Friday night in Tempe was all about Paulius Murauskas, and Randy Bennett didn’t try to hide it.
The new Arizona State coach watched his captain forward pile up 31 points and 13 rebounds in a 92-62 win over UL Monroe, then spent much of his postgame session talking about how far Murauskas has come. Bennett said the forward has reached a point where the coaching staff doesn’t need to be on him during games the way it once did.
“When I don’t have to talk to them (his players) during the games, they’ve gotten good, and that’s kind of where I am with Paulis. Wasn’t always like that, but I just let him play. He knows what he’s doing.
“When they start saying the things you’re saying, when they start saying those things to their teammates, what the coaches are trying to tell our team when they’re saying it, then you have good leadership. And he really wants to be good. He really wants his team to be good.”
Bennett said the biggest jump in Murauskas’ game has come in how he carries himself.
“Everybody asks me, 'Man, where’s he gotten better?' And that’s (leadership) by far number one.
He’s gotten better in other areas. He’s gotten stronger, but he’s just really grown up into a good leader.”
The coach also pointed to the broader team standard he wants his group to hit: rebounding, defense, ball security and efficient offense. Even with the comfortable margin, he said there was still room for the Sun Devils to do more.
“That’s one of our big deals: rebounding, defending, taking care of the ball, and then being efficient offensively, and we weren’t happy about it slipping to a plus 13. So we have to play 40 minutes, and our guys did a good job.
I have no complaints, but we could have put that number up there even higher. But we keep getting better.”
Defensively, Bennett liked what he saw for most of the night, especially in limiting UL Monroe from beyond the arc.
“We were good, on defense, until (the) last eight to 10 minutes. But we were good.
Our numbers, our defensive numbers, are good. Big key on them was keeping them off the three, which we have not been doing a great job of.
We did a pretty good job tonight. They got some buckets late, that can happen, but we don’t want it to happen.
The guys don’t get to play a lot. You got to play, and they need those minutes, and they need to be coached hard in those minutes so that they get better.
That’s the whole deal.”
Bennett also put Murauskas in rare company when asked where the forward ranks among the players he’s coached.
“At that position, I would say the best (I’ve coached) at that position. We’ve had some really good guards and really good fives.
He’s in the conversation. I thought about it a lot recently.
Like, where is he? He’s just put himself into, in my 25 years, the elite category group.
It’d be hard for me, breaking down, (Matthew) Dellavedova and Patty (Mills) and (Jock) Londale and (Omar) Samhan, those guys. But as far as a four, best one I’ve coached.”
Bennett, Murauskas and the Devils will be back on the floor Wednesday, Nov. 18, for a 7:00 PM tip against Oakland.
In Other News...
Arizona State Faces A Brutal Pre-Kickoff Test At UCF
Arizona States trip to UCF turned into a travel headache before the Sun Devils ever got to the stadium, with a nationwide ground stop from the Federal Aviation Administration throwing the teams plans into chaos. The football team was stuck on a plane for two hours before heading back to its facility, a disruption that left players dealing with the kind of logistical mess that can make a road game feel longer before it even starts.
The delay also pushed kickoff back to 5:30 p.m. ET, forcing Arizona State to adjust its entire schedule on the fly. For a team already facing a tricky road environment, the added uncertainty around travel and timing only increases the challenge as it tries to settle in and get ready for UCF. [Read more 🡒]
Arizona States Hot Start Is Starting To Feel Very Real
Arizona States 3-0 start is beginning to look less like a nice early burst and more like a real foundation. After an 85-63 win over Hofstra, the Sun Devils have opened with three straight victories for the first time since the 2018-19 season, and the early returns have come from a mix of contributors. Paulius Murauskas, Joel Foxwell and JRob Croy all had notable showings, giving the roster the kind of balance that can make a hot start feel sustainable.
The next chance to keep it rolling comes against Louisiana-Monroe, and the matchup offers another test of whether this group can keep its footing once the schedule starts asking different questions. Louisiana-Monroe is coming off a double-overtime loss to TCU, so Arizona State will have to stay sharp to make it four in a row. Randy Bennett has already voiced confidence in what this team can become, and the Sun Devils now have a chance to turn a promising opening into something that feels a lot more substantial. [Read more 🡒]
Arizona State Faces A Real Pregame Concern Before UCF Kickoff
A travel headache turned Arizona States trip to UCF into a pregame story of its own, with a nationwide FAA ground stoppage forcing the Sun Devils to leave much later than planned. Instead of settling in on the usual game-day rhythm, the team had to navigate a delayed departure before still making it to Orlando in time for the rescheduled 5:30 p.m. EST kickoff.
Kenny Dillingham tried to keep the focus on handling the disruption the right way, stressing a positive attitude even as the schedule got thrown off. For a team trying to get ready for a road game, it was the kind of unexpected wrinkle that tests routine as much as it does preparation, and Arizona State at least avoided the worst-case scenario by getting there in time to play. [Read more 🡒]