Energy? "Benergy"? Fanergy"?
Whatever form of enthusiasm it is, the Sun Devils brought it to the table in Kansas City on Tuesday morning.
Ahead of her second season in Tempe, Molly Miller took the stage at the 2026 Monster Energy Big 12 Basketball Media Days at the T-Mobile Center in Missouri, with senior forward McKenna Brackens, senior guard Rashunda Jones and senior guard Ruby Whitehorn.
Here is everything the Sun Devils had to say:
Molly Miller Reflects On Year One
"When you talk about where you want to go and a vision, it's a little bit of hope in the beginning. So, what year one proved to me is what a group can do with complete commitment and buy-in to each other. And if you have that as your foundation, that's a huge springboard for accomplishing goals. So I was really proud of just the commitment to one another, the buy-in, and that really set the tone for the year. And the byproduct of that was winning. But I think you have to start with that culture and that team-first approach."
ASU's New Attendance Record Last Season and Tempe's Home Court Advantage
"We want to be the team that nobody wants to play. It's like going to the dentist; you don't want to do it. So it's really exciting to have kind of that relentless defensive energy, effort, and we call that the energy on the court, but the "benergy", the bench energy. So we've got benergy, and that's where everyone can get in the game. So fans are feeling that benergy and the energy, and when you can have the fans buy into what we're doing on both ends, and they're loving to see them play hard, that's when you get this holistic approach to the game. You've got fans involved. You've got donors. You've got friends of the program. You've got players. You've got coaches. There's this energy around what we're doing at Arizona State. It's more than women's basketball. Not only are we becoming a school of choice for women's basketball, but athletes are having Arizona State become a school of choice.
McKenna Brackens: As a Returner, How Do You Build Off Last Season With New Faces?
"I feel like they saw what we did last year and we wanted to do more. We don't want to just make the tournament; we want to win games. And I feel like they (new players) came in with that same goal. So it's not like we have to tell you anything. It's like you came here to win, so let's win. So just continuing to do that and build off what we did last year."
Brackens' Offseason Focus
"I'm going to say that part, off the court, as a leader, and continuing to build my confidence, working on things that I wanted to do better last year, and then just stepping up as a more vocal leader in practice. Because yes, I was here last year. I know what she (Miller) expects, and just being able to be an extension of her out there."
Brackens' Time Playing For Team USA in FIBA Nations League This Summer:
"It was really surreal. I didn't feel like any time it was really all having USA on my jersey and like my name is actually on the back. So I was just trying to be humble throughout the whole thing. Like I'm representing the entire country now. So I really enjoyed it, and then being there, coming back, I feel like I brought it back. It's very physical over there; they let you get away with anything. So just having to play through that, and then it's a very fast-paced game, so I feel like that helped with my conditioning."
Rashunda Jones: Coming From Michigan State, What Are You Bringing To The Sun Devil Leadership?
"I think it's all about leading by example. I think in the Big 10, it was fast-paced. These players, we got guards that are six-three that you have to guard on the perimeter, and I just think it's all about being confident in who you are and knowing that all these teams are good. At the end of the day, there is no specific team that you have to not worry about. Everybody wants to win, and at any given day, you can be beaten by any team, so I think I would say to all the like younger kids or younger people to just be confident and be yourself, and then let you know what you can do and you know what you're capable of. And at the end of the day, I think your confidence comes with being in the gym. Like your confidence comes in your work. So if you know what you work to put out, and I feel like I know what I work to put out, and it's coming back. And so that's just the blessing that God gave me."
Ruby Whitehorn: Coming From Tennessee, What Made Arizona State The Right Choice?
"I felt like the biggest thing for me was relationships. It's hard to find people who will support you as a person and a player. Just teammates and coaching staff. It's a really hard thing to find a home these days in college basketball, and so that's what I felt when I came to Arizona State with the team that was there last year. It was mid-season, and they welcomed me with open arms. And then the coaching staff-they all took time to get to know me and spend some time with me, and just welcome me in the middle of their season, in the middle of them trying to win games and stuff like that. So I just felt like that was something that was very welcoming to me, and it made me feel like that was where I needed to be. Is because I wanted to be cared for as a person and a player."
How Will You Fit Into Miller's Style?
"Coach Molly wants to play fast, and she wants us to get out and run and be athletic. And I think she personally loves my rebounding, and that's a part of my game that I love too. If I'm not offensively scoring off of plays, I can just go get the rebound and get a putback or something like that. I think that is what drives my game is when I can affect the game in different areas, not just scoring. And I think that's what gets my motor running to get me to score."
Molly Miller's Closing Statement:
"I said this this summer. They're (The 2026-2027 Sun Devils) probably the group that I've had that has clicked the most, the quickest. They've developed chemistry really, really, really fast. I think they said it best. They all want to win, and they're really competitive. So every time we step on the court, whether it's to practice, scrimmage against our practice players, or just getting shots up, they're doing it with a purpose and intent because there's that hunger there. And I love to coach hungry players."
2026 Monster Energy Big 12 Basketball Media Days will continue through Oct. 21 before the Sun Devils return home and prepare for their Nov. 2 season opener against Jackson State.
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