by T.J. Lovejoy, Pitchfork Nation Men’s Basketball contributor.
As the eyes of the sporting world turn to Eugene this weekend for the football match-up of the year, another promising Sun Devil team jumps into action back in Tempe. The college basketball season is right around the corner and Herb Sendek's bunch is full of promise. While this year's basketball squad won't achieve the type of success that the football team has reached, what we will see is how far the team has come under just one year of tutelage under Sendek. Although five of the top six scorers from last year's team are returning, expect a whole new look for this year's team.
Sendek and his staff have shown their recruiting prowess by bringing in seven new faces with loads of talent. The first is Eric Boateng, a 6-10, 245 pound, sophomore center who transferred from Duke soon after Sendek arrived in the Valley. The other six newcomers are all freshmen, led by McDonald's All-American James Harden. Harden, a 6-4 guard from Artesia High School in Lakewood, California a suburb of Los Angeles, will be expected to start immediately for the Sun Devils and provide much needed scoring. While Harden has arrived as a heralded recruit, another freshman, Jamelle McMillan, has arrived under the radar and should make an immediate impact. McMillan, the son of Portland Trail Blazers head coach and former Seattle Super Sonics star Nate McMillan, will challenge Derek Glasser and Antwi Atuahene for minutes at the point guard position and could even find himself in the starting spot by the season's beginning.
With all these new faces, we can expect to see an influx of talent and energy but a lack of experience. This will result in a season full of ups and downs and flashes of brilliance. The importance of this recruiting class will be felt for years, as it has provided the foundation of credibility for the ASU program that has been missing, which will bring in high caliber recruits in the near future. In addition to more energy and talent, the Sun Devil newcomers will allow Herb Sendek to play a rotation that features depth…something last year's team could only dream of. We could see as many as four new starters this year, with Jeff Pendergraph finishing out the starting lineup. This will move players like Glasser, Jerren Shipp, and Christian Polk to the bench where they can come in as valuable substitutes with a year of Pac-10 experience under their belts. A deeper bench may allow ASU to win a few more of the close games that they lost last year due to a lack of depth and experience in late game situations. More depth also means that we may see less of the zone defense that Sendek was forced to run so much last year. A deeper rotation will allow Sendek to change defensive schemes to frustrate the opposition. Look for the Sun Devils to again have one of the stingiest defenses in the Pac-10.
The foundation for the Sun Devil basketball team is junior forward Jeff Pendergraph, who averaged 12.1 ppg and 9.1 rpg last year. Pendergraph, a projected first round selection in the 2008 NBA Draft, should step his game up this year with the presence of Boateng, who should pull away some of the double and triple teams that Pendergraph faced continually last year. While ASU has a number of talented guards and wing players, depth in the post behind Pendergraph and Boateng is lacking in proven players. If these two get into foul trouble, look for ASU to run its own version of small ball.
James Harden is the future of the Sun Devil basketball and will open many eyes this year in a Pac-10 conference that is overloaded with talent. Artesia High School has been known for producing great college basketball talent, most of which usually ends up at UCLA in the form of the O’Bannon brothers of the 1995 UCLA championship team and in current Miami Heat sharpshooter Jason Kapono. Artesia achieved its greatest success with Harden and current teammate Derek Glasser leading the team, winning the California Divison III State Basketball Championship back-to-back seasons in 2006 and without Glasser in 2007. Look for Harden to put up big numbers in non-conference play and play solidly against the talented shooting guards of the Pac-10. Harden is an extremely athletic guard who can shoot the lights out from deep and easily make his way through the lane. Want more proof? Check out this YouTube video of his high school days. Harden is #13 in the video and yes, that between the legs dunk (during a game!) at the end of the video is our man. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFG5IjBx37M%20%20
While this year's team will definitely have talent and promise, it will still struggle at times being such a young team (1 Senior, 3 Juniors). The team's success will hinge upon how the newcomers take to Sendek's system and how the veterans adjust to all of the new players in the rotation. While the Sun Devils are a conference sleeper in the eyes of some experts, expect them to win a few more conference games this year but still finish in the bottom half of the extremely talented Pac-10. While this year's team will definitely be better than last year's lovable effort squad, the 2008-2009 season will be the year that ASU makes its move into the top of the conference and finally challenges the University of Arizona for state supremacy.
Our favorite female blogger Jen of Jen’s Free Throws posted this gem of a quote from former Phoenix Suns great (eater) Charles Barkley:
"Betting is really all football is good for. I love the game. But the guys who play football- they are the guys who weren't good enough to play basketball. (Conan asks if it takes a superior athlete to play basketball) No question about it."
Chuck, buddy, honestly judging by the Oliver Miller esk photo above you probably shouldn’t be calling anyone a poor athlete. You weren’t know as the “round mound of rebound” because of your rock hard abs and amazing athleticism. We love your commentary on TNT but if we had to bet, which you seem to enjoy, we would take an offensive lineman’s athleticism over yours at this point….. actually thats not a bad idea we challenge you to race a NFL offensive lineman. You beat an old man who refs in the NBA but lets see you go up against someone like the Cardinals’ Levi Brown (bum ankle and all).
(picture from The Big Lead) If Arizona State teaches you anything, it’s how to throw a party. Andrew Walter and Zach Miller obviously haven’t missed a beat after becoming professionals. Happy Halloween everybody.
Could the past repeat itself and could the 2001 World Series MVP duo of Curt Schilling and Randy Johnson be seen on the same pitching staff at Chase Field again? Well according to Schilling’s blog 38pitches.com Arizona is on the “short” list of places he and his family would go to for their final season.
In true Curt style though his short list consists of 13 teams ranging from the Tigers and Mets to the D-backs. At least he views the snakes as contenders but could it really happen?
The D-backs do need someone to fill the rotation spot left by Livan Hernandez who filed for free agency this week and a veteran pitcher would fit the bill. The issue here though is how big of a distraction would Curt be in the clubhouse for this young team and did he and Johnson ever really get along in the first place.
The biggest issue is Curt’s diminishing skill set. He hasn’t been the same pitcher since the bloody sock and even than he wasn’t quite as good as the 2001 version Arizona fans witnessed.
But honestly this is Curt Schilling, the 13 teams he mentioned may not even include the team he winds up with. It’s all talk at this point and he probably just wants to drive up his price. So Curt talk all you want about Arizona but lets hope the closest you get to breaking the bank here is placing bets on the golf course.
Alright, we are more than half way done with the season now, and so far it doesn’t look like anybody is going to be able to put the stop on BengalKILL0605. I mean the guy has Tom Brady and Randy Moss for Christ’s sake! I think the only chance any of us have [...]
Many thought the Sun Devils had what it takes to win it all a year ago, with a whole host of sophomore talent. They’re all back for head coach Pat Murphy in 2008, and that’s why Arizona State takes the top spot. Junior first baseman Brett Wallace headlines the returners, after leading the team in batting average, homeruns and RBIs. Others returning in a stacked lineup include juniors Ike Ike Davis, Petey Paramore and Kiel Roling. As for the pitching staff, senior Josh Satow will be the anchor and hard-throwing closer Jason Jarvis fills in the backend.
Other Pac-10 teams in the top 25 include back to back national champions Oregon State at #4, UCLA at #12, and Arizona at #25. The Sun Devils are primed for a trip back to Omaha and are ready to defend their Pac-10 title. // Click here to read the original post by Pitchfork Nation
Kimmel had been performing double duty all week, filling in for Regis Philbin on Regis and Kelly, which is filmed in New York City, while making it back to Hollywood during the evening to film his nightly show Jimmy Kimmel Live. Kimmel reportedly recorded 22,406 air and ground miles, one week after getting banned from Monday Night Football. If I were dating Sarah Silverman, I’d probably spend my life working too. // Click here to read the original post by Pitchfork Nation
(Photo Athlon Sports) Until now, we only had questions: Can the Suns sign a big man good enough to guard Tim Duncan? Will Grant Hill be the missing piece of the puzzle? Will Marion ever be happy in Phoenix? Will Nash win yet another MVP? Will Coach D’Antoni play 9-10 players on a regular basis? Will the Suns ever find a back-up to Steve Nash at the point? Can the bench help down the stretch? Can the Suns’ style of play beat San Antonio in a 7-game series?
It’ll be a season of Nash to Hill, Amare’s dunks, Raja’s three, Garnett’s triple doubles, Kobe’s 50 points, Durant 8-24 shooting nights, Cuban vs Stern, Shaq vs his aching body, LeBron’s highlights, Iguodala’s amazing jumps, Texas’ derbies, Da Bulls, The Christmas games, the usual Knicks’ mess, the useless Hawks and all the rest. The NBA season will be the usual marathon, we’ll witness great and awful games, great and bad plays, good calls from the Refs and some bad ones (most of those will be against the Suns), wins and losses and we’ll finally get some answers as well, but new questions will be posed every night, all starting today.
Check all the preaseason magazines and the NBA previews you wish to: The Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, Athlon, ESPN, Fox Sports, CBS Sportsline, the Blogsphere and the list goes on and on. They’re a very nice read these days, as they all confirm what we know quite well by now: Suns will be good, actually very good. They have the best starting five of any team, the best point guard, the best young center, the best collection of forwards, the best sixth man, the best (and most entertaining) style of play, one of the great coach in the League.
One final question remains to be answered: Will the Suns finally win it all?
Quite frankly, I don’t care. I will by May, but not tonight, not this week. Nobody knows it for sure, there are some other good teams in the League, great players and everything, and then, there’s luck, referees, suspensions, in-and-out shots, missed free throws but one thing is for sure as the Suns open the year on Thursday night in Seattle; We, Suns fans, will enjoy this year, every game, every minute of it, every play, every dunk, every assist, every basket till the last one. We’ll be next to our guys whether in front of the TV or at the arena from the first tip-off to the last horn.
The Arizona Rattlers have an interesting proposition for their fans, buy season tickets and if we don’t make the playoffs you can have your money back. Seems like a risky offer for a team that finished 4-12 last season, just let long time and AFL great QB Sherdrick Bonner go and fired longtime GM and coach Gene Nudo. The offer seems like an awful lot of pressure for a new coach Kevin Guy and new quarterback Lang Campbell.
As a publicity stunt this is huge but as good business practice it could be a colossal mistake. The Rattlers are at best the 6th biggest sports team in the area behind Suns, Dbacks, Cards, Sun Devils and Coyotes and losing an entire seasons worth of ticket revenue could easily sink the franchise, especially in a league that saw the Vegas franchise move to Cleveland and the Austin franchise fold just this past off season.
Rattlers managing general partner Brett Bouchy told the East Valley Tribune that he believes that this is the first time in professional sports history that a team has offered a full refund….. Seems to us that there is a reason for that Brett. We’ll give you props though it takes some big balls to put upwards of $4 Million on the line to show your fans you have faith in your team. Good luck we want to see the Rattlers Succeed.
Your Views...Blog 'em
Got a Photo...Share it
Record it? Upload Video
Daily Email
Subscribe
The foundation for the Sun Devil basketball team is junior forward Jeff Pendergraph, who averaged 12.1 ppg and 9.1 rpg last year. Pendergraph, a projected first round selection in the 2008 NBA Draft, should step his game up this year with the presence of Boateng, who should pull away some of the double and triple teams that Pendergraph faced continually last year. While ASU has a number of talented guards and wing players, depth in the post behind Pendergraph and Boateng is lacking in proven players. If these two get into foul trouble, look for ASU to run its own version of small ball.
Our favorite female blogger Jen of 
Could the past repeat itself and could the 2001 World Series MVP duo of Curt Schilling and 
The Arizona Rattlers have an interesting proposition for their fans, buy season tickets and if we don’t make the playoffs you can have your money back. Seems like a risky offer for a team that finished 4-12 last season, just 
RSS Feeds
