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PAC-12 MEN'S BASKETBALL MEDIA DAY

October 21, 2016

San Francisco, California

THE MODERATOR: We'll continue with Arizona State Coach Bobby Hurley, and Tra Holder. Coach, opening remarks?

BOBBY HURLEY: Well, we've had a couple of solid off-seasons, a few good weeks of practice where we're reasonably healthy right now. We have, I think, a good blend of upperclassmen experience and talent, and some good youth. Solid 2016 class that we're really excited to start coaching. So it's been a really enjoyable group so far to work with day-in and day-out. I think our culture is certainly getting there. I think we have a chance to be a really good offensive team. We've got some real good firepower on the perimeter, and I'm excited to coach these guys day-in and day-out.

Q. Coach, I was wondering, it was your first year in the Pac-12 last year. What did you learn the most about the Pac-12 that maybe you didn't know when you started coaching?
BOBBY HURLEY: Just I have more respect for West Coast basketball. I knew there were some programs with great tradition and great quality of basketball. But I think it was a deep year for our league last year. Numerous teams did very well in the non-conference, including ourselves, which kind of set the table for us getting seven teams in the NCAA Tournament. Really respected, again, the quality of play, the quality of coaching. It was a great learning experience. It's fun to have a chance to coach the guys that are returning, Tra Holder. I'm excited to see him take another step, continue to develop, and just continue to put together a program we're looking to put together.

Q. Tra, the curtain of distractions, does the team help out with that at all, with ideas? I always wondered that.
TRA HOLDER: Yeah, I think it's good to put that together. It brings a lot of energy to the fans and to the program, and I think it really excited us. To have Michael Phelps come out there last year, that was a dream come true. I'm a big fan of his. He got us to miss two free throws, so that was a good part.

Q. I think it was against Arizona, right?
BOBBY HURLEY: Yeah.

Q. Coach, you mentioned West Coast basketball. When you came out here, did you have many AAU and high school contacts on the West Coast, or was it starting from scratch in that regard for you?
BOBBY HURLEY: Kind of starting from scratch, what was more of the northeast in my background in playing and coaching initially. Went to the MAC Conference, which was primarily Midwest, so I had to develop relationships there. It's the same thing now with the transition to the West. We've attracted players from different regions of the United States. We've cast kind of a large net in that regard. Then also exploring some international as well.

So it's great to have Tra do as well as he's doing. Being a California kid and having a great career with us, we're excited about recruiting the West. But we're obviously looking all over the place for players.

Q. Second year in the Pac-12, what are you most looking forward to this season?
BOBBY HURLEY: Just to see the development and the competition. We don't get too caught up in where we're projected to finish. My second year in Buffalo we were projected to finish fourth in the Eastern division of our conference and finished first, and went to the NCAA Tournament. So a lot of it is speculation. I think that our talent base is better than it was last year overall. We have some issues that we have to address, like all teams do, and we have our strengths. I love our perimeter and our guard play and our depth on the perimeter. I think we're as good as anybody. That's going to put some pressure on my guys to live up to that. But I think they're more than capable. We have a chance to be a tremendous three-point shooting team, and just a dynamic team off the dribble from the perimeter attacking the basket.

Q. Who do you think will have a breakout season this year?
BOBBY HURLEY: Well, I mean, there's a couple of guys, a couple of candidates for that. Tra, I would imagine, is going to continue his development and have a great year. We have Shannon Evans who is sitting out that came with me from Buffalo that I think is going to be one of the premier players in conference. He and Tra playing together in the back court is going to cause some problems for people this year. I'm excited to see that combination. Sam Cunliffe is a freshman that I'm very excited about from Seattle. He's been terrific in practice. He's been every bit as advertised as a highly decorated recruit and a player that's going to impact our program very quickly.

Obi Oleka is a key player for us. I think he's a very gifted player. He's a very versatile player. He played a little bit on the front court and stepped away from the basket as well. He needs to rebound very well for us. That's going to be key for him. But as a senior, as a talented guy to anchor our front court, he's going to be key for us.

Q. What does it mean to have the Final Four in Glendale? Does it motivate you for this season?
BOBBY HURLEY: It's such a tremendous event, and I obviously have such great memories of that event. I'm just proud that it's in our backyard. It's a terrific place to host and celebrate a tournament like that just with the environment you're in. It's a fun place to go for an event like the Final Four, great weather, and everything you could be looking for in a place to host that type of tournament. We're excited about it, obviously. And I don't have to go too far to get there, which is nice also.

Q. Tra, what do you see is the biggest difference from Coach Hurley from year one to year two? Comfort level what's changed the most?
TRA HOLDER: I think Coach Hurley had a good year under him to be able to adjust coming from the East Coast to the West Coast basketball. But I think anytime a coach or anybody in a first-year job is always a big adjustment. So I think having that year and comfortability, that helped him out a lot. So I'm excited to see what he has in store or what we have in store for the season.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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