The 2019-2020 seasons for ASU Sports should have been pivotal, from Bobby Hurley and ASU Basketball being on the brink of a third straight NCAA Tournament appearance to ASU Football showing growth with Herm Edwards at the helm. Instead, the programs were halted by a worldwide lockdown and are still feeling the impact today.
Join Shane and Erik as they discuss all of this and what could have been for ASU Athletics.
0:00 Intro
3:15 What happened to Herm and the football program when COVID hit?
22:30 Recapping ASU’s recruiting violations
23:15 Did COVID destroy ASU Basketball’s trajectory?
39:15 The pandemic may have hit ASU Women’s Basketball the hardest
41:00 Softball and Baseball have yet to recover
44:25 ASU Hockey got stuck with all away games in 2020
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[Applause] [Music] welcome in to the PHX Sunil show coming to you live from Studio K whoa waa look at this amazing thing for the first time ever on the phnx Sunil show right now you can head over to any Circle K location in Arizona where you can get any size polar proper Foster for just 79 79 cents 69 cents if you’re an inner circle if you’re an inner circle member but if you’re not it’s okay no it’s actually no it’s not okay they coming in a circle right you could still get it for cheap because that’s how great Circle K is they’re going to give it to you on the cheap whether you’re part of the Inner Circle or not but save that money man I don’t understand why you wouldn’t how’s everybody doing today happy Tuesday I’m your host Shane debach here with Eric Ruby on this fine Tuesday in June late June we’re getting into the Hey Day the weird days of of sports uh the Stanley Cup Final just wrapped up so now we’re left with is baseball some soccer some WNBA um but no playoffs so it’s going to feel a little a little different and and we’re getting into the the era of this podcast where we just got to talk about stuff from the past aren’t you guys excited yeah the past oh yeah I mean before we get into that if you are listening on audio a make sure you rate US five stars that’s going to be great but I would encourage you come check out the new set because it looks really cool we got short bus back in the chat sweet prince Kenny as well uh we’re able to do cool stuff like this in revamping a studio obviously because our friends of Circle K because all of you guys listening and supporting and everything like that so come take a look it’s really cool and we’ll be in here quite a bit we got a picture of Kenny Dillingham in the background as Well’s covering up my favorite part the picture of Scat yeah sorry I got a I got a big head actually I don’t I have a very small head let me see yeah it’s very small for those listening on audio I have a very small head little smaller um yeah JJ in the chat mentioning major trigger warning needed for this episode boys yes there is uh we’re basically all of today is were fueled by Craig Morgan’s article that he wrote at go phx.com if you haven’t read that yet you should he just talks about how covid and the 2020 Shenanigans uh kind of set ASU back a pretty big pretty wide margin uh in all of ASU Sports and he details every single one talk to many people in the in the various departments including Tim Healey Mickey Mitchell Charlie Turner Thorn tons of other people great story so we’re going to recap that um and just kind of talk about it one by one and starting with of course ASU football this is your major trigger warning because we’re going to talk about Herm Edwards and some people might not like what I’m about to say but if you if you don’t agree with this you’re you’re wrong it started out pretty good the Herm Edwards Arrow it was like now you look in retrospect and after all the [ __ ] and the ramifications that came from all the [ __ ] and you just can’t help but have that sour taste in your mouth but if you put that aside and you just look at what had happened up to that point good recruits good onfield success and quite frankly an upward trajectory there was no reason to think that the train was going to go off the tracks and then of course it did yeah uh look we we’ll start off with the first couple of years in Herms first year they upset number 15 Michigan State number 16 Utah finished seven- six were in the top 25 for a week early in the season after that Michigan State upset and things were looking pretty promising and then the following year they improved even further starting 3 and0 after upsetting number 18 Michigan State do you remember that game d II the mfield goal game was so crazy after the fall start or whatever was called um was it fall start it was too many men I think right right I think 12 men on the field I think it was 12 men I remember I was helping run the radio the College radio broadcast for uh for that game and we were just all losing me in the our minds uh yeah that was that was quite the quite the game quite the win uh in at Michigan State in laning yes that’s where they play uh and they also upset number 15 Cal and their signature win over number six Oregon before we talk about that Oregon game I do want to talk about Cal I just said some words that I don’t I ever thought I would say in football they were number 15 can you name anybody on that team oh my didn’t we do this like three months ago I don’t know if it was number 15 it was a cal team it was a cal team I don’t I don’t know I think it might have been this Cal team I don’t know if I can I think you named like the Long Snapper or some [ __ ] like that no that was UCLA okay I about say you had a crazy poll Chase garbers was their quarterback okay so we remember him a little bit oh my gosh this is much like the West Virginia team that we talked about oh remember the West Virginia team just ran the football very similar to them I don’t know how this team was ranked so high they went eight and that year this was uh I think this was Will Cox’s no it wasn’t uh yeah they they went eight and five that year uh but only four and five in the pack just bizarre they had no receiver over 500 yards or over 513 yards something named Nico rigio something had 513 yards uh I I I genely don’t know where their offense came from like it it is it was bizarre so that during the research of this looking making sure I had all the facts correct I saw that and I was like number what they were ranked what and I couldn’t name a player on that team and you know I I’m not really mad at myself that I couldn’t name a player on that team because one of the weirdest teams I’ve ever seen uh you could have told me that that year if you asked me Cal’s record I I could have told you like they got three wins four wins I have no idea how that not be the 15th ranked team in the nation at one point yeah that that was wild um so yeah and then of course as I mentioned the signature number six the win over number six Oregon which at the time like obviously so Juiced the Brandon iuk touchdown pass on Third and 17 just a a signature win for ASU and you and that was near the end of the year I think it was the last regular season game of the year yeah because they spoiled Oregon’s chance to make the college fo playoff which was just the most Pack 12 thing to happen Pack 12 after dark cannibalizing themselves ASU middling kind of going to this will get them to eight and four um it was just you had some hope it was hard not to believe in that it was hard not to believe because I mean I’ve been very upfront in saying that when Herm Edwards got hired and he kind of did his little media tour which included you know going to the school at the time that you know kunite where I was at and you know speaking and you know telling people what his plans were for for this program and everything like that and it was so hard to not be bought in and to not believe in him and I don’t think I ever was like Herm Edwards is a genius coach but I’m like this is the kind of guy that if you surround him with really smart onfield football like coaching Talent why couldn’t he Galvanize a locker room Galvanize college kids and stuff like that and to a certain extent he really did yeah the the Pro System the pro style like not just offense but the pro style program seem to have been working I mean but and and also if you think about it obviously it’s a roundabout really convoluted way to get there but think about the names on that team and think about how many of them are going to or are playing in the NFL like the promise was there and the path was there and at this point they were very clearly on it and there was no reason to believe they were going to stray from it and then of course that’s where the whole Co thing comes into play and the only reason why all this went off the rails is because they started breaking the freaking rules yeah we’ll get there I’m sorry it’s just like yeah it seemed like they were on a path to to to make this program what it should be again and and after the Todd Graham era you you hoped that you know this gamble on Herm Edwards who hadn’t coached a football gam since 2009 and knew nothing about college football was somehow going to work and and again the illusion was there we thought it we thought it was but uh things did go downhill one thing I do want to mention let’s not forget the first four meetings against U Herm Edwards did win yes including a 19point fourth quarter comeback a 70 to7 Victory the co year where they went two and two um but of course yeah let’s talk about when Co hit in 2020 the the they played four games they went two and two they almost beat USC they finished uh it with the 70 to7 and then a win I think at Corvalis that year and you kind of still had hope Jaden was still here um and then it all went off rails after that season the covid recruiting violations hit and again you know they cheated but they cheated during covid so that BS the question if this whole thing doesn’t happen where is this program set and and and this is a genuine question for chat like would you rather have this had happened so the hermit era Edwards could have got kind of gotten over with faster or would you have liked to wait and see well right I mean listen I think it’s Herm does Herm cannibalize himself if this doesn’t happen least to Eastern Michigan if this doesn’t happen no I listen I don’t I don’t think so because like we mentioned they were on this kind of upwards trajectory and if there’s one thing I think Herm Edwards probably would have been able to capitalize on it’s the upward trajectory kind of the national attention and getting boosters and people behind them and I know it’s like it’s still hard for me to say that right now because of how it ended but I’m truly trying to just go back to a place of where we were at and there was no reason to believe that if if these extraordinary circumstances did not come into play he he would have been okay now I don’t know if we’re still talking about him being the coach right now I I think at a certain point either a he probably wouldn’t want to do it anymore or B something would have happened but there’s no reason why boosters wouldn’t be in on him why he wouldn’t be able to talk and as far as I am aware of and as far as what’s out there they were not not breaking rules before the co stuff at least like everybody breaks rules but you you know what I mean I don’t think they were getting caught I don’t think but I think I don’t think they were doing anything to the level like that nobody else is doing right I think everybody’s breaking a little bit of rules everybody’s kind of skirling around it but this when you get to a point where you’re not just breaking the NCAA rules but you’re also like endangering people and you’re breaking Health protocols and you’re doing it at a time where it was so obvious that you were going to get caught if you were cheating because of everything going on in the world like I think it’s safe to say if that didn’t happen he would he it would be different I’m not saying he’d still be here but it would 1,00% be different yeah does that former staffer still reported if Co isn’t going on I know I know what are they what are they what are they breaking in that case I think you know there were there were enough people in this in this program that we’re going to do things their way um and not just the coaching staff we know that Jaden Daniel’s mom was involved after the reports I mean everything like there was a lot of stuff surrounding this this program that came to light when the investigation came out um and and was it going to happen eventually I don’t know but I do know that I don’t believe that everything happens for a reason I think things are random that being said I think all of the events that transpired for us to get where we are are inherently good now because I believe in the person that’s at the helmet k and it’s easy to say that now and again we one disclaimer I gave when when the coaching search was going on after Herm Edwards that in in that offseason I was very Pro Kenny before they hired him I take pride in being a a a a guy who discovered a ban before the band got popular uh and that was and and again and so I was very excited coming into this but I also gave the warning like it’s very easy to be excited right now just remember where you are now if if if we five years later it doesn’t work out because that’s the same thing that a lot of people are saying about Herm that they were excited then but they won’t admit it and and and I’m not saying K is gonna have that situation but there’s always reason to be cautious I’m not cautious right now but again it’s easy to say that now I don’t I I’m not cautious because I I have no fear and I will so eat crow if this is wrong pun intended but I see no reality where Kenny Dillingham is going to toat the system like that enti St that’s not what I’m just saying if do work no no that’s what I’m saying is like so I’m not worried about that side of it and then there’s the football side of it as well where Kenny’s not coming in here and preaching a pro model and stuff like that and I think in retrospect looking at what Herm was preaching it was always going to be somewhat temporary I don’t think that you can sustain like a college football Powerhouse from just the pro model now there are the teams like the alabas and the georgas where they get the best PR prodcts and so the best or prospects and the best prospects turn into NFL players so you just kind of go one in the same but at the end of the day like that’s not really what they’re preaching they’re preaching come here and dominate and then go to the next level right and so I think with Kenny it’s a much more sustainable I want to build this program up I want to build up locally like in Arizona I want people to want to come here and to invest in these kids as people and not as assets and looking at that now with nil I mean there’s no guarantee that once college football shifted period that Herm Edwards would even want to be a coach right now he he could have been a part of the Old Guard that said I’m done and now you’re looking for maybe a non- kenning Dillingham to guide you through this era that was always a question though leading up to the to the Eastern Michigan loss before that even happened was that is he G to be able to adapt in this era and I don’t know if if he would have that as JJ mentions is what we’re talking about her the herera had an expiration date and as Sharon mentions it was clearly a toxic environment in the coaching staff with a bad culture it would have imploded some way just probably not as much as it did it would have been probably a slow Decline and then he steps away or gets fired but probably steps away because Ray Anderson probably still the athletic director yeah and and so my final point on all of this is I think that look nothing in the last four years before Kenny or nothing in the last two years before Kenny was really a good thing that happened there were a lot of shady things going on a lot of I mean let’s just call it like it is that 2020 sucked for many reasons and I’m not just talking ASU Athletics like the the the events that led us to here were not very fun not very good to go through but you come out on the other side and I think ASU came out a winter yeah I think ASU finds himself in a position with a coach that a not only understands but Embraces and runs head first into the new nil landscape and College athletics landscape but without being a money hungry I’m just going to try to pay my players to win type of Coach They Come Away with somebody who has deeper ties to ASU somebody who wants to be here and wants to invest in it and isn’t just looking at it as a stop and I’m not saying Herm didn’t care but like JJ said like you’ve mentioned like people listening are probably thinking it just comes down to a certain point of he’s gonna want to not do this for a long time and you’ve seen college coaches who’ve been doing it for a long time like Nick Sabin step away yeah and I would assume that a good part of that is this is a different sport than what they were in before 100% And obviously based off of the recruiting violations he had during the Dead period you you can’t trust him to adapt and to change and with Kenny you are armed with somebody who wants to be here who is willing to adapt and change into the current landscape and that is such an incredible football mind this guy this guy right here that guy that guy yeah and with all that being said of course you’d rather have this didn’t set set you back three four years and of course you’d rather have a smoother transition into Kenny ding from Herm Edwards like that would have been that’s the that’s the dream but that’s just not the case and I don’t think you get you don’t you probably don’t get Kenny because Kenny might have been swooped up they but there but but there’s I think there’s still a world where this team trips over themselves and Herm gets fired in 2022 and the the coaching search still lines up perfectly and Kenny did want to be here so I think you’d rather the co violations and the recruiting restrictions not have been a part of asu’s past but they are and and uh uh again I think they came out a winner with the as much as you could and I mean if you think about it man like if we talk about an alternate reality where the transition from Herm to Kenny is smooth and we saw what Kenny did in the first year and how he’s kind of following up on that yeah just imagine what this team could be yeah imagine what he could have had after an offseason of five five wins maybe first year instead of three um and there’s a little bit of disagreement in the chat healthy disagreement between our die hards um but but talking about would Herm have been able to successfully adapt to the modern nil Sharon saying he thinks he would have would have epically failed in this era sweet prince Kenny is saying that he has deep connections to people with money now I think it’s one of those things where like the first year or so Hearn would have been like I can do this and then I think it would have just been so much where he’s like I just didn’t get into this and not saying that he would fail but I don’t think he would want to be around and do it for a long time so I think it falls somewhere in the middle yeah I think so too I think that’s a good point um yeah I think we’re we’re going on AFC football for now yeah I mean I I I think it’s it’s a it’s a rabid hole of what ifs and what could change you know that you could probably go on for a very long time but I think you can disagree but I think it’s safe to say that the Herm experiment was going well yeah and it’s not out of the RM possibility that if the covid never happened it might have continued that upward trajectory yeah I don’t know if it would have but but it’s definitely not for another year yeah you know it’s got an upwards trajectory my happiness when I’m walking into illegal Pizza do brother they their Margaritas are fantastic their food is unbelievable I want more and more every single time uh and their queso is the best I’ve told you about the the texture of it it’s similar to like a really good mac and cheese sauce it’s it’s the best I love illegal Pizza queso and I just love illegal Pizza in general and they’re here to bring you a win with their legendary sound check deal you can bring in your ticket stuff from any ticketed event and get a draft beer or house Margarita for a penny illegal pet wants to celebrate with you whether it’s pre or post games uh they got you covered on all your game day needs you got to purchase an adult entry to redeem the illegal pet sound check deal uh though but of course you’re getting an entree if you’re there like d why would you go to Legal Pizza not get their amazing food yeah it’s unless you’re you had just eaten and you want like a like a post I if you want if you want to go for a drink I mean listen you can go and you can be perfect satisfied with margarito or nice custom I can get a water there and I’ll be Juiced because just The Vibes if you have a choice between eating there and not eating there you need to choose to eat there yeah illegal piz is your go-to spot for burritos buddies and beer not Co violations no uh speaking of buddies one of my buddies sweet prince Kenny says of course Eric doesn’t agree with me whatever LOL two things I’ve never seen Turtles being fast and Eric being correct wow uh a rude B damn sweet forny B I didn’t disagree I agree with both both of you I think that he would have been good at it but then I think he would have gotten sick of it I that was me agreeing with you and then also saying with Sharon I think he would have flamed out uh and short bu asked if I can even read comments without glasses come on guys yeah what’s going on what’s going on I’m sorry man yes uh first of all I’m I’m wearing contacts I actually used to wear contacts all the time and I just I rocked with the glasses for a bit now I’m back on contacts but anyway uh sweet print skny says I’ve never been correct and I can tell you that is factually incorrect because I’ve talked about Circle K yeah and how amazing they are and there is absolutely no debating that obviously we are in studio K here wonderful people Circle K helped set all of this up but they don’t want to just help us build a studio they want to help us save money they want to help you save money with their Inner Circle membership America’s thst shop is not just a place to fill up with yourself but also your car and you can get 25 cents off per gallon for your first five fill ups then that moves to three cents off per gallon every day and if you go enough times you get upgraded to the inner Inner Circle and get 5 cents off per gallon every single day now I’m lucky to not have a crazy commute but there are a lot of people in this office that do including you mine’s it’s not crazy but it’s a it’s a it’s a longer commute it’s a longer commute and the people at Circle K have probably saved everybody in this building Collective hundreds maybe close to thousands of dollars and only going up plus they’ve got deals on nice drinks and snacks and everything including their Polar Pop or froster any size just 79 cents 69 if you part of the Inner Circle all you got to do is go to the app download it today it is free sign up for the Inner Circle and go to offers and find everything waiting for you go to circlek.com for more details the the the ASU football Inner Circle it was not was a toxic one with some bad seeds Circle K’s Inner Circle is Elite beautiful beautiful and we we have a we have a question from a wildcat in the chat being genuine which I like it’s a nice change of pace says as a wildcat fan can you explain your recruiting violations not trolling just genuinely curious yeah I mean so basically what was happening was they were they was found that so this an anonymous staffer sent a a package to asus’s athletic department with receipts and uh proof that they were contacting and paying for recruits uh flights and other amongst other things during the co Dead period when you weren’t allowed to contact or be or just be in contact with Cru in general um and that was the meat of it there were many other things and things that still haven’t come out yet but uh that was most of it I love Will’s comment saying Hern would have delegated those duties talking about the nil just like he did with recruiting he wouldn’t have done anything that’s fair that’s fair anyway moving on to ASU Basketball one that hurts me so bad because this era of of Bobby Hurley and ASU Basketball was so amazing and we’re going to talk about some of the best moments between those 2018 to 2020 Seasons um let’s talk about the the thing that sucked the most though was the NCA Tournament being canceled do you remember where you were on the day where the Rudy go bear mik touch day and then everything shut down I do I was actually I I was uh at uh my dad’s a pastor and they had this event this church where like people were just coming and like getting food or whatever and we were all kind of like sitting there and you know kind of space out a little bit because you’re a little bit freaked out I pulled out my phone and I’m like they shut the NBA down and I remember everybody looked at me like what and that was just a day where you knew it was like okay this is this is getting serious I was on spring break I was in California uh with one of my best friends and we were we had actually gone to Universal Studios the day before everything shut down somehow didn’t get covid from that hand touching hand rails and everything it was insane you just built different yeah just built different and I remember I was staying at a buddy of mine’s place in La and he had just taken a nap and he woke up and I was like have you seen what has just happened waking up from a nap he was like asleep for three hours in those three hours the NCA tournament got canceled the NBA shut down everything happened and he was like what are you talking it was one of it was quite literally the most rude awakening you could you could have and oh man it was it yeah I remember when that happened and the first thing I thought of was this Bobby Hurley LED team and and how how they were 20 and 11 and and and about to go to the conference tournament and were on the B on the brink of their third straight NCA tournament vid which would would have been the first time since the early 1960s for an ASU Basketball team to do so if you think that Bobby Hurley doesn’t know what he’s doing you’re you’re wrong and I still think they’re feeling the effects of of that uh Daniel I think the important distinction here is that this team that team wasn’t going in like the first four yeah oh yeah like that was that was a straight up NCAA tournament yeah they were going to be I think probably a nine seed but they were going to be a dangerous N Seed yeah JJ saying please teleport me to Circle or Studio K Brothers uh yeah I think that 2018 2019 was the best complete team in the hurly era but man this this 2019 2020 team was something JJ was some good context uh with all the other like good teams as well like 2020 they had won nine- 10 uh so yeah I’m I’m I’m about to get to that so in in the 2020 or 2019 2020 season at the end of the 2020 season going into to to conference uh tournament play before that late January to through late February they won nine of 10 including the win against UA where Alonzo Verge had the had the layup with 10 seconds to go they were down 22 at one point in that game uh and and won that and that sparked that nine of 10 beating some really good tough conference opponents uh going into again in the conference tournament they had dropped three but they were against top opponents I think it was UCLA USC and w Washington I want to say but then they had a win going into the conference tournament um so everything was looking like it was shaping up to be a really dangerous team and then everything shut down and again like I can’t stress the fact enough like this was going to be Bobby’s thirdd straight NCA tournament birth was probably the most dangerous team that he’s ever had going into the NCA tournament yeah I mean and of course there’s one thing we know about the NCAA tournament so the high seeds win all the time and it’s always chalk no like seriously there there was a chance with this team and if you look at a program like NC State from just this year right what it can do to kind of help catapult a program into that next level of constantly competing and getting like National eyes for a national name like Bobby Hurley I mean we’re talking like if they go into this tournament as a nine or as a 10 seed and they make a Deep Run if we’re playing the what if game here who’s to say the next two three four five years they’re not a perennial tournament team not a first four in and and they’re a team that continues to be dangerous I mean if you look at it now the same way with football where it’s like okay you still end up in a place where you’re good you have two five stars you have a really good transfer class and and a four star as well to pair with your five stars who’s to say that that process doesn’t get sped up a little bit if you don’t have the rug pulled out from underneath you right before you’re posed to go on a run on a national stage now you never know and you could be just idealizing something that wouldn’t have happened but I think the reality is like it could have and it’s not a far stretch to see that team winning at least a couple games in the tournament yeah I I there is there there’s a world out there there’s an alternate reality where that team gets to the Sweet 16 and yeah and you don’t know what happens after that uh if if Co never happens and this team makes a Deep Run in the tournament in 2020 you had his best recruiting class coming in the next year in 2020 to 2021 and even even in this reality where the tournament got cancelled you could say okay look sports are going to resume in November they’re going to play basketball they’ll restricted with guidelines and such and you have the best recrui you have Josh Christopher coming in the highest rated recruit you’ve ever had you have Marcus baggley coming in you have some returners you you you were ranked number 18 in the preseason poll you think you can really get stuff going and then that kind of the wheels kind of fell off of that team and Mickey Mitchell says in the article a really good point that I didn’t really think of that much the the guidelines really restricted Bobby because of how much how how how much emotion he coaches with how personal it is to him and he couldn’t sit next to players on the bench and talk to them he had to coach with a mask on like that that does a lot like that that yeah that restricted you a lot and and I think maybe if that if if these guidelines you know weren’t in place because the co never happened that that might be a different team he might get more of Josh Christopher he might get more of the team Marcus Bley might not disappear like things can be different and it even in this article from Craig just said Hurley not being Hurley created its own issues among them the loss of key players such as romela white who transferred to Mississippi andle Mississippi State um but he he mentions that like you’re not having your normal way to communicate with people and not just in this specific situation but at that that time the world basically went through a communication crisis where everything had to change whether you are no longer speaking face to face it’s mainly through text or whether when you are seeing people like if we’re having a conversation right here me and you it’s a lot different than if we’re having a conversation on opposite sides of the room and I can’t see your facial features right I don’t know what you’re conveying to me and Bobby like you said very emotional person somebody who wears his heart on his sleeve on his face and on his face and somebody where he he is very good at galvanizing his his players and like like we mentioned and like you mentioned specifically like yes there was a lot of turnover on this roster throughout the last couple of years it was not because players don’t like playing for Bobby Hurley there was a lot of other circumstances and I think part of that was yeah I really liked playing for Bobby Hurley when he could be fully Bobby Hurley but even Bobby himself admits that that’s not what he could have done and that just handicaps somebody who was so relling on the emotional connection with his players and it puts you in a place where you probably don’t even realize it in the moment because you’re just in survival mode you’re in let me get through this let me make the most of it but now that you’re on the other side of it and you’re looking at what it was you start thinking about well what it could have been if I didn’t have to adhere to those different sets of circumstances and those restrictions you know and especially coming off again your momentum being killed from the season before and having returners it wasn’t just you have a top 10 recruiting class coming in with your best recruit of all all time you’ve got really good players coming back as well and not having that momentum to end the season it rolls into the next one whether you want to admit it or not like that all plays a role it’s all linked together more than I think people would like to admit yeah yeah I mean I remember the start of that game or the start of that season in the mgan sun tournament they played in when they played Rhode Island and and beat them in a close game uh with uh um Josh Christopher having a really good game you’re like oh my God this team can be really good and then they competed a little bit with Villanova that next game and then you know the wheels kind of fell off a little bit there U but yeah you finish 11 and 14 you don’t make the tournament uh you you get blown out in the Pack 12 tournament to Oregon and and then you know you lose a lot of momentum and then the niil and transfer portal gets crazy and you’re already behind again like if this if this program had kept the momentum from 2020 going into 2021 and and had a great season under what should have been one of Bobby Hurley’s best teams things are probably different nowadays but you look at what he he’s done since then he has the number four recruiting class in the nation that he didn’t sit back woe as me he didn’t pout he changed and he adapted and that’s something we touched on yesterday that’s something we touched on on Friday like it’s it’s a big it’s a big thing that that your head coach you know know has weathered this storm and it looks like you’re sailing out the other side and you see clear skies and you’re ready to go I me it’s a it’s a massive massive kudos to to body and again it makes you think well what if he didn’t have that to overcome because not not only is that great for your onc court product if you end up making it the tournament let’s say you win a game or two right you just keep that momentum going then you come back you have more financial investment even though you’re not in the nil era fully yet maybe you’re looking at better facilities maybe you’re looking at better ways to take care of your players right oh now we have top players coming in let’s capitalize on that a little bit more than how we did now you’re entering the nil ERA with way more people ready to line your pockets and help you out right and possibly even a Bobby Hurley who he’s always trying his best but even admitted that moving to the Big 12 and having so much change kind of reinvigorated him well maybe he would have stayed like on that top level that we know Bobby could hit right off the bat throwing his name around for nil and now you’re entering this era ahead of it instead of adjusting and you have to give the congratulations and the kudos to adjusting and figuring out what to do but at the end of the day if he didn’t have to do that and he was already on top of it you’re talking about getting a head start for somebody that we have seen already pull in an incredible recruiting class in very tough circumstances yeah it it should be it should be really exciting going into going into this year as he mentioned in one of Craig’s other articles he feels rejuvenated it feels like a new start fresh start and what better time than right now to to B bought in TSC basketball going into the Big 12 because that not only does that bring better competition it also brings more eyes which means more money which means a better roster consistently um and I think you’re going to expect bigger and better things year after year for ASU Basketball I think that starts this year so it’s exciting again I you never know where we’d be right now if that never happened because there was a ton of momentum and it got killed but they’re ahead of what ASU football is on and they’re they’re they’re they’re they fast-tracked it a little bit absolutely I and I I think part of that is just Bobby’s been around a little bit longer and has that connections Plus in basketball the roster is smaller yeah so it’s a lot easier if you get a you get a couple big we’ve seen how quick the turnover can be get a couple big players and and you’re good and I’m there’s no bigger player in the state of Arizona the desert Financial Credit you Main Stays you talk about AB you talk about turnover there’s no turnover with desert Financial Credit Union they’re official they’re the official retailer banking partner of 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online and getting your $200 plus your choice of three ASU Visa debit cards go to the desertfinancial.com ASU to get started today and I know we want everybody to rock those ASU cards but if you are a Cardinals fan or if you just like maybe some desert Landscapes they also have those options the most important thing is just desert Financial Credit that’s the man gain that 200 bucks that’s super important and listen this episode they can bring back you know lots of bad memories right and we’re talking about hey I think we we’re keeping a positive spin on what could have happened and look at where we are now but you go back to that time period maybe it’s a little bit stressful and if you just want to relax a little bit you want to forget all the stressors in your life I would love love love if you checked out our friends over at OG’s because right now OG’s have launched their two new products which you’ve heard about for a little bit of time the OG’s natural I know we call them new I 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talk okay yeah I have I have made some from home but they did not taste nearly as good as OG to learn more about OG’s gummies and where you can find them head on over to OG’s brands.com remember you must be 21 or over to enjoy responsibly 21 or over to all the children in the chat right now 21 or over so I’m yeah this is what it is it was the one of the weirdest things you could ever make from from like an edible form the easiest thing to make literally just graham cracker peanut butter and you sprinkle weed on it oh no I’ve done that yeah I yeah those get you those get you right but you can make it a lot easier and it tastes a lot better with our friends tastes a lot better with our friends over at OG’s because that you’re just eating weed at that point anyway uh let’s get into some of the other programs uh somebody in the chat if you want to scroll up for a second Daniel mentioned it yeah Richard martinz mentioned it about ASU softball and ASU baseball both being on a role we’ll get to those uh in a second but first we’ll talk about ASU women’s basketball who probably had the biggest loss and that was Charlie Turner Thorne retiring in 2022 which maybe wasn’t a direct impact of 2020 but I I think it kind of is because in 2020 they were number 25 going into the tournament uh after upsetting number two and number three that year Oregon in Oregon State and then the tournament got cancelled and they just hit a storm of bad luck after that uh 2021 didn’t go the way or 2020 2021 didn’t go the way they wanted to and then injury R 2021 2022 and then Charlie Turner Thorne retired um and she was the greatest coach in ASU history maybe any sport yeah even if you don’t think that covid directly led to you know her her resigning in the end of her her career here at ASU you were still robbed yeah of the final years of again you you can argue and I would argue the the greatest coach in ASU history yeah just as far as longevity goes as consistent success goes and just a Mainstay in a Powerhouse name in the state of Arizona especially in the basketball world you missed out on a good team you missed out on a good coach and again everything that we’ve mentioned with every single program is momentum and momentum when it just gets snuffed it’s so hard to get back and I think this even proves with the great coaches like sometimes things are out of your control and there’s only so much that you can do and that’s the position that Charlie Turner Thorne was in with ASU women’s basketball yeah uh and also as Richard mentions ASU softball 22 and seven going into conference player they had the number one in a lot of categories in the Pack 12 they scored the most runs they had the most home runs they had the most extra base hits but also their pitching staff was Elite uh and yeah they lost a ton of momentum and then obviously we know what’s happened recently and we we can only hope they can get back to their winning plays with Megan Bartlett but it’s tough I mean yeah to Tre and I did an episode uh while you were on vacation just talking about the state of ASU women basketball the state of of softball as well and what they need to do to get back on track to where they were uh even before CO as well and I would highly recommend uh going back and listening to that for some more in-depth conversation on this but it it’s really hard to see these programs that were just Elite I I mean ASU softball was a movement yeah you know ASU women’s basketball was again led by one of the most iconic names in the sport locally right and had the success to back it up as well and I don’t think people understand how important that is the the overall like culture and infrastructure of Athletics to have these programs be so good and be at the top of their Sport and obviously they weren’t the one seeds but to be competitive and to to be there as well and losing that it’s it’s it’s left a little bit of a void yeah for sure the the some of my favorite moments covering ASU was that 2021 season 2022 uh with Trisha Ford or 2021 season with Trisha Ford at the helm um when they were very and again you hope to get back to those winning ways but the momentum stopper in 2020 certainly didn’t help them and it certainly didn’t help ASU baseball who was ranked top 10 in basically every media poll 13 and four and then Co happened and everything kind of went down from there they missed the tournament for the third straight year this year uh which is the first time since 1959 to 1963 um that year they also were led by Spencer Tolson um they were on track to do some really special things and Co really hurt them and they’re still feeling the effect effects of that today and again you hope Willie can be the right guy for this job but he was kind of given a bad hand yeah absolutely and I I just think it’s one of those I don’t want to be a broken record here but I mean you’re talking about team that you know could have gone to Omaha and you know really made a lot of noise and potentially with some highend Talent like won the whole damn thing and I think it was a little unfair that Smith got let go uh I like Willie and I’m really hoping for Willie to have all the success in the world um but it’s hard to as a coach go through all the changes and circumstances that Co brought and to still have a winning record yeah and you know but but again ASU baseball and Craig mentions this in the article has the highest expectations out of pretty much any of the teams that that we’ve already talked about and there there were a lot of fans who were not happy with the state of the program and I just don’t think again in that moment people realize just how much bigger than that specific Sport and that specific season the the obstacles that the coaches and the players had to overcome yeah definitely uh save their best for last the craziest story for last and that was ASU hockey they got it the worst I would say so it when Co arrived they were they were in a a middling era era with their conference they didn’t have a conference and all conferences decided that they were going to play within themselves in college hockey so what does that mean for ASU they had to go find an alternative and what was that alternative playing all away games in 2020 to 2021 awful all on the road in the Big 10 not even on the west coast not even on the East Coast you’re just in the midwest just grinding hockey not access no access to your ractive facilities and this came after 2019 and 2020 where they beat number four Denver they beat number eight Clarkson they swept kipc who was number nine and for the second straight year Powers was up for the na nation’s best coach award like yeah they they really got it bad and and Powers even admitted that the 2020 21 season and the ones that followed that when the co protocols were still were in effect had a really bad effect a stalling effect as he said on the program yeah I I think this quote and it’s the very last thing in Craig’s article which again there’s so much more meat on the bone go to go phx.com read that if you don’t like the ads become a Die Hard a lot more to come with that as well but this quote from Power says it was just a really odd two-year period you just never felt like you could really settle in and make things feel normal because of all the issues we were facing with that and then the move into our new Arena I don’t want to say that the kids who came back for that 50 year resented it but it’s tough when you see a beautiful new Arena going up and you know you’re never going to play in it despite the fact that you helped build it and build the program I can make a lot of arguments as to why Co stunted our growth more than anybody because of what we had to go through end quote and that paints that picture beautifully but I think it also really reignites and shows like hey Powers has done an incredible job leading through this and just like you know with football and with basketball they’re out on the other end of this and they’re up right and they made it through and that is is the most important like lesson here is that at the helm with hockey you have somebody who was able to get through that rough period and now that they don’t have to deal with that are getting incredibly High ranked recruits like it’s it’s it’s nice to see them on the other side and successful yeah this this should be a really fun year for ASU hockey obviously entering the nchc the SEC of college hockey um it they got some great opponents they’re playing Michigan uh it’s it’s going to be a really fun time so make sure to follow along here for all the coverage because we’re going be covering a ton of ASU hockey and speaking of hockey you like my shirt some big uh oh yeah some big coyotes news dropped last night I don’t know if you missed that um but yeah if you want that shirt this shirt or any any of our other shirts go to go.com pH locker.com and uh become a Die Hard you can get it for free who that yeah one shirt or any piece of clothing item for free a year uh including our dad hats I had a order a new dad hat because I wore mine so much in the three years that I’ve been here uh it just came in with my Maserati Marv shirt which is soire uh and if you want any of that PX locker.com tons of good stuff over there uh and tons of good stuff on our website go.com uh exclusive die Hardon content you get access to the Die Hard Discord which is the best place to beut and as I mentioned you get a free t-shirt of your choice from the locker every single year you’re a die hard uh and you get a special shout out like shout out Sharon shout out Donald Short Bus was in here earlier welcome back yeah I I think that’s really something that maybe a good final closing note for for this episode when it comes to the Discord and everything listen Sports can be hard sometimes and there can be some stuff that that’s really hard to get through and obviously you know hopefully nothing like 2019 2020 happens again but it’s really important to have a positive space to go in and to communicate with it and our hard Discord goes beyond just ASU uh we have Isabella who is Sharon’s daughter supporting her through some medical stuff that she has been going through as well uh short bus has been going through some stuff and he was away for a bit he comes back open arms like hey man we’ll always be here from you I know Donald as well like you know there there are genuine people in there who care and that’s a massive difference than on social media and it’s not just ASU but you have sons Cardinals Diamondbacks Rising U uh really everything and I I would highly encourage there’s no place like it in the Sports World so I I would highly encourage you to become a DI hard just for that reason alone let alone everything else that comes along with it yep and that will put a bow on today’s show at the you know the closing the the the the moral of the story for today’s show if you will is you know looking back on these these tough times aren’t aren’t the most fun but you you get to also look at where you are now compared to that and it’s a good thing to reflect on the growth of of these programs and how fast some of them have overcome the trials and tribulations that came with 2020 and yeah should be exciting there’s there’s some really exciting stuff to look forward to with ASU Athletics and there’s always stuff to look forward to on our Twitter _ sundevils you can follow Eric on Twitter Eric Ruby that’s Eric with a K you can follow Danielle across all socials at abrica Danielle and you can follow me on Twitter at Shane de just being here for ASU fans as always and we’ll see you guys tomorrow I think we got a special guest for you guys tomorrow so keep an eye on our pH next sundevils Twitter but until then go devils and [Music] [Applause] peace like the
