by Craig Morgan
TEMPE, Ariz. -- Bobby Hurley arrived for his weekly press conference at Wells Fargo Arena on Wednesday with a thank you to deliver before a single question was asked.
The postseason destination of Sun Devil men's basketball is still in doubt as it heads into the final weekend of the Pac-12 Conference schedule. The direction of the program is no longer in doubt thanks to the efforts of "under-recruited," overachieving seniors Tra Holder, Kodi Justice and Shannon Evans II.
"Important week for us and an exciting week, mainly for the seniors and what they've done here, the ground that they have been able to break and the type of season they've had and everything that we have been through over three years," ASU's coach said. "We went through some difficult times as we grew as a program and then to just burst onto the scene nationally and what these guys did through several months of the season…
"Some of the wins that they had are legendary wins, wins that I'll always remember, they'll always remember. It just put our program in a different light. It made coming to see Arizona State basketball exciting."
Holder, Justice, Evans and fellow senior Austin Witherill will play their final games at Wells Fargo Arena on Thursday against Cal and on Saturday against Stanford. Despite the finality of that fact, Justice refused to give in to nostalgia.
"I try not to think that this is it because I feel like we have a lot more basketball still to play," he said. "It's going to be cool to celebrate with my family and my friends and my teammates, coaching staff. That's going to be the fun part but it's not the end yet."
Justice, who is four points shy of 1,000 for his career, said the seniors were able to build a bond quickly because other programs overlooked them. They were also-rans in the recruiting game with chips on their shoulders and obstacles to overcome.
While Justice was in high school at Mesa Dobson, countless people told him he didn't have the skill to play Pac-12 basketball. All the while, Justice had the added challenge of battling dyslexia.
Holder has always dreamed of playing in the NBA but his parents kept him humble and so well rounded that he could make a fine chef one day.
Evans ended up at Buffalo with Hurley when bigger programs didn't come calling for the 6-foot-1 guard.
"I was kind of on the outside at one point not really knowing these guys," said Evans, who is 36 points short of 1,000 in his ASU career. "These are the guys that brought me in and embraced me. I'm thankful for that. It's been a hell of a ride."
Hurley thanked Evans for taking a flier on him and transferring to ASU despite enjoying success and an NCAA Tournament berth at Buffalo.
"Shannon was the first guy that I coached at Buffalo," he said. "He was a freshman when I got there, had all kinds of talent and a big chip on his shoulder. We kind of had to tweak some things there but we always connected because the passion for the game was very consistent. His will to win matches and exceeds mine and he's a team guy."
Hurley has noted repeatedly how refreshingly free of drama Holder is -- on and off the court.
"He had the tools," Hurley said. "He needed to make some changes and needed to be a little more consistent, which he developed with his shooting. His defense has improved dramatically to the point where I trust him to guard the opponent's best player if that's the case on the perimeter. He's just become an all-around player. He may not show it because he's more poker-faced but you can tell after we win a big game how much it means to him."
As for Justice, Hurley got a good sense of the game the local kid would bring during his freshman season.
"Kodi reminded me of myself in terms of his willing to try any pass," Hurley said, chuckling. "That may not always be the best thing. I had plenty of turnovers when I played, too, but I remember a pass he threw my first year at UNLV where he drove down the lane and threw it over his shoulder about 20 feet to Willie Atwood for a wide open 3 and I think Willie made it at a key part of the game.
"I was like, 'that's who that guy is.' He's got such a great flair to how he plays, expressing himself with his creativity and passing and then he always seems to have a knack of making a key shot when we need it."
Hurley believes the Sun Devils are already NCAA Tournament worthy based on their wins over a pair of projected No. 1 seeds (Xavier and Kansas) along with a home sweep of USC and UCLA and a win at Utah. That said, he understands that a good weekend would cement the Devils' place in the eyes of the selection committee.
"I just hope we finish it the way these guys deserve to have the season finished," he said. "I just want us to be ourselves and to play freely, to attack, to turn it loose on the floor.
"I have no desire to see it end any time soon and neither do these guys."
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TEMPE, Ariz. -- Bobby Hurley arrived for his weekly press conference at Wells Fargo Arena on Wednesday with a thank you to deliver before a single question was asked.
The postseason destination of Sun Devil men's basketball is still in doubt as it heads into the final weekend of the Pac-12 Conference schedule. The direction of the program is no longer in doubt thanks to the efforts of "under-recruited," overachieving seniors Tra Holder, Kodi Justice and Shannon Evans II.
"Important week for us and an exciting week, mainly for the seniors and what they've done here, the ground that they have been able to break and the type of season they've had and everything that we have been through over three years," ASU's coach said. "We went through some difficult times as we grew as a program and then to just burst onto the scene nationally and what these guys did through several months of the season…
"Some of the wins that they had are legendary wins, wins that I'll always remember, they'll always remember. It just put our program in a different light. It made coming to see Arizona State basketball exciting."
Holder, Justice, Evans and fellow senior Austin Witherill will play their final games at Wells Fargo Arena on Thursday against Cal and on Saturday against Stanford. Despite the finality of that fact, Justice refused to give in to nostalgia.
"I try not to think that this is it because I feel like we have a lot more basketball still to play," he said. "It's going to be cool to celebrate with my family and my friends and my teammates, coaching staff. That's going to be the fun part but it's not the end yet."
Justice, who is four points shy of 1,000 for his career, said the seniors were able to build a bond quickly because other programs overlooked them. They were also-rans in the recruiting game with chips on their shoulders and obstacles to overcome.
While Justice was in high school at Mesa Dobson, countless people told him he didn't have the skill to play Pac-12 basketball. All the while, Justice had the added challenge of battling dyslexia.
Holder has always dreamed of playing in the NBA but his parents kept him humble and so well rounded that he could make a fine chef one day.
Evans ended up at Buffalo with Hurley when bigger programs didn't come calling for the 6-foot-1 guard.
"I was kind of on the outside at one point not really knowing these guys," said Evans, who is 36 points short of 1,000 in his ASU career. "These are the guys that brought me in and embraced me. I'm thankful for that. It's been a hell of a ride."
Hurley thanked Evans for taking a flier on him and transferring to ASU despite enjoying success and an NCAA Tournament berth at Buffalo.
"Shannon was the first guy that I coached at Buffalo," he said. "He was a freshman when I got there, had all kinds of talent and a big chip on his shoulder. We kind of had to tweak some things there but we always connected because the passion for the game was very consistent. His will to win matches and exceeds mine and he's a team guy."
Hurley has noted repeatedly how refreshingly free of drama Holder is -- on and off the court.
"He had the tools," Hurley said. "He needed to make some changes and needed to be a little more consistent, which he developed with his shooting. His defense has improved dramatically to the point where I trust him to guard the opponent's best player if that's the case on the perimeter. He's just become an all-around player. He may not show it because he's more poker-faced but you can tell after we win a big game how much it means to him."
As for Justice, Hurley got a good sense of the game the local kid would bring during his freshman season.
"Kodi reminded me of myself in terms of his willing to try any pass," Hurley said, chuckling. "That may not always be the best thing. I had plenty of turnovers when I played, too, but I remember a pass he threw my first year at UNLV where he drove down the lane and threw it over his shoulder about 20 feet to Willie Atwood for a wide open 3 and I think Willie made it at a key part of the game.
"I was like, 'that's who that guy is.' He's got such a great flair to how he plays, expressing himself with his creativity and passing and then he always seems to have a knack of making a key shot when we need it."
Hurley believes the Sun Devils are already NCAA Tournament worthy based on their wins over a pair of projected No. 1 seeds (Xavier and Kansas) along with a home sweep of USC and UCLA and a win at Utah. That said, he understands that a good weekend would cement the Devils' place in the eyes of the selection committee.
"I just hope we finish it the way these guys deserve to have the season finished," he said. "I just want us to be ourselves and to play freely, to attack, to turn it loose on the floor.
"I have no desire to see it end any time soon and neither do these guys."
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