With close losses comes frustration, and ASU men's basketball has certainly had its fair share of public moments this year. From head coach Bobby Hurley pulling his team into the locker room before the end of the game against UA, to multiple seniors getting ejected for physical altercations during games, the Sun Devils' emotions have started to boil over amidst a second-straight mediocre season.
Part of the irritation comes from a disappointing home record in Big 12 play. ASU beat Kansas State 66-54 on the road on Feb. 23, but the Sun Devils are still on a seven-game losing streak at Desert Financial Arena.
"Everyone expects to win at home, you're supposed to win at home," senior point guard Alston Mason said. "You've given up a lot of games where it's come down to two, three, four, five points, and those are the ones that hurt the most ... When we're giving up games at home like that, it lingers a little bit more than when you lose on the road."
Times like these are where the fabric of a locker room can really start to show itself. After a tight 74-70 loss at home to TCU, former senior guard BJ Freeman stated per Sun Devil Athletics that his "confidence is still exactly where it's supposed to be" and ASU fans would "get a different change of basketball" beginning with a matchup against No. 5 Houston, which the Sun Devils lost 80-65.
READ MORE: Breaking: BJ Freeman dismissed from men's basketball team amid conduct issues
Yet following that same loss to the Horned Frogs, one of the many contests in which the Sun Devils had multiple opportunities to snatch victory, Hurley received the opposite feedback from his players.
"My players didn't even want me to talk to them after the game," Hurley said, per Justin LaCertosa of Devils Digest. "'What do you want me to say at this point?' is some of the comments that I got from my own players ... We're all at premium frustration at this point."
In these moments of turmoil, expectations to lead the group are placed on the upperclassmen, namely seniors who have spent years at the national level going through ups and downs. Redshirt senior guard Adam Miller said he was planning a players-only meeting following the loss to UA to discuss some of the issues plaguing the team. But being a leader also entails setting an example for the rest to follow.
In the four ensuing games, Miller got ejected twice — against Kansas State on Feb. 4 for slapping an opposing player and TCU on Feb. 15 after having choice words with a referee.
"I don't know if the game on (Feb 1) against (UA) just takes so much out of you emotionally that you just can't answer the bell again in three days," Hurley said after the Kansas State game per SDA. "Adam Miller could see that, and I think that's what led to his frustration … I think the emotions of the game got to him and that's what was part of that issue."
Mason is another veteran who has been a leader on the court, and his experience is invaluable for a side that needs his presence. Mason has been a picture of consistency for the Sun Devils this year, and that continues to show behind closed doors.
"I'm develop(ing) my own type of style, my type of flair, trying to figure out what I need to do to give my team a win," Mason said after the Houston defeat. "I'm here with the team all the time, trying to figure out different ways we could try to do something to win or tweak this thing to win. So all the guys in the locker room, that's who I believe in."
Perhaps the messaging in the locker room has been positive over the past couple of days as ASU came out much sharper against Kansas State, but the dismissal of Freeman was another blow to this team.
Per Blake Niemann, who shared a video from SDA, Hurley said, "it was a really hard decision to make," but they "had too many instances of either player or coach conduct" with Freeman. Arguably ASU's most productive player this season, Freeman had already been suspended one game for detrimental conduct toward the team.
It remains to be seen how the Sun Devils could move forward from here with little time left in conference play and a key player gone, but it all begins with the leadership coming out of the locker room.
Edited by Henry Smardo, Sophia Braccio and Katrina Michalak.
Reach the reporter at pvallur2@asu.edu and follow @PrathamValluri on X.
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Pratham is a sophomore studying sports journalism with a minor in business. This is his fourth semester with The State Press.
