The roster overhaul for the Arizona State men's basketball team is nearly complete.
New coach Randy Bennett has 14 scholarship players in the fold, one fewer than the maximum allowed. The roster overhaul was not unexpected, especially given the coaching change. Even last season, the last of the Bobby Hurley tenure, there was just one returning player.
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This year, there are two returning players, although one was out for the entire season with an injury.
ASU's transfer portal class received rave reviews, ranking No. 9 overall and first in the Big 12, according to 247Sports.
While area basketball fans probably know little about the incoming athletes or Bennett's preferred style of play, just a look at the roster speaks volumes.
Our takeaways from Bennett's first assembled roster:
This ASU basketball team will be tall, very tall
The Sun Devils might be the biggest team in the country, with three 7-footers and four others who are 6-8 or taller. There is only one player shorter than 6-4, and that will be the likely starting point guard, Joel Foxwell, who is 6-1.
The tallest player is 7-3 center Filip Malesevic, a native of Serbia who played for the country's Under-20 team in the 2025 FIBA EuroBasket Tournament.
ASU has struggled in recent years when it comes to rebounding and having a presence in the paint. The Sun Devils ranked 306th out of 361 Division 1 programs in rebounding margin. Time will tell if these are just tall players or tall players with a true "physical" presence. To compete in the Big 12, you have to have physicality.
It won't be Guard U
Much was made of Hurley's reliance on his guards, which led to the nickname Guard U when some referred to his version of the Sun Devils. Well, Guard U this isn't. Only four of the 14 players on the current roster are listed as guards, and one of those is the lone true freshman coming in out of the high school ranks, JRob Croy.
Safe to say, this won't be one of those teams whipping up and down the court and counting on transition points and turning the opponent over. It looks like it will be more of a half-court offense, not necessarily the most exciting style of play to watch.
Bennett has one roster spot left, and it should be used by bringing in another guard.
Bennett relied on first-hand eye test
Not only does Bennett have two newcomers who came with him from Saint Mary's, Paulius Murauskas and Dillan Shaw, but two others are coming from schools that his team played against in the West Coast Conference: Foxwell (Portland) and Emmanuel Innocenti (Gonzaga).
In addition, two players are coming over from California Baptist, which was headed by Bennett's assistant, Rick Croy.
European influence remains
Other Division I programs have leaned on the foreign market for years, but ASU started doing so only last season. Bennett hasn't been overly reliant on foreign players, but has had at least a few on his rosters previously.
Bennett's squad will feature eight players from foreign countries — two from Lithuania, three from Australia, and one each from Italy, Serbia and Venezuela. Most of those have experience in professional leagues, so they're not the typical "freshmen." Some, such as Foxwell, were already in Division I programs before ASU.
Most have multiple years of eligibility
You never know who can become eligible for an extra year, but it looks like 10 of the 14 players have eligibility left AFTER this season. Of course, retaining players is always a challenge in the current landscape of the sport. Maybe Bennett will have better luck than Hurley. It also remains to be seen if the school is willing to make a financial commitment to the program.
Still, having players with multiple years left can help build a much-needed foundation. There is a learning curve that comes with having a new mix of players, and if ASU can retain at least a portion of the roster, it would go a long way toward building continuity.
Here is a look at the roster:
Transfers
C Ben Defty (Jr., 7-0, 255, Boston University): Averaged 15.1 points and 6.8 rebounds, earning second-team All-Patriot League honors. Season best of 26 points came against Lehigh.
PG Joel Foxwell (So., 6-1, 180, Portland): Averaged 15.6 points and a conference-high 6.5 assists. Shot 39.3% from the field and 31.9% from long distance. Best of 35 points came against Pepperdine.
C Nate Garcia (So., 7-0, 250 Cal Baptist): Played 6.2 minutes over 16 games as a true freshman. Broke all-time scoring and rebounding records at Damien (California) HS.
PF Jonathan Griman (6-11, 215, Cal Baptist): Started 19 of 31 games last season and averaged 6.1 points and 5.9 rebounds with 0.9 blocks per 23.2 minutes a game. Season high of 12 points came in two games.
SF Emmanuel Innocenti (Sr., 6-5, 200, Gonzaga): Averaged 6 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 1.7 assists, and is noted for his defense. Played in 66 games in two seasons at Gonzaga, starting in 29 the past season.
PF Paulius Murauskas (Sr., 6-8, 220, Saint Mary's): A two-time first-team All-WAC selection. The Lithuanian averaged 18.4 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 2.1 assists. Played two years at Saint Mary's but spent his freshman season at Arizona.
SF Dillan Shaw (So., 6-6, 175, Saint Mary's): Averaged 7.5 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 1.5 assists, earning All-Freshman WAC honors. Shot 41.6% from long distance in 125 attempts. Made at least two 3-pointers in 14 games.
SF Marcus Vaughns (Fr., 6-8, 221, LSU): An Australian product out of NBA Global Academy. Listed as the No. 171 overall prospect and No. 4 prospect out of Australia. Enrolled at LSU in January but never played there. Father Brian played at UC Santa Barbara.
Returning players
G Bryce Ford (Sr., 6-4, 190): Will be his second season in Tempe for the Pinnacle High product. Averaged 6.9 points, starting in 20 of his 27 games, but was slowed for most of it by a hip injury that required surgery. Season best of 20 points came in a win over Hawaii.
SF Vijay Wallace (Jr., 6-5, 180): Was expected to contend for a starting spot but was sidelined with a broken leg in an exhibition game against Texas A&M. Before that, he averaged 15.7 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 3.1 assists at Triton College, a community college in the Chicago area.
High school recruits
G JRob Croy (6-5, Riverside Poly HS, California): Led Poly to a Division II CIF regional semifinal berth as a senior. On the AAU circuit, he helped lead Team CPSA to the 2025 Puma Pro16 17U League title, averaging 13.5 points and six assists per game while shooting 39 percent from three.
Europeans
F Ajak Nyuon (6-10, 195, Center of Excellence, Australia): Nyuon is in the Australian national program, which includes ASU associate head coach David Patrick as one of its assistants. Nyuon averaged 2.3 points and 1.7 rebounds playing for the national U19 team at last year's World Cup.
C Filip Malesevic (7-3, 220, KK Dynamic, Serbia): Averaged 10.2 points and 9.4 rebounds for the 12th-place team out of 16 in the Basketball League of Serbia, a top-flight professional league in the country. Malesevic was a backup center who averaged 2.9 points and 3.3 rebounds in 8.4 minutes for Serbia's U20 team in the 2025 FIBA EuroBasket Tournament.
G Jokubas Rudaitis (6-6, Zalgaris Kaunas II Club, Lithuania): Averaged 12.9 points (shooting 44%), 7.9 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game last season for his club team in Lithuania and five points, 2.9 rebounds, and 1.1 assists at the FIBA U20 EuroBasket event.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Takeaways as Bennett has his first ASU roster nearly finalized