TEMPE, AZ (House of Sparky Press)-

The Arizona State Sun Devils improved their record to 3-0 on Sunday afternoon, beating the Pepperdine Waves 61-40 in Wells Fargo Arena.

The Sun Devils were led by James Harden, who scored a career-high 33 points on 12-19 shooting, while going 8-9 from the charity stripe.

Ty Abbott, who averaged 15.5 ppg over the first two games of the season, was battling a cold all afternoon. He failed to score, but his slack was picked up by Jerren Shipp, who scored 11 points and played a high-energy game.

Facing a Pepperdine (1-4) team with three freshmen and two sophomores in their starting lineup, ASU was able to exploit the youthfulness of the Waves.

The game began with an emphatic Harden dunk, assisted by Derek Glasser. The Devils played sloppily to begin with, turning the ball over on three consecutive possessions. At the first timeout, Pepperdine was winning 7-5.

Instead of pulling his players, Coach Herb Sendek showed belief in his young team by leaving the starters in to work out the kinks. This was a telling vote of confidence.

Pepperdine came into the game averaging 46% from 3-pt territory, but only could muster a 27.6% average against ASU. Mychel Thompson, a sophomore from Ladera Ranch, California, went 3-12 from beyond the arc.

With 5:39 left in the first half, the game went to TV timeout with the Sun Devils winning 22-19. An ASU student came onto the court and hit a halfcourt shot to win a year of free pizzas and $2500 towards his tuition from Papa John's. The crowd erupted, and this moment was parlayed into more emotion during the game itself.

Money in the bank!

ASU used the crowd's input to play stellar defense, holding the Waves scoreless for the rest of the half, going into the locker room with a 27-19 advantage.

The Sun Devils played solid defense, bringing Pepperdine down to the wire on their shot clock multiple times throughout the contest. The 2-3 zone stymied the Waves, forcing them to shoot 29 three pointers. They only made 8 of them.

Shipp hit two 3-pointers in the first half, helping to bolster the early lead.

Harden broke his previous high score of 27 points, which he accomplished on January 17, 2008 against California in Berkeley.

Jeff Pendergraph kept out of foul trouble, playing 29 minutes and only fouling twice. Pendergraph went 3-6 from the foul line, scoring 5 points and taking down 6 rebounds. Sendek went on to say that Pendergraph played his best game of the season against Pepperdine.

Pepperdine has to go home to THIS? Rough life. (This is Malibu, CA)

With this game complete, ASU travels to Anaheim to play in the 76 Classic. Their first game is on Thanksgiving night at 7:00 PM MST against the Charlotte 49ers (1-3). Don't be fooled, Charlotte was 20-14 last year, and "returns four starters and nine of its top 10 players from last season," according to a Charlotte 49ers press release.

Pepperdine (1-3) visits Tempe today to play ASU (2-0). The game is at 2:00 PM MST and will be broadcast on FS Arizona, and ESPN 860.

I will be at the game today. Expect a game recap with quotes from Herb Sendek and some Sun Devils, right here. GO DEVILS!

On a Saturday with no Sun Devil football to report on, lets look forward to the basketball game on Sunday afternoon. Our competitors are the Pepperdine Waves (1-3) and the Arizona State Sun Devils (2-0), in a contest played at Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe. Game time is 2:00 PM, and it is on FS Arizona if you can't make it to Tempe tomorrow.

Here is the statistical breakdown for your Sun Devils:

ASU team leaders after two games:

As you can see, James Harden is living up to his billing as a sophomore, even with the flu-like symptoms he was suffering all day before the game against San Diego State. Jeff Pendergraph truly needs to step up, as he is getting into foul trouble this year at a rate we would like to see go down significantly.

Continue reading to find out about the Pepperdine Waves, and my prediction for the game.

Continue reading this post »

My article on the collapse of the Arizona basketball dynasty was very timely. That very night, Arizona went on to lose in one of the most embarrassing ways I have ever seen.

Do you know what the wildest part about this video is? Horne is the first one to go to Fogg and try to drill into his head what he did wrong. When the stroke of luck occurs and UAB misses the front end of the one-and-one, I actually thought the horrible foul was going to work out for them. Boy, was I wrong.

After Horne intentionally fouled the UAB Blazer and essentially lost the game for Arizona, I found myself puzzled, amused, yet at the same time a little sad. How can this happen in Pac-10 college basketball? These kids are attending a college that, by all stats and measures, is a decent public school. How can they not put 2 and 2 together, and know that the game is tied? Forgivable once, yes. But TWICE? No.

Poor coaching, poor basketball smarts, poor everything. Arizona has two directions which it can go at this point: Straight into the toilet, or right to the top. If this moment can somehow bring the team together, and they can grow despite the adversity they face from the disgusted fanbase and the ever-growing odds, they could put on an improbable, Disney-style run into March Madness.

But really? No. This was the nail that sealed shut the coffin that holds the remnants of basketball glory in Tucson.

As for the Sun Devils, they weren't that great looking on Tuesday, either. But we pulled out a road win against a decent team, and now we are better equipped to deal with Pepperdine on Sunday.

Entering the season with our first preseason ranking since 1991-92 (when we immediately lost  2 of 3 in the Maui Tournament), we have a lot of work to do to live up to the ranking. 

Mississippi Valley State (Southwestern Athletic Conference Champ, 17-16 2008, lost in opening round to UCLA in NCAA tournament) played us awfully hard, hit 40% of their three point attempts, closed the lead to only 9 (50-41) in the second half, and junior Shannon Behling had 18 points. But, we still won so..

On to the Sun Devils. While I would have liked to have seen a blow out, MVS was at least an NCAA tourney team (while we weren't..hmm..)

We shot 57.8% from the field. We should have attempted a lot more shots, and Sendek notes that

"We really held the ball too much," Sendek said. "The ball didn't move freely. Everybody who caught it just kind of made sure it was orange, made sure it was a sphere, and then we passed it. Our offense is going to work better when we move the ball more freely and more sharply."

This is not just lip service - it really was true, and I expect the offense to settle down into more of a groove as they work out the early seasn jitters. We shot mediocre from the line (71%), okay  from three (35%) and were pretty good about not committing fouls (16).

As a team we were solid, but not spectacular.

Individual performances.

James Harden - pimp. 24 points (6/11 FG, 0/4 3P, 12/16 FT), 3 rebounds, 10 assist (2 to) 3 steals in 30 minutes. A solid line. Great to see Harden dishing the ball out like that because our point guards had little production tonight. Harden on being such a player:

"I guess that's how I always am," Harden said. "I'm a playmaker. I get my teammates shots. I try to create for them as much as possible. That's pretty much my game. Today, I think I did an OK job of doing that."

Yes, you did James. Our Pac-10 title hopes rest on Harden's shoulders this year, so it is good to see him responding to all these preseason 1st and 2nd team All-American nods in a strong way.

The Point Guards, Jamelle McMillan (who started) and Derek Glasser:
Since we have two point guards, both of whom play about equal time (McMillan 21 mins, Glasser 23) we will look at them as a tandem.  McMillan has yet to live up to his hype (he was ranked by scouts as a 93 and a top 100 recruit. Harden was a 97) but that is alright, I expect some strides forward this year.

They did not score much and did not shoot that well, 9 points (2-5 FG, 0-3 3P, 5-6 FT) which is to be expected. McMillan shot 36% from three last year, so I dont mind seeing him put up some shots, but Glasser is absolute garbage. 31% last year, but in big games it was about 10%. (Oregon 1-7, USC 0-5, Wash St 1-5, UCLA 2-6). They had 1 combined rebound, 6 assists to 2 turnovers, and 3 steals. Not a lot of production for 44 combined minutes. That is ok, the ball was in Harden's hands most of the possessions.

Ty Abbott: 32 mins, 18 points (8-13 FG, 2-6 3P, 0/0 FT), 8 rebounds, 4 assist 1 turnover, 1 block.

Abbott had excellent efficieny on the other hand. Not quite Harden-esque, but 18 points in 32 minutes is great. He shot well, although it would be nice to see him drawing some fouls instead of relying on his outside shot so much. 8 boards is great to see out of the undersized guard. He also was economical with the ball.

Rihards Kuksiks: The 6'6 sophomore who played 4 minutes in our first 7 Pac-10 games combined last season, and then ended up starting by the end of the year, is poised for a breakout season as our starting SF/PF. The guy can shoot (37% 3P last year). He played 33 mins, shot 4-7 (4-7 from 3P, ha) and scored 12. 3 Rebs, 1 assist to 3 turnovers (eh..), and 1 steal.

If he wants to be effective as a college 3 or 4 he will need to improve his ball skills and improve his defense.

Pendergraph - the senior emotional leader only played half the game, had 10 points, 5 rebounds, and did not miss a shot. Solid, and I would like to see more of this. No more 18 foot jumpers this season Jeff.

The Bench:
Boateng played 11 mins, had 1 rebound 1 steal and did nothing else. Hope his ball handling had improved.

Shipp - 12 mins, 7 points? I will take it. Shipp has seen his playing time slowly decrease as Sendek's recruits have come in, but he still provides solid depth off the bench.

Kraidon woods - only 3 mins.

Taylor Rohde - the 6'8 225 pound Freshman recruit out of Phoenix got his college debut. Ranked as the #44 power foward in the country for 2008, and an 87 by Scouts Inc, Rohde played 12 minutes had 1 rebound, 2 assists and went scoreless. A scouting report on Rohde:

Rohde is an excellent all-around player who possesses a very good understanding of the game and is highly skilled. He has a solid looking frame with fairly long arms, a decent set of shoulders, and solid overall length. He has a great pair of hands as he can finish with either hand. Despite only being a decent athlete (doesn't have a lot of bounce) he's a solid rebounder - has very good instincts in the paint area. He's very skilled in the post - has a nice up-and-under move - and can use the glass very well on his turn-around jump shot. Defensively, he plays good position defense but lacks the quickness to guard athletic post players. Overall, Rohde is a fine basketball player, but he may struggle to score and defend against most "fours" in the Pac-10 (verbal to Arizona State).

2007 Pangos All-American Camp

Rhode will not "wow" you with athleticism, but his savvy and skills are a sight to see.

not as heralded as Coy, but ranked the same as Coy, and played in the first game... His size will be extremely valuable to the team.

Good start boys.

With Arizona State's basketball season opening Friday night against the Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils, the stage has been set for a Sun Devils team spurred and motivated by unusually optimistic expectations.

Continue reading this post »

-Good times.

UPDATE: With ASU's regular season beginning tonight, I moved this up to the top of the blog for your perusal once again. Look forward to more Johnny Coy interviews over the course of the season right here at House of Sparky.

Johnny Coy, a Missouri native who was a two-sport standout in high school, took a few minutes with House Of Sparky this afternoon to discuss the transition to college and his outlook on the basketball season.
    Coy, a 7th round draft pick of the Philadelphia Phillies in the 2008 MLB Draft (Coy didn't sign), has also been offered a spot on the ASU baseball team under the tutelage of Coach Pat Murphy.
    At 6'7", Coy towers over this interviewer. He has a friendly demeanor and a good attitude.
    "Really early in my recruiting, my first offer was to Arizona State. I got really close to Coach Sendek, and my family got really close to him," Coy said. "It's pretty much a dream come true to meet a coach like Coach Sendek and to be a part of this program."
    A consummate team player, Johnny Coy will do anything it takes to help the team win, at all costs. "All the guys are really close-knit guys, they're all like brothers. It really makes it easy for me to be able to fit in."
    Coy is really excited for both the baseball and basketball seasons, offering that he believes that Herb Sendek and Pat Murphy are the two best coaches in the nation.
    
House Of Sparky: How was it moving from Missouri to Arizona? It's a little hotter, isn't it?

Johnny Coy: Yeah, it's really different.  I came over here in the summer. I was here for the whole second session of summer. It was really hot, and I wasn't used to it. Everything is so different here than back home. I'm getting used to it though, the heat's not bothering me anymore, and now it's starting to cool down a little bit, and it's starting to get really nice.

House Of Sparky: Tell us about the adjustment from high school to college.

Coy: It's going pretty good; it's a tough process for everybody, no matter who it is. The pace of the game, everything. Even the weights, conditioning, it's all a pretty big jump, but I think I'm doing pretty good so far.

House Of Sparky: In your bio, it said you went to the College World Series this summer.

Coy: Yeah, it was my first time ever going. It's only two hours away from where I live, which isn't that far at all. It's kind of weird that I've never been before, but I got to go last summer, and I went to every single game, sat almost front row. It was a really great experience, and hopefully someday I'll get to play in it.

House Of Sparky: It's a little disappointing that Fresno State beat out ASU.

Yeah I know. I didn't actually know I was going to come to Arizona State until the day before they got eliminated. I was going to play basketball here, but I didn't know if I was going to play baseball out here or not. Like an hour before the game, Coach Murphy called and was like "Do you want to play baseball out here? We really want you to come out here and play baseball." It's a dream come true, and I was really excited.

House of Sparky: Whom do you admire the most on the ASU basketball team?

Coy: It's hard; I mean everyone on the team is a leader, all the older guys help the younger guys a lot. They're all really vocal, and everybody is a leader in their own way. We're going to be a pretty good team this year.

House Of Sparky: Past and present, who are your favorite basketball players?

Past would probably be Larry Bird. I loved watching him play. My number is 33. I watch highlight clips of him all the time on Youtube. Present would be Kobe Bryant, he's always been my favorite player since I knew who Kobe Bryant was.

House Of Sparky: Do you try to emulate their moves?

Coy: Uh, I try to. It's a little tough, but I try to sometimes.

House Of Sparky: Still working on it?

Coy: (laughs) yeah.

Pretty awesome cover. The Sun Devils have arrived!

Hello faithful readers,

I wanted to do a little unscientific poll. I'm going to the ASU basketball media day on Thursday, and wanted to find out where all of your interests lie. If you want to read more about Derek Glasser or Ty Abbott, for example, please comment on this story. I am more than willing to ask any player anything you want, within reason.

There are some interesting players out there with interesting stories. Want to hear more about Johnny Coy? Maybe about Jamelle McMillan's trip to China with his father to see the Olympics? Please let me know so I can appease the hungry masses!

if not, I'll write another feature about Herb Sendek's dome wax. Do you really want that?

A bit of good news on a day when we look at Wall Street and can do nothing but cry (unless you bought inverse ETFs last week, then you are a freaking genius). As per ASU's athletics site..

James Harden Named First-Team Preseason All-American By Sporting News

Preseason magazine tabs ASU 15th in the nation.

The Arizona State men's hoops team is ranked 15th by Sporting News in its preseason magazine, and it also tabs 6-5 sophomore guard James Harden with first-team All-America honors on its five-man team.

It marks the fourth top-25 preseason ranking for ASU and second selection at No. 15, as Blue Ribbon Yearbook also has ASU 15th. Athlon had the Sun Devils 16th while Rivals.com has ASU 25th in its preseason rankings.

ASU returns its top seven scorers from last year's 21-13 team that tied for the nation's lead in win improvement (13), as ASU was 8-22 in 2006-07 but went on to beat NCAA Tournament teams Arizona (twice), Xavier, Stanford, USC, Oregon and Coppin State last year. ASU is led by senior Jeff Pendergraph, a 2008 third-team All-Pac-10 selection and Harden, a first-team All-Pac-10 pick and the only returning All-Pac-10 first-team player from last season.

The Sun Devils open their season at home on Friday, Nov. 14, against 2008 NCAA Tournament participant Mississippi Valley State.

SPORTING NEWS PRESEASON TOP 25
1. UNC
2. UConn
3. Louisville
4. Gonzaga
5. Michigan State
6. Texas
7. Duke
8. UCLA
9. Pitt
10. Memphis
11. USC
12. Notre Dame
13. Purdue
14. Miami
15. Arizona State
16. Florida
17. Wake Forest
18. Marquette
19. Xavier
20. Davidson
21. Tennessee
22. Oklahoma
23. Saint Mary's
24. UNLV
25. Baylor

ALL-AMERICANS
First team
Tyler Hansbroug, UNC
Blake Griffin, Oklahoma
Austin Daye, Gonzaga
James Harden, Arizona State
Stephen Curry, Davidson