Final Score: UW-77 ASU-69
This game was not nearly as close as it looks. UW had a 22 point lead in the final 3 minutes before letting ASU chip away as Romar an team let up on the gas. I have a bone to pick about this. First off, I love it when our walk-ons and reserves get playtime, it is a fun and rewarding experience for them. That being said, we are in a critical stretch of play right now and the bubble is not on our side. We need to make statement games, not win by 8 at home to an atrocious ASU team. We need to finish. We should have dropped 30+ on them and said "Hey! We are here! We want to win! We want to compete!" Nope, didn't happen. To be fair, the Dawgs were really hot the first half, despite committing 10 first half turnovers. In the second half, the Dawgs committed an additional 5 turnovers, but only managed 33 points on sub par shooting. The Dawgs were a blistering 61% in the first half, but the second half zone of ASU caused problems leading to another sub 35% outing.
What we saw today was a true team effort on the court. For the first time in god knows how long, the Dawgs had 18 assists! Its amazing how passing and sharing the ball can lead to good things. Abdul Gaddy led the way with 8 assists to 3 turnovers, while Tony Wroten had 4 and 4.
The passes led to our team getting early production from everyone. Terrence Ross, C.J. Wilcox, and Darnell Gant were all hovering around 8 points at halftime. Ross finished with a team high 18, Wilcox added 14, Wroten had 13, Aziz N'Diaye put up a respectable 12, and Gant finished with 9. Those are the types of numbers we should be seeing every night from our guys. Four and five guys with double digit scoring on top of their rebounding, steals, etc. Getting production is easy if you pass the ball and that is exactly what we did tonight.
Overall, I loved the energy of the first half. The team played like it was taking on Arizona versus ASU. That is what I wanted to see. They treated the first half like a real game and went into halftime up 18. Then the second half rolled around and the Dawgs got lazy. UW had held ASU to 2 of 9 outside shooting in the first half by playing pressure d, extending to the sidelines, and preventing open looks. ASU went 6-11 in the second half, allowing them to chew their way back into the game to save face. This happened because our guys got lazy, stayed in the paint, and generally just did not try to put a hand in their face. I put that on Romar for not hyping them up at half, demanding more of the same.
Desmond Simmons and Shawn Kemp had decent nights, combining for 8 points and 7 boards. Simmons got most of the boards will Kemp got most of the points. They played a total of 26 minutes, allowing Gant and N'Diaye to rest after battling ASU's 7-footers in the paint. Respectable numbers for the time they played. They did their jobs tonight.
Abdul Gaddy was not aggressive in the normal fashion, but he attacked none the less. Gaddy took only two shots on the night and drilled a 3-pointer, his only points of the night. What he did do is attack the hoop and dish out to our open shooters and wouldn't you know it, they were open. Man, I feel like I iterated this exact thing multiple times throughout the season. Drive and dish, kick it out, get in the lanes. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy. 8 assists is amazing and the 3 turnovers are reasonable, though many were unforced errors that could well have been avoided. Gaddy also pulled in a rebound and picked off a steal. Productive night over all. We don't need him to score, we need him to create scores.
Darnell Gant looked a lot better tonight than he has in a while. His second half shooting definitely cooled off, but his first half put-back jam was sensational. He reared back hard and jammed it home. Loved it. On the night, Gant was 3-6, missing only outside the arc. Gant made both his foul shots, nabbed 5 boards, and dished out 2 assists with 0 turnovers.
Aziz N'Diaye wanted the ball in the first half. He wanted it bad. He got the ball and he scored. Didn't matter who was on him. The second half he battled some cramps or a dead-leg. Not sure what happened, but he went down twice before getting pulled out and N'Diaye required some treatment from the PT staff. A few minutes later he came back in and looked good as new. N'Diaye was 5-9 from the field, 2-3 from the line, and had 4 rebounds.
Tony Wroten was a defensive machine tonight. At times he played too fast and turned the ball over, but the fact that he also handed out 4 assists and a ridiculous 6 steals is impressive and says a lot about his effort on the court. Wroten finished the night 4-8 from the field and a 5-8 performance at the line. He missed both free throws on one set, the first time that has happened in a while. Wroten also managed 4 boards during his 29 minutes of play.
C.J. Wilcox is evolving his game and it's a good thing. With his stress injury limiting his practice participation, Wilcox's shot has been suffering lately as anyone would suspect. Instead of focusing all of his efforts outside the arc, Wilcox has been utilizing a pump shot to draw defenders in the air then dribbling a bit closer and draining the jumper. He is also attacking the lanes and getting nice looks inside. He was 6-11 from the field, 2-6 outside the arc, but I liked his approach to tonight. Wilcox did a little bit of everything tonight with 2 rebounds, 3 assists, a turnover, block, and steal.
Terrence Ross. My man. Where has this game been all year. Finally, production in both halves and a great looking shot throughout. Ross was on fire outside, hitting 4 of 8 from deep and converting 7 of 13 overall. Several times, Ross would step outside the arc on purpose, seemingly insisting he was too close before. His 5 rebounds were lower than normal, but spending so much time outside the paint tends to cause that. The only mar on his performance were the 3 turnovers that were quite out of character. He needs to bring this early fire again Saturday when the Wildcats roll into town.
What Needed Improvement:
Rebounds:
UW and ASU went back and forth on the glass with a final tally of 32-32. 11 offensive for UW, 10 for ASU. That is about as close as it gets. While I understand that ASU possess two 7-footers, the Dawgs were getting beat on the glass by the guards and often times losing out on rebounds they didn't secure properly. Normally this is not an issue so I won't worry too much about it, but we cannot afford to give up so many second chance opportunities against a team like Arizona who will capitalize on them in a big way.
Turnovers:
15 is way too high. 10 in a half is absurd and unacceptable. The Dawgs were playing at too high of a tempo and needed to get things under control a tad more. Wroten was bouncing balls off the opposition's head, Wilcox was forgetting to bring the ball with him, and so on. You get the picture. Not sure why the ASU defense caused so many problems, but it needs to get fixed in less than 36 hours.
What Was Good:
First Half:
Have I been able to write that yet this year? For the first time in ages, the Dawgs put up more than 40 points in the first half and scored less in the second than the first. The Dawgs came out with the kind of intensity that has been lacking throughout the season and I am hopeful it will carry on. This team needs to remember how it felt to get it going early, instead of having to battle back before halftime.
Passing:
The Huskies really played well in the set offense today. They moved the ball quickly around the perimeter, attacked the lanes and kicked out, found open guys, and passed up mediocre shots for better shots. Got to give it to Gaddy for really running the show tonight and making things happen in a good way. Gold Star.
Final Thoughts:
Big time match-up is on its way to Hec-Ed. Arizona is chomping at the bit to get vengence for I.T.'s cold-blooded shot and Wroten's last second upset during their white-out, sell-out crowd at home. Arizona took down WSU in a close game and their moral is high. The Dawgs closed tonight on a bit of a sour note, but I hope it does not damper or affect their mood. A win is a win, even if it ends ugly. Let's finish strong boys.
Go Dawgs!
Showing posts with label Arizona State University. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Arizona State University. Show all posts
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Arizona State University Game 2 Preview
Here it is. The last home-stand of the season and the Huskies find themselves in a very precarious situation. The Dawgs are in a first place tie with California and are followed by a 3-way tie for second place, only a game back. The Huskies have a very small window in which they may claim an at large bid and the only way they will hold onto it is by winning at least 4 of the next 5 games and having moderate success in the Pac-12 Tournament. This all starts by taking care of business at home and thankfully, the Dawgs first face off against ASU.
The Sun Devils have had a rough season with an overall record of 8-17, 4-9 in conference. ASU has managed only 2 road wins, 1 in conference. The biggest reason ASU has struggled to win has been their lack of scoring. The Sun Devils had many close non-conference games where they were able to hold their opponents under 70 points, but ASU themselves could only muster up 60 or 65.
The Sun Devils have been demolished by just about every team in the top Half of the conference. The 6 point loss to UW was the only loss to a team in the top 6 that wasn't a double digit loss. Cal and Stanford each beat ASU by at least 21 points. ASU's 62 points in a win over USC has been their highest scoring output on the road in conference. Their road high was a 67 point night when ASU beat the Tulsa Golden Hurricanes. Their road woes include 4 games where ASU was held to 51 points and under.
The Sun Devils are led by 6-4 185lb guard, Trent Lockett, who is averaging 13.6 points per game (Keala King was the leading scorer with 13.7 points per game before his departure). Lockett has had to do it all for ASU and is not only their leading scorer, but also their leading rebounder with 6.3 per night. Lockett is also second in assists with 2.2, first in steals with 1.5, and second in turnovers with 3.2 per night. Lockett has been battling a nagging ankle injury that has forced him to miss several games this season as well as limiting him in others. If the Huskies can get their defense rolling right and are able to shut down Lockett, the Sun Devils will be lucky to put up 50 points.
ASU's big men have been terrible this season. Despite standing 7-0 and 7-2, Ruslan Pateev and Jordan Bachynski are averaging only 5 points, 3 rebounds, and 1 block each. Their size is a good thing for Aziz N'Diaye who traditionally performs better against taller centers. Not too much else to say about them as their impact on the game tends to be minimal. The two centers will likely be dropped into a zone to guard the middle. If this is the case the Dawgs should not be afraid to drive the lanes as neither are athletic enough to be real threats to a lay-in or short floater.
The other scoring options for ASU come in the form of two forwards, 6-6 196lb Carrick Felix and 6-7 210lb Kyle Cain. The pair score 10 and 8 points respectively on top of 5 and 6 rebounds each. Felix has been of the better 3-point options for the Sun Devils, while Cain missed his lone attempt of the season. Both are capable free throw shooters who are making 75% on the season.
The main point guard option for ASU is 6-2 200lb Chris Colvin who is averaging a team best 3.5 assists per game. Colvin manages 6 points and 2 rebounds per game, while also leading the team in turnovers with 3.5 per night. He is a decent 3-point threat with a 33% average on the season, but is averaging less than 1 make per game, so our defense shouldn't worry too much about playing super tight against him.
Predicted Starting Line-Up:
Arizona State:
Trent Lockett 6-4210lb
Carrick Felix 6-6 196lb
Jonathan Gillings 6-7 200lb
Kyle Cain 6-7 210lb
Jordan Bachynski 7-2 243lb
Washington:
Abdul Gaddy 6-3 185lb
Tony Wroten 6-5 205lb
Terrence Ross 6-6 195lb
Desmond Simmons 6-7 225lb
Aziz N'Diaye 7-0 260lb
Keys to Success:
Rebounding:
UW's shot has been off. OK, that may be an understatement following two straight games of 36% and 34% shooting. The Huskies tend to be better at home, but regardless, a low scoring game is in complete favor of ASU. The Dawgs can still capitalize on poor shooting by rebounding and getting the second chance points and putbacks. The Dawgs are one of the top in the nation in not only rebounding, but rebounding percentage as well. If the Dawgs finds themselves struggling to hit their shots again, it is imperative they recover the ball.
Free Throws:
I suspect ASU will try to slow this game down a lot. This means that our free throws represent a larger portion of our offense's production. Our team needs to develop their foul shots and have the type of production they showed against OSU in the final minutes. The Dawgs achieved this by getting their best shooters to the hoop, namely Terrence Ross and C.J. Wilcox. The easiest way to put a low scoring team away is by making the freebies. N'Diaye needs to get on the Tony Wroten plan to improve on his miserable 35% FT shooting.
Pressure Defense:
The Sun Devils average 17 turnovers a game. 17. That is a big and brutal number. The Dawgs can exploit this to play the type of transition basketball they love and thrive off of. The ASU guards are very poor ball handlers and they big men bobble the ball around just as much. Look forward to some highlight reel plays if the Huskies can get into the open court.
Final Thoughts:
The road to a 4th straight NCAA tournament starts on Thursday. Any loss is crushing to our at-large bid hopes and a loss to a team as miserable as ASU is an even more brutal knock to our record and resume. Percy Allen did a nice article on how many wins people believe it will take to earn an at-large bid for the Dawgs. Many people believe 5 more wins is necessary and normally I would not argue with that type of logic as it puts us at 22 wins. This season is very different. I think we not only need to win, or at least share, the regular season title, but we will also need to win one or two games in the tournament to feel confident in a bid. Another factor that is tough to account for and impossible to change is smaller conferences having different regular season and tournament champions. Take for example Murray State. They are clearly top of their league and will earn a bid no matter what, but if a different team takes the league title then the conference will send 2 teams to the NCAA instead of 1, which leaves one less spot on the roster for UW. ASU should be a nice warm up for a big time game against Arizona, but the Dawgs cannot afford to treat the game as such. This team has played down to far too many teams this season due to inexperience and it must change now. Get the Sun Devils down early and don't let up. Make a statement, win by 40, do something that says we are ready, we are willing, and we want this.
Final Score Prediction: UW-80 ASU-60
Go Dawgs!
The Sun Devils have had a rough season with an overall record of 8-17, 4-9 in conference. ASU has managed only 2 road wins, 1 in conference. The biggest reason ASU has struggled to win has been their lack of scoring. The Sun Devils had many close non-conference games where they were able to hold their opponents under 70 points, but ASU themselves could only muster up 60 or 65.
The Sun Devils have been demolished by just about every team in the top Half of the conference. The 6 point loss to UW was the only loss to a team in the top 6 that wasn't a double digit loss. Cal and Stanford each beat ASU by at least 21 points. ASU's 62 points in a win over USC has been their highest scoring output on the road in conference. Their road high was a 67 point night when ASU beat the Tulsa Golden Hurricanes. Their road woes include 4 games where ASU was held to 51 points and under.
The Sun Devils are led by 6-4 185lb guard, Trent Lockett, who is averaging 13.6 points per game (Keala King was the leading scorer with 13.7 points per game before his departure). Lockett has had to do it all for ASU and is not only their leading scorer, but also their leading rebounder with 6.3 per night. Lockett is also second in assists with 2.2, first in steals with 1.5, and second in turnovers with 3.2 per night. Lockett has been battling a nagging ankle injury that has forced him to miss several games this season as well as limiting him in others. If the Huskies can get their defense rolling right and are able to shut down Lockett, the Sun Devils will be lucky to put up 50 points.
ASU's big men have been terrible this season. Despite standing 7-0 and 7-2, Ruslan Pateev and Jordan Bachynski are averaging only 5 points, 3 rebounds, and 1 block each. Their size is a good thing for Aziz N'Diaye who traditionally performs better against taller centers. Not too much else to say about them as their impact on the game tends to be minimal. The two centers will likely be dropped into a zone to guard the middle. If this is the case the Dawgs should not be afraid to drive the lanes as neither are athletic enough to be real threats to a lay-in or short floater.
The other scoring options for ASU come in the form of two forwards, 6-6 196lb Carrick Felix and 6-7 210lb Kyle Cain. The pair score 10 and 8 points respectively on top of 5 and 6 rebounds each. Felix has been of the better 3-point options for the Sun Devils, while Cain missed his lone attempt of the season. Both are capable free throw shooters who are making 75% on the season.
The main point guard option for ASU is 6-2 200lb Chris Colvin who is averaging a team best 3.5 assists per game. Colvin manages 6 points and 2 rebounds per game, while also leading the team in turnovers with 3.5 per night. He is a decent 3-point threat with a 33% average on the season, but is averaging less than 1 make per game, so our defense shouldn't worry too much about playing super tight against him.
Predicted Starting Line-Up:
Arizona State:
Trent Lockett 6-4210lb
Carrick Felix 6-6 196lb
Jonathan Gillings 6-7 200lb
Kyle Cain 6-7 210lb
Jordan Bachynski 7-2 243lb
Washington:
Abdul Gaddy 6-3 185lb
Tony Wroten 6-5 205lb
Terrence Ross 6-6 195lb
Desmond Simmons 6-7 225lb
Aziz N'Diaye 7-0 260lb
Keys to Success:
Rebounding:
UW's shot has been off. OK, that may be an understatement following two straight games of 36% and 34% shooting. The Huskies tend to be better at home, but regardless, a low scoring game is in complete favor of ASU. The Dawgs can still capitalize on poor shooting by rebounding and getting the second chance points and putbacks. The Dawgs are one of the top in the nation in not only rebounding, but rebounding percentage as well. If the Dawgs finds themselves struggling to hit their shots again, it is imperative they recover the ball.
Free Throws:
I suspect ASU will try to slow this game down a lot. This means that our free throws represent a larger portion of our offense's production. Our team needs to develop their foul shots and have the type of production they showed against OSU in the final minutes. The Dawgs achieved this by getting their best shooters to the hoop, namely Terrence Ross and C.J. Wilcox. The easiest way to put a low scoring team away is by making the freebies. N'Diaye needs to get on the Tony Wroten plan to improve on his miserable 35% FT shooting.
Pressure Defense:
The Sun Devils average 17 turnovers a game. 17. That is a big and brutal number. The Dawgs can exploit this to play the type of transition basketball they love and thrive off of. The ASU guards are very poor ball handlers and they big men bobble the ball around just as much. Look forward to some highlight reel plays if the Huskies can get into the open court.
Final Thoughts:
The road to a 4th straight NCAA tournament starts on Thursday. Any loss is crushing to our at-large bid hopes and a loss to a team as miserable as ASU is an even more brutal knock to our record and resume. Percy Allen did a nice article on how many wins people believe it will take to earn an at-large bid for the Dawgs. Many people believe 5 more wins is necessary and normally I would not argue with that type of logic as it puts us at 22 wins. This season is very different. I think we not only need to win, or at least share, the regular season title, but we will also need to win one or two games in the tournament to feel confident in a bid. Another factor that is tough to account for and impossible to change is smaller conferences having different regular season and tournament champions. Take for example Murray State. They are clearly top of their league and will earn a bid no matter what, but if a different team takes the league title then the conference will send 2 teams to the NCAA instead of 1, which leaves one less spot on the roster for UW. ASU should be a nice warm up for a big time game against Arizona, but the Dawgs cannot afford to treat the game as such. This team has played down to far too many teams this season due to inexperience and it must change now. Get the Sun Devils down early and don't let up. Make a statement, win by 40, do something that says we are ready, we are willing, and we want this.
Final Score Prediction: UW-80 ASU-60
Go Dawgs!
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Arizona State Game Preview
Griffin Bennett and myself have been splitting duties at Montlake Madness to cover the Husky games. This has been great for me as I am graduating in a few weeks (god, its scary...) so I have been quite busy working on my resume, attending career fairs and workshops, and so forth. I'll be posting the pregame and post game for the UA game, but Griffin is covering the ASU game. Here is the link to his preview.
I'll put up a link to his post game when it's up as well.
Thanks for your patience and understanding. Hopefully I can find myself employed soon and can rededicate more time to this blog.
I'll put up a link to his post game when it's up as well.
Thanks for your patience and understanding. Hopefully I can find myself employed soon and can rededicate more time to this blog.
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Arizona State University Preview: 2011-2012
The Sun Devils finished last in the Pac-10 the previous season with a miserable 4-14 record in conference and a not much better 12-19 overall. Only Kyle Cain played in each of the 31 games during the season. The other 4 starters played in 29 games at most. It was a very down year for the Devils, but not surprisingly so as their roster featured 6 freshmen, 4 sophomores, only 1 junior, and 3 seniors. The youth on this team should be much better going into this season as they'll have a little more experience under their belt. That said, the Devils will likely finish in the bottom 3 or 4. They simply don't have the talent to compete with the majority of the conference. After losing Derek Glasser, the Devils have been hurting for some serious talent and it isn't looking like this will be their year either.
Key Losses
The Sun Devils lose 3 seniors coming into this season all of whom started and played significant minutes throughout the year. The 3 seniors were the second, third, and fourth highest scorers on a team that averaged a mere 64 points per game (UW averaged around 20 points higher).
Richard Kuksiks:
Kuksiks was a fairly consistent player his entire ASU career. His last three seasons averaged 10.3, 12.1, and 10.4 points per game. He has a solid outside shot, hitting around 40% each and every year, and was also an excellent free throw shooter finishing his career just under 80%. Kuksiks was never a super talent in the conference by any means, but his ability to hit from range made him a dangerous player that had to be kept in check, lest he drop 20+ points from outside. He was a decent enough defender and at 6-6 in a G-F position, he often created a bit of a mismatch when Isaiah Thomas or Venoy Overton was forced to guard him.
Ty Abbott:
Much like Kuksiks, Abbott was a consistent, though never terribly threatening player during his time at Arizona State. He averaged a little over 12 points per game his final two seasons along with 3 to 4 rebounds. Abbott possessed a nice 3-point shot, but was not as deadly as Kuksiks. The real loss from Abbott comes from his experience and leadership abilities on the court as a senior player. Honestly, when thinking back on the season, I remember his name and I could probably point him out without his numbered jersey on, but I don't remember any significant plays or outstanding moments where I thought he was going to take over a game.
Jamelle McMillan:
Jamelle is a fine example of how spending four years in a program, developing your game, can really pay off. Jamelle averaged around 2.6 points his freshman year, but ended his season season with a much improved 7.2 points per game. This might not seem like a huge improvement, but every season McMillian shot a little better and was able to help his team that much more. What McMillian lacked in scoring ability he made up for in play making ability. McMillian averaged just under 4 assists per game while only giving up 1.5 turnovers for an A/T ratio of 2.7, a solid number (for reference, Thomas had an A/T ratio of 2 and Gaddy posted a 3.1 ratio before his injury). As with Kuksiks and Abbott, McMillian was never a superstar player, but he had a lot of valuable experience that is tough to replace.
Incoming Freshman
After losing Glasser and now Abbott and McMillian, ASU needed to bring in some solid guards. For the most part it appears they have done a good enough job. The ASU recruiting class features two guards, one of which is an ESPN top 100 player, and one big man.
Jonathan Gillings (from Denmark) 6-8 226lb
I couldn't find any useful information on this guy. ESPN lists him at 6-7 0lbs. Not a typo, zero pounds. ASU definitely went under the radar to find and recruit this guy. He has some decent size and could be a nice addition to the team. The few highlights I could find of him didn't impress me much and in fact, he might be the only player to include a missed shot in his highlight reel. If anyone has useful information on this guy, please link it in the comment section so I can be a little more informed.
Chris Colvin 6-3 185lb
As with Gillings, Colvin was not a highly recruited player. Any time ESPN rates a guy at 40, it means he was not on their radar until he has essentially signed with the Sun Devils. Colvin is a Junior College transfer. The fact that the ASU coaching staff was able to haul in a top rated freshman guard and a JC guard is a wise decision in my opinion as it allows both talented youth and a little more experienced guard to get in mix to help contribute right away. Colvin has originally signed with Iowa State as a freshman, but ended the year averaging a mere 3 points along with 1.9 assists and 2 turnovers per game (he played 15 minutes or so per outing). Overall he doesn't seem like a big nab, but he does have some experience running the court at the "college" level, which is much more helpful then one might initially think.
Jahii Carson 5-11 160lb
Carson is the big grab of the Arizona class. Rated as the number 8 PG and 50th overall, he should be a solid player that can immediately help get this team rolling. What is really interesting about Carson is the fact that he is a run and gun player, while the ASU offense tends towards a much slower tempo. I'm interested to see how the coach deals with this issue and whether we'll see a slowed down Jahii Carson or a sped up ASU Sun Devil team. Personally, I'd much rather see the latter as it is a much more exciting style of basketball. Carson had originally committed to OSU before joining the Sun Devil squad. Carson can score with the best, according to his ESPN recruitment page. To me this says we will see Carson as a hybrid 1/2 guard, much like Isaiah Thomas, as his size limits his ability to effectively play the 2 spot without suffering a huge mismatch.
Returning Players
Corey Hawkins 6-1 196lb
Brandon Dunson 6-1 181lb
Marcus Jackson 6-1 183lb
Keala King 6-4 201lb
Trent Lockett 6-4 210lb
Chanse Cheekmur 6-5 216lb
Carrick Felix 6-6 196lb
Dave Whitmore 6-6 215lb
Kyle Cain 6-7 210lb
Ruslan Pateev 7-0 249lb
Jordan Bachynski 7-2 243lb
ASU returns a lot of size in Pateev and Bachynski. While neither player was a major contributor to the program they could be tough match-ups should they develop their game a bit more over the summer. The two combine for over 14 feet of basketball ability, but they only combined for 5.8 points and 4.3 rebounds per game (22 minutes of play). Neither player shot free throws well, but have a decent enough field goal percentage around 50%.
The most important returning player has to be Trent Lockett. He led the Sun Devils in scoring with 13.4 points per game and nearly led the team in rebounding with 5.3 boards per game. He's a dynamic player who could score close to 20 a game next season if he continues his progression. The key for Lockett is to improve his 3-point shot. If he can raise his percentage to 40% he could be a real threat and a legit Pac-12 1st team player.
Projected Lineup:
Jahii Carson 5-11 160lb FR
Trent Lockett 6-4 210lb JR
Kyle Cain 6-7 210lb SO
Carrick Felix 6-6 196lb JR
Ruslan Pateev 7-0 249lb JR
Not sure who to put in for their 4th and 5th players. Felix could be replaced by incoming freshman Jonathan Gillings as Gillings has a little more size, but Felix has more experience. I expect Pateev will start over Bachynski as he has played better over all and the Devils need some size down low. Outside the 7 footers, Gillings is the next tallest player at 6-8.
Don't expect to see an improvement from the Sun Devils this season. They will finish near, if not the bottom, of the conference. The do not have the talent necessary to take on any of the top 5 teams (UW, UCLA, Arizona, Cal, and Oregon). ASU misses the Oregon road trip and miss the Northern California schools at home this season. This is a disadvantage for ASU as the NorCal schools are a much tougher test than the Oregon schools as a whole. They also open and close against instate rival Arizona. I would imagine ASU will finish with maybe 5 or 6 conference wins this year. They could beat WSU, Utah, and maybe pick up a game against OSU or Colorado. The ASU non-con schedule is pretty soft. A lot of "North This" and "South That." Their toughest test will come against New Mexico who will more than likely blow them out of the water.
On the plus side, the Devils have nowhere to go but up.
Key Losses
The Sun Devils lose 3 seniors coming into this season all of whom started and played significant minutes throughout the year. The 3 seniors were the second, third, and fourth highest scorers on a team that averaged a mere 64 points per game (UW averaged around 20 points higher).
Richard Kuksiks:
Kuksiks was a fairly consistent player his entire ASU career. His last three seasons averaged 10.3, 12.1, and 10.4 points per game. He has a solid outside shot, hitting around 40% each and every year, and was also an excellent free throw shooter finishing his career just under 80%. Kuksiks was never a super talent in the conference by any means, but his ability to hit from range made him a dangerous player that had to be kept in check, lest he drop 20+ points from outside. He was a decent enough defender and at 6-6 in a G-F position, he often created a bit of a mismatch when Isaiah Thomas or Venoy Overton was forced to guard him.
Ty Abbott:
Much like Kuksiks, Abbott was a consistent, though never terribly threatening player during his time at Arizona State. He averaged a little over 12 points per game his final two seasons along with 3 to 4 rebounds. Abbott possessed a nice 3-point shot, but was not as deadly as Kuksiks. The real loss from Abbott comes from his experience and leadership abilities on the court as a senior player. Honestly, when thinking back on the season, I remember his name and I could probably point him out without his numbered jersey on, but I don't remember any significant plays or outstanding moments where I thought he was going to take over a game.
Jamelle McMillan:
Jamelle is a fine example of how spending four years in a program, developing your game, can really pay off. Jamelle averaged around 2.6 points his freshman year, but ended his season season with a much improved 7.2 points per game. This might not seem like a huge improvement, but every season McMillian shot a little better and was able to help his team that much more. What McMillian lacked in scoring ability he made up for in play making ability. McMillian averaged just under 4 assists per game while only giving up 1.5 turnovers for an A/T ratio of 2.7, a solid number (for reference, Thomas had an A/T ratio of 2 and Gaddy posted a 3.1 ratio before his injury). As with Kuksiks and Abbott, McMillian was never a superstar player, but he had a lot of valuable experience that is tough to replace.
Incoming Freshman
After losing Glasser and now Abbott and McMillian, ASU needed to bring in some solid guards. For the most part it appears they have done a good enough job. The ASU recruiting class features two guards, one of which is an ESPN top 100 player, and one big man.
Jonathan Gillings (from Denmark) 6-8 226lb
I couldn't find any useful information on this guy. ESPN lists him at 6-7 0lbs. Not a typo, zero pounds. ASU definitely went under the radar to find and recruit this guy. He has some decent size and could be a nice addition to the team. The few highlights I could find of him didn't impress me much and in fact, he might be the only player to include a missed shot in his highlight reel. If anyone has useful information on this guy, please link it in the comment section so I can be a little more informed.
Chris Colvin 6-3 185lb
As with Gillings, Colvin was not a highly recruited player. Any time ESPN rates a guy at 40, it means he was not on their radar until he has essentially signed with the Sun Devils. Colvin is a Junior College transfer. The fact that the ASU coaching staff was able to haul in a top rated freshman guard and a JC guard is a wise decision in my opinion as it allows both talented youth and a little more experienced guard to get in mix to help contribute right away. Colvin has originally signed with Iowa State as a freshman, but ended the year averaging a mere 3 points along with 1.9 assists and 2 turnovers per game (he played 15 minutes or so per outing). Overall he doesn't seem like a big nab, but he does have some experience running the court at the "college" level, which is much more helpful then one might initially think.
Jahii Carson 5-11 160lb
Carson is the big grab of the Arizona class. Rated as the number 8 PG and 50th overall, he should be a solid player that can immediately help get this team rolling. What is really interesting about Carson is the fact that he is a run and gun player, while the ASU offense tends towards a much slower tempo. I'm interested to see how the coach deals with this issue and whether we'll see a slowed down Jahii Carson or a sped up ASU Sun Devil team. Personally, I'd much rather see the latter as it is a much more exciting style of basketball. Carson had originally committed to OSU before joining the Sun Devil squad. Carson can score with the best, according to his ESPN recruitment page. To me this says we will see Carson as a hybrid 1/2 guard, much like Isaiah Thomas, as his size limits his ability to effectively play the 2 spot without suffering a huge mismatch.
Returning Players
Corey Hawkins 6-1 196lb
Brandon Dunson 6-1 181lb
Marcus Jackson 6-1 183lb
Keala King 6-4 201lb
Trent Lockett 6-4 210lb
Chanse Cheekmur 6-5 216lb
Carrick Felix 6-6 196lb
Dave Whitmore 6-6 215lb
Kyle Cain 6-7 210lb
Ruslan Pateev 7-0 249lb
Jordan Bachynski 7-2 243lb
ASU returns a lot of size in Pateev and Bachynski. While neither player was a major contributor to the program they could be tough match-ups should they develop their game a bit more over the summer. The two combine for over 14 feet of basketball ability, but they only combined for 5.8 points and 4.3 rebounds per game (22 minutes of play). Neither player shot free throws well, but have a decent enough field goal percentage around 50%.
The most important returning player has to be Trent Lockett. He led the Sun Devils in scoring with 13.4 points per game and nearly led the team in rebounding with 5.3 boards per game. He's a dynamic player who could score close to 20 a game next season if he continues his progression. The key for Lockett is to improve his 3-point shot. If he can raise his percentage to 40% he could be a real threat and a legit Pac-12 1st team player.
Projected Lineup:
Jahii Carson 5-11 160lb FR
Trent Lockett 6-4 210lb JR
Kyle Cain 6-7 210lb SO
Carrick Felix 6-6 196lb JR
Ruslan Pateev 7-0 249lb JR
Not sure who to put in for their 4th and 5th players. Felix could be replaced by incoming freshman Jonathan Gillings as Gillings has a little more size, but Felix has more experience. I expect Pateev will start over Bachynski as he has played better over all and the Devils need some size down low. Outside the 7 footers, Gillings is the next tallest player at 6-8.
Don't expect to see an improvement from the Sun Devils this season. They will finish near, if not the bottom, of the conference. The do not have the talent necessary to take on any of the top 5 teams (UW, UCLA, Arizona, Cal, and Oregon). ASU misses the Oregon road trip and miss the Northern California schools at home this season. This is a disadvantage for ASU as the NorCal schools are a much tougher test than the Oregon schools as a whole. They also open and close against instate rival Arizona. I would imagine ASU will finish with maybe 5 or 6 conference wins this year. They could beat WSU, Utah, and maybe pick up a game against OSU or Colorado. The ASU non-con schedule is pretty soft. A lot of "North This" and "South That." Their toughest test will come against New Mexico who will more than likely blow them out of the water.
On the plus side, the Devils have nowhere to go but up.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Arizona State University Review 2
UW-79 ASU-62
A great start to a critical weekend. UW had a 21 point lead before subbing in Antoine Hosley and entering garbage time. MBA had another dominate performance over ASU, finishing with a double double (22 points, 12 rebounds, 4 blocks, 3 assists, and only 1 turnover). 4 Huskies finished with double digit scoring. C.J. Wilcox had 16, Isaiah Thomas had 11, and Venoy Overton finished with 10.
Scott Suggs left early in the game after a tumble that resulted in a sprained MCL. He will likely not be available until the WSU game. *Update* Reports indicate 2-3 weeks for recovery, so WSU game is a maybe at best. More likely he won't return until the Pac-10 tournament.
Brendan Sherrer did not travel with the team this weekends as he is currently dealing with a Staph infection in his arm.
UW won the rebounding battle 41-38 led by MBA at 12, followed by Overton and Wilcox with 8 a piece. Keala King led ASU with 8 off the bench. ASU picked up a lot of rebounds from long misses by both UW and themselves. UW shot a measly 8-26 from range, led by Wilcox going 4-9. I.T.'s shot was off and missed his first 8 shots including 6 from deep. He finished 4-12 over all, 2-8 from outside.
Overall the free throws were very solid. MBA elevated his game by not only going 7-11 from the field, but 8-11 from the charity stripe. On the other side, normally constant Overton was 5-9 from the free throw line and constituted a majority of the misses. UW finished 21-30 from the line, while ASU went 6-19. Only due to the fouling at the end of the game did UW have the foul advantage 23-22. ASU was shooting one and ones only 4 minutes into the game and Holiday picked up 3 rather quickly, all on rather weak fouls.
UW played strong defense today. Despite only forcing 9 turnovers, the Dawgs hosted another block party with 10 on the night. MBA led with his 4 with both Aziz N'Diaye and Wilcox added in two of their own. UW also stole the ball twice.
To add onto the strong defense, UW handled the ball extremely well, only committing 9 turnovers themselves and dishing out 21 assists to ASU's 14. I.T. led the team with 6 assists and was followed closely by Overton who had 5, while both MBA and Wilcox added 3 a piece.
Terrence Ross struggled to find his shot tonight, going 0-5 from the field and 0-3 from outside. He picked up 2 points off a pair of free throws, had 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 rebound, 1 block, and 2 silly turnovers. He played 24 minutes tonight because he played tough defense and moved well around the court.
I was most impressed with C.J. Wilcox. He has resurfaced and brought back with him that sweet, sweet shot and the quick release. With Scott Suggs out for at least the next 2, if not 3, games there is a starting spot open and I believe it will go to either Terrence Ross or C.J. Wilcox to prevent mismatches at point guard for Isaiah. Ross has been having some statement games, but C.J. argued his case well tonight. If it was up to me, I'd go with Ross. He has been better overall as of late. Also, bringing C.J. in gives us some instant firepower from the bench.
The refs, perhaps inspired by the Stanford Teabag Theme, held their own T party tonight. An ASU player ran over Isaiah when there was no reason to be near him. I.T. got up the court and said "Hey, don't do that." No swearing, no contact, no nothing. I.T. got T'ed up by the refs. After review by the refs, the ASU player was also issued a technical. Shortly after, the ASU bench picked up another technical as the ASU assistant coach blew his top. None of those T's should have happened, the refs needed to step in early and issue warnings.
I was most impressed with our composure during the game. UW started off shooting slow and got down by 8 quickly. They went on a run and finished the half up 10. Tough defense and a will to win, not to mention making their free throws, was what enabled them to make the run.
What Needed Improvement
Boxing Out
While UW rebounded well, so did the Devil. We only had a 3 rebound margin. This won't cut it against UA on Saturday. We need to do a better job of boxing out, especially the guards on the long rebounds. There were flashes of strong boxing out, but overall it was lacking on the perimeter.
Fouling
This was not entirely the players fault, but players need to adjust their game. The refs were calling weak sauce fouls all over the place. While the second half was much better we still need to avoid the sloppy ones right off the bat. We have had more stressful games in terms of foul trouble, but no need to start again.
Outside Shooting
Everyone but C.J. seemed to struggle. Thomas was 2-8, Holiday was 1-3, Ross was 0-3, Gant was 0-1, and Venoy was fairly solid at 1-2. They weren't necessarily bad shots, they just weren't hitting the open ones like they should, I.T. especially.
What was Good
Rebounding
As I said above, our rebounding was good enough, we just need to defend against it a little better. 41 boards is nothing to turn your nose up at. MBA was very solid and Overton and Wilcox surprised me with their solid play. Aziz didn't pick up many, but he usually struggles a bit against the zone. Ross and Gant were also a little below their averages, but their slack was picked up by the above mentioned.
Defense
Looked pretty solid for a majority of the night. ASU made a short run at the start of the second and the very end of the game (as expected), but that was about it. If not for the poor shooting to start the game and heavy fouling, UW would not have trailed at all this game. At one point UW had 6 points, 7 fouls. Ridiculous.
Ball Control/Passing
As I said earlier, we did a fantastic job holding onto and distributing the ball tonight. Players outside the point guard position were handling and distributing the ball well. I.T. only had 1 turnover to his 6 assists, which was great to see after his 1 assist 5 turnover game last week. Overton has been very solid as well and is returning to his prime level of play on both ends of the court.
Player by Player Reviews
Justin Holiday
Another quiet night for the senior. 9 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block, 0 turnovers. A fairly solid line for 22 minutes. It only seems so quiet because he sat a bit with foul trouble. We have also become spoiled when it comes to his 15 to 20 point games so hearing he only put up 9 seems like an off night now-a-days. 3-7 from the field and a very nice 3 pointer to keep the momentum going our way off a sweet pass by C.J. Wilcox.
Grade: B
Venoy Overton
Can I say the Venoyance is back? I feel like I can. He was strong on defense, harassing people all night, he only had 1 foul, picked up 8 huge rebounds (7 defensive), and despite poor free throw shooting still managed to hit double digits with 10 points. He only had 1 steal, but he did much more than the stats show. He did a great job running the team after Suggs left with his injury and played a team high 30 minutes. Like I.T., Venoy only had 1 turnover on the night. Fantastic.
Grade: A- (make your free throws and its an A kind of day)
Matthew Bryan-Amaning
MVP of the game tonight. This season MBA has averaged 26 points and 10.5 rebounds against ASU. Brilliant numbers. His 22 and 12 with 4 added blocks was tremendous. To do so while only picking up 2 fouls and even handing out 3 assists is beautiful. He was fantastic receiving it down low, faking in and then dishing out to our waiting guards and wings for the 3 ball. Some strong dunks tonight, including a great alley oop dish in transition. We will need this kind of performance against UA this weekend.
Grade: A+
Brendan Sherrer
Did not play.
Grade: N/A
Scott Suggs
Can't say a whole lot. He only played 3 minutes before the tumble and won't play for another few weeks. We wish you quick healing and a magnificent return.
Grade: A for effort
Darnell Gant
Not as strong tonight as he was against the Bay Area schools, but a decent game as is. 4 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 turnovers. He played defense well and worked in the zone to shut down the ASU outside shot. He will be important as well on Saturday, working in turns to contain Derek Williams.
Grade: B
Isaiah Thomas
Fairly quiet tonight. He missed a lot of shots, including 2 open 3 pointer he should have nailed. It wasn't until late in the first that he found his shot again and didn't miss any more shots until games end. He passed well and dished out of the drive more often, which was great to see. That's the kind of play we needed from him tonight as our post was having its way all game long.
Grade: B+
Aziz N'Diaye
Picked up 4 fouls and went 2-4 from the field, 1-2 from the free throw line. 3 rebounds, 2 blocks, 1 turnover. Not bad, but not great for 21 minutes. The 3-2 zone really gives him troubles as he is still learning how to box out and rebound properly against the zone defense. It'll come with time, no worries there. He had a brilliant dunk, ramming it home on a nice pass by Overton. Big boy needs to go up that strong and with authority more often. He crumpled one ASU player tonight, but drew the foul rather than just a pure block.
Grade: B
Antoine Hosley
Played 4 minutes tonight. The only stat to report is a lone turnover that occurred to his O button smashing. If you don't get the reference, visit seattlesportsnet.com and look up the Human Victory Blunt. Hilarious article by Alex Akita.
Grade: A for effort
Terrence Ross
After 2 solid performances last week, Ross was quiet today. It happens with freshmen and against the zone it is much harder to pull off those fancy, athletic moves. Let's hope he shows up strong against Arizona on Saturday. I'm picking him as my starter until I hear otherwise from Romar or see it in the game.
Grade: B for defensive effort and overall tenacity
C.J. Wilcox
He has returned at last, ladies and gentlemen. After passing on his Staph to poor Brendan, his swag and shot are back in action. While not quite at his 50%+ level we saw at the start of the season, 4-9 is pretty damn sweet. His release is just fantastic. Watch Ray Allen, who recently set the NBA record for 3 pointers, and you will see a similar shot style. Elbows up, elevate, quick release. Its a thing of beauty. His defense is also looking very solid as evident by his 2 blocks, which were not just tips, but full on rejections. He gets an honorable mention for MVP tonight.
Grade: A
Final Thoughts
This was a great way to start the road trip. Get some confidence, shoot well enough, hit our free throws, defend the ball, and control the rock. We need to carry our momentum through Saturday and pick up the sweep. WSU lost a game against UA that was never really in question, but fairly close at times. Klay Thompson had something like 30 points for the Cougars, but had no additional support to pull off the upset. It is up to us to start a losing trend for Arizona. The game on Saturday will be the biggest of the year, by far. Playing #12/13 on the road on ESPN, essentially for the title in many ways. We pick up that win and we sit only a half game back with 3 home games to finish off the conference season. A great time and place to win the title if you ask me. Sure we need UA to drop one more after that, but it can happen. UA finishes with UCLA, USC, UO, and OSU all of whom would beat UA on any given day. My bet is on UCLA or OSU. Both teams have played well against Arizona in the past. UO is a dark horse for the upset. The Trojans haven't played well enough as of late for me to have confidence in them pulling the upset, but it could happen. Before worrying too much about what Arizona does, we need to take care of ourselves first. Win out and the title is ours. Lose on Saturday and aim for second. That is pretty much what it comes down to. This is it. This is our time. Let's get it done. Go Dawgs.
A great start to a critical weekend. UW had a 21 point lead before subbing in Antoine Hosley and entering garbage time. MBA had another dominate performance over ASU, finishing with a double double (22 points, 12 rebounds, 4 blocks, 3 assists, and only 1 turnover). 4 Huskies finished with double digit scoring. C.J. Wilcox had 16, Isaiah Thomas had 11, and Venoy Overton finished with 10.
Scott Suggs left early in the game after a tumble that resulted in a sprained MCL. He will likely not be available until the WSU game. *Update* Reports indicate 2-3 weeks for recovery, so WSU game is a maybe at best. More likely he won't return until the Pac-10 tournament.
Brendan Sherrer did not travel with the team this weekends as he is currently dealing with a Staph infection in his arm.
UW won the rebounding battle 41-38 led by MBA at 12, followed by Overton and Wilcox with 8 a piece. Keala King led ASU with 8 off the bench. ASU picked up a lot of rebounds from long misses by both UW and themselves. UW shot a measly 8-26 from range, led by Wilcox going 4-9. I.T.'s shot was off and missed his first 8 shots including 6 from deep. He finished 4-12 over all, 2-8 from outside.
Overall the free throws were very solid. MBA elevated his game by not only going 7-11 from the field, but 8-11 from the charity stripe. On the other side, normally constant Overton was 5-9 from the free throw line and constituted a majority of the misses. UW finished 21-30 from the line, while ASU went 6-19. Only due to the fouling at the end of the game did UW have the foul advantage 23-22. ASU was shooting one and ones only 4 minutes into the game and Holiday picked up 3 rather quickly, all on rather weak fouls.
UW played strong defense today. Despite only forcing 9 turnovers, the Dawgs hosted another block party with 10 on the night. MBA led with his 4 with both Aziz N'Diaye and Wilcox added in two of their own. UW also stole the ball twice.
To add onto the strong defense, UW handled the ball extremely well, only committing 9 turnovers themselves and dishing out 21 assists to ASU's 14. I.T. led the team with 6 assists and was followed closely by Overton who had 5, while both MBA and Wilcox added 3 a piece.
Terrence Ross struggled to find his shot tonight, going 0-5 from the field and 0-3 from outside. He picked up 2 points off a pair of free throws, had 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 rebound, 1 block, and 2 silly turnovers. He played 24 minutes tonight because he played tough defense and moved well around the court.
I was most impressed with C.J. Wilcox. He has resurfaced and brought back with him that sweet, sweet shot and the quick release. With Scott Suggs out for at least the next 2, if not 3, games there is a starting spot open and I believe it will go to either Terrence Ross or C.J. Wilcox to prevent mismatches at point guard for Isaiah. Ross has been having some statement games, but C.J. argued his case well tonight. If it was up to me, I'd go with Ross. He has been better overall as of late. Also, bringing C.J. in gives us some instant firepower from the bench.
The refs, perhaps inspired by the Stanford Teabag Theme, held their own T party tonight. An ASU player ran over Isaiah when there was no reason to be near him. I.T. got up the court and said "Hey, don't do that." No swearing, no contact, no nothing. I.T. got T'ed up by the refs. After review by the refs, the ASU player was also issued a technical. Shortly after, the ASU bench picked up another technical as the ASU assistant coach blew his top. None of those T's should have happened, the refs needed to step in early and issue warnings.
I was most impressed with our composure during the game. UW started off shooting slow and got down by 8 quickly. They went on a run and finished the half up 10. Tough defense and a will to win, not to mention making their free throws, was what enabled them to make the run.
What Needed Improvement
Boxing Out
While UW rebounded well, so did the Devil. We only had a 3 rebound margin. This won't cut it against UA on Saturday. We need to do a better job of boxing out, especially the guards on the long rebounds. There were flashes of strong boxing out, but overall it was lacking on the perimeter.
Fouling
This was not entirely the players fault, but players need to adjust their game. The refs were calling weak sauce fouls all over the place. While the second half was much better we still need to avoid the sloppy ones right off the bat. We have had more stressful games in terms of foul trouble, but no need to start again.
Outside Shooting
Everyone but C.J. seemed to struggle. Thomas was 2-8, Holiday was 1-3, Ross was 0-3, Gant was 0-1, and Venoy was fairly solid at 1-2. They weren't necessarily bad shots, they just weren't hitting the open ones like they should, I.T. especially.
What was Good
Rebounding
As I said above, our rebounding was good enough, we just need to defend against it a little better. 41 boards is nothing to turn your nose up at. MBA was very solid and Overton and Wilcox surprised me with their solid play. Aziz didn't pick up many, but he usually struggles a bit against the zone. Ross and Gant were also a little below their averages, but their slack was picked up by the above mentioned.
Defense
Looked pretty solid for a majority of the night. ASU made a short run at the start of the second and the very end of the game (as expected), but that was about it. If not for the poor shooting to start the game and heavy fouling, UW would not have trailed at all this game. At one point UW had 6 points, 7 fouls. Ridiculous.
Ball Control/Passing
As I said earlier, we did a fantastic job holding onto and distributing the ball tonight. Players outside the point guard position were handling and distributing the ball well. I.T. only had 1 turnover to his 6 assists, which was great to see after his 1 assist 5 turnover game last week. Overton has been very solid as well and is returning to his prime level of play on both ends of the court.
Player by Player Reviews
Justin Holiday
Another quiet night for the senior. 9 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block, 0 turnovers. A fairly solid line for 22 minutes. It only seems so quiet because he sat a bit with foul trouble. We have also become spoiled when it comes to his 15 to 20 point games so hearing he only put up 9 seems like an off night now-a-days. 3-7 from the field and a very nice 3 pointer to keep the momentum going our way off a sweet pass by C.J. Wilcox.
Grade: B
Venoy Overton
Can I say the Venoyance is back? I feel like I can. He was strong on defense, harassing people all night, he only had 1 foul, picked up 8 huge rebounds (7 defensive), and despite poor free throw shooting still managed to hit double digits with 10 points. He only had 1 steal, but he did much more than the stats show. He did a great job running the team after Suggs left with his injury and played a team high 30 minutes. Like I.T., Venoy only had 1 turnover on the night. Fantastic.
Grade: A- (make your free throws and its an A kind of day)
Matthew Bryan-Amaning
MVP of the game tonight. This season MBA has averaged 26 points and 10.5 rebounds against ASU. Brilliant numbers. His 22 and 12 with 4 added blocks was tremendous. To do so while only picking up 2 fouls and even handing out 3 assists is beautiful. He was fantastic receiving it down low, faking in and then dishing out to our waiting guards and wings for the 3 ball. Some strong dunks tonight, including a great alley oop dish in transition. We will need this kind of performance against UA this weekend.
Grade: A+
Brendan Sherrer
Did not play.
Grade: N/A
Scott Suggs
Can't say a whole lot. He only played 3 minutes before the tumble and won't play for another few weeks. We wish you quick healing and a magnificent return.
Grade: A for effort
Darnell Gant
Not as strong tonight as he was against the Bay Area schools, but a decent game as is. 4 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 turnovers. He played defense well and worked in the zone to shut down the ASU outside shot. He will be important as well on Saturday, working in turns to contain Derek Williams.
Grade: B
Isaiah Thomas
Fairly quiet tonight. He missed a lot of shots, including 2 open 3 pointer he should have nailed. It wasn't until late in the first that he found his shot again and didn't miss any more shots until games end. He passed well and dished out of the drive more often, which was great to see. That's the kind of play we needed from him tonight as our post was having its way all game long.
Grade: B+
Aziz N'Diaye
Picked up 4 fouls and went 2-4 from the field, 1-2 from the free throw line. 3 rebounds, 2 blocks, 1 turnover. Not bad, but not great for 21 minutes. The 3-2 zone really gives him troubles as he is still learning how to box out and rebound properly against the zone defense. It'll come with time, no worries there. He had a brilliant dunk, ramming it home on a nice pass by Overton. Big boy needs to go up that strong and with authority more often. He crumpled one ASU player tonight, but drew the foul rather than just a pure block.
Grade: B
Antoine Hosley
Played 4 minutes tonight. The only stat to report is a lone turnover that occurred to his O button smashing. If you don't get the reference, visit seattlesportsnet.com and look up the Human Victory Blunt. Hilarious article by Alex Akita.
Grade: A for effort
Terrence Ross
After 2 solid performances last week, Ross was quiet today. It happens with freshmen and against the zone it is much harder to pull off those fancy, athletic moves. Let's hope he shows up strong against Arizona on Saturday. I'm picking him as my starter until I hear otherwise from Romar or see it in the game.
Grade: B for defensive effort and overall tenacity
C.J. Wilcox
He has returned at last, ladies and gentlemen. After passing on his Staph to poor Brendan, his swag and shot are back in action. While not quite at his 50%+ level we saw at the start of the season, 4-9 is pretty damn sweet. His release is just fantastic. Watch Ray Allen, who recently set the NBA record for 3 pointers, and you will see a similar shot style. Elbows up, elevate, quick release. Its a thing of beauty. His defense is also looking very solid as evident by his 2 blocks, which were not just tips, but full on rejections. He gets an honorable mention for MVP tonight.
Grade: A
Final Thoughts
This was a great way to start the road trip. Get some confidence, shoot well enough, hit our free throws, defend the ball, and control the rock. We need to carry our momentum through Saturday and pick up the sweep. WSU lost a game against UA that was never really in question, but fairly close at times. Klay Thompson had something like 30 points for the Cougars, but had no additional support to pull off the upset. It is up to us to start a losing trend for Arizona. The game on Saturday will be the biggest of the year, by far. Playing #12/13 on the road on ESPN, essentially for the title in many ways. We pick up that win and we sit only a half game back with 3 home games to finish off the conference season. A great time and place to win the title if you ask me. Sure we need UA to drop one more after that, but it can happen. UA finishes with UCLA, USC, UO, and OSU all of whom would beat UA on any given day. My bet is on UCLA or OSU. Both teams have played well against Arizona in the past. UO is a dark horse for the upset. The Trojans haven't played well enough as of late for me to have confidence in them pulling the upset, but it could happen. Before worrying too much about what Arizona does, we need to take care of ourselves first. Win out and the title is ours. Lose on Saturday and aim for second. That is pretty much what it comes down to. This is it. This is our time. Let's get it done. Go Dawgs.
Arizona State University Preview 2
Arizona State is 9-15 on the year and 1-11 in conference with their lone win coming over Oregon on the road. The most recently lost to UA by 15 in a 67-52 game. They have lost 10 straight conference games.
ASU only has 2 players who have competed in all 24 games this year, a little strange considering a team needs 5 players on the court to start the game (yes this is not always true, but for college it essentially is). Those 2 players are Rihards Kuksiks and Kyle Cain.
ASU is led in scoring by Trent Lockett with 13.9 points per game, followed closely by Ty Abbott with 12.9 points per game. Kuksiks is the only other major point contributor with 9.6 per game. ASU is a low scoring team, averaging 64 per game.
ASU does not rebound extremely well either, averaging only 32 per game. Kyle Cain is picking up 5.6 per game and Lockett adds 5.2 boards per match up. To say the least, this is a big opportunity for our bigs to put up some big rebounding numbers as ASU lacks a strong post player with rebounding talents.
Both Abbott and Kuksiks are strong outside shooters. Both are shooting around 40% from range. Jamelle McMillian is shooting well form outside as well. Those 3 make up the main vein of ASU's outside shooting force.
Thankfully, ASU is a terrible free throw shooting team as well, with only two players above 75% on the year. Kuksiks leads the team with 81.8% and Carrick Felix is 76.3% on the season.
ASU does not have any stand out players except for Rihards Kuksiks and he is only mildly impressive. Much like Jorge Guitierrez of Cal, Kuksiks is good because he has to be. At least that is how I see it. He shoot well from outside, but doesn't do much more. Abbott has stepped up his game, but is scoring less than earlier in the season, while Lockett has elevated his play.
McMillian is a fairly good point guard, averaging 4.0 assists and 1.4 turnovers per game. He only scores 7.2 points per game. A 1 point improvement from earlier this season.
Starting Line Ups
Arizona State
Jamelle McMillian 6-2 180lb G
Ty Abbott 6-3 205lb G
Trent Lockett 6-3 210lb G
Rihards Kuksiks 6-6 206lb G/F
Ruslan Pateev 7-0 249lb C
Washington
Isaiah Thomas 5-9 185lb G
Scott Suggs 6-6 195lb G
Justin Holiday 6-6 185lb F
Matthew Bryan-Amaning 6-9 240lb F
Aziz N'Diaye 7-0 260lb C
Keys to the Game
Rebounding
As usual, rebounding will be key. Unlike the Arizona game, ASU does not have a dominate rebounding force, nor are they a highly competitive team for UW. Regardless, more rebounds = more chances for us and less for ASU. Personally, I would love to see a 16 or 17 board advantage by games end including 10+ for both MBA and Aziz. I think it is very plausible for both. He and MBA combined for 12 boards last game against a strong rebounding Stanford Team. They can do better. MBA put up 30 points and 9 rebounds last time out and I expect to see similar results, but perhaps a few more rebounds. Pateev, despite being 7 feet tall, only picks up 2.0 boards per game.
Outside Defense
This is one of the few places ASU has hurt us. As I stated earlier, Kuksiks was on fire from range last time the teams met and along with Abbott there could be a closer game if they are hitting. Strong outside, man to man defense will be key in preventing this. Defense is the name of the game form here on out.
Push the Middle
This has been working extremely well for the Huskies as I.T. has really stepped up his passing game, creating hell for the opposition. With UW having a big size advantage inside there is a big opportunity for MBA and/or Aziz to put up major numbers. Once our bigs get going or I.T. is slashing the court up, ASU will be forced to double up on the defenders or resort to a zone, giving out shooters space to put up their shots.
Outside Shooting
Once the middle is strong we need to take advantage by abusing ASU from range. Holiday has been shooting well and I.T. as well. Hopefully C.J. Wilcox can continue to break out of his slump and move his way back up the rotation. Let it rain, Dawgs.
Free Throw Shooting
Same story different game. Road games mean less free throws and our bigs struggle. Our posts have got to start working with I.T. and others to get their percentages up. 65% or higher please.
Ball Handling
Less turnovers mean less points and opportunities for ASU. When we handle well we win with ease. It isn't too hard, we just need to execute.
Final Thoughts
ASU kept it close at Hec-Ed with the Dawgs only having a 2 point lead with 4 minutes to go before blowing the doors open. On the road will be no easier. The ASU game was the start of our defensive problems. We were too complacent and allowed ASU to shoot lights out. We have to extend our pressure and force them to look inside where our size advantage can really play out. We need to establish our shot on the road as well. Get hot quick and keep the fire burning. Defense, rebounding, scoring. In that order. We cannot drop this game. At all. We must win out if we want the title, simple as that. ASU played both USC and UCLA close at home, losing to USC by 2 and UCLA by 1 in overtime. On the other hand, ASU is averaging only 63 points in conference. If UW can score well, ASU won't be able to keep up. It all starts defensively. Get steals, get turnovers, get in transition.
Final Score UW-83 ASU-70
ASU only has 2 players who have competed in all 24 games this year, a little strange considering a team needs 5 players on the court to start the game (yes this is not always true, but for college it essentially is). Those 2 players are Rihards Kuksiks and Kyle Cain.
ASU is led in scoring by Trent Lockett with 13.9 points per game, followed closely by Ty Abbott with 12.9 points per game. Kuksiks is the only other major point contributor with 9.6 per game. ASU is a low scoring team, averaging 64 per game.
ASU does not rebound extremely well either, averaging only 32 per game. Kyle Cain is picking up 5.6 per game and Lockett adds 5.2 boards per match up. To say the least, this is a big opportunity for our bigs to put up some big rebounding numbers as ASU lacks a strong post player with rebounding talents.
Both Abbott and Kuksiks are strong outside shooters. Both are shooting around 40% from range. Jamelle McMillian is shooting well form outside as well. Those 3 make up the main vein of ASU's outside shooting force.
Thankfully, ASU is a terrible free throw shooting team as well, with only two players above 75% on the year. Kuksiks leads the team with 81.8% and Carrick Felix is 76.3% on the season.
ASU does not have any stand out players except for Rihards Kuksiks and he is only mildly impressive. Much like Jorge Guitierrez of Cal, Kuksiks is good because he has to be. At least that is how I see it. He shoot well from outside, but doesn't do much more. Abbott has stepped up his game, but is scoring less than earlier in the season, while Lockett has elevated his play.
McMillian is a fairly good point guard, averaging 4.0 assists and 1.4 turnovers per game. He only scores 7.2 points per game. A 1 point improvement from earlier this season.
Starting Line Ups
Arizona State
Jamelle McMillian 6-2 180lb G
Ty Abbott 6-3 205lb G
Trent Lockett 6-3 210lb G
Rihards Kuksiks 6-6 206lb G/F
Ruslan Pateev 7-0 249lb C
Washington
Isaiah Thomas 5-9 185lb G
Scott Suggs 6-6 195lb G
Justin Holiday 6-6 185lb F
Matthew Bryan-Amaning 6-9 240lb F
Aziz N'Diaye 7-0 260lb C
Keys to the Game
Rebounding
As usual, rebounding will be key. Unlike the Arizona game, ASU does not have a dominate rebounding force, nor are they a highly competitive team for UW. Regardless, more rebounds = more chances for us and less for ASU. Personally, I would love to see a 16 or 17 board advantage by games end including 10+ for both MBA and Aziz. I think it is very plausible for both. He and MBA combined for 12 boards last game against a strong rebounding Stanford Team. They can do better. MBA put up 30 points and 9 rebounds last time out and I expect to see similar results, but perhaps a few more rebounds. Pateev, despite being 7 feet tall, only picks up 2.0 boards per game.
Outside Defense
This is one of the few places ASU has hurt us. As I stated earlier, Kuksiks was on fire from range last time the teams met and along with Abbott there could be a closer game if they are hitting. Strong outside, man to man defense will be key in preventing this. Defense is the name of the game form here on out.
Push the Middle
This has been working extremely well for the Huskies as I.T. has really stepped up his passing game, creating hell for the opposition. With UW having a big size advantage inside there is a big opportunity for MBA and/or Aziz to put up major numbers. Once our bigs get going or I.T. is slashing the court up, ASU will be forced to double up on the defenders or resort to a zone, giving out shooters space to put up their shots.
Outside Shooting
Once the middle is strong we need to take advantage by abusing ASU from range. Holiday has been shooting well and I.T. as well. Hopefully C.J. Wilcox can continue to break out of his slump and move his way back up the rotation. Let it rain, Dawgs.
Free Throw Shooting
Same story different game. Road games mean less free throws and our bigs struggle. Our posts have got to start working with I.T. and others to get their percentages up. 65% or higher please.
Ball Handling
Less turnovers mean less points and opportunities for ASU. When we handle well we win with ease. It isn't too hard, we just need to execute.
Final Thoughts
ASU kept it close at Hec-Ed with the Dawgs only having a 2 point lead with 4 minutes to go before blowing the doors open. On the road will be no easier. The ASU game was the start of our defensive problems. We were too complacent and allowed ASU to shoot lights out. We have to extend our pressure and force them to look inside where our size advantage can really play out. We need to establish our shot on the road as well. Get hot quick and keep the fire burning. Defense, rebounding, scoring. In that order. We cannot drop this game. At all. We must win out if we want the title, simple as that. ASU played both USC and UCLA close at home, losing to USC by 2 and UCLA by 1 in overtime. On the other hand, ASU is averaging only 63 points in conference. If UW can score well, ASU won't be able to keep up. It all starts defensively. Get steals, get turnovers, get in transition.
Final Score UW-83 ASU-70
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Arizona State University Review
Final Score UW-88 ASU-75
ASU shot very well from range as Trent Lockett, Rihards Kuksiks, and Ty Abbott just couldn't seem to miss, shooting 9-15. UDub on the other hand, couldn't seem to hit much of anything and finished 6-20 from behind the arc.
Matthew Bryan-Amaning went into beast mode and with the help of Isaiah Thomas, put the team on his back. MBA finished with 30 points, 9 rebounds, 2 blocks, 1 steal, and a turnover. The most impressive stat for MBA? 8-8 from the free throw line. That's how you do it big man.
I.T. finished with 19 points, 8 assists, 6 rebounds, 3 steals, and 4 turnovers. He had some sloppy passes into two or three defenders, trying too hard to get the ball into the post. He had another beautiful alley oop to MBA who one hand tomahawked it home.
Speaking of vicious dunks, MBA almost had a huge one over a taller defender, but the ball got a little free and racked off the back of the rim and the catapulted out to a waiting Justin Holiday near the 3 point line.
Scott Suggs was the only other Husky in double digits, finishing with 10. This included a huge 3 pointer late in the game that helped seal our lead.
C.J. Wilcox hit a nice 3 and showed signs of getting out of his slump, but his shot was still a tad off.
Aziz N'Diaye had an extremely unproductive night, managing only 4 points and 1 board. He also managed a nice steal and a block that ended up being negated due to a charge call.
Our ball handling was lackadaisical, to say the least, in the first half. We had 7 turnovers going into break, but finished with 10 on the night. UW forced ASU into 15 turnovers and had 10 steals on the night.
UW did a good job of keeping ASU off the boards, finishing 33-25.
Give ASU credit, they played a hard, tough game and did a great job of putting hands in our shooters' faces and using its 3-2 zone quite effectively. UW simply could not hit their shots, but thanks to great free throw shooting by MBA and I.T. (who finished 8-10) the Huskies found victory again.
The UW bench combined for 20 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals, 2 blocks, and 2 turnovers. Effectively the stat line for Isaiah. There was not much bench production to say the least.
UW had some troubles on defense, experimenting between a man and a zone, trying to stop ASU's shooting and Trent Lockett's out of control drives that were rewarded far too often with foul shots rather than travels and charges.
What Needed Improvement
First Half Ball Handling
This is the second straight game UW has had a slow, sloppy first half. Sure they turn it around in the second, but these early mistakes cannot be afforded in big games and tournament play. Better control and tighter play is needed to keep our play up to par.
Bench Production
Once more we found ourselves lacking a really solid bench player. Venoy did a good job handling the rock and dishing out the ball, finishing with 5 assists and only 1 turnover. He was the lone highlight on an otherwise quiet bench night.
Outside Shooting
Not sure what has happened that our outside shot has dropped off so much, but without the shooting ability of Wilcox it seems as though the Huskies have really lacked a constant rhythm. Terrence Ross and Scott Suggs both hit 2 and that was as good as it got.
What Was Good
MBA
He has taken his game to the level so many of us have imagined and dreamed of. He did it all and was the big key in our win. He narrowly missed another double double.
Second Half Defense
Much better than the first half. I.T. shut down Abbott, holding him to only two shots after he took over the defensive effort.
Passing
Minus the sloppy play in the first half, UW passed well. I.T. and Venoy combined for 13 and Holiday added in 3.
Player by Player Review
Venoy Overton
5 points, 5 assists, 2 blocks, 1 rebound, 1 steal, and only 1 turnover. Overton was the lone spark off the bench for the Dawgs. His 5 assists really contributed to the game and gave I.T. a well deserved break. The duo spent less time together on the court than in other, earlier conference games when Overton was not completing the assists as well as he did tonight. Venoy looked much better, healthier, and tenacious on defense than he has in a while. He got up and personal in ASU's face. He swatted at the ball and drove the lane at times. He found MBA down low a few times and did a good job moving the ball and avoiding turnovers.
Grade: A-
Justin Holiday
A slow offensive night for Holiday. He only had 5 points on the night, but picked up 5 big boards. He was also the only non guard to have assists, finishing with 3. Holiday was fairly effective on defense and I remember distinctly, several plays where an ASU player was looking open and about to take a shot when Holiday raced over and put a hand up causing the Sun Devil to second guess the shot and move the ball around a bit more. He was 0-4 from range and like most of the Husky team, could not find his shot rhythm against the tough ASU defense.
Grade: B
Matthew Bryan-Amaning
MBA was an absolutely dominate force on the floor tonight. MVP of the game. His presence down low and ability to make shots and create opportunities for himself was huge. He went 11-16 from the field and 8-8 from the free throw line, a gorgeous sight. He posted up, did some spins, and threw down a monster tomahawk. The only thing he didn't do was take a jump shot. Though he had the opportunity a few times, he opted to dribble a bit, make a move inside and lay it in and it worked almost every time. He was one board short of a double double, ending with 9, 7 defensive, to top off his 30 point outing, a career high.
Grade: A+
Brendan Sherrer
Did not play.
Grade: N/A
Darnell Gant
After several strong outings, Gant was bound to take a step back eventually. Tonight was that night unfortunately. He played 10 minutes, the lowest on the team for the night, and only managed 4 points on 2-3 shooting. He grabbed 2 offensive boards, a nice stat, but that was about it. One of the pair of shots was a great play after a poorly called foul on the other end. It was an in your face to the ref.
Grade: B, only because he played low minutes
Scott Suggs
A nice night for the new starter. He went 2-3 from range and 4-5 from the field. He was the most successful shooter outside MBA. He ended with 10 points. He put down a dagger 3 pointer with about a minute left to seal the lead at 8. He still is not a good choice at point guard. He had a sloppy turnover near mid court when he was double teamed. He does not possess the composure or skill yet to bring the ball up under pressure. This could be a problem later in the season if I.T. and Overton get into foul trouble. To me, Ross seems like a better PG option as he is much more comfortable with the ball in his hand and has the confidence to move and shoot with it under pressure.
Grade: B+
Isaiah Thomas
Thomas finished with an unusually high number of turnovers tonight. He made some poor choices in the face of a different defense than normal. He forced several passes into multiple "coverage" down low that were stolen easily. On the other hand, I.T. was great once more. His points and effort were quieter than the past few games, but he did finish with 19 points and only two assists short of a third double double in a row. He picked up 6 rebounds for the second straight game and added in 3 steals to help negate his silly mistakes. His alley oop to MBA should make the Top 10 again, hopefully higher than number 9 this time.
Grade: A-
Aziz N'Diaye
Poor, poor play from the big man tonight. The zone really shut him down and he couldn't do anything very effectively. He went 2-4 from the free throw line and had one other basket to have 4 on the night. In his 18 minutes he only managed 1 rebound. 1. Not good and highly unusual. Even on bad nights, Aziz can usually get 3 or 4. Oh well, he is effectively a freshman in my eyes and freshman tend to have their ups and down. Thursday was up, Saturday was down.
Grade: D
Antoine Hosley
Did not play.
Grade: N/A
C.J. Wilcox
His shooting slump is looking to wear off a bit. He sank one 3 pointer and a nice jump shot from around the free throw line. Wilcox's shot looked a tad better and his confidence maybe a bit higher, but he still isn't performing at the level we saw at the onset of the season. He needs to correct whatever is going wrong as the Huskies badly need a consistent shooting threat once more. Holiday has been good, but Wilcox is supposed to be the specialist.
Grade: B-
Terrence Ross
Not a terrible night, but far from amazing. 2-4 from range and 2 rebounds in 17 minutes. He was above average on defense, but he had one silly foul after getting beat. I am waiting to see another USC or Oregon type performance from him. All the skills are there, he just needs to find a rhythm to unleash it with.
Grade: B
Final Thoughts
ASU played a tough game and we played the standard let down game after playing in such a huge game just a pair of nights before. UW did a good job holding off the ASU run and finished fairly strong. They have a week to prepare for WSU who is doing battle today with Arizona. An upset win by WSU would do wonders for our standings. Regardless of how other teams do, we need only to win to secure our spot at the top.
Links:
Highlights: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gySnv0LzKo0&feature=feedu
Montlake: http://www.montlakemadness.com/dawgs-ward-off-sun-devils-88-75/
Gohuskies: http://www.gohuskies.com/sports/m-baskbl/recaps/012211aaa.html
ESPN:http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=310220264
ASU shot very well from range as Trent Lockett, Rihards Kuksiks, and Ty Abbott just couldn't seem to miss, shooting 9-15. UDub on the other hand, couldn't seem to hit much of anything and finished 6-20 from behind the arc.
Matthew Bryan-Amaning went into beast mode and with the help of Isaiah Thomas, put the team on his back. MBA finished with 30 points, 9 rebounds, 2 blocks, 1 steal, and a turnover. The most impressive stat for MBA? 8-8 from the free throw line. That's how you do it big man.
I.T. finished with 19 points, 8 assists, 6 rebounds, 3 steals, and 4 turnovers. He had some sloppy passes into two or three defenders, trying too hard to get the ball into the post. He had another beautiful alley oop to MBA who one hand tomahawked it home.
Speaking of vicious dunks, MBA almost had a huge one over a taller defender, but the ball got a little free and racked off the back of the rim and the catapulted out to a waiting Justin Holiday near the 3 point line.
Scott Suggs was the only other Husky in double digits, finishing with 10. This included a huge 3 pointer late in the game that helped seal our lead.
C.J. Wilcox hit a nice 3 and showed signs of getting out of his slump, but his shot was still a tad off.
Aziz N'Diaye had an extremely unproductive night, managing only 4 points and 1 board. He also managed a nice steal and a block that ended up being negated due to a charge call.
Our ball handling was lackadaisical, to say the least, in the first half. We had 7 turnovers going into break, but finished with 10 on the night. UW forced ASU into 15 turnovers and had 10 steals on the night.
UW did a good job of keeping ASU off the boards, finishing 33-25.
Give ASU credit, they played a hard, tough game and did a great job of putting hands in our shooters' faces and using its 3-2 zone quite effectively. UW simply could not hit their shots, but thanks to great free throw shooting by MBA and I.T. (who finished 8-10) the Huskies found victory again.
The UW bench combined for 20 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals, 2 blocks, and 2 turnovers. Effectively the stat line for Isaiah. There was not much bench production to say the least.
UW had some troubles on defense, experimenting between a man and a zone, trying to stop ASU's shooting and Trent Lockett's out of control drives that were rewarded far too often with foul shots rather than travels and charges.
What Needed Improvement
First Half Ball Handling
This is the second straight game UW has had a slow, sloppy first half. Sure they turn it around in the second, but these early mistakes cannot be afforded in big games and tournament play. Better control and tighter play is needed to keep our play up to par.
Bench Production
Once more we found ourselves lacking a really solid bench player. Venoy did a good job handling the rock and dishing out the ball, finishing with 5 assists and only 1 turnover. He was the lone highlight on an otherwise quiet bench night.
Outside Shooting
Not sure what has happened that our outside shot has dropped off so much, but without the shooting ability of Wilcox it seems as though the Huskies have really lacked a constant rhythm. Terrence Ross and Scott Suggs both hit 2 and that was as good as it got.
What Was Good
MBA
He has taken his game to the level so many of us have imagined and dreamed of. He did it all and was the big key in our win. He narrowly missed another double double.
Second Half Defense
Much better than the first half. I.T. shut down Abbott, holding him to only two shots after he took over the defensive effort.
Passing
Minus the sloppy play in the first half, UW passed well. I.T. and Venoy combined for 13 and Holiday added in 3.
Player by Player Review
Venoy Overton
5 points, 5 assists, 2 blocks, 1 rebound, 1 steal, and only 1 turnover. Overton was the lone spark off the bench for the Dawgs. His 5 assists really contributed to the game and gave I.T. a well deserved break. The duo spent less time together on the court than in other, earlier conference games when Overton was not completing the assists as well as he did tonight. Venoy looked much better, healthier, and tenacious on defense than he has in a while. He got up and personal in ASU's face. He swatted at the ball and drove the lane at times. He found MBA down low a few times and did a good job moving the ball and avoiding turnovers.
Grade: A-
Justin Holiday
A slow offensive night for Holiday. He only had 5 points on the night, but picked up 5 big boards. He was also the only non guard to have assists, finishing with 3. Holiday was fairly effective on defense and I remember distinctly, several plays where an ASU player was looking open and about to take a shot when Holiday raced over and put a hand up causing the Sun Devil to second guess the shot and move the ball around a bit more. He was 0-4 from range and like most of the Husky team, could not find his shot rhythm against the tough ASU defense.
Grade: B
Matthew Bryan-Amaning
MBA was an absolutely dominate force on the floor tonight. MVP of the game. His presence down low and ability to make shots and create opportunities for himself was huge. He went 11-16 from the field and 8-8 from the free throw line, a gorgeous sight. He posted up, did some spins, and threw down a monster tomahawk. The only thing he didn't do was take a jump shot. Though he had the opportunity a few times, he opted to dribble a bit, make a move inside and lay it in and it worked almost every time. He was one board short of a double double, ending with 9, 7 defensive, to top off his 30 point outing, a career high.
Grade: A+
Brendan Sherrer
Did not play.
Grade: N/A
Darnell Gant
After several strong outings, Gant was bound to take a step back eventually. Tonight was that night unfortunately. He played 10 minutes, the lowest on the team for the night, and only managed 4 points on 2-3 shooting. He grabbed 2 offensive boards, a nice stat, but that was about it. One of the pair of shots was a great play after a poorly called foul on the other end. It was an in your face to the ref.
Grade: B, only because he played low minutes
Scott Suggs
A nice night for the new starter. He went 2-3 from range and 4-5 from the field. He was the most successful shooter outside MBA. He ended with 10 points. He put down a dagger 3 pointer with about a minute left to seal the lead at 8. He still is not a good choice at point guard. He had a sloppy turnover near mid court when he was double teamed. He does not possess the composure or skill yet to bring the ball up under pressure. This could be a problem later in the season if I.T. and Overton get into foul trouble. To me, Ross seems like a better PG option as he is much more comfortable with the ball in his hand and has the confidence to move and shoot with it under pressure.
Grade: B+
Isaiah Thomas
Thomas finished with an unusually high number of turnovers tonight. He made some poor choices in the face of a different defense than normal. He forced several passes into multiple "coverage" down low that were stolen easily. On the other hand, I.T. was great once more. His points and effort were quieter than the past few games, but he did finish with 19 points and only two assists short of a third double double in a row. He picked up 6 rebounds for the second straight game and added in 3 steals to help negate his silly mistakes. His alley oop to MBA should make the Top 10 again, hopefully higher than number 9 this time.
Grade: A-
Aziz N'Diaye
Poor, poor play from the big man tonight. The zone really shut him down and he couldn't do anything very effectively. He went 2-4 from the free throw line and had one other basket to have 4 on the night. In his 18 minutes he only managed 1 rebound. 1. Not good and highly unusual. Even on bad nights, Aziz can usually get 3 or 4. Oh well, he is effectively a freshman in my eyes and freshman tend to have their ups and down. Thursday was up, Saturday was down.
Grade: D
Antoine Hosley
Did not play.
Grade: N/A
C.J. Wilcox
His shooting slump is looking to wear off a bit. He sank one 3 pointer and a nice jump shot from around the free throw line. Wilcox's shot looked a tad better and his confidence maybe a bit higher, but he still isn't performing at the level we saw at the onset of the season. He needs to correct whatever is going wrong as the Huskies badly need a consistent shooting threat once more. Holiday has been good, but Wilcox is supposed to be the specialist.
Grade: B-
Terrence Ross
Not a terrible night, but far from amazing. 2-4 from range and 2 rebounds in 17 minutes. He was above average on defense, but he had one silly foul after getting beat. I am waiting to see another USC or Oregon type performance from him. All the skills are there, he just needs to find a rhythm to unleash it with.
Grade: B
Final Thoughts
ASU played a tough game and we played the standard let down game after playing in such a huge game just a pair of nights before. UW did a good job holding off the ASU run and finished fairly strong. They have a week to prepare for WSU who is doing battle today with Arizona. An upset win by WSU would do wonders for our standings. Regardless of how other teams do, we need only to win to secure our spot at the top.
Links:
Highlights: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gySnv0LzKo0&feature=feedu
Montlake: http://www.montlakemadness.com/dawgs-ward-off-sun-devils-88-75/
Gohuskies: http://www.gohuskies.com/sports/m-baskbl/recaps/012211aaa.html
ESPN:http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=310220264
Friday, January 21, 2011
Arizona State University Preview
Arizona State is 9-9 on the year and 1-5 in conference with their lone win coming over Oregon on the road. The most recently lost to WSU by 17 in a 78-61 game.
ASU only has 3 players who have competed in all 18 games this year, a little strange considering a team needs 5 players on the court to start the game (yes this is not always true, but for college it essentially is). Those 3 players are Rihards Kuksiks, Kyle Cain, and Ruslan Pateev.
ASU is led in scoring by Ty Abbott with 13.5 points per game, followed closely by Trent Lockett with 13.3 points per game. Kuksiks is the only other major point contributor with 9.4 per game. ASU is a low scoring team, averaging 63 per game and only 58 in conference.
ASU does not rebound extremely well either, averaging only 33 per game. Kyle Cain is picking up 6.2 per game and Lockett adds 5.6 boards per match up. To say the least, this is a big opportunity for our bigs to put up some big rebounding numbers as ASU lacks a strong post player with rebounding talents.
Both Abbott and Kuksiks are strong outside shooters. Kuksiks really took it to the Dawgs last time, if my memory serves me well. Both are shooting around 40% from range. Abbott is 48 of 120, while Kuksiks has made 43 of 112 attempts from range.
Thankfully, ASU is a terrible free throw shooting team as well, with only two players near or above 75% on the year. Kuksiks leads the team with 81% and Carrick Felix is 74% on the season.
ASU does not have any stand out players except for Rihards Kuksiks and he is only mildly impressive. Much like Jorge Guitierrez of Cal, Kuksiks is good because he has to be. At least that is how I see it. He shoot well from outside, but doesn't do much more.
Jamelle McMillian is a fairly good point guard, averaging 4.2 assists and 1.5 turnovers per game. He only scores 6.2 points per game.
Starting Line Ups
Arizona State
Jamelle McMillian 6-2 180lb G
Ty Abbott 6-3 205lb G
Trent Lockett 6-3 210lb G
Rihards Kuksiks 6-6 206lb G/F
Ruslan Pateev 7-0 249lb C
Washington
Isaiah Thomas 5-9 185lb G
Scott Suggs 6-6 195lb G
Justin Holiday 6-6 185lb F
Matthew Bryan-Amaning 6-9 240lb F
Aziz N'Diaye 7-0 260lb C
Keys to the Game
Rebounding
As usual, rebounding will be key. Unlike the Arizona game, ASU does not have a dominate rebounding force, nor are they a highly competitive team for UW. Regardless, more rebounds = more chances for us and less for ASU. Personally, I would love to see a 15 board advantage by games end including 10+ for both MBA and Aziz. I think it is very plausible for both as Aziz was able to play 27 minutes by avoiding foul trouble. He and MBA combined for 15 boards last game against a strong Arizona frontcourt. Pateev, despite being 7 feet tall, only picks up 2.3 boards per game.
Outside Defense
This is one of the few places ASU could hurt us. As I stated earlier, Kuksiks was on fire from range last time the teams met and along with Abbott there could be a closer game if they are hitting. Strong outside, man to man defense will be key in preventing this. I think putting Suggs in the starting 5 will help prevent this as he is a taller defender and can get his hand up higher.
Push the Middle
This has been working extremely well for the Huskies as I.T. has really stepped up his passing game, creating hell for the opposition. With UW having a big size advantage inside there is a big opportunity for MBA and/or Aziz to put up major numbers. Once our bigs get going or I.T. is slashing the court up, ASU will be forced to double up on the defenders or resort to a zone, giving out shooters space to put up their shots.
Outside Shooting
Once the middle is strong we need to take advantage by abusing ASU from range. Holiday has been shooting well and I.T. as well. Hopefully C.J. Wilcox can break out of his slump and move his way back up the rotation. Let it rain, Dawgs.
Free Throw Shooting
Thank goodness Thursday's game was not a close one or our FT shooting would have killed us. I.T. had a now unusual off night and MBA continued to shoot around 50%. Holiday and Ross were very solid. Let's hope I.T. corrects his mistakes and the rest of the team can hit well.
A quick side note for those who missed the game Thursday. MBA was fouled hard on a break away and had an eye problem. He went to the sideline to get it checked out. The refs did not call a medical timeout and I.T. stepped to the line and for whatever reason the refs gave him the ball. I.T. shot it and missed, then told the refs I'm not the shooter. The refs were pissed I.T. was making them look bad. MBA got fixed up and hit both free throws. Hilarious.
Ball Handling
UW had some early miscues and mishandles early in the UA game and it kept UA in it til late. In the second half they cleaned up their play and, no surprise, they dominated. Handling the ball well will mean a blow out on Saturday as UW is statistically superior in every way.
Final Thoughts
This should be an easy game for UW, but they cannot afford to over look ASU. As long as they play with the toughness and tenacity they brought against UA, the Dawgs will not have any problems handling ASU. We will likely see big numbers from I.T., MBA, and Holiday again and I think we could see some solid numbers from Aziz and either Ross or Suggs. I think Wilcox is having some confidence issues that aren't quite dealt with yet and it may take another few games of slow, steady progress to get back to where he was. He is a freshman and has plenty of time to reemerge as a dominant, offensive threat. With good passing, strong post play, and some decent outside shooting the Huskies should have this one in the bag big and early. I think this is another Pac-10 team we could drop 100 on. ASU does not have a lot of size, experience, or talent. They are rebuilding after losing Derrick Glasser and the other ASU seniors.
Final Score UW-104 ASU-66
Links
Dirt: http://tinyurl.com/DPD-ASU
ASU only has 3 players who have competed in all 18 games this year, a little strange considering a team needs 5 players on the court to start the game (yes this is not always true, but for college it essentially is). Those 3 players are Rihards Kuksiks, Kyle Cain, and Ruslan Pateev.
ASU is led in scoring by Ty Abbott with 13.5 points per game, followed closely by Trent Lockett with 13.3 points per game. Kuksiks is the only other major point contributor with 9.4 per game. ASU is a low scoring team, averaging 63 per game and only 58 in conference.
ASU does not rebound extremely well either, averaging only 33 per game. Kyle Cain is picking up 6.2 per game and Lockett adds 5.6 boards per match up. To say the least, this is a big opportunity for our bigs to put up some big rebounding numbers as ASU lacks a strong post player with rebounding talents.
Both Abbott and Kuksiks are strong outside shooters. Kuksiks really took it to the Dawgs last time, if my memory serves me well. Both are shooting around 40% from range. Abbott is 48 of 120, while Kuksiks has made 43 of 112 attempts from range.
Thankfully, ASU is a terrible free throw shooting team as well, with only two players near or above 75% on the year. Kuksiks leads the team with 81% and Carrick Felix is 74% on the season.
ASU does not have any stand out players except for Rihards Kuksiks and he is only mildly impressive. Much like Jorge Guitierrez of Cal, Kuksiks is good because he has to be. At least that is how I see it. He shoot well from outside, but doesn't do much more.
Jamelle McMillian is a fairly good point guard, averaging 4.2 assists and 1.5 turnovers per game. He only scores 6.2 points per game.
Starting Line Ups
Arizona State
Jamelle McMillian 6-2 180lb G
Ty Abbott 6-3 205lb G
Trent Lockett 6-3 210lb G
Rihards Kuksiks 6-6 206lb G/F
Ruslan Pateev 7-0 249lb C
Washington
Isaiah Thomas 5-9 185lb G
Scott Suggs 6-6 195lb G
Justin Holiday 6-6 185lb F
Matthew Bryan-Amaning 6-9 240lb F
Aziz N'Diaye 7-0 260lb C
Keys to the Game
Rebounding
As usual, rebounding will be key. Unlike the Arizona game, ASU does not have a dominate rebounding force, nor are they a highly competitive team for UW. Regardless, more rebounds = more chances for us and less for ASU. Personally, I would love to see a 15 board advantage by games end including 10+ for both MBA and Aziz. I think it is very plausible for both as Aziz was able to play 27 minutes by avoiding foul trouble. He and MBA combined for 15 boards last game against a strong Arizona frontcourt. Pateev, despite being 7 feet tall, only picks up 2.3 boards per game.
Outside Defense
This is one of the few places ASU could hurt us. As I stated earlier, Kuksiks was on fire from range last time the teams met and along with Abbott there could be a closer game if they are hitting. Strong outside, man to man defense will be key in preventing this. I think putting Suggs in the starting 5 will help prevent this as he is a taller defender and can get his hand up higher.
Push the Middle
This has been working extremely well for the Huskies as I.T. has really stepped up his passing game, creating hell for the opposition. With UW having a big size advantage inside there is a big opportunity for MBA and/or Aziz to put up major numbers. Once our bigs get going or I.T. is slashing the court up, ASU will be forced to double up on the defenders or resort to a zone, giving out shooters space to put up their shots.
Outside Shooting
Once the middle is strong we need to take advantage by abusing ASU from range. Holiday has been shooting well and I.T. as well. Hopefully C.J. Wilcox can break out of his slump and move his way back up the rotation. Let it rain, Dawgs.
Free Throw Shooting
Thank goodness Thursday's game was not a close one or our FT shooting would have killed us. I.T. had a now unusual off night and MBA continued to shoot around 50%. Holiday and Ross were very solid. Let's hope I.T. corrects his mistakes and the rest of the team can hit well.
A quick side note for those who missed the game Thursday. MBA was fouled hard on a break away and had an eye problem. He went to the sideline to get it checked out. The refs did not call a medical timeout and I.T. stepped to the line and for whatever reason the refs gave him the ball. I.T. shot it and missed, then told the refs I'm not the shooter. The refs were pissed I.T. was making them look bad. MBA got fixed up and hit both free throws. Hilarious.
Ball Handling
UW had some early miscues and mishandles early in the UA game and it kept UA in it til late. In the second half they cleaned up their play and, no surprise, they dominated. Handling the ball well will mean a blow out on Saturday as UW is statistically superior in every way.
Final Thoughts
This should be an easy game for UW, but they cannot afford to over look ASU. As long as they play with the toughness and tenacity they brought against UA, the Dawgs will not have any problems handling ASU. We will likely see big numbers from I.T., MBA, and Holiday again and I think we could see some solid numbers from Aziz and either Ross or Suggs. I think Wilcox is having some confidence issues that aren't quite dealt with yet and it may take another few games of slow, steady progress to get back to where he was. He is a freshman and has plenty of time to reemerge as a dominant, offensive threat. With good passing, strong post play, and some decent outside shooting the Huskies should have this one in the bag big and early. I think this is another Pac-10 team we could drop 100 on. ASU does not have a lot of size, experience, or talent. They are rebuilding after losing Derrick Glasser and the other ASU seniors.
Final Score UW-104 ASU-66
Links
Dirt: http://tinyurl.com/DPD-ASU
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