The Arizona State basketball program has had continuous support from James Harden. The former Sun Devils guard was the No. 3 pick in the 2009 NBA Draft and will likely be in the Hall of Fame. While Arizona State basketball has had a rocky season, it hasn’t stopped Harden from his support.
Most recently, he made a 6-figure donation to the Sun Angel Collective, the university’s NIL fund. He told Front Office Sports why he donated to the program.
“I wanted to be part of helping the team and school get players,” Harden said. “We’re a very, very great program … If NIL is the problem, then I can help with that.”
Harden as always been supportive of the program. Any time he is in Phoenix, he’ll stay and watch the Sun Devils play. However, since the 2009 season, the team hasn’t been the same. Under head coach Bobby Hurley, the team currently has a 13-14 record. Despite four seasons with 20+ wins, it hasn’t garnered enough consistency.
They’ve been to the tournament three times in his 10 seasons as head coach. For a program as big as Arizona State basketball, it seems a bit unacceptable.
Although Arizona State basketball landed five-star recruit Jayden Quaintance, the university clearly needs more financial support. In a loaded Big 12 conference, teams like Kansas, Houston, and even BYU are getting the upper hand.
James Harden’s support could fuel Arizona State basketball
The program has a plethora of decisions to make after this season. If the Sun Devils don’t win the Big 12 conference tournament, it’ll likely be another season of them on the outside, looking in. Considering that Arizona State hired a new athletic director in Graham Rossini, it could be time for a change.
Hurley is a fantastic recruiter, but not the best with X’s and O’s. However, his brother, UConn men’s basketball head coach Dan Hurley, is one of the top X’s and O’s coaches in all of college. It doesn’t make too much sense, but that’s how it has been in recent years.
The current Arizona State head coach was an elite player himself at Duke. He won the 1991-92 Most Outstanding Player award with the Blue Devils. Mind you, this was on a team with Christian Laettner and Grant Hill.
At the end of the day, Harden’s gesture shows his commitment to the program, regardless of the success or failures. He’ll stick around for as long as he is able. However, his donation could go into a plethora of different things. Some of which, could impact the future of the Arizona State basketball program moving forward.
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