Molly Miller didn’t have to wait long to see what Ruby Whitehorn can do for Arizona State.
The Tennessee transfer followed a 25-point, 10-rebound night against Northern Arizona with another strong showing in a bigger test, helping the Sun Devils beat UNLV 65-58 on the road. Whitehorn finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds, giving her back-to-back double-doubles and another reminder that her value goes well beyond scoring.
“Any given night, it can be any player who steps up, and that was Ruby.” Miller said postgame.
That kind of production has become a theme early in Whitehorn’s ASU run. Even when the shot isn’t falling, she has found ways to tilt the game in the Sun Devils’ favor. In two of the first three contests, she shot a combined 7-21 from the field and missed all six of her three-point attempts, yet she still owns one of the team’s strongest plus/minus marks.
She has also led ASU in rebounding in two of its first three games, which is not exactly what most people expect from a guard. For Miller, though, it fits perfectly with the way she wants this team to play.
As she said on opening night, the Sun Devils are built around an “Aggressor” mentality, and Miller made it clear what that means to her.
“We wanted to be the aggressor,” Miller said. “I think that’s where we had some lapses here in the preseason, where we were hoping the rebound would come to us.
I want them to be aggressive rebounding. I want them to rebound out of their area.
I want to scrap and fight and claw. I always say every 50-50 ball is 100% ours.
So if there’s a ball bouncing on the ground, we’re gonna go get it. We’re gonna come up with it.”
That approach was part of the pitch when ASU brought in its highly rated transfer class this summer. The talent is obvious, but Miller has been just as focused on the fit.
“I think there was kind of the antithesis of last year was we had to work really, really, really, really hard. And I’m not sure we were the most talented team.
This year, we’re pretty talented, but we can’t let our edge suffer because of that.” Miller said.
Whitehorn appears to check both boxes for what Miller wants: skill and edge. ASU didn’t just add talent; it added players who seem to buy into the same mission.
“It’s not just going to be one person carrying this team to the championship,” Whitehorn said. “We have a lot of people who are happy for each other when we have games like this … we support each other through and through, and that’s a special thing to find.”
Nov. 28-29: Briann January Classic (CSU Bakersfield, Wake Forest)
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For Arizona State, the wrinkle is obvious. Swint now leads the Big 12 in kickoff return average and is third on UCF in rushing yards, so the Sun Devils have to account for him in both phases if they face the Knights again with the same kind of backfield mix. His expanded role came out of necessity, but it has given UCF a more dangerous option at a time when the offense is still sorting out its running back depth. [Read more 🡒]