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LOCATION: Tempe, AZ
CONFERENCE: Pacific-10
LAST SEASON: 14-16
CONFERENCE RECORD: 6-12 (9th)
STARTERS LOST/RETURNING: 3/2
NICKNAME: Sun Devils
COLORS: Maroon & Gold
HOMECOURT: Wells Fargo Arena (14,198)
COACH: Rob Evans (New Mexico State '68)
record at school 14-16 (1 year)
career record 100-97 ( 7 years)
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ASSISTANTS: Tony Benford (Texas Tech '86)
Russ Pennell (Pittsburgh State '89)
Dan O'Dowd (Bethany College '86)
TEAM WINS: (last 5 years) 24-11-10-18-14
RPI (last 5 years) 22-154-187-63-101
1998-99 FINISH: No conference tournament.
ESPN.com Clubhouse
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Arizona State coach Rob Evans understands Rome wasn't built in a day. That doesn't mean he has to like the construction schedule. In his second season with the Sun Devils, Evans has put his stamp on the program with a recruiting class that was ranked 13th in the nation -- and tops in the Pac-10 -- by Bob Gibbons of All-Star Sports Report. The newcomers figure to be good. But how soon? "This program didn't get down all at once, and it's not going to get well all at once," Evans said. "We've got to have patience." Evans, who coached Mississippi to consecutive NCAA Tournament bids in 1997 and '98 before arriving in Tempe, directed the Sun Devils to a 14-16 record in his first season. Now he starts anew, without three starters, including all-conference frontliners Bobby Lazor (18.0 ppg, 8.7 rpg) and Mike Batiste (16.7 ppg, 6.9 rpg). Even given the personnel losses, Evans believes much was accomplished last season.
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Blue Ribbon Analysis |
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BACKCOURT B BENCH/DEPTH C
FRONTCOURT C INTANGIBLES C
"Our goal is to always get into the postseason," coach Rob Evans said. "And I can see where we're headed." It does seem the Sun Devils are pointed in the direction of success. Evans is building his program just as he did at Ole Miss. The result seems destined to be a winner. But ASU is likely to be in over its head at times this year. At the very least, the Sun Devils will be hampered by the inconsistency of youth. At worst, they may prove to be woefully short of muscle up front. Eddie House is as explosive a player offensively as any in the Pac-10, and Alton Mason gives Evans a solid point guard. Elsewhere, there is potential . . . and question marks. ASU's young frontcourt players have the talent and skill to score, but can they defend and rebound? Not likely. At least not yet. And is there sufficient experience to survive trips to Pullman, Wash., and Eugene, Ore., much less McKale Center and Maples Pavilion? Doubtful. Again, Evans will try to be patient. "I expect these guys to come out and give us everything they have in practice," he said. "If they do that, we're going to get better. We're still in the building process. I don't know what to fully expect from them. "I've been down this road before. One night you're going to play well, one night you're not. I just want to see progress." That should come. Just not all at once. |
"We tried to establish our mode of operation, how we're going to do things, not just on the basketball court but off the court," he said. "One thing the kids understand is it's a requirement they play hard. They've got to come to work every day to get better, and they did that. We gave ourselves a chance to win every game we were in except one." Without much doubt, this is a team that will require some degree of patience. And it will require a sensational senior season from 6-1 guard Eddie House (18.9 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 93 assists, 61 steals, .389 three-point percentage, .791 FT percentage). House is an extraordinarily talented backcourt player who gradually has come around to Evans' way of thinking. Last season, under his third different head coach in three seasons at ASU, House butted heads early with Evans. The two understand one another better now, but when Evans sensed late last spring that House wasn't taking care of business away from the court, he pulled House from the tryout camp for the World University Games team. "It's a situation where Eddie has responsibility to this program and to his teammates," Evans said. "A lot of that is discipline and doing the things he should be doing. He had not followed through on some things we had talked about. "Not being able to go to the trials was difficult. He would have made the team. But we've got to look out for what's best for Eddie and our basketball team." Generally, Evans is pleased with how far House has come, on and off the court. "Eddie wants to be the best basketball player he can possibly be," Evans said. "I think he's looking for guidance and some stability. He's given himself to me and the coaching staff, and that's why he's getting better." House finished second to Arizona's Jason Terry in the Pac-10 scoring race last season, and some of his performances were spectacular. He had four 30-point efforts, including a 39-point outburst at UNLV. Perhaps his most impressive game was a 34-point showing in a triple-overtime victory at Texas A&M. House's three-pointer with 12 seconds left in regulation forced the first extra period. He made a jumper with 49 seconds left that extended the game to a second overtime, then made a three-point shot with nine seconds left in that period that forced a third overtime. Then he merely scored 12 points and iced a 96-91 victory. House scored at least 20 points in 10 other games. He had 11 rebounds against Washington State, seven assists twice in a game and seven steals versus Kansas State. Evans wants more. "We need leadership from him first of all," the coach said. House showed his skills to pro coaches when he served as a counselor at the ABCD prep all-star camp, and Evans believes he has a future in the NBA, possibly even at point guard. He will get a chance to handle the ball for the Sun Devils in their motion offense, although the point position is in good hands with 6-2 junior Alton Mason (8.5 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 119 assists, 60 steals). In his first season after transferring from Barton County JC in Nebraska, Mason made steady progress throughout the year. He had 12 double-figure scoring games in his final 23 games, and averaged 11.7 points over the final six. "Alton's a lot more mature and has an understanding of what we want him to do," Evans said. "It's very difficult for a junior college kid to come in and lead a basketball team early on. He did a good job at the end of the season being more vocal." Likely destined for the other wing spot opposite House is 6-6 sophomore Awvee Storey (2.0 ppg, 1.2 rpg at Illinois in 1997-98), who becomes eligible after sitting out as a transfer last season. "He's a tremendous talent," Evans said. "He's strong, he's tough physically and mentally, he can get to the basket and create his own shot." He's also a potential leader, having directed a fierce dressing room tirade at his teammates after a loss to New Orleans -- as a redshirt, no less. No one challenged his right to do so. Chad Prewitt (4.1 ppg, 2.9 rpg, .549 FG, .667 FT), a 6-9, 235-pound sophomore, will battle for the starting center job. He will have less help there than expected because 6-9, 225-pound prep signee Chris Osborne failed to qualify academically. The remaining firepower will be provided by six freshmen newcomers. Evans said his plan involved mining homegrown talent. He achieved that by signing Donnell Knight, Tommy Smith and Tanner Shell -- three highly touted Arizona prep players. "We thought coming in that was a huge thing we needed to do, establish ourselves in-state, and especially in-city," Evans said. "So many kids have gone elsewhere. We wanted to make sure that didn't happen. We feel we got three of the better kids not only out of this city, but in the country." Knight (18.8 ppg, 12.6 rpg, 4.5 apg. 4.2 bpg, Corona del Sol HS/Tempe, Ariz.) is a 6-8 forward who earned a spot on Parade Magazine's 40-man All-America team after leading his team to a 26-7 record and a spot in the state's 5A semifinals. "I coached the Junior World Team to a silver medal in Portugal (last summer) and Donnell, to me, is better than all those guys," Evans said. "He's very athletic, he can handle the basketball, he really runs the floor and he defends. He gives me versatility." Smith (North HS/Phoenix, Ariz.) is a 6-9 forward who may grow to 6-10 or beyond before he is finished. He was a third-team choice to the Orange County Register's Fab 15, after averaging 22 points as a junior in the Arizona 5A state tournament. "I'm very excited about Tommy Smith. All his besketball is ahead of him," Evans said. Shell (16.0 ppg, 6.0 rpg, Mountain View HS/Mesa, Ariz.), a 6-6 wing, led his team to a 63-7 record and two state 5A titles his final two prep seasons. Shell is the son of former BYU and San Francisco 49ers linebacker Todd Shell. "He's a very tough, hord-nosed kid," Evans said. "Toughness was one of the things I thought we were missing." Evans' other early signee last fall was 6-8 forward Shawn Redhage (21.0 ppg, East HS/Lincoln, Neb.), the Nebraska Player of the Year, according to USA Today, and a consensus first-team all-state selection. "Shawn does a lot of things for us -- he's a huge piece of the puzzle," Evans said. "He really rebounds the ball well. He's a physical presence." Two spring signees were 6-7 forward Justin Allen (26.7 ppg, 15.0 rpg, 4.7 bpg, Malta HS/Malta, Ill.) and 6-0 point guard Kyle Dodd (18.0 ppg, 9.0 apg, Brea Olinda HS/Brea, Calif.). Allen, who averaged 27.0 points as a junior, became the first player in his school's history to sign with a Division I school. He led Malta to a 23-4 record last season. "Justin Allen is a tremendous shooter who really understands the game," Evans said. "You need guys on this level who are pure shooters, and we were able to get one in Justin." Dodd is a quick athlete with a 40-inch vertical leap, which allowed him to win the dunk contest at the Pump West All-Star Camp before his senior year. He led his team to a 27-2 record and was a first-team All-Orange County pick by the Los Angeles Times. Rounding out the squad are three walk-ons -- 5-10 junior guard D'Angelo Jones (0.0 ppg, 0.3 rpg), 6-4 sophomore guard Brad Nahra (0.6 ppg, 0.8 rpg) and 6-7 junior forward Jeremy Ivener (0.0 ppg, 0.5 rpg). The Sun Devils will be without Kenny Crandall, the 6-4 shooting guard who averaged 5.9 ppg as a freshman last season. He is scheduled to return after a two-year Mormon mission. Meanwhile, 6-4 senior guard Derrick Davis (3.3 ppg, 2.5 rpg in 17 games) remains academically sidelined, although the coaching staff hopes he may become eligible by the second semester. Davis had 16 points for the Sun Devils last season in an overtime loss at UCLA. Forward Okeme Oziwo, who would have been a senior this season, retired during the summer, never able to fully recover from injuries he suffered in a car accident two years ago. Two other would-be returning players transferred out of the program: Lohnnie Tape' (1.6 ppg, 2.5 rpg), a 6-7 junior forward, and Jason Patton (2.8 ppg, 3.0 rpg), a 6-4 junior guard.
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