ASU gets McDonalds ALL-AMERICAN

[Arizona's Finest]

Good Job Devils.......Sendeks first big Win.......




Boateng to transfer to Arizona State

Jeff Goodman / FOXSports.com

One of the chief complaints about Herb Sendek from N.C. State fans was that he didn't put up enough victories against Duke and North Carolina. Well, he just got one against Mike Krzyzewski when former Blue Devils big man Eric Boateng announced he is headed to join Sendek at Arizona State.

Boateng, a former McDonald's All-American who played sparingly in Durham as a freshman this past season, is a major coup for Sendek — who is trying to rebuild a program in Tempe left in disarray by former Sun Devils boss Rob Evans.

"I am very excited to be going to Arizona State," Boateng said Monday. "I'm looking forward to playing for Coach Sendek and being a student-athlete."

Coach K was shocked when Boateng opted to leave Duke. The
Blue Devils frontline was in question when the England native, who wanted to follow countryman Loul Deng in Raleigh, walked into Krzyzewski's office and informed him of his decision. There were no signs that Boateng was unhappy.

Boateng stood firm despite Coach K's plea to remain in Durham — with major minutes likely on the table after senior Shelden Williams graduated and the then-uncertain status of Josh McRoberts, who since decided to return for his sophomore campaign.

Even with McRoberts in the fold, Boateng would have had to compete with incoming freshman Brian Zoubek, freshman power forward Jamal Boykin and high-energy guy Lance Thomas for minutes.

Now Boateng will likely become a major piece of the latest Sendek rebuilding effort. He took N.C. State to a handful of consecutive NCAA appearances, but it wasn't enough for Wolfpack fans who virtually chased him out of Raleigh.
Boateng joins incoming from Jerren Shipp, the younger brother of former Cal standout Joe and of current UCLA standout Josh Shipp.
Boateng's numbers are misleading. He averaged less than one point in 2.5 minutes per game this past season, but it wasn't necessarily because Krzyzewski didn't feel he was good enough. He rarely goes with a deep rotation and Boateng was unfortunate to play behind Williams. The same can be said for Martynas Pocius, who backed up J.J. Redick. However, numerous sources close to the Blue Devils program have said that Boateng improved dramatically over the season and could have been a factor in Durham this coming season.
Instead, he'll be a factor in Tempe.

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

Good get for the Devils. Now they'll be able to move Pendergraph over to PF where he belongs and finally get some capable interior defense from just more than one presence. Works out perfectly for Boateng as well as he was not ready for big-time basketball and a year off will help him in putting on more weight and working on his footwork and hands. One thing is for sure, Evans would have had a snowball's chance in hell of landing him.

 

[DevilPrideBAS]

I wonder if Randy Bennett would have been able to land him? ASU wouldnt have even crossed his mind. Its a new era...go devils

 

[sundevilscott]

This is Awesome!! Hopefully this will be the first of many good recruits.

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

I wonder if Randy Bennett would have been able to land him? ASU wouldnt have even crossed his mind. Its a new era...go devils

He might have, it's not like Boateng was recruited by a who's who list of college basketball programs this time around and Bennett has had success luring transfers in the past.

 

[AZBALLER]

The next commit I want is Bayless, but odds are pretty bad on that one...apparently Texas is moving up his list...

Who cares though? ASU might have the most talented and biggest front court in the Pac with Bo, Pen, and Seay...Time will tell, but Sendeck has already made an impression.

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

The next commit I want is Bayless, but odds are pretty bad on that one...apparently Texas is moving up his list...

Yeah, the Bob Young article in the Republic was pure speculation. If he doesn't go to Arizona he's either off to Texas or Carolina with Austin being the most likely. Although the longer he stays committed the better odds the Cats have.

Sendek is putting things together. Look for him to go after some big name point guards in 2007 as he's going to need someone to log major minutes at that position after Kevin Kruger leaves (Antwi will likely be there but won't fit the system unless he gets a jumpshot). A European is also possible there as Sendek recruited that continent well at NC State. With Pendergraph going into his junior season they're going to have to get someone that can make an immediate impact to run the offense if they want to make any noise. If all that happens, ASU will likely be an NIT team in 2007-2008 and an NCAA tournament team in 2008-2009 barring any unforeseen injuries or player defections.

 

[AZBALLER]

Very intelligent post Mao...

I still dissagree though on many points:

I'm guessing NIT next year, followed by NCAA the following year...like I said, ASU should have the biggest and most talented front line in the Pac in 2 years(how wouldn't they?)...

Kevin Kruger isn't the PG...

I do agree about Antwi...He has the skills, but isn't a consistent shooter...

I also agree about Bayless, I think he's closer to being a Texas commit than any other school(including ua)...Although if anything could change his mind, it'd probably be playing with a McDonalds AA in his home town.


Furthermore, Boateng was being re-recruited by a who's who list...Don't even try and pretend like Olsen wouldn't take the kid...

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

Kruger will likely play PG this upcoming season. Sendek's system requires a smart player who can shoot at the point and Antwi is neither of those things.

ASU's front line has a chance to be the most talented in the Pac if Boateng lives up to his potential, but it won't be the biggest and it won't come as easy as you are making it out to be. Stanford has a couple 7 footers coming in next year who are both more skilled than Boateng although it remains to be seen if they will be better than Pendergraph. Cal also has a pretty good frontcourt lined up as will Washington if they can get Spencer Hawes to stay more than one year with Jon Brockman. Arizona has plenty of bigs in the pipeline but like Boateng they are very raw and with big men like that it's never a guarantee they can grow into their body.

And Arizona really didn't want or need Boateng. We have enough bigs lying around that need to be coached up to bring in another project. Lute's #1 priority for 2007 is Gary Johnson, a undersized power player ready to go from Day 1 (in the mold of Mike Wright, Diogu, Leon Powe) to come in with an already committed project big man in Alex Jacobsen. And there's no scholarships available to give out.

And I'm not sure how Bayless is closer to going to Texas than Arizona when he is in fact still committed to Arizona. I'm worried about the Longhorns as Austin is probably the best college town in America and the community is very giving towards its star athletes, but until he actually de-commits, I'm not going to lose any sleep over it.

 

[Brian in Mesa]

Boateng to transfer to Arizona State

Woohoo !!



Go Devils !!

 

[NEZCardsfan]

All well and good.....but we'll need some much better guard play to get in the NCAA Tourney.

Jerryd Bayless--what's up with this dude?? Why in the world would he decommit from UA...that school is PG heaven. Is Sendek up to something or is he looking for immediate playing time??

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

Jerryd Bayless--what's up with this dude?? Why in the world would he decommit from UA...that school is PG heaven. Is Sendek up to something or is he looking for immediate playing time??

He wouldn't play PG at Arizona. He's a very similar player to Dwyane Wade who could play point if necessary but would be best suited playing off the ball. At this point, I have no idea where Bayless is going but there are a few Top 100 kids chomping at the bit for an Arizona scholarship offer should Bayless decide to go elsewhere. Losing Bayless would hurt mostly from a PR standpoint, but he's a one-and-done player anyway so it wouldn't be the end of the world.

And ASU is definitely behind when it comes to Bayless although anything is possible when it comes to the thought process behind 17 year old kids. The rumor is he's still committed to Arizona but is pondering Texas as he might want to get out of state. Sendek would have to pull off a miracle to get Bayless in maroon and gold this late in the process as ASU was never really an option for him during his initial recruiting process.

Bayless is going to be in Tucson this weekend for an AAU Tournament at McKale so more news regarding his recruitment will probably be out early next week. I just hope the coaching staff doesn't push him into making a decision right away as that would probably backfire and Arizona would lose him for good. I have a feeling once he takes a step back and looks at the positives and negatives of every situation that he will end up in Tucson.

 

[NEZCardsfan]

Bayless is going to be in Tucson this weekend for an AAU Tournament at McKale so more news regarding his recruitment will probably be out early next week. I just hope the coaching staff doesn't push him into making a decision right away as that would probably backfire and Arizona would lose him for good. I have a feeling once he takes a step back and looks at the positives and negatives of every situation that he will end up in Tucson.

As of this morning, the Citizen was saying he was undecided about the Tourney.....things could easily change in the 12 hours since that went to print.

I've been reading on him a little....he sounds like a tremendous talent....but not something that really is going to help ASU's club in anyway. We don't need a 1 year star here. We need to get some solid guys in here who want to work their Arses off for 3 years.

Good luck with Bayless....I'd rather see him stay in state, even if it means crushing us twice next year. I'm not the type of ASU fan that has Tucson on the brain. I like to see both teams doing well. But when we play, it's Maroon and Gold all the way. Beating a good team is much more enjoyable.

 

[asuhoopsnut]

He wouldn't play PG at Arizona. He's a very similar player to Dwyane Wade who could play point if necessary but would be best suited playing off the ball. At this point, I have no idea where Bayless is going but there are a few Top 100 kids chomping at the bit for an Arizona scholarship offer should Bayless decide to go elsewhere. Losing Bayless would hurt mostly from a PR standpoint, but he's a one-and-done player anyway so it wouldn't be the end of the world.

And ASU is definitely behind when it comes to Bayless although anything is possible when it comes to the thought process behind 17 year old kids. The rumor is he's still committed to Arizona but is pondering Texas as he might want to get out of state. Sendek would have to pull off a miracle to get Bayless in maroon and gold this late in the process as ASU was never really an option for him during his initial recruiting process.

Bayless is going to be in Tucson this weekend for an AAU Tournament at McKale so more news regarding his recruitment will probably be out early next week. I just hope the coaching staff doesn't push him into making a decision right away as that would probably backfire and Arizona would lose him for good. I have a feeling once he takes a step back and looks at the positives and negatives of every situation that he will end up in Tucson.

Hey Mao,
Once Bayless takes a step back, he will see that Lute will be
73 years old when Jerryd enters college. There is no guarantee that Bayless
will attend college for only one year. There are posters on a few different boards who keep saying that he is one and done. You guys don't know that for sure. Alot of things can happen, such as being humbled when he gets to college and then realizing that he needs more time to work on his game before he goes to the next level. There have been plenty of other big time
high school players who had every intention to stay a very short time in college and then end up staying 2, 3, and sometimes even 4 years. The only thing for sure is that if Bayless decides to stay all 4 years, Lute will be almost 77 years old. If he hasn't begun to slow down already, it is just the course of nature that it will soon happen. If I was a young recruit, this is not the situation (having a coach in his 70's) that would make me feel comfortable.

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

You might have a point if Lute was in poor health or something, but he's not and has no plans upon retiring probably for at least another five years or so. I have also already conceded that Lute is somewhat slipping and that's why much of the responsibility involving Arizona Basketball has been passed on to others in the program, making Lute much more of a figure head now than ever before. Hell, Lute isn't even Bayless primary recruiter nor will he be his position coach. And Rick Barnes' point about Lute not being there would make much more sense had he not flirted with the NC State and Indiana jobs the last couple offseasons.

Plenty of outstanding players go to play for coaches in their 70s and have success. Joe Pa and Bowden just won their conferences, Lute won the Pac-10 and had a Top 5 team in his 70s. Time will tell what Bayless will do, but when he looks at the situation he'll see that of all the schools he is interested in only Arizona has opened up a spot for him (Texas and UNC have absolutely loaded 2006 classes while Arizona hasnt brought in a SG since McClellan) and Arizona has put every shooting guard in the NBA since Jason Terry while I can't think of one legitmate NBA player Sendek has out in the NBA otrher than Wally Sczerbiak twelve years ago. There's no denying that of the schools Bayless is interested in, Arizona makes the most sense. This weekend is huge for the Bayless recruitment and I have a good feeling we're going to a better idea if he's going to Arizona or not come Monday.

 

[NEZCardsfan]

You might have a point if Lute was in poor health or something, but he's not and has no plans upon retiring probably for at least another five years or so. I have also already conceded that Lute is somewhat slipping and that's why much of the responsibility involving Arizona Basketball has been passed on to others in the program, making Lute much more of a figure head now than ever before. Hell, Lute isn't even Bayless primary recruiter nor will he be his position coach. And Rick Barnes' point about Lute not being there would make much more sense had he not flirted with the NC State and Indiana jobs the last couple offseasons.

Plenty of outstanding players go to play for coaches in their 70s and have success. Joe Pa and Bowden just won their conferences, Lute won the Pac-10 and had a Top 5 team in his 70s. Time will tell what Bayless will do, but when he looks at the situation he'll see that of all the schools he is interested in only Arizona has opened up a spot for him (Texas and UNC have absolutely loaded 2006 classes while Arizona hasnt brought in a SG since McClellan) and Arizona has put every shooting guard in the NBA since Jason Terry while I can't think of one legitmate NBA player Sendek has out in the NBA otrher than Wally Sczerbiak twelve years ago. There's no denying that of the schools Bayless is interested in, Arizona makes the most sense. This weekend is huge for the Bayless recruitment and I have a good feeling we're going to a better idea if he's going to Arizona or not come Monday.

I agree with all of this. I was going to post something along this lines....but I basically would have been arguing with another ASU fan. That usually gets me called a Wildcat lover.

I root for the PHX kids to be successfull. Lute has had a good track record with our kids; Frye, Elliot, Jefferson and Bibby.

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

I'm also a Phoenician and if Bayless goes to Texas, Carolina, Washington, or ASU then I'd hope he does well as a local kid. Arizona will be fine no matter what Bayless decide to do (Kamyron Brown would almost assuredly come aboard and a probable McD's AA Jamell Horne is already committed), so I hope he goes wherever he is going to be happy. I only point out that of all the schools he has been rumored to be interested in, Arizona makes the most sense when it comes to exposure, playing time, and preparation for the NBA. I don't see how anyone can argue that.

 

[DevilPrideBAS]

I've been reading on him a little....he sounds like a tremendous talent....but not something that really is going to help ASU's club in anyway. We don't need a 1 year star here. We need to get some solid guys in here who want to work their Arses off for 3 years.

If you don't think ASU basketball would accept a player of his caliber, you are nuts...regardless of how long he may stay

 

[NEZCardsfan]

If you don't think ASU basketball would accept a player of his caliber, you are nuts...regardless of how long he may stay

Never said ASU wouldn't accept. We all know they would. But there are better players for Sendek to try and rebuild this crap, around.

Basically, we need another Ike Diogu.....but without wasting his talent surrounding him with poor JUCO players.

 

[Russ Smith]

Boateng is a nice get for ASU but I would agree with Mao that this time around he had far less choices. he was only a McD's player because he signed with duke, he was heavily touted his soph and junior years but by his senior year he was passed up by a lot of bigmen, I think he was rated about 75 by national scouting services that year. he made the game because he was a Duke signee, he wasn't even remotely considered one of the top 20+ players by that point.

He didn't play at all for Duke but was projected to possibly start this year with their lack of size. Athletic. The rumor is he contacted all the schools that wanted him first time around, UCLA and I think Michigan were the schools competing with Duke, and they all turned him down. UCLA thinks they will get Kevin Love, and they're after some foreign bigs(one is a 7'5" kid from Iran who's 19 and may wind up in the NBA draft ) so they decided they didn't want Boateng. But he's a talented kid, good student, and I'm sure he'll help ASU immensely. I wanted UCLA to take him myself because Love is not a lock and even if he picks UCLA, he may play 1 year and go NBA, Boateng figures to play 3 more years for ASU.

 

[AZBALLER]

He didn't play at all for Duke but was projected to possibly start this year with their lack of size.

Wrong...He played sparinly for Duke, and although he had a chance to start next yeat, it wasn't for a lack of size on the team...

 

[Russ Smith]

Wrong...He played sparinly for Duke, and although he had a chance to start next yeat, it wasn't for a lack of size on the team...

Duke returns one player on their roster over 6'7", Josh McRoberts. Their top 3 recruits are between 6'4" and 6'6", they did also sign Zoubek, a 7 footer, but like Boateng, Zoubek's PT this year is largely going to be based on simply being the only other bigman on the roster. Duke has a lot of guards and forwards but beyond McRoberts and Zoubek the next tallest player on the roster is 6'8" soph Jamal Boykin who is closer to 6'6" and barely played at all this year as a freshman. Boykin is from LA.

Wouldn't surprise me at all to see Duke playing a lineup that includes Paulus, DeMarcus Nelson, Gerald Henderson and Lance Thomas with McRoberts. They are very athletic and loaded with McDonald's AA's as usual, but Duke has almost no size at all next year. That's why so many were surprised when Boateng transferred.

 

[AZBALLER]

So Duke has 2 legit college centers without Boateng? How is that considered a lack of size? They may play small next year, but it's not because they're a short team...imo.

 

[Russ Smith]

So Duke has 2 legit college centers without Boateng? How is that considered a lack of size? They may play small next year, but it's not because they're a short team...imo.

they have McRoberts who can play C but who is a PF, and they have Zoubek a guy who wasn't heavily recruited at all and who most felt would redshirt this year until Boateng transferred. The next biggest player is Boykin and even Duke is now listing him at 6'7". It's pretty easy to play small when you only have 2 players on your roster over 6'7".

They have a team of SG's and SF's. Not saying that doesn't work, look how far they got this year with McRoberts and Shelden Williams being the only big guys playing, but that's why they were counting on Boateng to play major minutes this season, they lost Williams, knew Zoubek wasn't ready to start, and knew it was going to be tough with such a small team.

I've heard that Coach K was livid when he found out Boateng was transferring. Gregg Doyel hinted on CBSsportsline.com that Coach K not only got very angry with Boateng when he announced he was leaving(apparently nobody knew he was unhappy) but he then apparently quite aggressively went after Josh McRoberts to make sure Josh didn't go pro.

FYI ASU also recently got a commit from Jerren Shipp, who I think is another terrific get. Brother of Joe Shipp(cal) and Josh Shipp(UCLA missed most of this year with injury). jerren is considered the #2 player on his team to Chace Stanback(senior to be committed to UCLA) but he's a very good player. A lot of UCLA fans were hoping he'd not sign until late in case UCLA had kids leave early and needed Shipp. That's an excellen sign for ASU that they're getting kids like that to commit rather than wait it out hoping for a bigger name school to offer them. UCLA did that this year with Westbrook and beat out ASU for him, but getting Shipp to commit will ultimately soften that blow.

 

[AZBALLER]

I know you know your stuff Russ...

I'm always impressed with your knowledge of collge basketball, and normally agree with what you say, and I'm a huge UCLA fan in basketball, since they represent the Pac better than any other team...But I still can't remember any boy's club/ymca/high school/college/NBA team that had 3 good centers...Duke might not have 3 good centers, but the rankings said that they did...Heck, Duke has more centers than then Suns, who are 1 of the last 4 NBA teams standing...Centers are hard to find, and Duke lost a good one.