FArting

From turnovers to turmoil, there's not much that junior Jeff Pendergraph and senior Antwi Atuahene haven't endured through two years with the men's basketball program at Arizona State.

There's been a coaching change, two losing seasons and only two Pac-10 victories last year. The glass isn't even half full.

Where there was empty frustration, however, there is now some brimming optimism. Some of it is just timing. Everybody is unbeaten on media day, which for the Sun Devils is this afternoon at Wells Fargo Arena.

But this time Pendergraph and Atuahene are surrounded by incoming talent, a nationally ranked recruiting class. That means expectations.

"I hear talk on campus, and it sounds good to me," Pendergraph said. "It's not like before, when you wouldn't hear anything at all."

The expectations hinge on the arrival of star recruit James Harden, a shooting guard, and center Eric Boateng's eligibility after the Duke transfer sat out last season.

Their impact will be immediate, but it's hard to say what that means in terms of victories. The Sun Devils, who begin practice Friday, are something of a wild card in early Pac-10 projections. Nobody knows what to make of them.

"I think we can be a surprise," said Atuahene, a do-it-all guard who is expected to provide defense, energy and leadership in a variety of roles off the bench and in the locker room. "I think we've got a real good mix of young talent and experience with me, Jeff and Steve Jones. We've learned a lot the last couple of years. It's made us tougher."

The immediate impact figures to come from Pendergraph, who will finally be allowed to move to his natural position, forward, because of the 6-foot-10 Boateng.

Boateng promises to relieve Pendergraph of the double and triple teams that surrounded him through his freshman and sophomore seasons.

"For one thing, it's going to be nice to play with Eric instead of against him like I did in practices all last year," Pendergraph said. "Then, I can get away from the double teams. Eric have an effect all over the floor. In the frontcourt and the backcourt.

"It'll be a little bit of an adjustment for me. I've been working on it. But it'll be surprise, too. People will look over and say: 'You're not there anymore?' "

Not there, or if Pendergraph and Atuahene have their way, at the bottom of the Pac-10 anymore, either.

http://www.azcentral.com/sports/asu/...asubkc-ON.html

ASU's first game is against my alma mater Grand Canyon University. ASU VS GCU will be the only game I will root against ASU.

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10/18/2012 Bold Prediction

ASU beats Oregon

HooverDam

I'm absolutely pumped about ASU basketball this year, they should be really fun to watch. I think there's a great chance this team could pull a few upsets out of their hat too.

Russ Smith

My 2 cents is ASU is going to be much better this year but the Pac 10 is going to be so tough this year it's scary.

UCLA, WSU and Stanford are getting the most preseason love but USC is loaded, UA is talented, UW is still talented(I am hearing raves about Bryan-Amaning the incoming C), Oregon lost Brooks but is still very skilled. Cal is pretty good too.

Honestly OSU is the one team in the conference who will simply be overmatched this year.

How is Jerren Shipp's health? I had heard something over the summer that said he was having hip pains which immediately sets off bells and whistles since both older brothers Josh and Joe had the same hip surgery and IIRC both around their soph years in college.

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“Your expectations always exceed outside expectations. I feel like you just can’t stop working, can’t stop getting better, because I’ll be a failure in my eyes before I’m a failure in someone else’s eyes.” -- Arron Afflalo

Gaddabout

ASU could be vastly improved and still finish 7th. There's been talk the Pac-10 might place that many teams in the tourney this year.

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Before I saw him, I could figure things out. He was the first guy I saw close-up and just didn't get what he was doing. Josh Freese on Vinnie Colaiuta

Skkorpion

What's the definition of basketball torture?

Having to watch a Ben Howland and Sendek team play each other. They both take tremendously good offensive talent and squeeze all the creativity, spontaneity and entertainment value out of their players and turn their games into defensive battles and offensively boring snoozefests.

I'd rather watch Olsen's UA team play, and I hate 'em. At least they entertain.

HooverDam

^Huh?

ASU had to play that way last year because it was the only way to keep games close so that they had a chance to chuck up a shot at the end and maybe get a win. As ASU gets more talent, Sendeks offense will open up a bit more to be sure.

If you wanted ASU to play like the Suns last year, then you were going to see a lot of 20-40 point losses.

Skkorpion

I hope so, Hoover, but Sendek as a history of micromanaging every possession to the point of suffocating his players' talents. There is a reason Sendek was so available and so willing to leave the ACC.

Hope I'm wrong and you're right.

Russ Smith

FYI ASU just got a verbal commit for the class of 2009 6'5" wing from Minnesota named Trent Lockett.

Supposed to be a very athletic kid sounds like another nice get for a Pac 10 school in hoops recruiting.

__________________
“Your expectations always exceed outside expectations. I feel like you just can’t stop working, can’t stop getting better, because I’ll be a failure in my eyes before I’m a failure in someone else’s eyes.” -- Arron Afflalo

Skkorpion

If Sendek can win here, he's a miracle worker. ASU is football school.

And yes, I remember those great ASU hoops teams with Ned Wulk coaching players like Byron Scott, Fat Lever and many others. Didn't we beat the #1 team in the land, undefeated Oregon St., on the road, by about 20 points?

Those days are long gone and even then, ASU had attendance problems.

Just thought of something gruesome. Anybody remember watching in horror that Johnny Nash complete leg shattering landing where the leg just flopped sideways halfway between the knee and the ankle?

MaoTosiFanClub

Sendek will improve Arizona State but probably somewhere to the point ASU Football was under Dirk Koetter. Much like Dirk, his system doesn't lend itself to consistently landing and developing elite talent nor winning championship-caliber games. He'll be similar to where he was at NC State perhaps a notch worse, ASU will beat the teams they should but rarely compete with UCLA, Arizona, or whatever program du jour of the Pac-10.

Gaddabout

If ASU can ever finish .500 in the Pac-10, that's an enormous step forward.

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Before I saw him, I could figure things out. He was the first guy I saw close-up and just didn't get what he was doing. Josh Freese on Vinnie Colaiuta

overseascardfan

Sendek is pulling in alot of wings but he really needs some big men. He got Boateng but he needs to get him and Pendergraph some help down in the post. If he can get some 4 and 5 stars in here, he will turn this program around.

Gaddabout

Well, I think all the classes are locked up now. No scholies until ... 2009? They may be working on studying up for 2010. So what we've got is what we've got.

Surprised we didn't go the JC route but Sendek is stubborn on that issue.

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Before I saw him, I could figure things out. He was the first guy I saw close-up and just didn't get what he was doing. Josh Freese on Vinnie Colaiuta

Russ Smith

The problem is 08 and 09 are largely weak on the West Coast for Bigs.

The best in 09 is Sidney but most of the conference is still not recruiting him.

It's interesting the top big in 2010 is San Diego's Jeremy Tyler. A few months back Tyler was being trained by Shawn Manning who said the whole family was UCLA fans, he was looking hard at UCLA with UA right there(played with incoming UA frosh last year) . At UCLA's media day we were told that UCLA is no longer recruiting Tyler, we were essentially told Tyler had dropped Manning and that there were now issues with Tyler's recruitment and UCLA was actually more interested in Sidney in 09, than Tyler in 10. Few days later Tyler shows up at USC's Midnight Madness, and announces he's a USC fan, always has been, whole family is.

Now we are seeing rumors of Tylers family and involvement with Master P and it's all become clear. Supposedly UCLA is not the only Pac 10 team that was recruiting him hard and currently isn't, I hear UA has really backed off too.


So you have a tough situation where there really aren't a lot of great big prospects on the West Coast, and the 2 really great ones, appear to be scaring everyone off except USC.

UCLA is looking nationally for those years because really on the West Coast 08 is the only year that looks pretty good, the Wears, Reeves Nelson, Brendan Lane, Greg Smith and none of those are close to the level of prospect that Sidney or Tyler would be.

__________________
“Your expectations always exceed outside expectations. I feel like you just can’t stop working, can’t stop getting better, because I’ll be a failure in my eyes before I’m a failure in someone else’s eyes.” -- Arron Afflalo

AZBALLER

Looking at the players that Sendek is recruiting and has already recruited, it seems that he likes shooters. How can a team with 5 players on the floor that shoot well, be boring to watch? Isn't that the Suns strategy?

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"I am not hard to please. I'm satisfied with the very best." - Fernand Point.