The Sun Is Starting To Shine On These Devils

Picked near the bottom of the Pac-10, Arizona State continues to exceed expectations

Jan. 8, 2008

By Phil Kasiecki

Special to CSTV.com

	PHIL KASIECKI Phil is the Sr. Editor of Hoopville.com, and contributes regular content to CSTV.com. E-mail here!

        ---   Column Archive   --- 1/15: Don't Write In The Hoyas Just Yet 1/8: The Sun Is Starting To Shine On These Devils 1/1: Three Teams Ahead Of The Pack 12/28: Terps Taking Much-Needed Break 12/18: Transparent Cornhuskers 12/11: Biggest Of The Big Five 12/4: Hardwood Series Draws Rave Reviews 11/27: Beware of the Pirates 11/20: Not Necessarily Rebuilding In Miami 11/13: Atlantic Sun Already Out-Doing Itself 11/5: Speedier Spartans 10/24: Jayhawks Looking Much The Same 10/20: George Mason Returns To Top Of CAA 10/13: Graves Gives It One More Shot 6/27: Blossomed Green Ready For Next Level 6/5: Senior Standing 3/28: Points of Emphasis 3/21: A Season of Unpredictability 3/14: X-Factors: Friday's Games 3/13: X-Factors: Who to Watch on Thursday 2/28: Orange Closing In On NCAA Tournament 2/21: Familiarity Creates Parity Within Conferences 2/7: Big East Having A Down Year 1/31: Tale Of Two Divisions 1/23: Not A Sure Bet 1/17: In CAA, It's VCU 1/8: Providence Success No Surprise 12/18: Turning The Corner? 12/5: ACC and Pac-10 Back on Top 11/29: Questions Abound in Early Polls 11/20: Nothing Small About These Wins 10/30: MVC Has Cracked the Code 10/25: Neal Ready To Move Towson On Up 6/25: NBA Draft - P. O'Bryant 6/24: NBA Draft - C. Simmons 4/04: Final Four Reflection 3/29: A Colonial Invasion 3/22: The Value of Experience 3/15: X-Factors, Part II 3/14: X-Factors, Part I 3/11: Xavier's Home Court Advantage 2/21: Can The Colonial Step Up? 2/15: A Tiger Changes His Stripes 2/11: Patriot League Powers 2/08: The Lone Rangers 2/01: Rock, Chalk, Jayhawk 1/23: Rough Rides on Welcome Wagon 1/17: Not a Normal Start 1/16: Blue Devils Poised For Final Four 1/11: Eagles' Difficult ACC Childhood 1/09: As Good As The Hype 1/03: Contenders and pretenders

Most preseason projections for the Pac-10 had Arizona State buried near the bottom. With expectations of the conference being the best and deepest in the country, most picked the youthful Sun Devils around eighth or ninth, with some projecting them as a possible NIT team.

The Sun Devils entered the second year of Herb Sendek's tenure with some youth, but plenty of talent. Their freshman class, led by McDonald's All-American James Harden, looked to be an excellent building block. Sendek did nothing but win at his prior two head coaching stops, so last season's 8-22 mark figured to be an aberration.

After the first weekend of conference play, one now has to look at the Sun Devils and first think NCAA, not NIT for the postseason. The Sun Devils swept their home-opening weekend, starting with a win over Oregon and then knocking off Oregon State on Saturday. That gives them a 2-0 start in Pac-10 play for the first time in 20 years and just the third time in 30 years in the conference. The win over Oregon also gives them two signature wins thus far, as they also blew out Xavier last month.

In light of that, it's not a surprise that there's a buzz building about this team. Media relations director Doug Tammaro said he's fielded a number of calls about the team since Saturday's win, aided in part by the fact that their next game is against in-state rival Arizona on Wednesday. That game looks like it will be a sellout, if not very close to one. Arizona has dominated the series of late, but the fan base in Tempe is starting to believe that could change before long. You can count Sendek among those who fully understand what his team is going up against.

"We've made some good strides. They've sustained success for a long time," said Sendek. "You can't help but be impressed by how they've continued to do things."

Harden, the Pac-10's youngest player and the first McDonald's All-American in the program's history, has instantly boosted this team with his feel for the game. He's also been a barometer of their success in the final score, as the Sun Devils have lost both games in which he did not score in double figures while winning all 12 in which he has. While Harden has come in and become an instant star, it's only lifted the team, and there's a simple reason.

"He has a great feel for the game. It's a function of his unselfishness," Sendek said. "He never gets caught up in himself, and that's why it always seems like has an IQ for the game, it's why it seems like he has a feel, because he's not consumed or self-absorbed, and he plays with the other guys on the floor."

Harden certainly impressed one recent opposing coach, as Oregon State's Jay John saw the impact he makes.

"James Harden makes an enormous difference," said John. "In a conference full of heralded freshmen, he flies under the radar."

Harden has also been helped by two other freshmen starters, Ty Abbott and Jamelle McMillan. McMillan, the son of former NBA point guard Nate, has teamed with sophomore Derek Glasser to give them excellent point guard play thus far. They've taken good care of the ball and that has helped them be very efficient offensively.

As good as their freshmen are, the Sun Devils also have one of the best players no one knows about in junior forward Jeff Pendergraph. A good student who is on track to graduate in three years, Pendergraph averages 13.7 points per game and is shooting over 68 percent from the field. He was one of the top freshmen in the Pac-10 two years ago and has continued to get better under Sendek's tutelage. Even more important, Pendergraph and the other two upperclassmen have been leaders for this team.

"We've really relied a great deal on young players," said Sendek. "Our older guys have really provided leadership for them, so we didn't become the young guys and the old guys."

Sendek is running the same system he ran at N.C. State and continues to have success with it. There was a question as to how that would play considering the perception of the system and the West Coast's reputation for wide-open basketball. But as has been the case with other high-major teams having success with it, the questions have been answered, at least thus far.

When Sendek arrived in Tempe, there was plenty of excitement. They had a sense that they had something special in their new head coach, who had won 254 games and was 43-years-old. The early returns are positive, and while there is more to be done, the reasons for the excitement upon his hire are obvious now.