It was apparent early in his college career that the stage is not too big for Nunez

It was apparent early in his college career that the stage is not too big for Nunez

 a native of Garden Ridge, Texas, 20 or so miles outside of San Antonio. The fourth and fifth games of his young career were the ones the Sun Devils played at the Legends Classic at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, the opponents being Michigan and VCU.

Nunez scored 10 points against VCU, then followed it up with 15 against the then-No. 20 Wolverines, which landed him an All-Tournament selection, along with teammate Desmond Cambridge Jr. who was dubbed the MVP.

Now 24 games into his rookie season, Nunez leads the Sun Devils in free throw percentage at 81.5% (17-for-20). He also leads them in 3-point percentage, having made 20-of-52 (38.5%), although he has fewer attempts than most teammates because he is coming off the bench.

Hurley says Nunez has exceeded his expectations but he isn't necessarily surprised at his success.

"He's got a lot of guts. He's got a lot of fearlessness to how he plays. It's what attracted me to him in recruiting. Watching him you can see how hard he competes. He never cheats you with effort. He plays both ends of the floor and he doesn't back down in the moment. He stepped up in almost every big game we've had this year. That says a lot for a freshman."