What did Bobby Hurley say after Arizona State’s impressive win over Grand Canyon?

After a difficult start to the season Arizona State The men’s basketball team suddenly started to look real.

The Sun Devils (3-1) soundly beat a talented and experienced Grand Canyon team on Thursday night, helped by the breakout game of freshman Joson Sanon and the contributions of Bobby Hurley to a revamped squad.

“I can’t believe how much better we’ve gotten in less than three weeks,” Hurley said after the game. “It was really positive to see what we were doing, especially on the offensive end.”

Sanon, a 6-foot-10 shooting guard, helped lead the way with 21 points on 5-of-7 shooting from downtown. ASU cruised to an 87-76 victory Against a GCU team that had four starters from a team that defeated Saint Mary’s by a score of 30-5 in the first round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament.

Transfer portal additions Basheer Jihad (18 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists) and Alston Mason (16 points, 5 assists) helped the Sun Devils pull away in the second half and give Hurley his 200th career victory.

Here are the highlights from Hurley’s post-match press conference:

Hurley on the atmosphere at Footprint Center:

“I thought it was a really fun game to be a part of. I think it’s great for the city and for Arizona State to see two teams at that level competing against each other. I thought it was quality basketball. They said, ‘I’ve got some really good pieces and I love (Tyon) Foster for what they’re doing. As they get back into the flow, I think they obviously have a big advantage to get better, I think it was just an exciting environment.”

Hurley explained his team’s rapid development:

“You don’t know when things are going to work out, and until you’re tested, you don’t clear up a lot of the little things that you need to clear up to go out of your way to be a better person. Working with the players from the summer to the fall, I saw the potential of what they could do individually, and now I’ve seen it in a more cohesive way.” “I think we are doing more as a team, extra passes, one more pass, sharing the ball and playing the right way.”

Hurley on freshman Joson Sanon’s big play:

“It looked like I was watching him in a gym in April… in Rock Hill, South Carolina… Joe was playing with so much confidence. He’s such a talented kid. He was almost unstoppable because he could get to the basket, he could shoot it right in your face, he could shoot it into the mid-range.” “He could go. We were trying to get the ball to him when he was on the play because he had that look and he had a lot of confidence to make a play.”

Hurley on Arizona State’s improved three-point shooting:

“We were pretty good in Santa Clara. I mean, we made 15 threes, so I wasn’t surprised… our percentages were better (against GCU), but getting 11, I think that’s normal for us. If we play the right way, we can make plays and shutouts somewhere in that range.” “I think we’ll stay there, but we definitely came in and got Shawn Phillips involved. I complimented him after the game. He had a really good performance in the first half … and set the tone in the paint.”

Hurley on ASU’s big second half:

“I told them at halftime that I was pretty confident about what we were doing, we just had to take care of the ball. We had 11 turnovers in the first half. … Then I told them we had to keep them out of the free throw line. We were fouling too much… Other than that, we had more “I said I think we’re a good basketball team and we have to prove it in the next 20 minutes.”

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