Tuesday opened the ASU men's basketball season as the team took part in its annual media day, answering questions on a myriad of topics relating to activities both on and off the court.
New Adidas uniforms
The Sun Devils unveiled their new home and road uniforms on Twitter leading up to media day. Prominent features of the new threads include names on the back of the jerseys for the first time since 2006 and the rarely used combined "AS" logo, which is routinely associated with the ASU baseball program.
The back of the new ASU basketball uniform has the rarely used connected "AS." pic.twitter.com/bQVwb8Q0cU
— Matthew Tonis (@Tonis_The_Tiger) September 29, 2015
Junior forward Maurice O'Field said the team wasn't sure what to expect from the uniforms, but the response has been positive overall from the players.
"We were kind of skeptical about it, but adidas is great, man," O'Field said. "All the gear we get is comfortable. I like it. It's my first time wearing adidas, but I love it."
Senior guard Gerry Blakes agreed, saying having the names on the back is exciting for him as well as the rest of the team.
"We love the Adidas," Blakes said. "The name on the backs is something I'm sure we all dreamt of and we're excited to get it under way with the new jerseys and the new gear."
Eric Jacobsen's weight loss
Before last season, former coach Herb Sendek made a big deal about redshirt senior forward Eric Jacobsen putting on a lot of muscle and bulking up 10-15 pounds. This offseason, Jacobsen lost that weight and more and is more svelte than he's been in his ASU career.
Jacobsen said he'll play at 240 pounds this year after playing at 260 last season and said the weight loss will allow him to do more on the court.
Eric Jacobsen said he's hoping to play at 240 lbs. pic.twitter.com/EMnlj1L3qW
— Matthew Tonis (@Tonis_The_Tiger) September 29, 2015
"I tried to keep my strength as much as I could, which I think I did," Jacobsen said. "(Sports performance) coach Rich (Wenner) helped me a lot with that. But I definitely feel quicker, more agile, my vertical is up. ... I just feel like I'm lighter."
Jacobsen said Hurley's style of play made him want to lose the weight to get up and down the court quicker, something Hurley concurred with earlier in the day.
"He's been all over the offensive glass in workouts and changing ends of the floor at a great pace," Hurley said. "He's improving, he's facing up and doing some things he might not have done here in the past, so he's been very impressive."
Dominating the Drew League
This summer, Blakes competed in the illustrious Drew League in Los Angeles against some of the best players in the NBA, including Toronto Raptors guard DeMar DeRozan and Los Angeles Lakers guard Nick Young. During the season, Blakes was the Week 9 Player of the Week after scoring 38 points and grabbing eight rebounds in a 77-75 win.
Hurley said Blakes asked him before playing in the Drew League and said he will let guys play if they want to so they can be the best players they can be.
"I'm always supportive of my guys wanting the best competition, and Gerry has really attacked this offseason," Hurley said.
Blakes said he trained all week in Tempe and drove back to Los Angeles to play in games and credited his preparation for having such a stellar summer.
"I would prepare hard to have those performances and hopefully that carries over in to the season," Blakes said.
Reach the reporter at mtonis@asu.edu or follow @Tonis_The_Tiger on Twitter.
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