It was only a season ago that Washington went 3-0 against Arizona State, but the Huskies know that this year’s version of the Sun Devils will provide a much tougher test.
One year after finishing 8-22 overall and 2-16 in the Pac-10, Arizona State has climbed from the Pac-10 basement to a tie atop the early-season standings. At 14-3 overall and 4-1 in conference play, the 24th-ranked Sun Devils, who host Washington at 6 p.m. tonight in a non-televised game, are enjoying their best start since the 1980-1981 season.
Arizona State was picked to finish ninth in the Pac-10 in preseason polls, but everyone was expecting a drastically improved team under second-year coach Herb Sendek, who led NC State to five straight NCAA Tournament berths from 2002-2006. Still, what the Sun Devils have accomplished while for most of the season starting three freshmen, one sophomore and one junior has made them the feel-good story of the conference.
“Coach Sendek’s a good coach,” said Washington senior guard Tim Morris, who was recruited by Sendek while the coach was at NC State. “He had to turn things around a little bit and get his players to buy in a little bit, but it was just a matter of time.”
That time has apparently come rather quickly, thanks in large part to Sendek’s first recruiting class. Leading the way is guard James Harden, a 6-4 guard who is the first McDonalds All-American to sign with ASU out of high school since 1984. Harden has definitely lived up to his hype so far, scoring 18.6 points per game, which ranks fifth in the conference while shooting 55.4 percent. Ty Abbott, who like Harden has started all 17 of Arizona State’s games, is third on the team with 11.2 points per game.
That duo is one of the biggest reasons the Sun Devils have gone from a team that lost a lot of close games to a team that is nationally ranked.
“James Harden plays like he’s 25 years old,” said Washington coach Lorenzo Romar, who recruited both Harden and Abbott. “He is so seasoned, so poised, does not get rattled, and he was like that in high school … He just would will his team to win. There are some that are really highly ranked are talented, and there are others that are winners and know how to win basketball games, and that’s what he is.”
Romar went on to point out that the Sun Devils were in a lot of games last year only to lose in the final minutes.
“Well, this year you’ve got James Harden and Ty Abbott who have hit big shots and have become go-to guys to allow them to pull out those victories,” he said.
Adding a player of Harden’s caliber was crucial to the rebuilding process in Tempe.
“If you look at the rosters in our league, many teams have really special players,” Sendek said of Harden, who is questionable to play tonight because of a groin injury. “All teams have really good players, and if you want to have a chance you have to have the same. Obviously getting someone like James was tremendously important.”
Another freshman, Jamelle McMillan, has started 12 games for the Sun Devils. McMillan, a graduate of Seattle’s O’Dea High School and the son of Trailblazers coach Nate, hasn’t put up the big numbers of Harden and Abbott, but has provided solid point guard play, turning the ball over just 25 times in 17 games.
“He’s a good player, a good defender,” said Romar. “Jamelle’s a winner. He’s quick, he’s got good hands. A safe point guard, doesn’t turn the ball over much. He’s very solid.”
So while the Huskies might own a 10-game winning streak against the Sun Devils, they know that continuing that streak got a lot harder this season.
“The last couple of years, they’ve struggled a little bit, but when they hired Herb Sendek last year, you knew he’d turn the program around,” said senior guard Ryan Appleby. “He’s brought a winning attitude with him and you can see it’s been showing in the rest of the program. Coach Sendek’s done a great job there.”
Contact Herald Writer John Boyle at jboyle@heraldnet.com. For more on University of Washington sports, check out the Huskies blog at heraldnet.com/huskiesblog
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