Seen and heard at McKale: On Senior Night, no love from (or for?) Hurley

Body language did the trick.

Arizona’s six seniors walked down through the Zona Zoo student section while UA coach Tommy Lloyd said some things we weren’t sure of, then the players hugged Lloyd and their families upon reaching center court.

In order, UA brought out managers Coleman Chennault and Elan Tenenbaum, then six players: Liam Lloyd, Luke Champion, Will Menaugh, Grant Weitman, Trey Townsend and Caleb Love.

“Trey, you’re first class … Great player, great person, great family” Lloyd was heard saying, then appeared to add of Love that “Arizona is proud of you.”

Four players in the ceremony were what Lloyd called  “double-dippers:" Townsend (Oakland), Liam Lloyd (NAU), Love (Arizona) and Weitman (Arizona) all had been through a senior ceremony last year but returned to play at UA with their extra COVID year of eligibility.

Lloyd was also a double-dipper of sorts, as the head coach and as Liam’s dad. During Liam’s introduction, Lloyd’s two daughters and wife were present, as well as Liam’s fiancée and their son Luka.

Who else is leaving?

The fluid nature of modern college basketball, and recent Arizona basketball history, suggests seniors weren’t the only ones saying goodbye to McKale on Tuesday.

Freshman forward Carter Bryant was projected as the No. 23 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, suggesting he will at least test the predraft process, while sophomore KJ Lewis and junior Jaden Bradley could also test the draft for a second straight year.

Lewis declared for the draft last spring after his freshman year but turned down an invitation to play in the G League Elite Camp and returned to Arizona. Bradley mostly kept his predraft efforts quiet before returning.

Then there's the potential for departing transfers, who used to be just players seeking more time (as Conrad Martinez could this spring) but now are also those who appear to be chasing NIL dollars.

The Wildcats have also lost seven transfers in the Tommy Lloyd era: Adama Bal to Santa Clara and Kerr Kriisa to West Virginia in 2023, and five last spring: Oumar Ballo (Indiana), Paulius Murauskas (Saint Mary’s), Kylan Boswell (Illinois), Filip Borovicanin (New Mexico) and Dylan Anderson (Boise State).

Love finalist for SG award

For the second straight season, Love was named one of five finalists for the Jerry West Award that honors the top shooting guard in college basketball.

Love entered Tuesday's game averaging 16.2 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.1 assists while shooting 37.4% overall and 30.8% from 3-point range for the Wildcats, who were 19-10 overall and 13-5 heading into Tuesday night.

Other candidates for the award include VJ Edgecombe of Baylor, PJ Haggerty of Memphis, Chaz Lanier of Tennessee and Tre Johnson of Texas.

No love from Hurley

After Love and then-ASU standout B.J. Freeman were both ejected from UA’s Feb. 1 win at ASU, Sun Devils coach Bobby Hurley hinted that he wouldn’t vote for Love for the all-Big 12 team.

“I do get a vote for the all-conference, and I can tell you who's not getting a vote,” Hurley said then. “You can read into that. I'm sure you might know who I’m thinking of.”

Asked before Tuesday’s game if Hurley’s stance might impact his approach to facing ASU again, Love shrugged it off.

“Not at all,” Love said. “I'm gonna come in and do my job, try to do anything that I can to help this team win. That has no impact at all on anything that I do.”

Is Hurley in trouble?

Hurley has one year left on his contract and a team headed for its second straight sub-.500 record. That isn’t usually a good sign.

But Hurley managed to help supercharge ASU’s NIL efforts last spring and pulled in highly regarded recruits Jayden Quaintance and Joson Sanon, a former UA signee, while he’s still in the mix for five-star UA target Koa Peat of Gilbert Perry.

This season the Sun Devils went 9-2 in nonconference play but have dealt with multiple health issues in Big 12 play. Hurley last month also dismissed Freeman, then ASU's leading scorer, saying “we had too many instances of either player or coach conduct with B.J.”

In an Arizona Republic story titled “Arizona State should keep Bobby Hurley but make other changes," Michelle Gardner wrote that firing Hurley would not be a solution to the Sun Devils’ issues.

"The biggest question to ask in a season like this one is: Has the team quit on its coach?" Gardner wrote. “That doesn't appear to be the case and that says a lot.”

Stand-up guy

Two years after Desmond Cambridge sank a 60-foot buzzer beater to give ASU a win at McKale Center over the Wildcats, UA-focused podcaster and radio host Mike Luke paid off a debt lost that night in a friendly wager.

Dodd agreed to change his X backdrop to “Back the A” if the Sun Devils had lost, while Luke agreed to wear his jersey for a future UA-ASU game. But Dodd wasn’t able to collect last season at McKale because he was attending his father’s birthday celebration.

At that point, Luke had reason to think he was off the hook.

“Then he messaged me this week and he’s like 'I’m gonna be there and I haven’t gotten that back,"" Luke said. “He said you’ve gotta wear it for the first half."

So Luke did just that. He sat down in the lower northeast corner of McKale Center wearing Dodd’s white, maroon and gold Sun Devils jersey.

Chant update 

Ten days after picking up national attention for a "F— the Mormons" chant after UA lost to BYU, UA's Zona Zoo student section didn't hold back.

Chants heard Tuesday included "F— You Bobby," referring to ASU coach Bobby Hurley, and "Ref you suck."