Today is the final home game of the 2010-2011 season for the Arizona State Sun Devils. The game is slated to tip off at 2 P.M. Arizona time against the equally hapless Oregon State Beavers.
We are sending off three seniors today, players who have been synonymous with Sun Devil basketball over the past four years. They deserve a proper goodbye.
Lets begin with Ty Abbott, who has scored 1,308 points in his ASU career. Abbott has been a starter for most of his four seasons in Tempe, and was always viewed as a player with a lot of potential. Unfortunately, Abbott never really "turned the corner" into an elite talent, but he has a good shooting stroke and is capable of taking over a game.
Next, we can discuss Rihards Kuksiks, our Latvian hero. Kuksiks was considering playing professional basketball in Europe this past year, and decided instead to come back to Arizona State to finish out his amateur career.
Kuksiks is a frustrating basketball player due to his inconsistency -- Rik is a feast or famine shooter who relies solely on his offense to get by. When he's making his shots, he's irreplaceable; when he's missing, his lack of defensive prowess really shines through.
Kuksiks has made 273 three pointers in his ASU career -- that's a lot of downtown action -- but, a lot like Abbott, we always wanted more. But he was a good role player to have when James Harden and Jeff Pendergraph were tearing up the court.
Finally, that brings us to Jamelle McMillan. A true Sun Devil with intelligence and basketball IQ, McMillan has been hampered with a groin injury this entire season. Playing as an off guard during Derek Glasser's career, McMillan finally took over the point in 2010-2011 and did an admirable job with the team he had. He instilled confidence and leadership skills in the younger players and never let his injury get in the way of being a good team player. His statistics don't jump out at you, but he's a solid basketball mind who has a bright future in the sport.
With all that said, these seniors deserve a big crowd and a big win today against the Beavers. Lets talk about the final home game of 2011 right here! Go Devils!