What an offseason for Bobby Hurley and the Arizona State Men’s Basketball program. It’s a new roster full of transfers and different faces. Coming off the heels of a forgettable season, fresh faces areexciting for many Sun Devil fans.
One returning face is Marcus Bagley, who is opting to skip the NBA draft and leave the transfer portal to remain in Tempe.
For Bagley, there’s many reasons to return to play for the maroon and gold. One is a disappointing freshman campaign. He got hurt twice and didn’t look like the shooter that he prides himself on being. He shot 38.7% from the field while averaging 10.8 points per game. Because of this, his draft stocked plummeted to second round status, after being dubbed a mid-first rounder before the collegiate season in 2020.
Another is legacy. His grandfather, Joe Caldwell, has a jersey hanging in the rafters. Perhaps Bagley wants to become a Sun Devil legend during the 2021-22 campaign.
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There’ll be opportunity for him and this team to thrive. The other draft decsion that loomed large this offseason was Remy Martin. He undeclared for the draft, but transferred to the University of Kansas.
The roster is loaded with potential. Stop me if you’ve heard that one before.
As a 6-foot-8 guard who can shoot the three and play solid defense, Bagley should fit into this new roster seamlessly. The backcourt could get exciting at ‘Guard U’ with Marreon Jackson running the point next to Bagley. Jackson transferred from Toledo this offseason.
Questions still loom large, but once again the Sun Devils have intrigue surrounding the program. Only time will tell if it’s smoke or if a new day is dawing.
