Bryce Ford Breakout Gives Arizona State a New Option Off Bench, Could Scottsdale's Own Be ASU's Sixth Man?

On Friday night, Randy Bennett's new team found the keys to the Ford.

Bryce Ford, that is, who provided some gas with 17 points off the bench in the Sun Devils' 90-63 victory over Northern Colorado.

The Scottsdale native saw his minutes uptick from nine minutes in the season opener to 22 minutes on Friday night. What changed? Here's everything to know:

Built Ford Tough

"When you do get your number called," ASU head basketball coach Randy Bennett said postgame. "You've got to be ready to go."

Ford's number was dialed, and he picked up the call.

The senior guard went six-for-11 from the field, including two threes, to help the Sun Devils separate from UNCO early.

"I thought he was ready to go tonight..." Bennett said. "I thought he was great. He was really good, really good first half. Separated that game for us. Proud of him."

While it was a big night for Ford's season to kickstart, it was also big for ASU, getting the needed uptick in scoring production that was a bit behind in their 75-65 win over East Tennessee on Monday.

Playing Time Going Forward?

After the Monday opener, questions were asked about Bennett's rotation, being very thin with captains Dillan Shaw and Paulius Murauskas playing the entire game, on top of being adjusted after the injury to starter Emmanuel Innocenti.

"I wish we would have separated on this game so that we could have played some guys more," Bennett said on Monday. "But Bryce is going to get in there. I even think Vijay can get in there."

Four days later, the rotation started to evolve a bit more. Ford and C Filip Malesevic both played 20+ minutes off the bench, along with names like F Ajak Nyuon, C Nate Garcia and the aforementioned Vijay Wallace getting some playing time.

We will see what minutes are distributed this Tuesday when ASU hosts Hofstra.

Same Town, New System

Being one of just two returners to the programs, Bryce Ford has taken the "veteran" role to the next level.

"Being the guy that has to show the guys the introduction, show the guys what tunnel to go through, (to) go high-five the fans after," Ford said. "It's definitely a great feeling, knowing that I'm also from here. So the fan love is just craziness, one of one."

Ford has his own adjustments to get used to, however, coming over from Bobby Hurley's guard-heavy and offensive focus to Randy Bennett's defensive and rebounding mentality.

"Definitely the emphasis is on defense and rebounding, as boxing out is a key point of this program," Ford said. "If you don't box out, you won't play. And then defense, plugging the gaps and just doing the little things on defense, is definitely one big emphasis that I'd say is different from last year."

Ford and ASU will look to keep the momentum going next week, hosting the Hofstra Pride on Tuesday night in Tempe.

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