oregon State) was a big game for us. He stepped up. He also had a great practice today. It was probably one of the best practices he has had all year.”
ON LONG WEEKEND IN OREGON:
“I think those are two very difficult places to play. As far as a pair goes, it is probably the most difficult pair the you could face in a week. So, to go there, give yourself a chance to be playing on Saturday for a sweep, and to be in the game against a top-tier opponent on their home floor was good. I thought there were some real positives to take out of it. We have now eliminated some of the more difficult conference road games and we now have 9 of our last 15 games at home. So, there are a lot of things to be optimistic about.”
ON PICK AND ROLL LOOKS:
“We want to set some early ball screens in the flow of our offense. In our early offense, I think that has freed up Remy a bit, so the defense has a tougher time knowing exactly where the screens are coming from. So, I am pleased with that. If you watched Saturday, you could see that we hit the paint and got the ball out to shooters. We did not always make them, but I thought the overall quality of our shots were pretty good.”
ON HOW COLORADO MATCHUP IN CHINA AFFECTS MENTALITY ENTERING THIS WEEKEND:
“I thought we tried hard, worked at it, and defended pretty well. We got hurt in the paint with rebounding as you would expect with our two most physical front court players out (Romello White and Taeshon Cherry) . A lot has happened since then. A lot has gone on. It is great that we are going to have those two guys available for this game. Colorado is playing very well. They are coming off a convincing win against Utah and they have already beat Oregon. They have established themselves as a one of the front runners early into the conference season, so it will be a real test.”
ON FINDING A CONSISTENT NUMBER TWO SCORER BEHIND REMY MARTIN:
“I have a good feeling that we are going to get from Romello (White) too. I can kind of pencil him in for eight to ten rebounds and about six points would be his minimum. I guess we are hard to prepare for because teams may not necessarily know who it may be that comes through. But, certainly in the Oregon we needed a few more guys to make a shot in that game. 69 just was not enough points against them, especially with how they (Oregon) shot the ball in the first half.”
ON ALLOWING REMY MARTIN TO PLAY HIS GAME:
“I just let Remy be Remy. If I follow him, he will lead me to good places. I have a lot of trust in his talent and ability. His decision making has been improving by the day. He is playing at an elite level. If we had the record that Oregon or some of the other teams, then people would be talking about him right now as play of the year in the conference. We have to do a better job winning games and then I think he would certainly be in that discussion.”
ON ASU WOMEN’S BASKETBALL SWEEPING THE OREGON SCHOOLS LAST WEEKEND:
“Yea, I just hope that they did not take all of the magic out of the building. I hope they saved us some for this week. I was really proud to see that and I am happy for Charli (Turner Thorne) and the ladies. They have been working extremely hard. It just does not get any better than that. I do not know how you can win two more impressive games against top-tier opponents, so that was great to see.”
ON NEW ARIZONA BILL WHICH WOULD ALLOW ARIZONA COLLEGE ATHLETES TO EARN ENDORSEMENT MONEY:
“I did not realize that it was actually in play. To be honest, I did not even get a chance to think about how I would respond. So, if you could give me some time, I could maybe get to that at another point.”
ON KAMANI LAWRENCE AND TAESHON CHERRY PAIRING:
“I like Melo (Romello White) with Tay (Taeshon Cherry). I think those two guys work well together. I also like Mickey’s (Mickey Mitchell) physicality with (Jalen) Graham. So, it is kind of more of that. I do not have a strong opinion on how Kimani (Lawrence) and Tay work together. I think Kimani has been playing better over the last couple of weeks and Tay (Taeshon Cherry) has shown signs that he could take another step.”
ON THE POINTS OF GROWTH WITH TAESHON CHERRY:
“He is playing hard. His shot is a bit erratic right now. He is not making them the way I think he would like to. He is working on them. You can see him after practice getting reps up. He is just too talented of a guys with his offensive skills to not take a step at some point. He is a Sophomore. He is a young player too. We have to keep that in mind. He is a guys who I think could really develop and get better.”
ON JALEN GRAHAM’S EARNING MORE MINUTES:
Experience, maturity, and getting stronger are important for him. When this season ends, it will be critical for Jalen to take another jump and work on his game. He can face up more, in addition to his back to the basket. Putting on another 15 pounds or so could also be nice.”
ON HOW ROB EDWARDS FELT COMING OFF THE BENCH:
“I just thought we had to shift gears and do something. You would have to ask Rob how we felt coming off the bench compared to starting. He started so many games. I do not think that is the issue. He was long overdue to play that way on offense. I am hopeful that he is going to carry over in the game to what he looks like right now in practice.”
ON NOT HAVING A PENCILED-IN STARTING LINEUP:
“I like what I saw from our team in Oregon in both games. One was a very good win and the other was a game that we were in the mix late. So, there is no reason to tamper with the lineup this week. I like the guys that were playing. I like some of the things that our team did. That will b the direction now. That is not to say that there will not be future changes. I cannot project that.”
ON FINDING ANOTHER CONSISTENT SCORER:
“Verge had a good stretch where he clipped off five or six games in which he was our third guy. I do not have any issues with it being a revolving situation as long as there is that guy. I may not know game to game who that guy is. But, that is why I am doing this job. It is not easy to know all the time to know. You cannot predict everything. It is comforting to know that you have two dependable guys: one on the perimeter and one on het inside that you know you can get some scoring out of.”
ON ROB EDWARD’S PLAY:
“It is important for him to be himself. He focused a lot on the defense end in both games in Oregon. He just has to trust his talent and his ability to make shots. He has to play with confidence and hopefully he has regained some of that on our trip to Oregon.”
ON COLORADO NOW COMPARED TO CHINA MATCHUP:
“I thought there offense was in gear. That was indicative of scoring 90 points in there last game. I think a few weeks ago they may have had some lower scoring games where they might have struggled a bit to generate offense. But, they are one of the better defensive teams in the country, statistically. So, our offense is going to have to be sharp, especially in the half court. They (Colorado) are disciplined. They have key players at the right positions: McKinley Wright (IV) has been through these wars and Tyler Bey. They have some really good players. One in the front court and one on the perimeter."
Remy Martin
ON COLORADO GAME BEING A POTENTIAL MEASURING STICK TO IMPROVEMENT FROM CHINA MATCHUP:
“I think so. It will be a good test for us. It is a great opportunity. With how strong the PAC-12 has been, it will be a good opportunity for us. When we played without our bigs, it was hard for us. Now that we have them back, I think we feel a lot more confident going into the game. I cannot wait to go play them. They are a great team. We played them once. We hung in there without our bigs and I think we can do it again.”
ON REACHING 1,000 CAREER POINTS DURING LAST GAME:
“I knew because of social media. Sun Devil Hoops posted that I was two points away. I knew that I was going to get two points in that game, so it was kind of like a must. I had to have scored in that game. I am so focused on trying to win. I really did not care about it. Honestly, it is a great milestone to have in my career, but I did not think much of it because we lost that game. I just wanted to get back int the grove of things and start winning games. That stuff will take care of itself in the end of the day. But, I do not care about those points. I really just care about winning.”
ON BEING RELIED UPON TO SCORE IN EVERY GAME:
“If we are struggling a bit early, I will try to get them going by being vocal, scoring and try to make plays. Whatever is given to me, I will take. I put in a lot of work in the offseason to be able to do those things. I am always in attack mode. That would hopefully open up stuff for everyone else. They continue to tell me to be in attack mode and play my game. I believe in those guys to. I know that Rob (Edwards) is getting back in his grove. Taeshon (Cherry) and Kimani (Lawrence) just had a great practice. It is starting to build and we are getting more confidence as a group. If I score 10 or 20, it does not matter to me, as long as we go out there, play hard, put up a fight, and try to get the win.”
ON GOING AGAINST PAYTON PRITCHARD AND MCKINLEY WRIGHT IV:
“I love it. This is the PAC-12. This is a great conference. I expect that every night. I am mentally and physically ready for it. As a group, we are ready for it. It is a great thing to have. In the end of the day, you always want to play against great players and evaluate yourself how you play against great players and great teams. I am happy that I get the opportunity to play against these great teams every night.”
ON ROB EDWARDS’ BIG GAME:
“His ability to catch and shoot is impressive. I have seen his catch and shoot since he has been here and it has been amazing. He hardly misses. That is why we were unsure why he was not playing how he was. But, he is now shooting the hell out of the ball. You can just see the confidence flowing from him and he is just out there playing his game. We need him to do that. In the end of the day, I am very confident in him that he will end up coming through for us at a great time.”
ON HOW ROB EDWARDS RESPONDED TO STARTING ON THE BENCH:
“You can evaluate a teammate like that when they get taken out of the starting lineup. The next day in practice, he was aggressive and vocal. He also picked the starting group up. As a teammate, it shows that he is for the team and is willing to do the other things that Coach has asked him to do. In the end of the day, he is a player and a great teammate. I love Rob and I love having him on my team. That dude can play and I think that will soon.”
ON TEAM GOALS OVER THE NEXT MONTH:
“Confidence is a big thing. I just think we have to stick to the game plan, be disciplined, and mentally strong. We have the talent and Melo (Romello White) down low. We have guys that can bring it every single day. Talent is a big part, but we also need to stay disciplined and need to do what we have to do to win.”
ON JAELEN HOUSE GUARDING PAYTON PRITCHARD DURING THE SECOND HALF:
“I have always said that Jaelen is a terrific defender. He is also a great teammate. He is someone who goes out there every night to try to stop the other player. That is impressive. Defense is all heart, especially playing against a guy like (Payton) Pritchard. If you have a teammate who picks up the energy like that, how can you not love him. So, I think Jaelen House has an incredible career ahead of him and he will get better every single game."