TEMPE, Ariz. — Before we get to the value of Desmond and Devan Cambridge and what the transfer wings bring to Arizona State, we have to first introduce their father. After all, the elder Desmond Cambridge — we’ll call him Des — is in the NCAA record book. Such things take priority.

Des Cambridge played at Alabama A&M from 1998-2002. He was a combo guard who played with a motor that others could not match. “He was a demon,” former Alabama A&M coach Vann Pettaway said. One of the hardest workers he had in 25 years. One who never took a play off.

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“This is how he was,” said Steve Ward, who shared the backcourt with Des. “He would shoot the ball, follow his shot, get the offensive rebound and put it back. Then when the other team inbounded the ball, he would bait (the inbounder), steal the ball, lay it back up. He never took a break. Dive on the floor. Dive in the bleachers. Sacrifice his body. He was everywhere.”

Des could score — he put up 50 as a senior against Texas Southern — but defense was his calling. When he was in middle school, a high school coach told him he was like a dust mite, always on the floor trying to get loose balls. Play like that, the coach told Des, and you’ll have a future in basketball. And so Des did.

At Alabama A&M, Des didn’t always know how many points he had, but he could tell you exactly how many steals. Before games, he watched film and memorized tendencies. When an opposing coach yelled out a play, Des knew what was coming. In 2002, he totaled 160 steals, averaging 5.5 per game, NCAA records that stand to this day. For a photo published in the 2002 Final Four program, the NCAA photographed Des, dressed in black, dropping to the floor upside down like Tom Cruise in “Mission Impossible,” reaching to steal a basketball in a glass case.

“Nobody wants to play defense like that no more,” Des said of the records, “so I don’t think they’re going to ever touch that.”

After a brief stretch in pro basketball playing in Turkey, Des got into coaching. Desmond and Devan already were here by then, and over time they forged a basketball path of their own. Same for Jordyn Cambridge, a point guard for the Vanderbilt women’s team. Although they have different styles, they all share a common denominator with their father.

“Even in sprints (during practice),” Jordyn Cambridge said. “If you ask my coaches, I’m never not first or second. I don’t like being second but I’m always there because I want to win. It’s in the blood.”

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“All those Cambridge kids have that drive,” said Pettaway, the retired Alabama A&M coach. “They don’t give up. They bring their hard hats. Those genes pass on.”

Desmond Cambridge Jr. started his career at Brown. There, the 6-4 guard was the Ivy League Rookie of the Year, setting a school freshman scoring record and averaging 17.3 points. After averaging 15.7 points as a sophomore, Cambridge transferred to Nevada, where he posted similar production the past two seasons.

The Athletic asked three Mountain West coaches who game-planned against the 23-year-old Cambridge for scouting reports. All paint a similar picture.

Assistant 1: “He’s a high-level shooter. He can make contested shots. He’s good down there on the baseline, coming off screens, pin-down actions, just jumping up and making shots. He has really good lift and he can really get it going offensively.”

Assistant 2: “He’s a microwave guy. An instant-offense guy. Whether he’s playing 15 minutes or 30 minutes, he’s a 30-point capable scorer. And I don’t think that matters whether he’s in the Mountain West or the Pac-12 just because of the way he plays. He’s an elite jump shooter, and if he’s going, if he’s on, there’s not a ton you can do to really mess with him because he’s about 6-5 and long, and he jumps about two feet off the ground when he shoots it.”

Assistant 3: “Great size. Very energetic. He plays with a lot of emotion. And then he just kind of has what every coach looks for and that’s that fearless mentality. He’s athletic. He can get out on the break and finish on the rim. He moves his feet well on defense, but he’s fearless on offense. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t happy that he’s leaving.”

Younger brother Devan Cambridge, who prepped at Phoenix Hillcrest Prep, spent the previous three seasons at Auburn, where he was a part-time starter and earned the nicknamed “Bounceman.” Said sister Jordyn, “He can jump out of this world.” Last season Devan, 21, averaged 5.3 points and 3.6 rebounds. In a Jan. 25 game at Missouri he grabbed nine offensive rebounds, the most by an Auburn player in two decades.

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An SEC assistant coach described Devan as an elite athlete with an inconsistent shooting touch. (In three seasons, Devan shot 28.2 percent from 3-point range and 55.9 from the foul line.) He’s a solid defender, but “really up and down minutes-wise,” the assistant said. Auburn coach Bruce Pearl once said that Devan needed to do three things to reach the pro level: become an elite rebounder, become an elite defender and hit open shots.

His dad is convinced he can do it.

“He wants to be able to show that he can do more than just stand in the corner,” Des said. “Which he knows he can and I know he can; it’s just how (Auburn’s) offense was set. Bruce Pearl was great to him. He was real with him always. But Devan wanted to show … the end goal is they want to be pros. And like I say, ‘When in doubt, bet on yourself.’ My kids will always bet on themselves.”

During their recent official visit, Desmond and Devan Cambridge sat at a restaurant with Arizona State coach Bobby Hurley. At some point, Desmond’s phone buzzed. The Nevada transfer looked at the caller ID and showed his dad. It was a staffer from the University of Connecticut, where Hurley’s older brother, Dan, coaches. Desmond ignored the call. “I didn’t even put two and two together,” he said.

The next day at breakfast the family again talked with Hurley. “Go ahead and tell Coach who called while we were eating dinner,” Des told Desmond.

“UConn,” Desmond said.

“I guess I need to talk to my brother more,” Hurley said, according to Des, who relayed the conversation.

Upon entering the transfer portal, Desmond and Devan made it clear they wanted to play together. (Desmond has one year left, Devan two.) South Carolina, Georgia and Ole Miss were among those interested. At first, Desmond thought they would both end up at Auburn. Then Arizona State called. “My brother really was set on Arizona State,” Desmond said. “That made the decision a lot easier.”

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The Sun Devils last season went 14-17, missing the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive year. They return guard DJ Horne (12.5 points per game) and forward Marcus Bagley, but an upgrade in talent is needed. Hurley sold the Cambridge family on style. “They don’t put you in a box,” Des said of the Sun Devils. “When they get that rebound, it’s a track meet to the other side.”

He expects Desmond and Devan to thrive.

“I tell people all the time,” Des said. “My kids haven’t always been good. They haven’t always started. Everybody’s like, ‘Nah, your kids are good.’ I say, ‘Hey, man, every last one of them has been through that struggle.’ But once they saw that people were better (in basketball), that’s when they decided, ‘OK, I know I have to work. I’m going to listen to dad. Let me get this done.’ That’s why you see us always put #CAD on social media. Cambridge All Day. It’s just the way we play. No matter what we do, we’re going to compete.”

(Photo of Devan Cambridge: Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images)