Randy Bennett didn’t just come back to Arizona with a fresh playbook. He brought the whole operating system.
When the new Sun Devils coach returned from the Bay Area, he was joined by familiar people from his Saint Mary’s days, including senior forward Paulius Murauskas, sophomore guard/forward Dillan Shaw and several staff members who worked for or played under him in Moraga. The bigger import, though, was the way he wants his team to play: physical, disciplined and relentless on the glass.
That vision is already shaping an ASU roster that Big 12 coaches projected to finish 12th in the preseason poll. The Sun Devils have the kind of size and length that can change possessions in a hurry, but Bennett made it clear in his 2026 Monster Energy Big 12 Basketball Media Days appearance that the template only works if the whole group commits.
"If you don't do those other three (defend, rebound and take care of the ball), I don't think you have a chance," Bennett said at the 2026 Monster Energy Big 12 Basketball Media Days.
The early signs point to Bennett leaning on players who already know exactly what that standard looks like. Murauskas and Shaw were voted captains by their teammates, along with Gonzaga transfer Emmanuel Innocenti, a senior guard/forward. That matters because Murauskas and Shaw spent time in Bennett’s system before arriving in Tempe, giving them a head start on the habits he wants installed.
"It's easy for us to tell a guy what they're supposed to do; if they're not doing it right," Shaw said. "Then they just take it and learn from it."
Murauskas arrived with some extra recognition, too. He was named the Big 12 Preseason Newcomer of the Year. Shaw, meanwhile, comes off a solid freshman season at Saint Mary’s, where he made the West Coast Conference All-Freshman Team after averaging 7.5 points and 5.4 rebounds while shooting 41.6% from 3-point range.
The roster gives Bennett plenty of length to work with. Murauskas is listed at 6-foot-8 and Shaw at 6-foot-7, and they are two of 11 Sun Devils listed at 6-foot-5 or taller. ASU also has three true centers in Filip Malesevic at 7-foot-3, Ben Defty at 7-foot-1 and Nate Garcia at 7 feet.
That kind of frame should allow the Sun Devils to bother ball handlers, challenge shots and squeeze out turnovers. Rick Croy, the associate head coach, said the length can only become a real weapon if it is paired with the right technique and habits.
"When you have great length, you're a wide team, you play in a strong stance and you talk well and you understand the system and the fundamentals," Rick Croy, associate head coach, said. "And you do it over and over again, you got a chance to get stops. That's going to be very, very important to us."
There’s also an offensive side to all that pressure. ASU wants to turn stops into speed, and transition basketball could become a major part of how this team scores. Shaw said the roster’s athleticism gives that plan real teeth.
"Pretty much all of us are athletic," Shaw said. "When we're playing aggressive and getting out in lanes, I would say that's going to be our strength this season."
Bennett and his staff know the identity won’t be built in a week. This first season is about laying down the habits, accountability and buy-in that can carry the program forward.
"We're chipping away at it," Croy said. "Our guys understand that there's a tremendous premium on defense. If we want to protect home floor, if we want to be tough enough to go win on the road, we got to guard and we got to do it together."
The challenge will come quickly in a Big 12 that is loaded at the top. Six conference teams appeared in the preseason AP Top 25, including No.
5 Arizona and No. 10 Houston.
ASU will face all six of those teams, with Arizona on the schedule twice.
Before the league grind really hits, the Sun Devils will get a chance to settle in at home. They open the season Nov. 2 against East Tennessee State and then play five straight games at Desert Financial Arena.
The first major tests arrive around Thanksgiving, when ASU meets LSU on Nov. 25 and South Carolina on Thanksgiving Day in Palm Springs, California. The nonconference stretch also includes a Dec. 5 game against Oklahoma in Tulsa.
One date stands out in December: Dec. 20, when San Diego comes to town. That game sends Bennett against the program where he launched his coaching career.
Big 12 play begins Jan. 2 at home against No. 25 BYU.
Two weeks later, the Sun Devils travel to Tucson to face No. 5 Arizona on Jan.
- The stretch that could shape the season comes in early February, when ASU plays at No.
17 Kansas, hosts Arizona, goes to Kansas St. and then returns home for No. 18 Iowa State on Feb.
The regular season ends March 6 at Oklahoma St., before the Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City.
Bennett isn’t forecasting how high this group can climb. He’s starting with the pieces he knows he has.
"We did step No. 1: got good people," Bennett said at Big 12 media.
For a coach who grew up 10 minutes from campus, the formula is familiar: defend, rebound and take care of the ball.