After ASU parted ways with former 11-year men's basketball head coach Bobby Hurley, the program searched for possible solutions to take the helm.
The program ended up selecting somebody quite familiar with the Valley, hiring long-time Saint Mary's men's basketball head coach Randy Bennett.
During Bennett's introductory press conference, which was held in May, the Mesa native shared that he looks to revive Sun Devil basketball after the team barely scraped together a winning record in the 2025-26 season.
Under coach Bennett's guidance, Saint Mary's program transformed into a premier team in the West Coast Conference, with 12 NCAA tournament appearances.
Along with multiple March Madness appearances during his 25-year tenure at the helm, Bennett held a record of 589-228 and won seven WCC Coach of the Year honors.
So, why did Bennett leave Saint Mary's after establishing a legacy in Northern California?
Bennett described his reason as "pretty obvious" as to why he chose to return home and coach the Sun Devils.
"It has everything to do with ASU and nothing to do with Saint Mary's," Bennett said. "Twenty years ago, I talked to Lisa Love about this position, and I always thought it was a great job."
In addition to admiring the job in previous years, Bennett recalled that during the late 70's through the 80's, ASU's basketball program was the place to be at in Arizona. According to Bennett, during that timeframe, only the best players in Phoenix or Arizona got the opportunity to play for the Sun Devils.
"ASU was powerful," Bennett said. "ASU was top two in the country in men's basketball. They rolled out five pros: (Lafayette) Lever, Byron Scott, Johnny Nash, Sam Williams and Alton Lister."
Despite the past success, ASU faces many challenges ahead of Bennett's first year, with one of them being competing in the challenging Big 12 conference.
The Sun Devils finished their recent campaign with an overall record of 17-16 and a conference play record of 7-11, ending their season not far from the bottom of the Big 12 standings.
With powerhouses like the Arizona Wildcats, Houston Cougars, Iowa State Cyclones and Kansas Jayhawks in the conference, Sun Devils Athletics Director Graham Rossini said the ASU coaching job has a reputation of being a tough one.
However, Bennett looks to flip the narrative around in Tempe, the same way he did for the Gaels. Before Bennett arrived at Saint Mary's, the team completed the 2000-01 season with a 2-27 record.
"I came here because I wanted to be a part of that challenge," Bennett said. "I want players that want to be a part of that challenge, and that challenge is you're going to go play against the best."
In tandem with being up for the challenge, Bennett wants to lay down a strong foundation on and off court for the program.
For Bennett, having a family atmosphere for former alumni, giving back to the community and doing camps are ways to lay the foundation off the court.
On the flip side, for the work on the court, Bennett recruited players on positive terms, players who bought into being with the team and possess the same goal of winning a championship and graduating from ASU.
With NIL and the transfer portal being as powerful as ever, teams face problems retaining players for more than one year, and Bennett doesn't see it going away anytime soon.
However, Bennett doesn't think it's all about money when constructing a championship-level team, but also about the character and dedication of the players.
"We want retention, and I think that's how the good ones at the highest level are doing it," Bennett said.
Former players and coaches from Bennett's time at Saint Mary's praised his work ethic, while Bennett praised his newly acquired coaching staff and the ability to resource better.
"Hired a great staff so I think they'll cover for me," Bennett said. "A lot of them have been head coaches; they'll all be head coaches again if they haven't already been, so I have a lot of trust there."
Upon the hiring of Bennett and the freshly built coaching staff, ASU President Michael Crow told the former Gaels' coach only one thing, claiming he did not need to win the national championship.
"We're going to win conference championships," Crow said. "Once we've won those conference championships, then we're going to compete for national things as the outcome. Compete, compete, compete, compete, and do it in a way where we maintain the focus on college athletes."
Alongside Crow's vision for Sun Devil Athletics and his message to coach Bennett, Rossini shares similar emotions for another year being in the Big 12.
"Can't think of a better thing for us to contribute time, treasure, talent and all the things that we can bring into this conversation on behalf of the athletes that represent Arizona State University every single day," Rossini said.
Edited by Char O'Neil, Senna James and Ellis Preston.
Reach the reporter at tcromero@asu.edu and follow @romerotrevin1 on X.
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