Q&A: Arizona State a work in progress entering Sunday’s game against Gonzaga

For just the second time in Gonzaga head coach Mark Few’s 26 seasons, the Zags are opening the season against a pair of power conference opponents.

No. 6 Gonzaga crushed No. 8 Baylor 101-63 in Monday’s opener at the Arena. The Zags return to action Sunday against Arizona State, another Big 12 Conference foe, at the McCarthey Athletic Center.

It worked out well for the Zags the last time they faced two power conference opponents out of the starting gate, handling No. 6 Kansas 102-90 and Auburn 90-67 in Fort Myers, Florida, to open the 2020-21 season. GU then defeated No. 11 West Virginia 87-82 and No. 3 Iowa 99-88 on neutral courts to move to 4-0. The Zags stayed unbeaten (31-0) until falling to Baylor in the national championship.

Big 12 newcomer Arizona State was picked 12th in the 16-team conference’s preseason poll, eight spots below Baylor. Like most college basketball teams, the Sun Devils are experiencing growing pains trying to blend returners, transfers and a promising recruiting class.

We caught up with Michelle Gardner, who covers ASU for the Arizona Republic, to learn more about the Sun Devils.

Q: ASU has an interesting roster with five transfers, the highest-ranked recruiting class in school history and six players with a combined 110 career games of experience in a Sun Devils uniform entering the season. This team might look a lot different in January, but how challenging has it been thus far to build chemistry and get everybody on the same page?

Gardner: It has been very challenging just because you have a lot of players who are used to being THE guy. ASU had a similar team in 2020-2021 when it had two highly touted high school prospects and a bunch of other alpha dogs. That team never did gel. Time will tell on this one. They have a lot of scorers, but just who will be the ball distributor, catalyst? That’s the issue I see right now.

Q: The Sun Devils’ 2024 recruiting class was ranked seventh nationally by 247sports, anchored by 6-foot-9 Jayden Quaintance (ranked No. 7 overall) and No. 24 Joson Sanon, who originally committed to Arizona. What are realistic expectations for Quaintance and Sanon this season?

Gardner: Quaintance is quite the interesting player. He just turned 17 in July, so he is one of the youngest players in college basketball. He is a young kid in a grown man’s body. He held his own against Duke but had a tough game offensively in the opener on Tuesday. While he struggled on offense, he still had six blocks, so he was a factor on defense. Sometimes its hard for a guy that used to be so dominant to actually struggle at the next level. Again, he’s very young. Sanon looked lost against Duke but fared a lot better Tuesday. He has good shooting mechanics and is just a smooth player, makes it look effortless.

Q: Points have been hard to come by for ASU, which lost to No. 7 Duke 103-47 in an exhibition game and edged Idaho State 55-48 to open the season. What have been the main offensive issues for the new-look roster?

Gardner: As previously stated, the issue is having someone that can move the ball, be a catalyst. I think Alston Mason has potential to be that guy, but it’s still early.

Q: What are the biggest keys for the Sun Devils against Gonzaga?

Gardner: Offense is going to be an issue until these guys get comfortable playing together. ASU is playing a very difficult schedule, especially given that the move to the Big 12 already means a significant upgrade in competition it will be playing. So they don’t really have any gimme games to facilitate the team chemistry, and for coach to experiment with different lineups, roles. They’re going to have to be more successful on offense just to be in the game.