SB Nation - Jamelle McMillan

Arizona vs. Arizona State Part Tres

joenewby4040 — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 01:30:42 -0000

Next Game

Arizona Wildcats
@ Arizona St. Sun Devils

Date: Thursday, March 12, 2009
Time: Noon PDT
Location: Staples Center (19,282), Los Angeles, Calif.
Radio: Wildcat Radio Network (Brian Jeffries/Ryan Hansen)
TV: FSN (Barry Tompkins/Dan Belluomini)

Complete Coverage >

ARIZONA STATE SUN DEVILS

Arizona State is a #4 seed heading into tomorrow's tournament, up against #5 Arizona. The Sun Devils have lost 3 of their last 4, but could easily have won 2 of those games. They have definitely secured a place in the Tournament and are looking for their first Pac-10 Tournament Championship. The Sun Devils are armed with three potent weapons and a plethora of other feisty starters and bench players that have given the Cats trouble this year. James Harden, the Pac-10 Player of the Year, leads the Sun Devils, while his supporting cast of Jeff Pendergraph controls the paint and dead-eye Rihard Kuksiks can be potent from beyond the arc. The Sun Devils have also enjoyed incredible play out of Derek Glasser and Jamelle McMilan off of the bench. When these guys are on, they are tough to beat.

Enemy #1

The Sun Devils lost three out of their last four games, two of which went into overtime. The first was a loss at Washington 73-70 and the next was to Washington State 51-49. The Sun Devils returned home to Tempe, only to be beaten on their home court by Stanford 74-64. Fortunately for the Sun Devils, their play throughout the year has landed them as a lock for the NCAA Tournament, and their falter at the end of the year won't cost them too much in terms of seeding. The negative side to that is they draw Arizona in the first round of the Pac-10 Tournament who desperately needs a strong showing to solidify their chances of playing after the Pac-10 Tournament.

Look for the Sun Devils to move the ball around the perimeter in order to get Harden or Kuksiks a good look from outside. If it's not there, they should dump inside to Pendergraph and try to get him going. As we have looked at all week, Jordan is going to have to play Pendergraph one on one. We can't afford to double team the Sun Devils while their sharpshooters sit outside and wait to unload. If Arizona's gameplan of shutting down Pendergraph, while effectively challenging three pointers does work, look for Harden to try and take over by cutting to the hoop. These guys are loaded, ready, and can drop serious bombs. Let's take a look at their stats so far this season:

			FG			3PT			FT			Rebounds			Misc
	G	M	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	Off	Def	Tot	Ast	TO	Stl	Blk	PF	PPG
James Harden	30	35.7	6.6	13.2	50.4	1.7	4.6	36.2	5.9	7.8	75.2	1.4	4.0	5.4	4.1	3.4	1.7	0.3	2.8	20.8
Jeff Pendergraph	30	32.7	5.6	8.4	66.5	0.0	0.0	0.0	3.3	4.2	77.2	2.7	5.8	8.5	1.0	1.2	0.5	0.9	2.6	14.4
Rihards Kuksiks	29	32.5	3.7	8.0	45.9	2.8	6.2	45.6	0.6	0.8	75.0	1.0	3.0	4.0	1.4	1.3	0.5	0.2	2.6	10.8
Derek Glasser	29	32.2	2.0	5.5	37.1	1.2	3.0	40.9	2.7	3.2	84.8	0.4	1.7	2.0	4.9	2.2	1.0	0.0	1.6	8.0
Ty Abbott	30	29.2	2.3	6.7	34.0	1.0	4.4	22.7	0.7	1.1	66.7	0.6	3.5	4.1	1.6	1.5	1.0	0.4	2.2	6.3
Jamelle McMillan	29	19.6	1.8	4.2	42.3	1.1	2.9	36.5	0.4	0.7	57.9	0.3	1.7	2.1	1.8	1.2	0.7	0.1	2.0	5.0
Jerren Shipp	30	13.7	1.0	2.3	42.6	0.4	1.3	31.6	0.5	0.8	66.7	0.6	1.0	1.6	0.9	0.4	0.4	0.0	1.2	2.9
Eric Boateng	27	8.0	0.8	1.4	59.5	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.3	0.6	43.8	0.8	1.1	1.9	0.2	0.3	0.2	0.2	1.1	1.9
Taylor Rohde	16	4.6	0.3	0.9	33.3	0.1	0.4	16.7	0.1	0.2	33.3	0.3	0.3	0.6	0.2	0.3	0.1	0.0	0.4	0.8
Kraidon Woods	9	2.6	0.1	0.1	100.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.4	1.1	40.0	0.1	0.0	0.1	0.0	0.4	0.0	0.0	0.2	0.7
Nico Fricchione	4	1.3	0.0	0.3	0.0	0.0	0.3	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Virgil Sanders	1	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	1.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
	29	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.9	1.4	2.2	0.0	0.1	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0

ARIZONA WILDCATS

The Arizona Wildcats are also on a downward slope, losing 4 of their last 5 games in a variety of disgusting fashions. Their achilles heel of the last 10 games has been their three point defense, which we discussed in detail here. As far as their players go, the big three of Nic Wise, Chase Budinger, and Jordan Hill have each enjoyed incredible success over the season, especially the latter half. Arizona was counted out this year by many, but after an unfortunate face stomp in the Houston game, the Cats got their act together and went on a 7 game winning streak, beating Washington and UCLA during that span.

The Cats have struggled to find their fourth and fifth players who can contribute quality minutes and really bring the whole team together as a unit. At one point, the guy was Zane Johnson, who displayed some great shooting and defensive efforts. His luster faded and recently it has been Jamelle Horne who has been the fifth starter, alongside Kyle Fogg as the fourth guy. This combination seems to be a better fit, with Zane coming off of the bench, giving Horne more minutes.

Better fit than Zane. He's the fifth, for sure.
(Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)

The Cats are still strongly considered on the "bubble" for making the Tournament on Selection Sunday and many think that they need to win at least one game in the Pac-10 Tournament to be a lock for the NCAA Tournament. Their 19-12 record is impressive, with non-conference wins against Kansas and Gonzaga along with wins over UCLA and Pac-10 regular season champs, Washington.

Look for the Cats to try and speed the tempo of this game. I would hope that the press would be eliminated, as the Sun Devils have played Arizona twice this year, and had no problems beating it either time. Our bench is not deep enough to get into foul trouble, or be winded from press mumbo jumbo. I am also anticipating better three point defense out of our guys tomorrow and hope that Pennell has been hammering that all week. Jordan Hill is going to have to match up on Pendergraph one on one to allow the rest of the Cats to match up with their guys. Easy task if you ask me. Let's take a look at the Cats stats this season:

			FG			3PT			FT			Rebounds			Misc
	G	M	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	Off	Def	Tot	Ast	TO	Stl	Blk	PF	PPG
Jordan Hill	30	35.7	7.5	13.5	55.4	0.0	0.0	0.0	3.5	5.3	65.0	3.9	7.0	11.0	1.4	2.9	0.8	1.9	2.9	18.5
Chase Budinger	31	37.5	6.2	12.9	48.2	2.0	4.7	42.9	3.7	4.6	81.7	1.5	4.9	6.4	3.4	2.4	1.5	0.5	1.8	18.2
Nic Wise	31	36.3	4.9	10.9	45.0	1.9	4.5	42.4	3.3	4.0	83.1	0.3	2.1	2.4	4.6	2.9	1.5	0.1	2.4	15.0
Jamelle Horne	31	28.5	2.5	6.0	42.2	0.4	1.5	26.7	1.3	2.1	64.1	1.6	3.5	5.1	1.3	1.4	0.7	0.4	2.7	6.7
Kyle Fogg	31	23.0	1.9	4.1	46.8	0.7	1.7	40.7	1.8	2.4	78.1	0.8	1.5	2.4	1.7	1.2	0.7	0.0	1.7	6.4
Zane Johnson	29	19.6	1.6	3.7	44.3	1.2	2.8	41.5	0.4	0.6	76.5	0.4	1.4	1.8	1.0	0.7	0.4	0.1	1.9	4.9
Garland Judkins	18	12.6	0.9	2.2	40.0	0.0	0.2	0.0	0.6	1.0	61.1	0.4	0.6	0.9	1.2	1.2	0.3	0.1	0.9	2.4
David Bagga	5	1.8	0.4	1.0	40.0	0.4	0.6	66.7	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.2	0.2	0.0	0.2	0.0	0.0	0.2	1.2
Alex Jacobson	23	7.3	0.5	1.1	44.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.2	0.3	57.1	0.7	0.6	1.3	0.1	0.4	0.0	0.2	0.8	1.1
Fendi Onobun	27	6.4	0.4	0.8	45.5	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.4	0.8	47.6	0.2	0.6	0.8	0.3	0.2	0.1	0.1	1.0	1.1
Brendon Lavender	24	4.8	0.3	0.6	42.9	0.0	0.3	16.7	0.2	0.3	66.7	0.0	0.1	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.3	0.0	0.5	0.7
D.J. Shumpert	3	3.0	0.0	0.3	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.3	1.0	1.3	0.3	0.7	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
	31	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	1.5	1.3	2.8	0.0	0.1	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0

Keys to the game:

Don't Press Your Luck. Please. Don't press ASU. They know how to beat it. They will wear us down. They will force us to double and create fast breaks. We don't have the bench to keep up with running around all night. I voted to ditch the press this week, FYI.
Kuksiks' Arch. Got to get out to guard the three ball. Step in front of screens. Fight through screens. Extend the zone. Whatever it takes, Arizona should do it and make ASU beat us other ways.
Pennell's the Man. I think that Russ Pennell has done a terrific job in a number of ares for the Cats this season. I hope that he has made the necessary changes during the few days off to prepare for ASU and can make the changes during the game. Surely ASU will be ready for us to guard agaisnt the three pointer and will try to change their attack as well. It's going to be a chess match to start out. I hope Pennell comes out on top.

GAME NOTES

Arizona's Lack of Three Point Defense

joenewby4040 — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 22:53:53 -0000

Arizona Alum Dan Forde asked the question yesterday: How about defending the three point shot? Let's take a look at Arizona and how they have played over the last couple of weeks and dive deeper in what happened on their wins and losses:

DATE	OPPONENT	WIN/LOSS	THREE POINT DEFENSE %
1-31-09	Washington State	Win	9-26 (34.6%)
2-5-09	Oregon State	Win	8-22 (36.4%)
2-7-99	Oregon	Win	12-30 (40%)
2-12-09	USC	Win	10-17 (58.8%)
2-14-09	UCLA	Win	9-25 (36%)
2-22-09	Arizona State	Loss	13-30 (43%)
2-26-09	Washington State	Loss	9-22 (40.9%)
2-28-09	Washington	Loss	6-15 (40%)
3-5-09	California	Loss	16-30 (53.3%)
3-7-09	Stanford	Win	15-33 (45.5%)

For the season, the Cats opponents shot 35.6% on three pointers. In their four game losing streak, the Cats gave allowed their opponents to shoot 44-97 (45.4%). During their six wins above, the Cats only allowed their opponents to shoot 54-128 (42.2%). Based on their season average, the Cats are not doing their job defending the three pointer in the last 10 games, winning or losing. Allowing a team to shoot 42.2% is not as bad as 45.5%, but it's not good either.

So why did Arizona win six of those games? Well, one of them was against Oregon, who still lit up Arizona for 40% beyond the arc. The others? Good defense against Washington State on January 31. We held Oregon State in check on February 2. USC was lucky. Nic hit a three pointer with :43 to seal that one. UCLA was held in check. Stanford? We scored 101 points. Anyone would win a game where you score that much.

As this article here displays, Arizona is having great difficulty breaking through screens to defend the three point shot. Arizona players continue to be screened and continue to step behind the screens instead of in front of them. It is unbelievable to me that we are having this much trouble guarding the perimeter. Not every team has the luxury of Jordan Hill sitting on their block. Why do we continue to double team guys that Jordan is covering? Let the man play defense by himself and stick to your guy. Last I checked, we didn't get beat by a center making 50% of his jump shots. We are getting killed on the outside and something has got to stop before this guy gets us on Thursday:

How about the Cats implement a 1-1-3 zone with Nic on the point, Kyle at the FT line, and Jordan, Chase and Zane/Jamelle on the baseline?

The idea behind the 1-1-3 zone is to have your guard force their point guard to one side of the court and a simultaneous shift occurs for your second man on the free throw line, which would be Kyle Fogg. He rotates towards the first pass and Jordan, Chase and Zane/Jamelle all rotate in kind. This type of zone would benefit the Cats because of Nic's height disadvantage and the incredible reach of Chase Budinger and Zane/Jamelle rotating to the open men. I would like to see something like this implemented for the next game. Jordan has got to hold his own against Pendergraph to allow the others to concentrate on their zones/men.

If there is one thing that has not hurt the Cats in the last 10 games, it has been cutters or 10-12 ft jumpshots. Fast breaks and three pointers seem to be doing the trick just fine. With Jamelle and Chase's lanky arms, I am not sure how anyone would be able to get a good look implementing some sort of 1-1-3 or 2-3 extended zone. If we decide to play man to man, we cannot double too early and definitely don't need to double on Jordan Hill's man.

It's time for Russ Pennell to address the problem and make the necessary changes. I am not sure how he has been practicing this week for Arizona State, but they have two guys who can light it up from outside (Kuksiks and Harden) and more who lit us up when we went to Tempe (Glasser and McMilan). I also think that it is time to ditch the press. We only have a 6 man team and there is no need to gas our players in a press, which ASU has seen twice and has beat consistently twice, when your guys don't even have enough energy to break through a screen on defense.

Poll

Should Arizona ditch the press in the Pac-10 Tournament?

Yes

7 votes

No

7 votes

14 votes | Poll has closed

Pac-10 Recap...Grading the ASU regular season

ASUBoyd — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 06:54:14 -0000

So - we beat Cal easily, played as a team, everyone played well. Glasser was a true PG. Harden was solid. Pendergraph dominated..too little, too late, we lost 3 straight at a critical point. Pac-10 Tourney starts this week, I don't see us faring very well.

Let's hand out some grades.

via bloggingwiththedevils.freedomblogging.com

Team, #21 22-8 (11-7):

Coming off last season, expectations were high. We had our senior PF, Pendergraph. Harden. Some solid roleplayers. We were preseason rank #18. Things were good. We had a good non-conference run, although not a very tough schedule. Then the Pac-10 season came and we had a lot of ups (See: two wins over Arizona, two wins over UCLA) and lows (See: getting swept by Washington schools..losing to Stanford at home..).. The team's identity has never really materialized, both offensively and defensively. Sometimes we ran the entire game through Harden. Sometimes we relied on Pendergraph. Sometimes it was all the other guys - Kuksiks, Glasser. Sometimes our zone was stifling and we ran a really slow tempo. Sometimes we let the other team dictate the game and we ran and ran. Ugh. So, while it was the most successful season we have had in 6 years, it was also rather frustrating considering the talent we all knew we had.

GRADE = B-

COACHING - Herb Sendek, 3rd Year (51-42, 22-32 Pac-10)

via www.themightymjd.com

Herb had a lot of expectations after last year. His '07 recruting class brought us Abbott, Kuksiks and Harden. 3/5 of our starters. This year, his class was weak. We got Johnny Coy and Taylor Rhode. Coy ended up going home due to his father's sickness, and Rhode is not quite ready to play. His defensive coaching, while marred by a few problems this year, has been typically solid. His zone is strong, he keeps the guys committed to it, and overall we had a great defense. The offense though, has been an issue. Largely inconsistent, due to Herb's lack of focus - who is our focal point? Is Harden going to control the ball and let the game flow through him? Do we run a two man game with Harden and Pendergraph? Are you going to count on people triple teaming Harden, hoping other guys get open? Are we slow? Or are we going to run with teams who run? Inconsistent. Overall a solid season, but Herb had some issues this year.

2008 Recruiting Grade = D+
2008 Defensive Coaching = A-
2008 Offensive Coaching = B -

Overall = B

The players.

James Harden

via i2.cdn.turner.com

Season Averages
SEASON	MIN	PTS	REB	AST	TO	A/T	STL	BLK	PF	FG%	FT%	3P%	PPS
2007-2008	34.1	17.8	5.3	3.2	2.6	1.24	2.1	.6	2.1	.527	.754	.407	1.63
2008-2009	35.7	20.8	5.4	4.1	3.4	1.20	1.7	.3	2.8	.504	.752	.362	1.58

Harden had a similar season to his freshman campaign. He was no longer an unknown, he faced a ton of double and triple teams and lots of pressure, but still managed to shoot a very high % and averaged ~21 ppg, 5 and 4. He is a star. I hope he does not leave, but the chances of that aren't high. We all saw what he brings - when he is aggressive he is an offensive force, reminiscent of a D-Wade who can shoot from outside, with a sneaky athleticism and a penchant for playing the passing lanes. Harden needs to step it up and show us some more Wade like play in the tourney.

Best Game = 11/30 against UTEP, an 88-58 victory. Harden's coming out party for 2008/09 with 40 points (14/25 FG, 6/6 FT, 6/7 3P) 8 rebounds and 4 assists.
Worst Game = 1/15 against USC, a 61-49 loss. Harden was shut down to the tune of 4 points (0/8 FG, 4/7 FT, 0/2 3P) 7 rebounds, 1 assist.

Grade = A (I would have liked to see Harden assert himself more)

Jeff Pendergraph

via www.eastvalleytribune.com

Season Averages
SEASON	MIN	PTS	REB	AST	TO	A/T	STL	BLK	PF	FG%	FT%	3P%	PPS
2005-2006	25.5	10.9	6.1	.6	1.9	.29	.4	.9	3.4	.494	.730	.000	1.27
2006-2007	33.6	12.1	9.1	.9	2.3	.37	.6	.7	3.5	.551	.730	.000	1.38
2007-2008	28.4	12.4	6.4	.9	2.0	.43	.4	1.6	3.1	.593	.793	.000	1.63
2008-2009	32.7	14.4	8.5	1.0	1.2	.78	.5	.9	2.6	.665	.772	.000	1.72

The emotional leader on the team, and our sole senior, Pendergraph had a fantastic season. He has been especially dominant down the stretch - his last 10 games he has averaged ~17 points per game and 10 rebounds a game. His FG% this season was out of this world 66.5%. He figured out how to work the post, not rely on his jump shot as much, and STAY IN THE GAME. He averaged 5 extra minutes a game this year, mostly due to not getting in foul trouble like he did last year. He will be a big part of the tourney run.

Best Game = 1/2 against Stanford, a 90-60 win. Pendergraph had 31 (14/19 FG, 3/3 FT) points, 11 rebounds, 3 blocks and only 1 foul against a team he struggled against a lot last year - mostly due to the Lopez twins.

Worst Game = 2/28, the 51-49 loss to WASU. He had 8 points and 8 rebounds, and was not much of a factor against a small team.

Grade = A- (really solidified his game down the stretch, after some C+/B- performances throughout the season.

Rihards Kuksiks

via farm3.static.flickr.com

Season Averages
SEASON	MIN	PTS	REB	AST	TO	A/T	STL	BLK	PF	FG%	FT%	3P%	PPS
2007-2008	17.2	5.4	1.8	1.1	.7	1.63	.6	.1	1.1	.386	.615	.367	1.11
2008-2009	32.5	10.8	4.0	1.4	1.3	1.05	.5	.2	2.6	.459	.750	.456	1.35

The Toni Kukoc of the team, Kuksiks really stepped his game up between his freshman and sophomore seasons. Doubling his minutes resulted in a doubling of production, something that is really nice to see. His 45.6% 3P percentage is the star here, as he pretty much shoots as high from three as he does from anywhere on the floor. Kuksiks needs to work on his defense, as his lack of lateral speed sometimes gets him caught in blocking situations. He hits the big three often, though does not often get the ball in his hands. He is inconsistent and needs to step up offensively more often, too often deferring to Harden and Pendergraph.

Best Game: 2/22 Arizona, 70-68 win. 17 points (6/12 FG, 5/10 3P) 4 rebounds, 4 assists. Kuksiks was raining threes at crucial times all game. The kid does not shy away from the big shot.

Worst Game: 1/21 Arizona, 53-47 win. Kuksiks almost lost us the game. He had 5 points, was 2-11 FG, 1-10 3P and fouled out.

Grade = B

Derek Glasser

via cache.daylife.com

Season Averages
SEASON	MIN	PTS	REB	AST	TO	A/T	STL	BLK	PF	FG%	FT%	3P%	PPS
2006-2007	27.9	6.3	2.0	3.2	2.0	1.64	.9	.0	1.9	.345	.778	.337	1.09
2007-2008	26.8	6.1	1.9	3.9	1.7	2.27	.8	.0	1.1	.384	.841	.315	1.31
2008-2009	32.2	8.0	2.0	4.9	2.2	2.17	1.0	.0	1.6	.371	.848	.409	1.46

I have to admit, I have not been a Glasser fan. The low FG%, the poor shooting in big games... I just have not been that into it. He won me over a bit this season. His FG% was still low (37.1%) and he did only average 8 and 5 but he shot ~85% from FT and 41% from 3! A near 10% increase and arguably his biggest weakness. He plays good D, the team likes him, he works his ass off, and he is clutch as anything on FTs. He will have at least one huge moment in the Pac-10 or NCAA tourney.

Best Game: 1/10 win over Oregon 76-58. Glasser had 15 points (4/6 FG, 6/7 FT, 1/1 3P) 11 assists, 2 rebounds and 1 steal.

Worst Game: 3/5 against Stanford, a 74-64 home loss. Glasser went 0/5 FG, 4/5 FT, 0/3 3P for 4 points, 4 assists, and 3 rebounds.

Grade = B-

Ty Abbott

via www.asuwebdevil.com

Season Averages
SEASON	MIN	PTS	REB	AST	TO	A/T	STL	BLK	PF	FG%	FT%	3P%	PPS
2007-2008	32.7	9.9	3.6	1.5	1.3	1.16	1.1	.4	2.4	.392	.731	.353	1.18
2008-2009	29.2	6.3	4.1	1.6	1.5	1.09	1.0	.4	2.2	.340	.667	.227	.94

Sigh. Ty Abbott. What are we to do with you? Other than his rebound rate increasing a little bit, Abbott regressed in every other area. He was given the minutes, and just could not find his shot. 34%/67%/23% is just awful. His green light has been taken away and he still has some potential, but I do not expect much from him in the tourney. His defense has been really solid, however, and he does do well for himself on the glass.

Best Game: 11/14 (first game) against Mississippi Valley State. Abbott had 18 points (8/13 FG, 2/6 3P) 8 rebounds, 4 assists and 1 block.

Worst Game: 1/31, loss at home vs. Washington. 84-71. Abbott had 5 points (1/7 FG, 2/4 FT, 1/5 3P) 3 rebound and 2 assists.

Grade = D- (EDIT**: Dropped a letter grade after feedback/reconsideration. It is pretty bad to get 29 mins a game and put up those numbers, any way you cut it. From a regression standpoint alone he deserves an F.)

Jamelle McMillan

via bloggingwiththedevils.freedomblogging.com

Season Averages
SEASON	MIN	PTS	REB	AST	TO	A/T	STL	BLK	PF	FG%	FT%	3P%	PPS
2007-2008	14.2	2.6	1.6	2.1	1.3	1.70	.5	.0	1.6	.402	.600	.357	1.06
2008-2009	19.7	5.0	2.1	1.8	1.2	1.50	.7	.1	2.0	.423	.579	.365	1.19

McMillan has a lot of athleticism and talent, and it was nice to seem him start to put that together this season. I still do not feel like he is living up to his potential (Scouts, Inc had him as a 93 grade recruit) he shot the 3 well, improved his FG%, and played solid defense. His FT% is atrocious, but he did only shoot 19 on the season...McMillan is still too timid. A few misses can ruin his flow for the entire game.

Best Game: 2/7 win over Oregon State. 39 minutes, 14 points (5/9 FG, 0/1 FT, 4/7 3P) 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 5 steals.

Worst Game: 2/26 loss against Washington. 23 minutes, 3 points (1/5 FG, 1/2FT, 0/3 3P) 3 rebounds, 1 assist.

Jerren Shipp

via cache.gettyimages.com

Season Averages
SEASON	MIN	PTS	REB	AST	TO	A/T	STL	BLK	PF	FG%	FT%	3P%	PPS
2006-2007	30.0	7.6	3.3	1.5	1.6	.96	1.0	.1	2.0	.394	.617	.336	1.10
2007-2008	26.3	5.9	3.3	.9	.8	1.11	.5	.1	1.6	.386	.817	.352	1.28
2008-2009	13.7	2.9	1.6	.9	.4	2.25	.4	.0	1.2	.426	.667	.316	1.26

Poor Shipp. The kid is from a illustrious family full of college basketball stars, and he showed promise as a freshman on a terrible team. But as our back court has become more talented, Shipp has seen his minutes slip. His FG% reached semi-respectable levels this year, but his FT and 3P shots are both inconsistent. He just does not get enough playing time. But as our 7th guy he is solid.

Best Game: 11/23, win over Pepperdine. 11 points (4/5 FG, 1/1 FT, 2/2 3P) 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal.

Worst Game: 1/31 loss against Washington. 12 minutes, 2 points, 4 fouls.

Grade: C-

Eric Boateng

via www.asu.edu

Season Averages
SEASON	MIN	PTS	REB	AST	TO	A/T	STL	BLK	PF	FG%	FT%	3P%	PPS
2005-2006	2.5	.7	.6	.1	.3	.20	.1	.0	.6	.857	1.000	.000	2.00
2006-2007	Did not play.
2007-2008	11.6	3.9	2.6	.2	1.2	.14	.1	.3	1.5	.615	.365	.000	1.44
2008-2009	8.0	1.9	1.9	.2	.3	.56	.2	.2	1.1	.595	.438	.000	1.38

Interesting how a former McDonald's All-American, and the guy we all penciled in as our starting C turned out like this. Uncoordinated, terrible ball skills, ok defense, ok rebounding, terrible offensive awareness. He never got a lot of minutes this year after the disaster last season. He had a streak of games with solid minutes, but i dont expect him to play in the post season unless there is foul trouble.

Best Game: 1/10 win over Oregon. 22 minutes, 7 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 blocks.

Worst Game: eh. it's not worth it. Boateng doesn't get enough highlights as it is.

Grade = D

The rest of the team did not play much.

So there you have it, the team under performed a bit this year... but there is at least hope at the post season for once. We will have a pac-10 preview this week.

#11 ASU 70, Arizona 68 - BIG WIN @ home

ASUBoyd — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 19:16:32 -0000

Whew. That is what they call an ol' fashioned barn burner. Heh.

So lets get the negatives out of the way:

We lost out identity right at about the 10 minute mark in the second half. Up to that point we had been running through James Harden and allowing the secondary players, Kuksiks, McMillan, Glasser, Pendergraph, to find their spots. Instead the other guys started getting a little too confident, shots stopped falling, we lost our momentum, and James Harden got lost in the mix. I think this team needs the ball in Harden's hands at the ends of games, no matter if we are up by 14 or tied.
Ty Abbott's Offense - Abbott started, played 22 minutes and had 0 points. He was 0-2 but chipped in 3 steals, 3 rebounds and 5 assists/2 turnovers. You gotta score Ty. You are shooting 23% on threes. Maybe you should stop shooting so many of them. Take it to the rim a little bit. Remember when you used to do that? Good times.
TURNOVERS! What happened? I know Arizona is quick, but we had 16 turnovers. Every guy who played had 2 except Harden who had 5, and McMillan who had 1.
Last 10 minute defense. We held them down all game then got a little too confident, a little lazy, and started letting up some threes we really should not have. Got a little slow on our rotations. Need to not let that happen. Need to put teams away. Maybe play a little more aggressive instead of simply trying to run the clock down.

ok. Now on to the good things.

we won.
Pendergraph - I am glad Pendergraph has become less reliant on his mid range jumper. He was attacking the hoop, getting to the line, and played excellent defense on Jordan Hill. Last year Pendergraph would have fouled out with 12 minutes left to play. This year he played all 40 minutes, put up 16 points, 12 boards and 3 blocks. AWESOME game.
Kuksiks - This is what we like to see. Kuksiks got into a bit of foul trouble since he has poor lateral movement on defense, but he was 5-10 for 3s and scored 17 points. A bunch of huge, clutch threes. ESPN quotes Kuksiks...

"They left me open," said Kuksiks, a sophomore from Latvia who shoots 42.4 percent from beyond the arc. "I did what I've got to do."

Actually he shoots 47.6% from beyond the arc. But yeah.

Glassman - His stats do not jump out at you, but he played a fantastic, tough game and was the definition of clutch.
Harden - I would have liked to see him take the game over when Arizona started going on their run but he was good. 18 points, 9 rebounds.
Like I told Joe over at the U of A site, we were going to shoot better than last time and we did. 53% from the field, 43% from three.
McMillan - he had three massive threes in a row. But is there a player in the nation more reliant on confidence? Once he misses a shot - that is it, he seems to lose confidence in himself and starts to miss. Either way, good game.

Some other good quotes.

"You can't be closer than(sic) a half a game," said ASU forward Jeff Pendergraph, who had 16 points and 12 rebounds and hit the decisive free throws with 25 seconds left for the Sun Devils. "It feels good to be at the top instead of the bottom. But it's not done yet. This wasn't our last game."

"I find joy in the moment," Sendek said. "I'm exhilarated by what just happened. But I'm also realistic enough, I think, to realize that this game and the previous three could have easily gone the other way. We'd be sitting here -- 'We haven't beat them for the last four, what's the matter, you stink.' It's that close."

On Kuksiks - "If he's open, we want him to take the shot," Sendek said. "Usually we don't have to twist his arm to do that." "Those two shots he made at the end were lifesavers for us," Sendek said.

"I got fouled on that play," Hill said. "I got really pushed on that play."

So a little complaining by Hill at the end. I could see that, but the refs were letting the guys play rough down low all game. Budinger slammed an elbow down on Glasser's head - extremely immature and dangerous considering Glasser is fresh off a concussion and has a history of them. So - karma? Either way.

Good game, we are @ #21 Washington on Thursday in Seattle and @ Washington State on Saturday.

Box score after the jump.

Box Score

1	2	T
	UA (18-9)	34	34	68
#11	ASU (21-5)	44	26	70

Final

10:00 PM ET, February 22, 2009

Wells-Fargo Arena

Tempe, AZ

ARIZONA WILDCATS
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	PTS
Chase Budinger, F	40	5-16	1-5	2-4	3	9	6	4	0	1	1	13
Jordan Hill, F	40	7-14	0-0	0-0	2	5	2	1	1	1	3	14
Zane Johnson, G	21	2-5	1-3	0-0	1	1	0	0	0	1	2	5
Nic Wise, G	40	5-14	3-6	4-4	1	3	7	3	0	3	1	17
Kyle Fogg, G	30	4-8	3-5	3-4	2	4	1	3	0	1	1	14
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	PTS
Brendon Lavender, G	5	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Jamelle Horne, F	24	2-4	1-2	0-0	1	5	0	0	0	0	4	5
TOTALS		FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	PTS
		25-61	9-21	9-12	10	27	16	11	1	7	12	68
		41.0%	42.9%	75.0%

ARIZONA STATE SUN DEVILS
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	PTS
Jeff Pendergraph, F	40	4-5	0-0	8-10	3	12	0	0	3	2	3	16
Rihards Kuksiks, G-F	30	6-12	5-10	0-0	0	2	2	1	0	2	4	17
Ty Abbott, G	22	0-2	0-2	0-0	0	3	5	3	0	2	1	0
Derek Glasser, G	37	3-5	2-4	0-1	0	2	3	0	0	2	3	8
James Harden, G	40	7-12	3-6	1-1	2	9	5	1	1	5	1	18
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	PTS
Jamelle McMillan, G	21	3-7	3-7	0-0	0	1	3	0	0	1	3	9
Jerren Shipp, G	10	1-2	0-1	0-0	0	1	2	0	0	2	0	2
TOTALS		FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	PTS
		24-45	13-30	9-12	5	30	20	5	4	16	15	70
		53.3%	43.3%	75.0%

Arizona vs. Arizona State Quick React

joenewby4040 — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 05:08:39 -0000

Arizona State was 10-16 from beyond the arc at the end of the first half to lead the Cats 44-34. The Sun Devils got big time minutes from Jamelle McMillan who came in and went 3-4 from the field, hitting 3 three pointers. Also Rihard Kuksiks hit 3 three pointers in one minute.

Nic Wise had 10 points, Budinger had 9, and Jordan had 8 at the half.

Jordan Hill did not have a rebound in the first half. Unbelievable.

(AP Photo/Aaron J. Latham)

Arizona started out the 2nd half going 1-8 and quickly fell behind 48-37. They went on another one of their classic runs with a 20-4 gem over 8:00. At one point, the Cats were up by 2 with a little over 3:00 left to play. The game teetered back and forth with a couple of lead changes under 3:00. Nic Wise drove to the hoop with 1:00 to try and tie, missed the layup, only to have Jordan Hill clean it up and tie the game at 68 with 55 seconds on the clock.

With 22 seconds left in the game, Arizona ran a high screen for Budinger, set by Hill. Wise was at the top of the key to the right, delivered to Budinger, who had a beautiful pass to Hill down low. Jordan shot a running layup, which missed. The rebound fell right in front of the rim, right into Zane Johnson's hands as he was elevating, and all he had to do was drop the ball in the hoop. He didn't. He shorted it, and the rebound went to ASU. Arizona fouled Glasser, who went to the line for a 1-1. He missed the first basket, Hill comes away with the rebound, outlet to Nic Wise, who couldn't handle it at half court and turned it over.

Arizona had four guys (Wise, Budinger, Hill, Fogg) in double figures tonight and couldn't pull out the win. They are now 9-2 when four or more players are in double digits.

Great game tonight. We had our chances to tie it up a couple of times, but I thought it was a tremendous effort by the Cats. For the most part, I was happy with Pennell's game plan. We'll dive more into it tonight.

Great effort by the Cats tonight.

An Explanation of the foul call in the ASU game

Paragon SC — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 23:00:08 -0000

While the fall-out form Sunday's loss to ASU has pretty much died down. I found this intriguin explanation about the supposed conflict in what the call actually was.

From The OCR:

With less than a minute left and USC trailing by six, Hackett drove, collided with Arizona State's Jamelle McMillan and sank a layup. Referee Randy McCall held up his fist, seemingly indicating a blocking foul. But Hirsch said "two different calls were not made on the play."

"In reviewing the play," Hirsch said, "David Hall and Randy McCall simultaneously called fouls on the play (signaled with the raised hand). Only then did Hall signal a charging foul. McCall never indicated a block call, so he was never overruled by Hall. In addition, McCall never indicated that the basket by Hackett that followed was good."

Really?

OK, so just what call did McCall make. It's clear that he saw some sort of infraction otherwise he wouldn't have blown his whistle an raised his hand. It would seem to me that if the ref makes a call he has a responsibility to at least commit to what the foul was. That there was no discussion between the ref's once again shows just how shoddy the conference is when it comes to officiating. If McCall and Hall had at least made the effort to discuss it and then explain it to Floyd maybe we don't have and embarrassing show of emotion on our hands.

The "charge" looked iffy at best especilly with McMillan's feet moving. Floyd may still blown a gasket but at least there would be no wiggle room if the refs simply took the time to confer what was called. Once again the Pac-10 is brunt of the CBB world's jokes because they couldn't take two seconds to discuss it to get it right...

UPDATE: This is from The OCR (via the Pac-10) just a little while ago...

Here’s the statement from the league:

Pac-10 Conference Commissioner Tom Hansen today announced support for game officials David Hall, Randy McCall and Dick Cartmell for their work in last Sunday’s (February 15) USC-Arizona State game.

Several media outlets incorrectly reported on the officiating mechanics on a play in the final minute of the game.

Officials David Hall and Randy McCall simultaneously whistled a foul with :47.9 seconds remaining in the contest. Hall called a charge on USC’s Daniel Hackett. McCall did not signal a block call nor indicate a basket had been made as has been erroneously reported.

“The play was correctly officiated and the proper mechanics were used on the call,” Hansen said. “Video confirms that Mr. McCall did not make any signal other than raising his right arm to indicate he had seen a foul. He then checked with Mr. Hall, and upon seeing he had called a charging foul, pointed at Hall to confirm he agreed with the call.

“It is puzzling how anyone who observed the play could have imagined that Mr. McCall signaled any specific type of foul. He definitely did not.”

No Kidding?

Really?

Does anyone think that Hansen would have said anything different?

Anyone? Buehler Buehler

I thought so...what a joke!

You be the judge...

BEHIND ENEMY LINES: House of Sparky weighs in on tomorrow's game

Nuss — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 21:41:52 -0000

From time to time, we love to get a take on the Cougs' next opponent from the perspective of their blog on SB Nation. Please welcome C.W. from House of Sparky, an excellent ASU blog.

What follows is a little Q&A on the pressing questions I had about tomorrow night's matchup. You can find my answers to his questions here.

Despite UW's surge to the top of the standings, I maintain that ASU is still the best team in the Pac-10. Convince me I'm right.

House of Sparky: ASU has the best player in the country (in my professional homer opinion), James Harden himself. Harden offers up 22 points a game, shooting 40% from beyond the arc and dropping 4.2 dimes a contest. His 5.7 rebounds aren't anything to sneeze at either. ASU also features a stifling 2-3 zone defense, and has seen improved play from its supporting cast of Rihards Kuksiks (10.6 PPG, 48.6% from 3) and Derek Glasser (7.1 ppg, 5.1 apg, 42.6% from 3).

This team quickly went from an inexperienced bunch to a well-developed squad in just a span of 3 years. A lot of this has to do with the consistent play of Jeff Pendergraph, who has anchored this team since the final act of the Rob Evans era in 2005-2006. Sure, everyone plays a big role in this team's success, but remove James Harden and you are looking at a pretty mediocre basketball team.

Harden was very good last year, but he's flat out amazing this year. What's been the difference in his game that's transformed him into a near lock for first team All-American?

James has shown an increased ability to take over games singlehandedly. His talent was always there, but it has been coaxed out by the coaching staff and his own fiery demeanor. The Pac-10 lost a lot of talent to last year's NBA draft, and I think the experience Harden gained last year has paid dividends for this season.

In the UCLA game, Harden looked nearly possessed after apparently being elbowed in the face. His play down the stretch took UCLA by surprise, and in the final 8 minutes of regulation, the Bruins failed to score a single point. His defensive tenacity has been astounding and he is looking for his shot in better situations. His game evolved at some point between midseason 2007-2008 and the beginning of Pac-10 play in 2008-2009.

To be honest, he is outplaying all of my wildest fantasies. For ASU basketball, this may be as good as it will ever get in terms of singular, game-changing talent. I want to liken him to Scottie Pippen, but a big part of me believes he wouldn't be the sidekick in the NBA; rather he would be the go-to guy.

How does a team even think about containing Harden? Is there a chance anyone will duplicate Daniel Hackett's defensive gem the rest of the year?

Two words: double team. Force Kuksiks, Glasser, and Ty Abbott to take a lot of shots. Play clean, solid defense. Don't give him any extra motivation to take over the game. He is an amazing talent, but he can be shut down if you are unwilling to let him beat you. Leaving it up to the rest of the team to win the game can be beneficial to the Cougars.

We know about Harden, and we also know about Jeff Pendergraph. But who's the guy we haven't heard of who could potentially do some damage Thursday night?

I've been mentioning him a lot in this: Derek Glasser. A teammate of Harden's at Artesia High in California, Glasser came out to ASU a year before Harden, and many believe he was a huge influence on Harden's eventual commitment to be a Sun Devil.

Glasser's game has greatly improved since the day he first set foot on campus. He is scoring more points, shooting better in every aspect (especially from 3, where he has improved from 31.5% in 2007-2008 to 42.6% this year), and distributing the ball nicely. He has found an on-court friend in Jeff Pendergraph, and they often hook up for alley oop jams.

With his improved 3PT shooting, he is much more valuable to the Sun Devils than he has ever been before, especially with Ty Abbott struggling so much this season (Abbott shot 35.3% from 3 last year, and this season it is down to 24.7%).

Herb Sendek was more or less run out of North Carolina State, but I'm guessing you guys are pretty happy to have him at this point. How do Sun Devils' fans view the job he's done in Tempe?

It is clear to the Sun Devil faithful that Herb Sendek was a gift from the basketball gods. Sendek is capable of landing big recruits (look no further than James Harden) and has a defensive attitude that is readily instilled in his team. The boys seem to buy into the mantra of defense and intensity. It's difficult to find much fault in his performance so far as our coach, but he has at times played Harden too much in games where the end result was already decided (see last week's game against Arizona).

The Sun Devil fans can't wait to see the next step forward for this program, whether that is in March 2009 or a few years down the road. But for once, it is not impossible to imagine ASU being the eminent basketball program in the southwest for years to come.

Give us the blueprint for beating the Sun Devils.

Did Tony Bennett send you?

Seriously, ASU can be beat. The first step is getting Jeff Pendergraph into foul trouble. We are paper thin in terms of size. Eric Boateng, our backup center, just plain sucks. With Pendergraph on the bench, the zone can be attacked by Baynes.

Once this objective is complete, Harden now feels the increased pressure of scoring the lion's share of points for ASU. Give him no room to make anything happen. Force Jerren Shipp and Jamelle McMillan to shoot. Pressure Derek Glasser in the backcourt. Defensive intensity will help you. Rotate your athletic players in a lot and ask them to go as hard as they can for short bursts. This is a hockey tactic that will serve you well.

Finally, break the zone from the inside. Make your 3's, and it will cause all kinds of havoc for the Devils. Stay away from shooting 30 from downtown, but make sure you are taking open shots. This is really all you can do to beat the Devils.

Saved By The Bell! - #17 Sun Devils Bests BYU (barely) 76-75

ASUBoyd — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 00:17:37 -0000

Continuing the trend of 1 game a week, ASU plays an extremely close game after not playing for a week and nearly loses - frankly, it could be argued we did lose this game. But the officials took a look at BYU's game winning shot and determined it came after the buzzer - so we were saved. BYU is a really good team - they were 10-0 before this loss, and i would not be surprised to see them crack the top 25 before the end of the season.

They played us tough, lead for 75% of the game - and were even up by 10 with 8 mintutes to go.

But - it was not enough.

ASU showed once again the resiliency that has become a staple of these Sendek coached teams. The guy just breeds this atmosphere of no-quit basketball and the players have bought in. The guys might have been outplayed, but they never gave up.

Before I get to the good things, the bad.

The defense was ok, but we need to capitalize on the turnovers. They turned the ball over 16 times, and often we would rush down and waste the possession with a stupid three. I'm looking at you Ty Abbott. The not so super-soph was 2-10 FG, 2-7 3PA, had NO free throws, and ended up with 6 points, 3 rebs, 3 ast, 1 steal, 1 TO. The kid just is not producing. He played 29 mins, and really has not found a groove all seasonl. He needs to step up, because if he is going to continually play 30 mins a game, he cant do this kind of thing. He is supposed to be the third, if not second, scoring option on offense. Two thirds of his field goal attempts have been three pointers, and he is shooting 25% on threes. That is awful. Frankly, if he does not improve, i think there is reason to start Shipp or McMillan over him, just to send a message. He could still get his 20-25 mins, but he needs to shoot a higher percentage.

Another thing is the amount of minutes Derek Glasser has been getting - and the lack of production the team has been getting for those minutes. For example this game - 32 mins. 1 point. 1 assist. 3 turnovers. 3 rebounds. 1 steal. 0-1 FG, 1-4 FT.
Are you joking me? His counterpart on BYU also scored 16 points and shot 50%, so he wasn't exactly providing stellar defense. The guy shouldn't be getting these kinds of minutes - not when McMillan is behind him. ANd while McMillan has been lacking confidence and is still raw - the kid's upside is so much bigger. Look at what happens when he gets his shot to play. 18 mins, 10 points, 3 assists, 2 rebounds, 2 blocks (one at a huge moment near the end of the game) and 2 turnovers. He just is a better, more athletic player. I know Harden loves Glasser, but i think its time to give McMillan some more PT.

Kuksiks also disappeared - he has trouble creating his own shot, but he played ok and demanded a defender at all times.

The bright spots of the night came from Harden (natch) and Pendergraph. Jeff had 22 points and 9 rebounds. He shot a high percentage, avoided mistakes, and held his man to 7 points. He needs to become more aggressive offensively, our tallest guy only getting 5 FTA is not ok, but he has really mastered his midrange game.

Harden - he carried us to victory again. He was so aggressive on offense, I love it. His 21 FTAs were more than all of BYU's team (19). 30 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assits, 5 steals. The kid was ballin'. He is ASU basketball at the moment. The team lives and dies by his production. We lived tonight, even though it was close.

#17 ASU (9-1) will face the Idaho State Bengals (2-8) at home on Tuesday, December 23rd at 2 PM. Expect a blow out.