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ASU men's basketball shows off at Maroon and Gold Madness

The Sun Devils put on a show for their fans in the first public access of the season

Sophomore guard Austin Withereill takes the ball to the hoop during the men's intra-squad scrimmage on Friday, Oct. 9, 2015, at Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe.
Sophomore guard Austin Withereill takes the ball to the hoop during the men's intra-squad scrimmage on Friday, Oct. 9, 2015, at Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe.

With the ASU men's basketball team's season just about to get underway, the team was able to show off for the fans for the first time Friday night.

The men's portion of the night kicked off with the 3-point contest, which pitted sophomore guard Kodi Justice, junior guard Andre Spight and senior forward Willie Atwood against each other. Justice cruised through, spotting up instead of moving around the arc like the other two did and won the round, but fell in the final round to senior guard Katie Hempen of the women's basketball team for the overall title.

Then the game got started. Coach Bobby Hurley said he and the players treated the scrimmage as something fun for the fans and that was obvious from the beginning. The scrimmage did not show much of the style of play the Sun Devils will employ this season, but it did showcase the talent on the roster.

For the second straight year junior forward Savon Goodman was one of the most impressive player on either side, showing skill on both ends of the floor with active play. Goodman grabbed rebounds on both ends and had a couple monstrous dunks to electrify those who showed up to Wells Fargo Arena.

As the 10-minute game wore on, it devolved into an exercise in fast breaks and dunks, entertaining everyone in attendance. The up-and-down game resembled the first quarter of the NBA All Star Game: very little defense and star power winning out.

Following the scrimmage was the slam dunk contest featuring Blakes, sophomore forward Maurice O'Field, junior forward Obinna Oleka and junior guard Torian Graham. After three rounds, Graham took the win over Oleka in the finals as he could not get off a dunk in the alotted time, giving Graham the victory.

With less than a month until ASU takes the court for the first time in a scrimmage, fans have a lot to look forward to from the Sun Devils.


Reach the reporter at mtonis@asu.edu or follow @Tonis_The_Tiger on Twitter.

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