Arizona State Basketball Recruiting: Meet the Sun Devils' 2013 Class

With the news that Arizona State's all-everything player, Jahii Carson, is returning to play next season, Coach Herb Sendek will most likely get one last chance to prove he belongs at the helm of the basketball squad.

Sendek has coached the Sun Devils to five 20-win seasons and has recruited some of the best players that the program has seen in Carson and James Harden. The 2013 class doesn't have much flash or pizzazz, but the players coming aboard in the upcoming season will fill immediate needs.

The heart and soul of the Sun Devils, Carrick Felix, is gone along with backup center Ruslan Pateev and backup point guard Chris Colvin.

Pateev and Colvin were serviceable backups, but the loss of Felix is huge.

Here is a closer look at the newest Sun Devils coming to the desert. 

Position: Small Forward

High School: The Sagemont School in Weston, Florida 

Height: 6'5"

Weight: 190

The "Russian Warrior" from Israel, ruled South Florida high school basketball last season. He was named to the All-county first team as well as the "Broward County Fab Five."

He is ranked by MaxPreps as the No. 16 recruit in Florida and 247 Sports ranks him at No. 20.

The wing will look to fill the hole vacated by Felix, he has the long-range accuracy that Felix possessed but will have to work on his defense to contend at the Pac-12 level of play.

Koulechov and his family left his native Russia for Israel when he was seven years old.

He left his family in Israel to pursue his dream of playing basketball in America, moving to Florida. He returned home last summer and played for Israel's U-18 basketball team where he averaged 19.8 points and 7.9 rebounds per game.

Position: Shooting Guard

High School: Frederick Price H.S. Los Angeles, Calif. 

Height: 6'3"

Weight: 180

Chance Murray is quite the feather in the cap for Herb Sendek's 2013 class.

The 3-star recruit as ranked by Scout, Rivals and 247Sports is also ranked No. 160 in the 247 Sports Top 247. 

Murray had offers from competing Pac-12 schools in Stanford and Washington State but chose Arizona State last September.

"I see myself fitting in well [at Arizona State]," Murray said. "Playing the two wing positions and some of the point. [I'm] just going in to do whatever it takes to help my team win."

247 Sports ranks Murray as the No. 42 shooting guard in the country and the No. 14 recruit in California. 

Look for Murray to fill the hole vacated by Chris Colvin as backup point guard. He coould perhaps even battle Evan Gordon for the starting shooting guard position as Colvin did at the end of the 2012-13 season.

Position: Shooting Guard

High School: Southeastern H.S. Detroit, Mich. 

Height: 6'5"

Weight: 190

Brandan Kearney elected to transfer to Arizona State midway through his sophomore season at Michigan State.

He will be eligible to begin play in January 2014 for the Sun Devils.

Kearney, who saw his minutes nearly double in his sophomore season didn't see an increase in production averaging a mere 2.3 points and 1.5 rebounds in 16.9 minutes per game.

Kearney left Michigan State after being unhappy with his current role coming off the bench for Coach Tom Izzo.

If Kearney opts to play in January for the Sun Devils, it will be a shortened junior season, but if he waits until the fall of 2014 he will be able to play two complete seasons.

“(ASU) Coaches said I’m versatile and they can use me in a lot of different ways playing the 1, 2, or 3,” Kearney described. “They also like my defense and shooting. They said if I get stronger and put on weight I could post players up and come off ball screens. They really think I can help the team.”

Kearney enrolled at Arizona State in January and will be able to practice with the team and battle for a starting position. He is a versatile player that can make an immediate impact with Jahii Carson and Evan Gordon in the backcourt.

David is the Featured Columnist of Arizona State Athletics for B/R. Follow him on Twitter at @asudave.