Byron Scott. Fat Lever. Joe Caldwell. There are numerous historically significant players that have played for the Arizona State basketball program.
Despite this, the program has struggled to consistently field competitive squads – and has become known as one of the more challenging jobs in the college basketball landscape.
That doesn’t mean that there hasn’t been past alumni that have meant a great deal to the city of Tempe and the program that is currently run by Bobby Hurley, however.
The three most significant recruits in the history of Sun Devil basketball:
Harden is a clear choice here.
The 2018 NBA MVP joined Sendek’s program in 2007 as a highly regarded prospect – and proved himself tenfold while in Tempe.
Harden’s team advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament in 2009 behind an average of over 20 points per contest for ‘The Beard’ – he became the standard for high-level recruits choosing to play for Arizona State over more prestigious institutions such as UCLA.
What Harden has done for the program in the years since is equally meaningful, from NIL contributions, to gifting players of the men’s and women’s programs with pairs of his signature shoe – the star has not forgotten where he came from.
Carson is another example of a high-level recruit selecting the Sun Devils over other programs that could have more history behind them – this time, Carson is the example of local recruits choosing to stay in-state.
Carson enjoyed a quality career under Sendek, but did not make a successful push for the NBA.
Despite that, he is still proof that in-state recruits are attaimable – even if prized 2025 recruit Koa Peat recently chose the University of Arizona over Bobby Hurley’s program.
Dort is the biggest success story of the Hurley era – a dynamic 6’4″ guard that boasted a unique physical profile and a high-upside offensive game.
Dort was the best player on the 2018-19 Sun Devil team, averaging over 16 PPG – and took the team to the first round of the NCAA tournament.
His pro career has gone quite well, as he is now a singular victory away from reaching the NBA Finals as a key cog in the Oklahoma City Thunder rotation.
Read more about Dort and how he is making his mark as a member of the Thunder here, along with Harden’s contributions to the program here.
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