Pair of former Buckeyes helped Arizona State reach First Four

Luther Muhammad and Alonzo Gaffney have not played major roles for the Sun Devils this season, but the seniors have both made it into every game but one, and their teammates are happy to have them along for their journey.

“Yeah, they’ve brought a lot,” junior point guard DJ Horne said Tuesday. “In the beginning of the season, we were saying that we had one of the deepest teams in the country. And I still believe that, especially when those two guys come in and give us life off the bench. I feel like that’s basically what they do, they come in and give us an instant spark. Especially when the starters can’t get off to a good start, I feel like they always come in ready to play.”

A 6-foot-3 guard from New Jersey, Muhammad started 28 games for Ohio State as a sophomore in 2019-20 and averaged 7.0 points and 2.3 rebounds per game before opting to leave the program.

He sat out the following year to rehabilitate a shoulder injury but has appeared in 64 games for ASU over the past two seasons with 12 starts.

He averages 3.3 points per game with a high of 12 against Michigan in November.

Gaffney is a 6-9, 200-pound senior forward from Cleveland who arrived at ASU two years ago after a season of junior college.

Unlike Muhammad, he did not have much of a role for the Buckeyes, playing 17 games and averaging 1.8 points and 1.4 rebounds per game in one season before deciding to transfer.

Gaffney started 24 games last season but has mostly come off the bench this year and is contributing 3.1 points and 2.8 rebounds per game.

“I call Luther ‘Middy Lu’ and I call Alonzo ‘Baby Kevin Durant,’” senior forward Desmond Cambridge Jr. said. “Literally in practice leading up to the season, all through the summer, practices were super competitive. We had maybe 11 guys going at each other, two starting fives really, so I think that really brought the competitive spirit, competitive fire, and it brought out the best in each other’s games.

“We’ve seen everyone on this team do things that, like man, if someone saw that on ESPN maybe, he would probably already be in the NBA. Literally just waiting for that to come out in the games.

“Everyone on this team can bring a spark, can help this team, and it’s literally when your name is called, come in and do what you’re supposed to do and do what you can do.”