By Craig Morgan, thesundevils.com Writer
TEMPE, Ariz. -- When asked what conversations he has with teammates Romello White and Mickey Mitchell, Sun Devils forward Vitaliy Shibel didn't even wait for a reporter to finish his question.
"Do you talk much about…" the reporter began.
"Next year?" Shibel said, laughing. "A lot. All the time."
While Shibel, White and Mitchell practice, lift weights and watch film like the rest of the Sun Devils roster, they haven't tasted the fruits of their labor. Not yet, anyway.
Shibel, a 6-foot-9 freshman from the Ukraine, is still rehabbing a torn ACL earlier suffered last summer. White, a 6-8 forward from Suwanee, Georgia, is sitting out the year for academic reasons. Mitchell, a 6-7 forward from Plano, Texas, transferred from Ohio State and will be eligible in December of 2017.
They are the ghosts in the Sun Devils basketball machine, rarely seen, but always impacting the direction of second-year coach Bobby Hurley's program with their diverse skills sets and their one discernible link.
"They're all bigger guys," Hurley said. "Beyond that, they do all bring something different to the table. I'm just looking forward to coaching a deeper team where there's more competition and more options. That would be a welcome plus to me and we'll add some other guys, too so the roster is going to look a lot different next season."
White admits it was difficult accepting his fate when the season began.
"At the beginning, I wanted to be in there so bad," he said. "I'm watching the games like 'dang,' but now I feel like it's a good thing that I sat out. I'm learning the game more, learning how defenses, work, learning how college basketball works and I'm watching Obi [Obinna Oleka] a lot because he plays my position.
"I know my time is coming. It will be here real quick."
In the meantime, the trio is doing all it can to prepare. Shibel has not been cleared for full practice -- he hopes to be within the next month or two -- but he is running, lifting and shooting. White and Mitchell are developing chemistry in their quasi-scout team roles.
"We play together every day in practice and we try to give the first team a good look," Mitchell said. "We do a lot of ball screens together and now I know were he's going to be. He has great hands so it's a good mix."
The three players' skills are as diverse as their backgrounds.
Hurley on White:
"Romello is an interior presence which we've lacked at times; that physicality. He's got a variety of shots around the basket and he's very long to finish so he's kind of what you need at this level in terms of a guy who can rebound and score on the interior. We've very rarely thrown it in the post this year and he's a player next year that I would have confidence doing that with to give us more balance as a team immediately."
Hurley on Mitchell: "Mickey has been a really great surprise. We knew he was a good all-around player but I just love his character and his work habits; he's been great in practice. He does a lot of things well; he's a versatile player so you can use him in a variety of ways. He almost has a point-forward way about him: strong, physical so he'll rebound, but he's arguably our best passer -- Kodi [Justice] is really good, too -- and that's something he loves to do."
Hurley on Shibel: "I'll get a better feel as he keeps progressing through his rehab but he has attacked his treatment and his recovery. He has put on weight and strength. He's worked hard in the weight room. He's way ahead of schedule, which is a testament to how hard he's worked.
"I love watching him shoot the basketball. He's got a great release. The ball looks like it should go in every time it leaves his hands. It's nice to have a guy 6-9, almost 6-10 that has that type of shooting ability."
All three players cited defense first when asked what they were working on away from the spotlight, but White has also been focusing on his shooting and ball handling in the event he has to bring the ball partially up the court. Mitchell said he is working on everything.
"Versatility is one of the strengths of my game so I'm trying to expand on it," he said.
Shibel is trying to stretch the court by honing that shooting touch -- the one his earliest coaches did not appreciate.
"Back in Ukraine when I played, the coach told me I couldn't shoot them at all but I didn't listen to him," Shibel said, laughing. "I wanted to shoot so I practiced it a lot.
"When I was 13, I was 190 centimeters (almost 6-foot-3) and 64 kilograms (141 pounds). I was so skinny. I was crazy skinny. I've added a lot of weight since then and when I was like 15, they started to let me shoot."
The start of the 2017-18 basketball season is still nine months away (10 for Mitchell), but as this season winds down, the anticipation is ramping up for White, Shibel and Mitchell.
"I know I can bring a lot to the team," White said as he prepared to race off to study hall. "I can't wait. I'm too excited."
TEMPE, Ariz. -- When asked what conversations he has with teammates Romello White and Mickey Mitchell, Sun Devils forward Vitaliy Shibel didn't even wait for a reporter to finish his question.
"Do you talk much about…" the reporter began.
"Next year?" Shibel said, laughing. "A lot. All the time."
While Shibel, White and Mitchell practice, lift weights and watch film like the rest of the Sun Devils roster, they haven't tasted the fruits of their labor. Not yet, anyway.
Shibel, a 6-foot-9 freshman from the Ukraine, is still rehabbing a torn ACL earlier suffered last summer. White, a 6-8 forward from Suwanee, Georgia, is sitting out the year for academic reasons. Mitchell, a 6-7 forward from Plano, Texas, transferred from Ohio State and will be eligible in December of 2017.
They are the ghosts in the Sun Devils basketball machine, rarely seen, but always impacting the direction of second-year coach Bobby Hurley's program with their diverse skills sets and their one discernible link.
"They're all bigger guys," Hurley said. "Beyond that, they do all bring something different to the table. I'm just looking forward to coaching a deeper team where there's more competition and more options. That would be a welcome plus to me and we'll add some other guys, too so the roster is going to look a lot different next season."
White admits it was difficult accepting his fate when the season began.
"At the beginning, I wanted to be in there so bad," he said. "I'm watching the games like 'dang,' but now I feel like it's a good thing that I sat out. I'm learning the game more, learning how defenses, work, learning how college basketball works and I'm watching Obi [Obinna Oleka] a lot because he plays my position.
"I know my time is coming. It will be here real quick."
In the meantime, the trio is doing all it can to prepare. Shibel has not been cleared for full practice -- he hopes to be within the next month or two -- but he is running, lifting and shooting. White and Mitchell are developing chemistry in their quasi-scout team roles.
"We play together every day in practice and we try to give the first team a good look," Mitchell said. "We do a lot of ball screens together and now I know were he's going to be. He has great hands so it's a good mix."
The three players' skills are as diverse as their backgrounds.
Hurley on White:
"Romello is an interior presence which we've lacked at times; that physicality. He's got a variety of shots around the basket and he's very long to finish so he's kind of what you need at this level in terms of a guy who can rebound and score on the interior. We've very rarely thrown it in the post this year and he's a player next year that I would have confidence doing that with to give us more balance as a team immediately."
Hurley on Mitchell: "Mickey has been a really great surprise. We knew he was a good all-around player but I just love his character and his work habits; he's been great in practice. He does a lot of things well; he's a versatile player so you can use him in a variety of ways. He almost has a point-forward way about him: strong, physical so he'll rebound, but he's arguably our best passer -- Kodi [Justice] is really good, too -- and that's something he loves to do."
Hurley on Shibel: "I'll get a better feel as he keeps progressing through his rehab but he has attacked his treatment and his recovery. He has put on weight and strength. He's worked hard in the weight room. He's way ahead of schedule, which is a testament to how hard he's worked.
"I love watching him shoot the basketball. He's got a great release. The ball looks like it should go in every time it leaves his hands. It's nice to have a guy 6-9, almost 6-10 that has that type of shooting ability."
All three players cited defense first when asked what they were working on away from the spotlight, but White has also been focusing on his shooting and ball handling in the event he has to bring the ball partially up the court. Mitchell said he is working on everything.
"Versatility is one of the strengths of my game so I'm trying to expand on it," he said.
Shibel is trying to stretch the court by honing that shooting touch -- the one his earliest coaches did not appreciate.
"Back in Ukraine when I played, the coach told me I couldn't shoot them at all but I didn't listen to him," Shibel said, laughing. "I wanted to shoot so I practiced it a lot.
"When I was 13, I was 190 centimeters (almost 6-foot-3) and 64 kilograms (141 pounds). I was so skinny. I was crazy skinny. I've added a lot of weight since then and when I was like 15, they started to let me shoot."
The start of the 2017-18 basketball season is still nine months away (10 for Mitchell), but as this season winds down, the anticipation is ramping up for White, Shibel and Mitchell.
"I know I can bring a lot to the team," White said as he prepared to race off to study hall. "I can't wait. I'm too excited."