With the most recent addition to the Sun Devil Men’s Basketball roster, it is time for an updated look at the group of newcomers joining the program this year. Not only did Head Coach Bobby Hurley and his staff assemble one of the top transfer classes in the nation, they also brought in a highly-touted scorer from the JUCO level along with a pair of four-star high school prospects.
“The new guys have come in and worked extremely hard,” Coach Hurley remarked in his preseason media availability. “We have been extremely impressed with the group’s competitiveness and skill level. They are getting closer as a unit every day.”
Arizona State will feature a total of 11 new players on their roster, joining returners Frankie Collins, Jamiya Neal, Alonzo Gaffney, Bobby Hurley, and Jordan Williams to make up the 2023-24 Sun Devil Men’s Basketball roster. The following is a roundup of the ASU newcomer class.
2023 INCOMING TRANSFERS
G Kamari Lands – Louisville
G Brycen Long – Houston Christian
C Shawn Phillips Jr. – LSU
G Jose Perez – West Virginia
F Zane Meeks – San Francisco
F Bryant Selebangue – Tulsa
G Adam Miller – LSU
JUCO ADDITION
G Malachi Davis – Tallahassee CC
FRESHMAN CLASS
G Braelon Green – Southfield, MI
F Akil Watson – Middletown, NY
NEWCOMERS BREAKDOWN
#0 Kamari Lands, Sophomore
Transfer wing from Louisville, where he faced off with some of the toughest competition in the nation on a weekly basis…Averaged 5.9 points and 1.9 rebounds while making 27 three-pointers during his freshman season with the Cardinal…Played in 32 games, earning six starts…Went 49 of 56 (87.5%) from the free-throw line…Reached double figures in four of the last 11 games after doing so in three of first 21 outings…Returns to the valley where he four-star was ranked was ranked Top-70 nationally coming out of Hilcrest Prep in Phoenix.
#2 Braelon Green, Freshman
Guard with the ability to play either position in the backcourt…Known for his combination of skill and athleticism, making him extremely difficult to guard…Originally from Michigan before moving to play for Southern California Academy…One of two Top-150 rated prospects by Rivals to sign with ASU, as they tabbed him as the No. 145 overall prospect and the No. 34 shooting guard in the nation…ESPN rated him as a four-star prospect, No. 27 shooting guard prospect nationally and the No. 2 overall player in the state of Michigan…Four-star prospect according to 247 Sports consensus rankings, which rates him as the No. 154 overall prospect and No. 24 shooting guard in the nation…No. 163 overall prospect and No. 25 point guard prospect in the country according to On3.
#3 Brycen Long, Senior
Transfer guard from Houston Christian University, where he emerged as one of the most dangerous three-point threats in the nation…Gilbert native who returns home to play for Arizona State…Ability to stretch the floor with extremely deep range…Averaged 14.8 points, 2.4 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game while shooting 41.6 percent from 3-point range, 47.5 percent from the field and 86.6 percent from the free throw line in 2022-23…Finished second in the conference in 3-point percentage and third in average number of 3-pointers made per game last year.
#7 Malachi Davis, Junior
Junior college transfer that has thrived in multiple roles in his previous stops…Known for his ability to score, either off the bench or as a starter…Versatility and size to play both backcourt positions…Averaged 17.1 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.3 assists while shooting 50.5 percent from the field, 34.9 percent from the 3-point line and 78.3 percent from the free throw line at Tallahassee Community College…Did all of that in just 20.1 minutes per game…Saved his most impressive performances for the NJCAA Division I Basketball Championship – putting up 31, 48, 33 and 31 points as Tallahassee made the NJCAA Final Four…Aeraged 16.6 points, 2.9 assists and 2.4 rebounds at Lake Land College in Illinois in the 2020-21 season.
#9 Shawn Phillips Jr., Sophomore
Transfer center from LSU, where he immediately impressed with his length and size…Improved as the season went on, capped by a double figure scoring game in LSU’s win over Georgia in the SEC Tournament…Played in 20 games as a true freshman, averaging 1.4 points and 2.2 rebounds … Averaged 7.4 minutes a game and made 10-of-22 field goal attempts … Against Georgia made 5-of-9 field goals to go with three free throws and recorded his first double double with 13 points and 10 rebounds to go with two blocks in 25 minutes…All seven of his blocks came over the final eight games when he was a larger part of the rotation…Returns to the Valley where he played at Dream City Christian Prep in Glendale.
#12 Jose Perez, Graduate
Transfer guard from West Virginia who was the latest addition to the Sun Devil roster…Using his final year of eligibility at Arizona State…Has played in 97 career games, starting 76 during his collegiate career…Scored 1,460 points, grabbed 444 rebounds and dished out 338 assists in his career…Spent the past season at West Virginia, sitting out due to NCAA eligibility ruling…Started 29 of 30 games in 2021-22 at Manhattan, where he averaged 18.9 points, 3.2 rebounds and 4.5 assists…Earned First Team All-MAAC honors thanks to his efforts…Led the MAAC in scoring and in free throws made (182) and was second in assists (136)…Scored 20+ points in 14 games, including a 27 point effort and game-winner against Iona followed by a career-high 38 points against Niagara…Played the 2020-21 season at Marquette, where he played in 10 games…Spent his first two seasons at Gardner-Webb, where he helped the Bulldogs to the 2019 Big South Championship…Averaged 15.2 points, 6.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game as a sophomore…As a freshman, he broke the program’s single-season freshmen scoring record for the Division I era with 526 points, averaging 15.1 points per game…Was one of only two freshmen in Division I to record a triple-double that season, along with Duke’s R.J. Barrett.
#15 Zane Meeks, Senior
Transfer forward from San Francisco, where he spent two seasons after originally starting his career at Nevada…Played a key role for the Dons over the past two campaigns…Appeared in 29 contests for USF, making 15 starts, averaging 10.3 points per game for the season – 3rd highest on the team…Averaged career-highs in points per game, rebounds per game, assists per game, and field goal percentage for the season…Played in 27 games in 2021-22; averaged 14.0 minutes per contest with 5.0 points per game, 2.3 rebounds per game and 0.7 assists per game…Played in 18 games at Nevada in 2020-21, making 10 starts, before missing the final five games due to injury…Averaged 9.0 points with 5.9 rebounds over 22.4 minutes per game, shot 47.0 percent from the field and hit 19 three-pointers…Saw action in all 31 games off the bench as a freshman, averaging 16.6 minutes…Sixth on the team in scoring with 6.4 points per game and fifth in rebounds grabbing 3.7 rebounds per game.
#23 Akil Watson, Freshman
Freshman from Roselle Catholic, who was a consistent presence in the Max Preps Top-25 High School Rankings during his time…Posted 12.3 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 2.2 assists while adding 26 steals and 16 blocks in 24 games as a senior on one of the most talented High School teams in the country…Led all scorers with 23 points in the NJSIAA Non-Public Division B Championship Game…Averaged 11.9 points and 6.4 rebounds while adding 20 steals and 17 blocks for a Roselle Catholic team that went 28-2 and won the New Jersey State Championship in 2022…Consensus four-star prospect among all the major national recruiting services…One of two Top-150 rated prospects by Rivals to sign with ASU, who ranked him as the No. 137 overall and No. 32 small forward prospect in the country…247 Sports ranked him as the No. 137 overall and No. 30 power forward prospect nationally…ESPN slotted him as the No. 7 overall prospect out of New Jersey and No. 32 small forward prospect in the nation…No. 146 overall and No. 29 power forward prospect in the country according to On3.
#24 Bryant Selebangue, Junior
Transfer forward from Tulsa, where he a physically-imposing breakout star last season…Averaged 12.0 points and 9.2 rebounds as a sophomore in 2022-23 at Tulsa…The rebounding average for a season (9.2) was the highest by a Golden Hurricane since 1999…Led his team in both scoring and rebounding..Made 61.5 percent of his field goal attempts…Accounted for 10 double-doubles…Four games of 20+ points…17 games of 10+ rebounds…Arrived at Tulsa after spending two years at the junior college level, one at Florida Southwestern CC and one at Hutchinson CC.
#44 Adam Miller, Redshirt Junior
Transfer guard from LSU, where he was one of the most consistent scorers in the SEC…Played and started all 33 games for the Tigers … Averaged 11.5 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 33.0 per game last year…17 games in double figures, including five straight late in the season…Now has 30 double-digit scoring games through his first two years in college…Made 75 treys in 2022-23 and now has 127 in his two years of college play … Started all 64 games of his two years playing at Illinois and LSU combined … Made 68-of-82 at the free throw line (82.9%)…Named to the 2021 U19 World Cup Team training camp roster and played for USA team at World Cup that won the Gold Medal…Set Illinois freshman debut scoring record with 28 points vs. North Carolina A&T (11/25), making 10-of-12 shots, including 6-of-8 from behind the arc…2020 Illinois Mr. Basketball and Two-time Illinois Gatorade Player of the Year.
THE FIELD OF 68 SAID…AND WE LOOKED IT UP
The well-known and well-read “Field of 68″ Almanac has ASU finishing tenth, while the Pac-12 media pegged them sixth, and the Field of 68 said in its newsletter “given they lost nine players to the portal and four of their top five scorers, the skepticism is warranted.” One quick note on ASU entering 2022-23: ASU returned just two of its top six scorers entering last year as it lost Jay Heath (10.6), Marreon Jackson (10.4), Kimani Lawrence (10.1) and Jalen Graham (9.9) from the 2021-22 and then had Marcus Bagley (10.0) play just the first two games. Transfers Desmon Cambridge (14.0), Devan Cambridge (9.8), Frankie Collins(9.7) and Warren Washington (9.2) stepped in and provided the scoring punch.
NEW NUMBERS
Arizona State fans should be on the lookout for a couple of jersey updates. Four Sun Devils have either changed their number from last year or updated it from earlier in the offseason.
#1 Frankie Collinswill switch from #10
#8 Alonzo Gaffneywill switch from #32
#7 Malachi Daviswill switch from #4
#9 Shawn Phillips Jr.will switch from #34
HOW GOOD WAS 23 WINS?
ASU won 23 tilts for the first time since 2009 (25 wins led by James Harden) and for just the second time in the past 28 seasons. Prior to 2009, you have to go back to Bill Frieder’s 1995 squad that won 24 games to find more wins than the 2023 Sun Devils. Also, it wasn’t an easy 23, as it included 13 wins away from home, seven true road wins and a 6-2 mark on neutral floors. The 2023 season marked the fourth 20-win season for ASU in the past six years, after having 20 wins just nine times in the previous 35 seasons.
MOST WINS PROGRAM HISTORY
26 – 1963
25 – 2009, 1975
24 – 1995, 1981
23 – 2023, 1962, 1961
CLOSE GAME SUCCESS
ASU continued its solid play in close game games, going 11-5 in games decided by six points or less, as it is now 35-18 (.660) in close games in the past four seasons.
WEGUARDU
ASU held its opponents to just .399 shooting from the field, the third-best mark in the league and 15th in the nation. It was also tied for the second-best mark in school history, one year after posting what is now the fourth-best.
ASU BEST FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE DEFENSE
.391 — 1962-63 (791-2024)
.399 — 2022-23 (836-of-2096)
.399 — 1971-72 (797-of-1997)
.400 — 2021-22 (718-1797)
.401 — 1967-68 (834-2078)
.402 — 2009-10 (678-1687)
.410 — 2012-13 (861-2098)
.410 — 2007-08 (718-1752)
Press Release courtesy of Sun Devil Athletics – Connor Smith
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