Poor tradition. Small crowds. Inconsistent play. Over the past few decades, all surfaced as significant hurdles for Arizona State basketball recruiting.
Lately, much has changed.
Coming off the program's first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2014, coach Bobby Hurley has lassoed the country's No. 10 recruiting class (per 247 Sports), the best the program has produced in the recruiting-service era.
Hurley's incoming class includes four-star prospects from four different countries. Guard Luguentz Dort is from Canada. Wing Elias Valtonen is from Finland. Forward Taeshon Cherry is from the States, while center Uros Plavsic is from Serbia.