SB Nation - Rihards Kuksiks

ASU Improves SOS by Facing Duke in the Preseason NIT Semifinals

Cory Williams — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 20:10:53 -0000

One knock on ASU basketball in recent years has been their pedestrian OOC schedule. Outside of the Hardwood Series between the Pac 10 and the Big XII, and ASU's scheduling of BYU this season and last, the Sun Devils have played a fair amount of cupcakes in the early season.

With the invitation to the Preseason NIT, however, the Devils are about to experience a dramatic increase in Strength of Schedule. Regardless of outcome, ASU will be playing the #9 team in the country, Duke, and then either face #12 UConn or a solid LSU team that is 3-0 on the season.

This serves ASU very well, considering the argument against them in 2007 was their weak SOS. After defeating Arizona (19-14) twice in conference play and having a better record than the Wildcats (ASU was 19-12), UA was still invited to the big dance based on their SOS (and their perceived prestige, I guarantee) while the Devils were relegated to #1 seed in the postseason NIT tournament.

While it is not realistic to expect this ASU team, sans Harden and Pendergraph, to be truly NCAA tournament-caliber, it does not hurt that we are 4-0 and playing well. This ASU squad has a lot of experience, and they have been known in recent years to be a fun team to watch. If the Sun Devils can put up a good fight against their opponents in Madison Square Garden, they will be in great shape come conference play.

Eric Boateng, a transfer from Duke, will be playing motivated basketball on Wednesday night. He has a lot to prove, and will see significant minutes as the #1 center for the Sun Devils. Boateng got into foul trouble against San Francisco the other night, and he will have to make smart decisions in order to stay in the game against the Blue Devils.

The Devils are at a crossroads, where their freshmen are learning from the experience of Glasser, Abbott, McMillan, and Kuksiks. Herb Sendek has developed his team mentally and physically, and the time has come for ASU to put on a show against an excellent Duke team.

Photo Essay: Arizona vs. Arizona State, Pac-10 Tournament, Photos From Courtside

Cory Williams — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 02:00:45 -0000

The quarterfinal matchup between Arizona and Arizona State started at noon Pacific time.

As most of you know, the state of Arizona doesn't subscribe to Daylight Savings Time, so Last weekend we went from Mountain to Pacific time. That means that instead of being an hour ahead of California, we are aligned timewise.

This meant that House Of Sparky had to leave at 5:45 AM to make it to the Staples Center in time for tipoff, and even then it was a massive squeeze considering Los Angeles' notorious traffic situation. Luckily, the carpool lanes are very generous.

In the second half, Nick was able to get a courtside photography spot, and he took some good pictures. Tomorrow, we will feature an extensive photo essay of the Washington semifinal matchup, and on Wednesday there will be a USC photo gallery as well.

Keep coming back!

The picture below of Harden and Hill is also from the UA game, but I think Red Reign has made it perfectly clear that he doesn't approve. What do you think? Scroll down and decide.

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

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.

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.

Arizona vs. #17 Arizona State

joenewby4040 — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 15:46:38 -0000

Next Game

Arizona Wildcats
@ Arizona St. Sun Devils

Date: Sunday, Feb. 22, 2009
Time: 8 p.m. MST
Location: Ned Wulk Court, Wells Fargo Arena (14,141), Tempe, Ariz.
Radio: Wildcat Radio Network (Brian Jeffries/Ryan Hansen)
TV: FSN (Barry Tompkins/Dan Belluomini)
Ken Pom Prediction: Arizona State 70-61

Complete Coverage >

After two hellatious days in the courtroom and to wins later, I am pumped and ready to dive into some Arizona basketball. What could be bigger this weekend? If I were living in Tucson right now I may want to make a trip up to Tempe and attend this game. Drink a few beers on Mill. Hit on some sorority girls. You know, make it a weekend. This one is going to be a gem. Let's dive into the analysis:

ARIZONA STATE SUN DEVILS

Since the Cats took on Arizona on January 21 of this year, they lost their first two, then went on to win four straight against the Oregon schools and L.A. schools. Scary for us, the Sun Devils looked dominant over UCLA and USC. As are the Wildcats, the Sun Devils look to be hitting on all cylinders right now.

Everyone knows that Harden can drop bombs. Everyone knows that Pendergraph is a thorn in our side. Has anyone been paying attention to Derek Glasser? He scored 18 against USC and 15 against UCLA. He is a big reason the Sun Devils were able to handle USC and UCLA.

James Harden continues to pour in the points and currently averages 21.3 ppg. As always, the Cats can only hope to contain him and make someone else beat them. Jeff Pendergraph is another guy for the Sun Devils who has the ability to play up to Jordan Hill's game. Pendergraph hit for 12 points and 11 rebounds against USC. He also had 14 points and 9 rebounds against UCLA. Rihards Kuksis rounds out the Sun Devils averaging a respectable 10.1 ppg. Here they are:

			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	25	35.0	6.7	12.8	52.5	1.6	4.4	37.3	6.2	8.2	75.2	1.4	4.0	5.5	4.2	3.4	1.7	0.3	2.8	21.3
Jeff Pendergraph	25	31.0	5.5	8.2	66.5	0.0	0.0	0.0	2.7	3.5	77.3	2.5	5.5	8.0	1.1	1.0	0.5	0.9	2.6	13.7
Rihards Kuksiks	24	31.1	3.4	7.3	47.1	2.6	5.5	47.4	0.7	0.9	72.7	1.0	2.8	3.8	1.3	1.4	0.5	0.2	2.5	10.1
Derek Glasser	24	31.3	2.0	5.1	38.2	1.2	2.9	41.4	2.8	3.2	86.8	0.4	1.8	2.2	4.9	2.3	1.1	0.0	1.4	7.9
Ty Abbott	25	30.1	2.6	7.5	35.3	1.2	5.0	23.4	0.9	1.3	66.7	0.6	3.4	4.0	1.7	1.5	0.9	0.4	2.2	7.3
Jamelle McMillan	25	18.6	1.6	4.1	39.8	1.0	2.8	34.3	0.4	0.6	60.0	0.4	1.5	1.8	1.8	1.1	0.8	0.1	1.8	4.6
Jerren Shipp	25	15.0	1.1	2.6	43.1	0.5	1.4	33.3	0.6	0.8	70.0	0.8	1.2	1.9	0.9	0.4	0.5	0.0	1.3	3.3
Eric Boateng	24	8.8	0.9	1.5	58.3	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.3	0.7	43.8	0.9	1.2	2.0	0.2	0.4	0.3	0.2	1.1	2.0
Taylor Rohde	15	4.8	0.3	1.0	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	0.5	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
	24	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.9	1.2	2.1	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0

ARIZONA WILDCATS

The Arizona Wildcats come into this weekend the hottest team in the Pac-10. Winners of 7 straight and confidence that should take us deep into the Pac-10 tourney and on to the Big Dance. Chase Budinger and Nic Wise have been lights out and the energy they bring has been infectious. If there is one thing I am big on, in any sport, it is that elevation in play by one brings elevation for all those around. Example: Kyle Fogg. In our stretch run against Houston, Washington and Washington state he scored 14, 15, and 15. His play is what allowed the others to elevate their game as well.

Since Fogg fell off a little, Chase Budinger and Nic Wise have picked up the slack. They are both on an absolute tear with Nic winning the Pac-10 player of the week last week. Chase isn't doing too bad either posting 20.4 points, 8.0 rebounds and 4.3 assists, while shooting 48.4 percent (46-of-95) from the floor during the Cats current 7 win streak.

Zane Johnson has been a little slow as of late, but chipped in 11 points against UCLA. When the Cats have four players who score in double digits they are 9-1 this year. Speaking of Zane Johnson, he has hit 10-15 from beyond the arc in the last five games.

The Wildcats are not even close to the same team they were when we lost to Arizona State on January 21. This one should be an awesome game with lots of U of A fans at the stadium, from what I hear. A win at Arizona State would be huge given the dramatic loss last time. Don't think that the players have forgotten. They will be pumped up. Let's just hope that Pennell can calm their nerves and play with our heads on straight. A look at the Cats:

			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	25	35.2	7.2	13.2	55.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	3.7	5.7	64.3	4.2	7.1	11.3	1.3	3.0	0.7	2.0	2.9	18.2
Chase Budinger	26	37.4	6.1	12.7	48.0	2.0	4.6	42.5	3.8	4.7	82.6	1.6	5.0	6.5	3.3	2.4	1.4	0.5	1.7	18.0
Nic Wise	26	36.4	4.9	10.8	45.0	1.9	4.5	42.2	3.0	3.6	84.9	0.3	2.2	2.5	4.6	2.8	1.3	0.1	2.3	14.7
Jamelle Horne	26	28.7	2.6	6.0	42.9	0.3	1.3	26.5	1.4	2.2	63.8	1.7	3.4	5.1	1.3	1.5	0.8	0.4	2.6	6.9
Kyle Fogg	26	21.7	1.9	4.1	47.2	0.6	1.6	38.1	1.8	2.3	77.0	0.7	1.5	2.2	1.4	1.2	0.7	0.0	1.5	6.3
Zane Johnson	24	19.2	1.7	3.7	46.6	1.2	2.9	42.0	0.5	0.6	73.3	0.4	1.4	1.8	1.0	0.7	0.5	0.1	1.8	5.1
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
Alex Jacobson	21	7.6	0.5	1.1	41.7	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.2	0.3	57.1	0.7	0.6	1.3	0.1	0.5	0.0	0.2	0.9	1.1
Fendi Onobun	24	6.8	0.4	0.9	42.9	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.3	0.7	47.1	0.3	0.6	0.9	0.3	0.3	0.1	0.1	1.0	1.1
David Bagga	4	2.3	0.3	1.0	25.0	0.3	0.5	50.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.3	0.3	0.0	0.3	0.0	0.0	0.3	0.8
Brendon Lavender	19	4.7	0.2	0.5	40.0	0.1	0.3	20.0	0.2	0.3	66.7	0.1	0.2	0.2	0.3	0.2	0.3	0.0	0.4	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
	26	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	1.6	1.3	2.9	0.0	0.1	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0

Keys to the Game:

Spread the Wealth. Arizona State's game plan has got to be to try and stop Nic and Chase. Although Jordan Hill is a monster down low, Pendergraph can hold his own with him. I am at a loss as to what kind of defense the Sun Devils are going to try and throw at us. If Chase or Nic aren't able to get to the hoop or are being zoned to death, they need to dish for open looks. Obviously, I am not concerned that they will do just that if put in this situation.
4 and 5. Hey. Guess what? We actually have 5 guys that start for Arizona. Really, we do. Their names are Kyle Fogg and Zane Johnosn. Maybe you have heard of them? With Jordan, Nic, and Chase getting all of the newspaper attention this year, it's hard to even break into the other two starters. They have each had tremendous flashes of competitive, top notch play this year. I really think that Kyle is our "swing" player and if he is on, we are VERY tough to beat. As looked at above, Zane is shooting 67% in the last 5 games from beyond the arc.
Play YOUR game. We all know Harden is going to get his. We can only contain this guy. What we can't do is have other guys trying to do too much and not playing sound defense. The Sun Devils have Pendergraph, Glasser, and Kuksiks who can all be very productive. Let's not overplay. Let Jordan take Pendergraph out as much as possible, and everyone else do YOUR job.

Game Notes

Defense wins championships (and games on the road against ranked Pac-10 opponents)

Nuss — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 22:03:49 -0000

A lot of virtual ink has been spilled lauding Klay Thompson's superlative offensive performance, with little wonder -- not only was the performance amazing, it seems even more so for a fan base that has been clamoring for some shooting all year long. (Do you realize he's now 11-for-15 from 3 his last two games? Wowser.)

But like the comeback against Stanford, we'd be incredibly remiss if we didn't spend an equal amount of time praising the defensive effort last night.

It's tough to talk too much strategy since only a handful of us actually saw the game -- you are such a tease, channelsurfing.net! -- but we can start by looking into the statistics. If there was any doubt that the Tony Bennett second-half adjustment magic is back, it's gone now. This is starting to sound like a broken record, but for what I would say is about the fifth time in the last six games, the Cougs performed significantly better in the second half than in the first:

FIRST HALF Poss:		26	SECOND HALF Poss:		32
	OFF	DEF		OFF	DEF
Efficiency	104.2	115.8	Efficiency	119.7	78.7
EFG%	47.9%	56.8%	EFG%	58.0%	34.5%
OR%	21.4%	23.1%	OR%	14.3%	16.0%
TO%	11.6%	15.4%	TO%	12.6%	6.3%
FTRoff	16.7%	36.4%	FTRoff	36.0%	31.0%

So what was different in the second half that allowed the Cougs to hold a team with an over 117 adjusted offensive efficienty on the year to just 78.7 efficiency in the second half?

The most publicized reason, of course, was the job DeAngelo Casto did on James Harden. It would have been amazing if a 6-foot-8 freshman forward had done merely a competent job on a 6-foot-5 all-American sophomore guard. But Casto did much more than that.

With 15:46 to go in the game, Harden had just finished abusing Daven Harmeling yet again -- to be fair, Harmeling never stood a chance -- and was in the process of making a pair of free throws to score his fifth and sixth points in the first four-plus minutes of the second half to give the Sun Devils a seven-point lead. His previous four points were on a pair of layups.

“We just thought Harden was starting to get going and take over the game," Bennett said via SportsLink. "We thought there were three or four guys (we had) that could at least match him: Daven (Harmeling) because of his size, perhaps Klay (Thompson), then Klay got in foul trouble, maybe Nik (Koprivica), but kind of our wild card was DeAngelo (Casto)."

So, enter Casto, who had played five nondescript minutes in the first half, for Harmeling, who had failed to produce even a point in his 20 minutes. All the kid did over the final 16 minutes of the game was shadow, harass and otherwise disrupt Harden to the point that he became a virtual non-factor for the Sun Devils. Consider the following, all with Casto guarding him for the remainder of the game:

Harden scored just seven points over the final 16 minutes. He had scored 19 in the first 24 minutes of the game.
In those 16 minutes, Harden would attempt nine shots. He would make just two, including 1-of-5 from 3-point range.
For the first nine-and-a-half minutes Casto guarded him, Harden did not score a point. He finally hit a pair of free throws with 6:15 left, but in that time the Cougs had gone up six.
Harden didn't score a field goal on Casto until 4:41 remained.
Three times, Harden attempted layups on Casto. Twice, Casto blocked them -- the second at the 4:06 mark. Harden would not attempt another field goal from inside the arc for the rest of the game.
Harden's season offensive rating is 118.9, but he finished with just an 85.7 mark against the Cougs. Translated into plain English, the Cougars reduced his average offensive contribution by nearly 30 percent.
That 85.7 was his third-lowest offensive rating of the year, and just the third time he'd been held under 100 -- the benchmark for an average offensive performance. Let me say that again: Casto helped make a surefire first team all-American 15 percent worse than an average offensive player.

Now, I'm fully aware that this was a team effort, as it always is with the Bennett pack defense -- look no further than Harden's 10.4 assist rate for the game and contrast it with his 29.6 mark for the season for evidence of the work the other guys were doing. But it starts with the guy on the ball, and Casto was nothing short of a beast fully deserving of the recognition he's receiving.

“That was big. We all know Casto can do that. He has pure athletic ability and he’s a smart defender as well," said Aron Baynes via SportsLink. "He really gets in position and he makes it tough on guys. We can put a lot on him for getting us that win because he really came in and shut Harden down towards the end. He made everything hard for him.”

Just like Kyle Weaver a year ago, he transformed Harden into a mediocre jump shooter who wasn't getting any help from his teammates. Think the comparisons to Weaver are a bit much? Tony Bennett doesn't:

"We used (Casto) a little bit against Sam Young in Newark vs. Pittsburgh, and you could see (he could do it)," Bennett said via SportsLink. "He’s so gifted with his slides and his physicalness, that I thought that was a significant part of the game, no question.” When asked later of Casto could take over the all-around defensive stopper role held the past couple years by Kyle Weaver, Bennett responded, “defensively, ya, certainly in that matchup (tonight).”

But it wasn't just a one-man show. The rest of the team did an outstanding job limiting the other guys who could have hurt them.

There's no doubt Nikola Koprivica has been in our doghouse for a while now, but consider what he did in playing the final 18 minutes of the game, all of it guarding Rihards Kuksiks. All he did was hold a 50 percent 3-point shooter to just 1-of-6 from the arc in the second half. I know Kuksiks simply missed some shots, but I also know that Nik made him work. Beyond that, Koprivica didn't kill us on offense, only taking one shot and committing one turnover while picking up two assists and three defensive rebounds. That is what we need from him.

And how about the job Aron Baynes did on Jeff Pendergraph? He held Pendergraph to just one, lonely little point in the second half, while scoring 10 himself. Additionally, he gave up just one offensive rebound in the second half to Pendergraph -- an offensive rebounding percentage of 4.0. Pendergraph is averaging 10 percent on the season.

The bottom line is that while the offense is making all the headlines today, it was the defense that really made this thing happen. And if we bring this kind of defensive effort on Saturday, we will beat Arizona. Probably handily.

Cougars upset #14 Arizona State

Grady. — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 05:32:21 -0000

Stats by StatSheet.com

Coming off a sub-30 percent shooting effort against USC, Washington State was desperate to find a new threat from the perimeter.

Turns out Klay Thompson was all they needed.

Thompson scored a career-high 28 points, including an 8 of 10 effort from 3-point range, to lead Washington State past Arizona State, 65-55.

Aron Baynes added 22 points and 9 rebounds for the Cougars (12-8, 4-4 Pac-10), who improved their Pac-10 road record to 3-0. The Cougars are just 1-4 in conference at home.

Taylor Rochestie added 11 for WSU, who only had five players score on the evening.

James Harden led the way for the Sun Devils (16-4, 5-3), who fell for only the third time in their last fifteen games. Harden finished with 26 points and was the only ASU player in double figures. NCAA 3-point percentage leader Rihards Kuksiks struggled mightily, draining only 2 of 10 attempts from distance.

It was Washington State's first win over a ranked team on the road since upsetting Washington in 2006.

Player of the Game: Thompson. Duh.

Unsung hero: Aron Baynes. Baynes and Thompson scored 50 points combined in the game. ASU, as a team, finished with 55. You know it's a good night for your low post player when he has 22 against a zone defense.

Play of the Game: The biggest three of the night, arguably, didn't come from Thompson but instead from Taylor Rochestie. Rochestie drained a three with the shot clock expiring to give WSU a 54-49 with 3:33 remaining.

It was over when... Washington State started getting to the free throw line in the final minute.

Klay Fighter: Klay Thompson came into the night a 36.1% 3pt shooter, and left Tempe a 40.8% shooter from distance. Not a bad haul for one evening.

Klay's previous career high was 19 against Mississippi State, part of his only career double-double (with 10 rebounds). Tonight was his 12th game this year scoring in double figures for WSU.

No TV, No problem: The Cougars have yet to lose a non-televised game this season (6-0).

Where's zero?: Marcus Capers did not check into the game for the first time in his career.

Distance Specialists: The Cougars as a team made 10 of 20 three-pointers, good for 50% (in case you can't do quick math). Of course, take out Thompson and WSU was a horrific 2 for 10.

Mike Harthun off the bench: The freshman from Oregon played six minutes, airballing his only three in his first appearance since the Washington game. Excuse me Tony, but how do you expect guys like Harthun and Lodwick to get going if the leash on them is so short? Our distance specialists, save Harmeling, have been getting only limited action in the first half. Not the easiest way to get a rhythm going.

Of course, none of that matters when Klay Thompson is shooting it like he did tonight.

Go Klay go.

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.