Arizona State Men's Basketball Head Coach Bobby Hurley
On how practices have been since the win against Arizona:
"We tried to close the book on it yesterday. We re-watched it a couple of times again. It wasn't very physical yesterday, some guys to it was nothing for them physically, yesterday and and then today, we had a normal kind of two days before a game practice. It's gonna be the hardest practice that we'll have leading into the game. So I think we got a lot done today."
On how many times he watched the Desmond Cambridge Jr. shot:
"When I was wasn't responding to a text message or someone calling me between Saturday and Sunday ... so quite a bit. I obviously watched Colorado and UCLA on Sunday. Watched our game UCLA as well our first matchup, so I got a chance to get a lot of that done. But yeah, in my house we watched it. There was one that was great: that the Titanic one."
On any additional emotional benefits that can carry the team:
"I think time is going to tell. We kind of laid out what was at stake. This week and how big a week it is. So hopefully trying to reinforce that message to them and they didn't appear to be a team that wasn't hungry or content based on how we practiced. But we will find out when the ball goes up on Thursday night."
On the offensive versatility against Arizona:
"I was excited to see multiple guys have the ball go through the basket especially in that environment where you want to try and generate confidence and we knew that the 60's was not going to be good enough against a team as potent on offense as Arizona is. So to see DJ (Horne) make shots early Des (Cambridge Jr.) hit a couple, Warren (Washington) got us off to a good start scoring the basketball, and I thought our bench was awesome. with with how Jamiya Neal played it was his best game as a Sun Devil and and I think Alonzo Gaffney was really good too, and the defense had a big time put back in a couple of big threes."
On the status of Austin Nunez (concussion):
"He's going through the protocol and it's too early to rule him in or to rule him out. But he's working as hard as he can. It's not as cut and dry as like some other injury stuff that you go through. So you kind of treading lightly. So he did more today than he did yesterday, and will just continue to progress."
On an increased belief in March Madness this week compared to last week:
"We have never been deterred. I mean, we've had a poor stretch, where we lost some good teams here with the LA's, and and we couldn't get it done in overtime in Washington and ran into a good Washington State team. So we caught a tough stretch there. And then the Colorado loss was a tough one. But they're a good team. Our league isn't appropriately respected, in my opinion. And you could go ask a couple of SEC teams how good Colorado was, for example, but, we feel like we were doing well. People threw us off the bubble immediately, which is fine. And we just keep plugging along and keep trying to attack all these games."
On the strength of schedule to end the season:
"It's back-to-back two top 10 teams, so it's certainly a big ask. UCLA is undefeated at home and they've been terrific. They're a veteran team, they're experienced and they have clutch guys, (Jaime) Jaquez and Tyger (Campbell) can make shots. They're a very well coached team and they check a lot of boxes, they're an elite team, and we're gonna have our work cut out for us Thursday night. But you're right, it's there. We talk about these as opportunities. Their chances to dramatically change our season in a couple of hours."
On the takeaways from the first game against UCLA:
"Watching the first game again, we struggled. Both teams had a hard time scoring early in the game, and we both caught a little bit of a boost offensively late in the half. And I watched Des shoot off that right leg. Again, going right into the half there, it looked like like the exact same shot, it was crazy. But then the second half, I thought we had a chance to make a run and get a little separation, and we did, but then they made the big plays when it mattered, like the last four or five minutes. And so, I would say that we were really good and playing at a high level for about 35 minutes. And we weren't able to close it."
On being a part of a game with consistent excitement (vs. Arizona):
It was one of the best games that I've been a part of as a coach just in terms of quality of play. And that's why this morning on my radio show, I equated it to like an Elite Eight type of game and I've been in those games as a player and it just had had all the classic playmaking, the athleticism and we had to pick our poison out there because you got the elite big man in the paint and guys who were making shots. So it was just a treacherous game to navigate. But it was such a great feeling as a competitor and to be a part of the game that was that special. It's probably in my top five moments of anything: playing and coaching.
On Desmond Cambridge Jr's half court shots from the wrong foot:
"My mind races nonstop. I was gonna bring it up to him today. I was sidetracked but I'll make sure I ask that question because it is unique. Especially for a right-handed shooter. Your dominant leg is your left leg. It's it's more unusual to do that, but not going to change it. I'm allowing keep doing it."
On the belief of momentum heading into the final stretch:
"I mean something magical happened there and that's just one game. And just the grit, the resiliency to do something special like that has got to give you a boost of confidence, knowing that you can compete in a team of that caliber and beat a team like that. It's worth continuing to try and get better to continue to be ready for those type of battles. And those are all the teams that you're going to see at the very end, whether it's a conference championship game, or a chance to go to Sweet 16 or Final Four. Those are two teams you have to beat so to win a game like that gives us a confidence boost."
On the team's poise against Arizona:
"You just got to roll up your sleeves in those environments and you've got to be tough. You got to be mentally tough to deal with a lot of adversity and they did. And we've been down in games, so it wasn't unchartered territory for these guys to know how to win a game that we're not winning."
On how practices have been since the win against Arizona:
"We tried to close the book on it yesterday. We re-watched it a couple of times again. It wasn't very physical yesterday, some guys to it was nothing for them physically, yesterday and and then today, we had a normal kind of two days before a game practice. It's gonna be the hardest practice that we'll have leading into the game. So I think we got a lot done today."
On how many times he watched the Desmond Cambridge Jr. shot:
"When I was wasn't responding to a text message or someone calling me between Saturday and Sunday ... so quite a bit. I obviously watched Colorado and UCLA on Sunday. Watched our game UCLA as well our first matchup, so I got a chance to get a lot of that done. But yeah, in my house we watched it. There was one that was great: that the Titanic one."
On any additional emotional benefits that can carry the team:
"I think time is going to tell. We kind of laid out what was at stake. This week and how big a week it is. So hopefully trying to reinforce that message to them and they didn't appear to be a team that wasn't hungry or content based on how we practiced. But we will find out when the ball goes up on Thursday night."
On the offensive versatility against Arizona:
"I was excited to see multiple guys have the ball go through the basket especially in that environment where you want to try and generate confidence and we knew that the 60's was not going to be good enough against a team as potent on offense as Arizona is. So to see DJ (Horne) make shots early Des (Cambridge Jr.) hit a couple, Warren (Washington) got us off to a good start scoring the basketball, and I thought our bench was awesome. with with how Jamiya Neal played it was his best game as a Sun Devil and and I think Alonzo Gaffney was really good too, and the defense had a big time put back in a couple of big threes."
On the status of Austin Nunez (concussion):
"He's going through the protocol and it's too early to rule him in or to rule him out. But he's working as hard as he can. It's not as cut and dry as like some other injury stuff that you go through. So you kind of treading lightly. So he did more today than he did yesterday, and will just continue to progress."
On an increased belief in March Madness this week compared to last week:
"We have never been deterred. I mean, we've had a poor stretch, where we lost some good teams here with the LA's, and and we couldn't get it done in overtime in Washington and ran into a good Washington State team. So we caught a tough stretch there. And then the Colorado loss was a tough one. But they're a good team. Our league isn't appropriately respected, in my opinion. And you could go ask a couple of SEC teams how good Colorado was, for example, but, we feel like we were doing well. People threw us off the bubble immediately, which is fine. And we just keep plugging along and keep trying to attack all these games."
On the strength of schedule to end the season:
"It's back-to-back two top 10 teams, so it's certainly a big ask. UCLA is undefeated at home and they've been terrific. They're a veteran team, they're experienced and they have clutch guys, (Jaime) Jaquez and Tyger (Campbell) can make shots. They're a very well coached team and they check a lot of boxes, they're an elite team, and we're gonna have our work cut out for us Thursday night. But you're right, it's there. We talk about these as opportunities. Their chances to dramatically change our season in a couple of hours."
On the takeaways from the first game against UCLA:
"Watching the first game again, we struggled. Both teams had a hard time scoring early in the game, and we both caught a little bit of a boost offensively late in the half. And I watched Des shoot off that right leg. Again, going right into the half there, it looked like like the exact same shot, it was crazy. But then the second half, I thought we had a chance to make a run and get a little separation, and we did, but then they made the big plays when it mattered, like the last four or five minutes. And so, I would say that we were really good and playing at a high level for about 35 minutes. And we weren't able to close it."
On being a part of a game with consistent excitement (vs. Arizona):
It was one of the best games that I've been a part of as a coach just in terms of quality of play. And that's why this morning on my radio show, I equated it to like an Elite Eight type of game and I've been in those games as a player and it just had had all the classic playmaking, the athleticism and we had to pick our poison out there because you got the elite big man in the paint and guys who were making shots. So it was just a treacherous game to navigate. But it was such a great feeling as a competitor and to be a part of the game that was that special. It's probably in my top five moments of anything: playing and coaching.
On Desmond Cambridge Jr's half court shots from the wrong foot:
"My mind races nonstop. I was gonna bring it up to him today. I was sidetracked but I'll make sure I ask that question because it is unique. Especially for a right-handed shooter. Your dominant leg is your left leg. It's it's more unusual to do that, but not going to change it. I'm allowing keep doing it."
On the belief of momentum heading into the final stretch:
"I mean something magical happened there and that's just one game. And just the grit, the resiliency to do something special like that has got to give you a boost of confidence, knowing that you can compete in a team of that caliber and beat a team like that. It's worth continuing to try and get better to continue to be ready for those type of battles. And those are all the teams that you're going to see at the very end, whether it's a conference championship game, or a chance to go to Sweet 16 or Final Four. Those are two teams you have to beat so to win a game like that gives us a confidence boost."
On the team's poise against Arizona:
"You just got to roll up your sleeves in those environments and you've got to be tough. You got to be mentally tough to deal with a lot of adversity and they did. And we've been down in games, so it wasn't unchartered territory for these guys to know how to win a game that we're not winning."