Arizona State Basketball

The Arizona State Sun Devils added one of the best athletes in the 2018 recruiting class after Luguentz Dort committed to the team Wednesday, Scout's Evan Daniels reported. 

Playing his high school ball at the Conrad Academy in Orlando, Florida, Dort has tremendous strength to go along with his 6'4" frame. 

Daniels noted Dort is the third-best recruit to select Arizona State in school history. The Florida native is a 4-star prospect, the No. 30 player in the country and the No. 3 shooting guard in 247Sports' composite rankings. 

Per ESPN.com's scouting report, there are questions about Dort's ultimate ceiling because his body appears to be physically maxed out already, but it may not matter because of what he can do with the ball:

"He plays in attack mode and with a ton of sheer force but there is an element of skill to his game too. His shooting stroke is mechanically sound with good loft and rotation, he handles the ball well enough to initiate offense at times, and can make plays for others off the dribble. He's an evolving player offensively, but should be an immediate impact, and ultra-versatile, defender as well as an exceptional perimeter rebounder."

Dort, an "ultra-versatile" defensive player, will be a great addition for Bobby Hurley at Arizona State. The Sun Devils were 335th in points allowed (81.7 per game) and 340th in opponent field-goal percentage (47.9 percent) in 2016-17, according to Sports Reference. 

If Dort can hit his offensive ceiling, Arizona State will have a true building block on its roster. Attracting players of his caliber is also the Sun Devils' route back to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2013-14.

Former Kansas forward Carlton Bragg reportedly will transfer to Arizona State, per Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports.

Jeff Goodman of ESPN confirmed the news. 

The 6'10" player spent two years with the Jayhawks, averaging 5.2 points and 4.1 rebounds per game this past season. He faced inconsistent playing time and only earned 13.8 minutes per game in 2016-17.

Bragg was also suspended for three games during the season due to a drug possession charge.

"This past year didn’t go as well as I thought it would and it’s in my best interest to get a fresh start," he said when announcing his decision to transfer, per Gary Bedore of the Kansas City Star.

Despite his struggles in Lawrence, Bragg was a 4-star recruit considered the No. 35 player in the 2015 class, per Scout.com. The big, athletic forward has proved himself as a quality offensive rebounder who can also develop into a quality shooter for his size.

Devils Digest explains the value to Arizona State:

Considering the Sun Devils finished just 15-18 this past season and are now 30-35 in two years under Bobby Hurley, Bragg could play a big role when he steps onto the court.

The Arizona State Sun Devils men's basketball team added a huge commitment to its class of 2017 haul Saturday, as small forward Kimani Lawrence revealed his intention to play for ASU.

According to Evan Daniels of Scout.com, Lawrence believes he will be a great fit with the Sun Devils: "I just felt comfortable with the coaching staff, the players and even down to the managers. I just had a good vibe with everybody. I really believe what they are saying and will help me get to the next level. I think it's going to be a good situation for me." 

Per Scout.com, Lawrence is a 4-star recruit who ranks as the No. 54 overall player, No. 11 small forward and No. 1 small forward from the state of New Hampshire in his class.

Nick Coit of ABC6 in Providence, Rhode Island, tweeted a photo of Lawrence making his decision official:

According to Daniels, Arizona State head coach Bobby Hurley has enjoyed a great deal of success in luring top talent to the desert during his short tenure at the program:

Per Daniels, Lawrence chose ASU over a pair of top schools in Florida and USC.

The Sun Devils haven't made the NCAA tournament since 2013-14, and they are coming off a disappointing 15-17 season under Hurley.

Hurley has a penchant for turning programs around, though, as he led Buffalo to its first-ever NCAA tourney trip before joining ASU.

Elite talent is starting to come together at Arizona State, and if Lawrence lives up to his potential as a do-everything wing who excels at both ends of the floor, he could be a key figure in the Sun Devils' resurgence.

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Arizona State men's basketball assistant coach Brian Merritt was recently placed on a leave of absence and missed four Sun Devils games after he was arrested on suspicion of DUI and "being impaired to the slightest degree," according to AzCentral Sports' Doug Haller.    

According to Haller, Merritt was stopped by police and subsequently failed a field sobriety test after he was spotted making an illegal turn. The 36-year-old's blood alcohol content was reportedly recorded at .109 percent—0.029 percent higher than the legal limit of .08. 

"He made a mistake,'' Arizona State head coach Bobby Hurley said, per Haller. "He apologized to the team and coaching staff, and hopefully, we just learn from it and move forward."

The Sun Devils lost all four games during Merritt's suspension—including defeats at the hands of Pac-12 foes UCLA, Arizona, Utah and Colorado—but he reportedly returned to the team Tuesday.

With a record of 14-15 on the season and nonexistent NCAA Tournament hopes barring a miracle in next week's conference tournament, the Sun Devils can merely hope to finish out the season strong as they get ready to host Stanford on Thursday and the 25th-ranked California Golden Bears on Saturday. 

Arizona State dismissed head coach Herb Sendek after the Sun Devils went 18-16, missed the NCAA tournament and lost to Richmond in the second round of the NIT, and it appears the program has settled on a successor in the form of former Buffalo head coach Bobby Hurley.

Continue for updates.

Bobby Hurley Reportedly Named New Arizona State Head Coach 

Thursday, April 9

Jeff Goodman of ESPN reported that Hurley has been named the new Arizona State head coach.

Capel No Longer Candidate for ASU Job

Tuesday, April 7

Parrish of CBS Sports reported that Jeff Capel has removed himself from consideration for the Arizona State job.

The Capel news comes after a March 24 report from Evan Daniels of Scout.com, who wrote, "According to a high placed source, Duke assistant Jeff Capel has been contacted by Arizona State and is the guy they have targeted."   

Jerry Colangelo Being Consulted by ASU

Thursday, March 26

"Arizona State's consideration of two former Duke star players who are now college coaches for its head coaching vacancy is not a coincidence," reported Scout.com's Chris Karpman, citing multiple sources.

Karpman added:

ASU President Michael Crow and athletic department officials at the school have consulted with former Phoenix Suns and Arizona Diamondbacks Chairman and CEO Jerry Colangelo, currently the Managing Director and Chairman of USA Basketball, regarding its coaching search and that has to some degree shaped early stages of the school's process.

Jeff Capel Targeted by Arizona State

Tuesday, March 24

Capel has experience as a head coach for both VCU (2002-06) and Oklahoma (2006-2011) and has been an assistant coach at Duke for the past four years. As a head coach, he reached the NCAA tournament three times, led Oklahoma to the Elite Eight in 2009 and went 175-110 overall.

Capel's experience and recruiting savvy would make him a strong option for Arizona State. He may not be the only man right for the job, however, as Goodman suggested:

Josh Pastner, currently the head coach at Memphis, has gone 148-58 in six seasons at the school, reaching the NCAA tournament four times. He's coming off of his worst year at the program, however, as the Tigers went 18-14 this season, missing both the NCAA tournament and NIT.

Ray Anderson, Arizona State's vice president for university athletics, issued a statement about the head coaching search.

Athletic director Ray Anderson talked about the head coach search in a statement:

Our national search for a new head coach begins immediately, but we will take our time and be deliberate in securing a leader that is the best fit for the program and our university. The change will not impact Sun Devil Athletics' operating budget as a result of paying Herb’s contract. A budget-neutral solution has been developed with assistance of donor contributions.

This search will begin a new era in our men’s basketball program that we expect will have a very bright future.

Arizona State needs to make a splash. The Sun Devils must hire someone who will invigorate the program and compete with Arizona and UCLA. Dan Wolken of USA Today believes the gig is more appealing than people might think:

Hurley should be able to satisfy that.

Arizona State has reportedly parted ways with head basketball coach Herb Sendek after nine seasons. The move comes after the Sun Devils were eliminated by Richmond in the second round of the NIT on Sunday to finish the season 18-16.    

Doug Haller of The Arizona Republic reported the school's decision:

Arizona State Vice President for University Athletics Ray Anderson issued a statement following the decision which read in part:

I have informed Herb Sendek that he will not be retained as the head men’s basketball coach at Arizona State University. This has not been an easy decision for me. Herb has been a tremendous asset to this university and a pillar of our community, and his tenure over the past nine years has helped shift the direction of this program.
 
We have a four-prong approach when it comes to evaluating all of our head coaches: integrity, academics, performance, and fan affinity advancement. Herb has been a true leader in the first two categories and his dedication to ensuring our student-athletes become successful young men has been unrivaled.
 
However, our athletics department, university and community expect our men’s basketball program to compete consistently for Pac-12 titles, make regular trips to the NCAA Tournament, keep the best in-state talent, and energize our fans and donors. Unfortunately, we have fallen short of these expectations.

Sendek posted a 159-137 (.537) record during his nearly decade-long stay with Arizona State. He was named the Pac-10 Coach of the Year in 2010.

Eric Sondheimer of the LA Times reported ASU's recruiting class has already been impacted by the move, as 3-star recruit Lindsey Drew has re-opened his recruiting following the news. Drew, who committed to ASU in December, is the son of former NBA head coach Larry Drew and the younger brother of former UCLA guard Larry Drew Jr. 

4-star wing Brendan Bailey has decommitted from Arizona State completely, according to Josh Gershon of Scout.com. 

Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports noted that Connor MacDougall will also transfer:

The program made just two NCAA tournament appearances during his tenure. It beat Temple before losing to Syracuse in 2009, and then lost to Texas in its first game of the event last year.

The 52-year-old coach previously made head coaching stops at Miami (Ohio) and North Carolina State. He had more success, at least in terms of winning percentage, with both of those programs. His career record across 708 games is 413-295 (.583).

George Dohrmann of Sports Illustrated gave his opinion of the move:

Brad Evans of Yahoo Sports highlights one potential candidate the Sun Devils might look at:

Haller also made a note of a potential candidate the Sun Devils have interest in:

Matt Zemek of Bloguin provided some thoughts about what's next for the school:

Ultimately, Sendek was able to have some success at Arizona State but just couldn't take the program to the next level. Two appearances in the NCAA tournament over the course of nine years simply isn't enough for a team from a major conference.

The Sun Devils now begin the process of finding a new head coach they hope will help them become a more consistent presence during March Madness.

Watching the underdog triumph during the NCAA men's basketball tournament is a staple of March Madness. Picking upsets in your bracket can also be the difference between you winning or losing your office pool.

Looking at this year's field of 64 teams, there are certainly plenty of opportunities for under-the-radar teams to topple powerhouses and schools that had strong regular seasons.

Here's a look at a couple of possible upset games heading into Thursday and Friday's full slate of action, which will feature 32 contests in a span of less than 36 hours.

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Midwest: (12) North Carolina State over (5) St. Louis

Date: Thursday, March 20

Time: 7:20 p.m. ET

TV: TNT

Live Stream: March Madness Live

The N.C. State Wolfpack (22-13) had to play their way into the round of 64 but triumphed over Xavier 74-59 on Tuesday night to set themselves up with a second-round matchup against St. Louis.

Perhaps it was no surprise that ACC Player of the Year T.J. Warren played a starring role in the first-round win for N.C. State, as he scored 16 of his 25 points in the second half to help his team advance. The 6'8" 215-pound wingman is hard to stop, and in years past we've seen individuals carry teams deep into the tournament.

Fran Fraschilla of ESPN certainly thinks Warren is capable of some March Madness fireworks.

The Wolfpack barely made it to the Big Dance but finished the season with a run to the ACC tournament semifinals, beating Syracuse along the way to secure its bid to the NCAA tournament. Now that Warren and his teammates are in, they remain a big threat to whoever plays them.

Joe Giglio of The News & Observer relayed the confidence N.C. State was feeling following its victory on Tuesday.

This Wolfpack team, coach Mark Gottfried’s third, has been building and getting better as the season has progressed. Warren, the ACC’s player of the year, has shouldered the scoring load and taken ownership of the team.

He scored at least 20 points for the 18th straight game and a school-record 30th time this season. A 6-foot-8 sophomore from Durham, he also topped David Thompson’s single-season scoring record.

“That’s what you want as a coach; you want your team to keep getting better and I think we are getting better still,” Gottfried said.

In St. Louis, you have a team that struggled mightily down the stretch following a strong regular season that featured a school record 19-game win streak, propelling the program to a No. 10 standing in the AP poll at one point.

The Billikens (26-6) have won just once in their past five games and were bounced in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic 10 conference tournament by unheralded St. Bonaventure last week. 

This seems like the perfect storm for the Wolfpack to continue their late-season surge against a team that has just one victory in the past four weeks.

Midwest: (10) Arizona State over (7) Texas

Date: Thursday, March 20

Time: 9:40 p.m. ET

TV: CBS

Live Stream: March Madness Live

This contest will feature two teams that stumbled in to the NCAA tournament but still had strong season-long resumes.

While Arizona State (21-11) went 2-5 to close out the season and ended with a blowout loss to Stanford in the Pac-12 tournament semifinals, Texas (23-10) went 3-5 to finish out the year, suffering a lopsided loss to Baylor in the Big 12 tournament semis.

When these two teams match up, I suspect it will be something of a coming-out party for ASU's Jahii Carson, who has quietly become one of the nation's top point guards for coach Herb Sendek the past two years. The 5'10" sophomore averages 18.6 points, four rebounds and 4.5 assists per game while shooting 43.5 percent from the floor and 39.1 percent from long range.

As Jack Magruder of Fox Sports Arizona noted, Carson recently got some words of wisdom from former UConn and NCAA tournament star Kemba Walker.

But Carson isn't a one-man show, as 7'2" center Jordan Bachynski helps give ASU a nice inside-out combo. The senior was named Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year after averaging 4.1 blocks per game. He also posted averages of 11.1 points and 8.3 rebounds per game while shooting 54.3 percent from the field.

Add in talented senior wing Jermaine Marshall (15 PPG, 44.7 FG%, 2.5 3PG), and that's a strong core for the Sun Devils. If Marshall, a senior transfer from Penn State, catches fire, this team can be tough to beat.

But Texas' track record is full of impressive victories this year, as the Longhorns went 6-8 against RPI Top 50 teams, highlighted by February wins over Kansas, Oklahoma State and Baylor.

The team also has a strong group of talented players, led by forward Jonathan Holmes (13 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 51.2 FG%), guard Isaiah Taylor (12.5 PPG, 3.9 APG, 3.3 RPG) and center Cameron Ridley (11.2 PPG, 8.1 RPG, 2.2 BPG, 55 FG%).

But with no seniors and only two juniors, the Longhorns are one of the youngest teams in the tournament. While the team's ability to crash the offensive boards is impressive and could give ASU problems, Texas is also one of the worst shooting teams in the country, statistically.

Doug Haller of The Arizona Republic gave some perspective on Texas' shooting woes this year.

The Longhorns don't shoot well. Their effective field-goal percentage (which takes into account the extra value of a made 3-pointer) is 47.3 percent, which ranks 264th nationally. In fact, all of their shooting numbers (from 2-point range, 3-point range and the foul line) rank 244th or worse.

This game will likely come down to the wire, but I suspect Carson to take his team on his back in the late stages and make a name for himself in a victory.

Hot on the heels of one of the biggest victories in Arizona State basketball history over the No. 2-ranked in-state rival Arizona Wildcats, the Sun Devils (19-8, 8-6 Pac-12) went on the road and fell flat—hard.

Traveling to the newer basketball arenas in the Pac-12 and escaping with a victory at Colorado and Utah is not easy, just ask the aforementioned Wildcats, who needed overtime to escape the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City unscathed. 

When Arizona State arrived at the Coors Event Center in Boulder, the Buffaloes were fresh off a road victory over USC and had won four of their last five games including a thrilling overtime win over Utah. The Sun Devils had only lost one game in the previous month, including two overtime games and the epic victory over Arizona.

The Sun Devils were embarrassed in Boulder, shooting a meager 31.5 percent from the floor and 28 percent from beyond the arc. Arizona State was out-rebounded by the largest margin all season, 48-27, including a 15-5 advantage on the offensive glass. Five offensive rebounds—by the entire team—in 40 minutes.

Jermaine Marshall, who had been clutch in the past three overtime victories over Cal, Oregon State and Arizona, went ice cold. Marshall shot 3-of-13, including 1-of-8 from three-point territory, in Boulder and 3-of-10 from the field, 1-of-7 from three, in Salt Lake City.

Jordan Bachynski, the Pac-12 all-time leader in blocks, who leads all Division I players averaging 4.4 per game, had one block against Colorado and three at Utah. Bachynski nearly averages a double-double on the season with 8.9 rebounds and 11.7 points per game. In the past two games, he averaged 4.5 points and rebounds per game.

Jahii Carson, the most NBA-ready player on the team, was like Jekyll and Hyde on the roadie. Carson nearly missed a double-double in Boulder, netting 18 points and seven rebounds, but he was nowhere to be found in Salt Lake City, with eight points and one rebound.

The most consistent player of the Rocky Mountain trip was senior forward Shaquielle McKissic, who averaged 12 points and seven rebounds per game, a sizable improvement from the 8.8 points and 5.3 rebounds he averaged before leaving on the road trip. 

The Sun Devils played horribly on the road trip and head coach Herb Sendek would be the first to admit it. 

"We played horrible basketball," Sendek told Doug Haller of azcentral.com. "I have no explanation. You’d have to ask them. We didn’t make plays. We didn’t defend. Couldn’t make shots, couldn’t make free throws. It’s really inexplicable and quite a dismal performance."

With all the work that Sendek has done to extinguish his hot seat over the past two seasons, will this horrible road trip re-ignite the flame? Arizona Republic sports columnist Paola Boivin tweeted this assurance for Sendek:

... ASU AD Ray Anderson also reiterated this morning his support for basketball coach Herb Sendek, even after team's tough loss.

— Paola Boivin (@PaolaBoivin) February 24, 2014

It's not all doom and gloom for Sendek and the Sun Devils as they still maintain a quality RPI of 32 and are 3-3 against teams with an RPI of 50 or better; their College Basketball Power Index (BPI) is also respectable at No. 38, which places them as a No. 10 seed in the NCAA Tournament. 

America's foremost bracketologist, Joe Lunardi, has the Sun Devils as a No. 9 seed playing against Virginia Commonwealth in the South bracket in Orlando. Regardless of the seeding, ASU Basketball had this to say on Twitter Monday afternoon after the new bracketology prediction was announced:

Remember the 7-8-9-10 seeds are pretty much interchangeable (or so smart people say) @DrewShiller @ESPNLunardi

— ASU Men's Basketball (@SunDevilHoops) February 24, 2014

The Sun Devils are 14-1 at home this year and 30-5 in the past two seasons, including victories over two ranked teams in Arizona and Marquette. This week, Arizona State welcomes two teams with better conference records in Stanford and California, so victories over the Northern California schools will dramatically improve their seeding in the upcoming Pac-12 Tournament.

Arizona State finishes on the road again this season against a pair of struggling Oregon teams. Regardless of the competition, if the Devils repeat this past road trip in Oregon, everything could all be for naught.

David A. Bowers is the featured columnist for Arizona State Athletics. Follow him on Twitter— @asudave.