Arizona State Men's Basketball Head Coach Bobby Hurley
On finding offensive rhythm...
“I think we have plenty of options, which is always a good thing. Desmond Cambridge Jr. and DJ Horne can put points on the board from the perimeter, Frankie off the bounce can get into the paint. Warren finishing around the basket. We’re pretty balanced so we have a lot of guys that can contribute. We got knocked back on our heels a little bit in the last game. Arizona did some things defensively that, athletically they were able to do that maybe some other teams can’t do in terms of taking away some of the things they took away from us. We’ll learn from that and if we see certain things that are being done purposefully, we’ll have some counters for those.
On key areas to squeeze out more potential...
“I think we have had some great moments and done some special things already. It’s about continually striving to raise our level of play. I think we were up to the challenge in the second half and in our last game, we got a lot out of that. Like a lot of teams, we’re striving to be a good team. I think it’s important for us to have good days in practice like today (Wednesday, Jan. 4). At this time of year, teams are getting better and worse. We had some great moments in November and most of December. We have to come out firing and make sure we’re getting back on track to a winning mentality. I think it starts with how you prepare and how you practice and the guys did a good job of it today.”
On challenges Washington State provides...
“They have gotten healthy and this is the healthiest they’ve been. This is the best they’ve looked all season and they’ve been really competitive, but just been down some guys at different times. They’re coming off two confidence building games at home. They’re playing the best they have all season and they can really shoot the ball from distance, so that will be a priority. Mouhamed Gueye is one of the best interior big guys in the conference, I think he had 18 points and 18 rebounds against UCLA. They’re going to come in here on a win and confident. A lot on the line for Washington State right now.”
On possibly getting to 4-1 in league play...
"I’m just looking at it like the game in front of us. I’m not looking too far ahead beyond that. That’s my major priority and that’s what we’ve discussed with the group. I’m not really thinking about records. We’re solid right now where we are in those three games. That’s behind us now and we just have to keep moving forward."
Arizona State Men's Basketball Guard DJ Horne
On main takeaways and getting back in rhythm...
"I would say how hard it is to win. When you’re not locked in, it shows. It’s hard to win in this league and any league really. From watching basketball this year, it’s a lot of ‘which team show up to play.’ I just think that looking back at these last two games, we have to look back at what got us beat and make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
On defense leading to offense...
“I think we have a group of guys that take a lot of pride in their defense. It shows that if you play defense to the level that we’ve been playing, it can spark your offense.”
On body maintenance during the conference schedule…
“Everybody’s body is different, you have to know your body and just me, being older in the college, you have to take care of your body.”
On finding offensive rhythm...
“I think we have plenty of options, which is always a good thing. Desmond Cambridge Jr. and DJ Horne can put points on the board from the perimeter, Frankie off the bounce can get into the paint. Warren finishing around the basket. We’re pretty balanced so we have a lot of guys that can contribute. We got knocked back on our heels a little bit in the last game. Arizona did some things defensively that, athletically they were able to do that maybe some other teams can’t do in terms of taking away some of the things they took away from us. We’ll learn from that and if we see certain things that are being done purposefully, we’ll have some counters for those.
On key areas to squeeze out more potential...
“I think we have had some great moments and done some special things already. It’s about continually striving to raise our level of play. I think we were up to the challenge in the second half and in our last game, we got a lot out of that. Like a lot of teams, we’re striving to be a good team. I think it’s important for us to have good days in practice like today (Wednesday, Jan. 4). At this time of year, teams are getting better and worse. We had some great moments in November and most of December. We have to come out firing and make sure we’re getting back on track to a winning mentality. I think it starts with how you prepare and how you practice and the guys did a good job of it today.”
On challenges Washington State provides...
“They have gotten healthy and this is the healthiest they’ve been. This is the best they’ve looked all season and they’ve been really competitive, but just been down some guys at different times. They’re coming off two confidence building games at home. They’re playing the best they have all season and they can really shoot the ball from distance, so that will be a priority. Mouhamed Gueye is one of the best interior big guys in the conference, I think he had 18 points and 18 rebounds against UCLA. They’re going to come in here on a win and confident. A lot on the line for Washington State right now.”
On possibly getting to 4-1 in league play...
"I’m just looking at it like the game in front of us. I’m not looking too far ahead beyond that. That’s my major priority and that’s what we’ve discussed with the group. I’m not really thinking about records. We’re solid right now where we are in those three games. That’s behind us now and we just have to keep moving forward."
Arizona State Men's Basketball Guard DJ Horne
On main takeaways and getting back in rhythm...
"I would say how hard it is to win. When you’re not locked in, it shows. It’s hard to win in this league and any league really. From watching basketball this year, it’s a lot of ‘which team show up to play.’ I just think that looking back at these last two games, we have to look back at what got us beat and make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
On defense leading to offense...
“I think we have a group of guys that take a lot of pride in their defense. It shows that if you play defense to the level that we’ve been playing, it can spark your offense.”
On body maintenance during the conference schedule…
“Everybody’s body is different, you have to know your body and just me, being older in the college, you have to take care of your body.”