At Arizona State, cracking the lineup is difficult. Doing it as a freshman is rare. Doing it twice with two players who grew up together, well, that is something else entirely.
“It’s kind of crazy when you think about it geographically,” Thurmond continued.
The Big 12 starting five includes a Norwegian in Michael Mjaaseth, a San Diegan in Connor Williams, and a Thai in Fifa Laopakdee.
“Then to have two guys that grew up together play together in the relatively small state of Utah, I mean, it’s kind of remarkable that it would work out that way.”
Heading to the Big 12 Tournament
It’s also the kind of thing that people back home notice.
“I think a lot of people are probably a little shocked,” Bracken admits.
“A lot of people in Utah weren’t sure if I was going to be able to play here. ASU has a really good team, so when I found out that we’re both on the postseason team, I was pretty pumped.”
Mauss, meanwhile, is looking forward to his first major collegiate test.
“The fact that we get to have this pressure, and have such high expectations for ourselves, is a privilege,” Mauss said. “We have three of the best players in the country. We know they expect us to play well, and we know how well they are going to play.”
“We have amazing team chemistry. We have been playing our best, we have been working hard, and we all believe in ourselves. I think we have a really good chance of winning.”
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