Men's hoops heads to Cali to face UCLA and USC

February 22, 2011

SUN DEVILS IN LAND OF LA The Arizona State's men's hoops team (10-16; 2-12 in the Pac-10), travels to Los Angeles this weekend, as it takes on NCAA Tournament-bound UCLA on Thursday (8 p.m. PT on FOX Sports Net) and suddenly hot USC on Saturday (4:30 p.m. on FOX Sports Arizona). ASU has used 10 starting lineups and 11 players have been thrust into a starting role due to some various injuries, the latest being seniors <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/kuksiks_rihards00.html… Kuksiks</a> (ankle) and <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/abbott_ty00.html">Ty Abbott</a> (shoulder) missing the 71-69 Washington State win on Saturday. ASU is taking care of the ball as it is second in the Pac-10 in fewest turnovers per game at 12.1 (USC at 11.6) and is averaging just 10.9 turnovers in the past 10 games. Sophomore <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/lockett_trent00.html">… Lockett</a> is averaging 15.1 points in the past eight games while senior point guard <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/mcmillan_jamelle00.htm… McMillan</a> has played well recently as well as he has made 14-of-26 (.538) from the three-point stripe in past six games.<separator></separator>HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO COACH Tuesday (Feb. 22) marked Coach Sendek's 48th year on earth. He is the third-youngest coach in the Pac-10 despite being a head coach for 18 seasons. Remember, he notched the Miami of Ohio job back in the spring of 1993 at age 30.<separator></separator>PAC-10 COACHES BY AGE (YOUNGEST TO OLDEST) Sean Miller (42), Arizona, 11/17/68 Johnny Dawkins (47), Stanford, 9/28/63 <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/sendek_herb00.html">He… Sendek</a> (48), ASU, 2/22/63 Craig Robinson (48), OSU, 4/21/62 Lorenzo Romar (52), UW, 11/13/58<separator></separator>STARTING LINEUP NOTES With its injuries and illnesses this year ASU has used 10 different starting lineups and 11 players have started at least one game...the 10 starting lineups is the most by the Sun Devils since the 2006-07 team also started 10 and the fourth-most in the past 18 seasons...the 2003-04 team had 13 starting lineups while the 1996-97 (11) and 1995-96 (12) teams under Bill Frieder also tried some different options...each of ASU's top four scorers has missed at least two games due to injury.<separator></separator><img src="http://grfx.cstv.com/graphics/spacer.gif" alt width="5" height="1border=0">  TRENT Sophomore <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/lockett_trent00.html">… Lockett</a> had a then career-high 22 points in the season opener at New Mexico (Nov. 16) where two of his dunks placed him No. 2 on SportsCenter's Top-10...had a career-high 24 points vs. Weber State on Nov. 26 in Alaska...also had 20 points at Washington on Jan. 22 and then had 20 in 71-69 Washington State win on Feb. 19...native of Golden Valley, Minn., and a student in Barrett, the Honors College...comes from one of the top high school programs in the country (Hopkins High School in Minnetonka, Minn.)...earned a spot on the five-man Pac-10 All-Freshman Team in 2009-10...has 28 double-figure scoring games...posted his first career double-double with 12 points and 10 boards vs. Richmond on Dec. 5...missed both games of the Oregon road trip on Dec. 30-Jan. 1 with a sprained big left toe...averaging 15.1 points per game in the past eight contests...in those past eight games Lockett leads team with 26 assists, 47 free throw attempts, along with 33.5 minutes and 5.0 boards per game...also 5-of-8 (.625) from the three-point stripe in that time after starting season 3-of-13...in past six games he is averaging 14.7 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists.<separator></separator>TRENT'S TOP SCORING GAMES 24 vs. Weber State (Nov. 26, 2010) 22 at New Mexico (Nov. 16, 2010) 20 vs. Washington State (Feb. 19, 2011) 20 at #20 Washington (Jan. 22, 2011) 19 vs. UAB (Nov. 20, 2010) 19 vs. San Francisco (Nov. 20, 2009) 18 at Cal (Feb. 3, 2011) 18 vs. Houston Baptist (Nov. 25, 2010) 17 vs. UCLA (Jan. 29, 2011) 17 at Arizona (Jan. 15, 2011) 17 vs. Stanford (Jan. 30, 2010) 17 vs. Texas State (Nov. 16, 2009)<separator></separator>RECAP The Sun Devils, the only Pac-10 team to post 20 wins in each of the past three seasons, are in their fifth season under 2009-10 Pac-10 Coach of the Year <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/sendek_herb00.html">He… Sendek</a>. Last year's second-place Pac-10 team was 22-11, the first time ASU had posted three straight 20-win seasons since JFK was President. ASU finished second in the Pac-10 (12-6) for the first time since 1980-81 after being picked for seventh in the preseason media poll and tenth by Sporting News. After posting just three 20-win seasons in the previous 25 seasons, ASU has posted three straight under <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/sendek_herb00.html">He… Sendek</a> in his four years. ASU lost two senior starters and three key players from last year in <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/glasser_derek00.html">… Glasser</a>, <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/boateng_eric00.html">E… Boateng</a> and <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/shipp_jerren00.html">J… Shipp</a>, who all three earned their degrees...Glasser set ASU records for games (131), assists (551) and free throw shooting (.838)...Shipp is second on the ASU career list for games with 129...Eric Boateng led the Pac-10 in field goal percentage (.665) and averaged 8.8 points and 7.2 boards and matched Pac-10 record by making all 11 shots from the field at Stanford on Feb. 25, 2010.<separator></separator>CLOSE STATISTIC Arizona State has done a solid job of winning the close ones. In games of five points or less in the four years of its current senior class, ASU is 18-13 (.581), the third-best mark in the Pac-10.<separator></separator>TOP PAC-10 TEAMS IN GAMES OF FIVE POINTS OR LESS (2007-08 THROUGH 2010-11) UCLA 22-13 (.629) Oregon 13-9 (.591) Arizona State 18-13 (.581)<separator></separator>CLUTCH THROWS ON ROAD ASU has won 17 road games in the past four seasons, and a big reason why is the clutch free throw shooting of seniors <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/kuksiks_rihards00.html… Kuksiks</a> and <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/abbott_ty00.html">Ty Abbott</a>. Kuksiks is now 30-of-36 (.833) from the charity stripe in road games, while Abbott is 52-of-69 (.754).<separator></separator>HALFTIME DIGIT ASU is now 7-2 when it leads at the half in 2010-11 and 64-16 under <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/sendek_herb00.html">He… Sendek</a>...ASU has won 17 games under <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/sendek_herb00.html">He… Sendek</a> when it has trailed at the half including the Dec. 23 56-50 win over North Carolina A&T when it trailed 29-23 at intermission. ASU shot just 20-of-57 (.351) in the victory, its second-lowest mark in a win under Coach Sendek. The lowest shooting mark was a 16-of-56 (.286) mark in a 53-47 win at Arizona on Jan. 21, 2009.<separator></separator>A SOLID NOTE FROM HIS ACC DAYS From the 2001-2002 season through 2005-2006 (<a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/sendek_herb00.html">He… Sendek's</a> final five seasons) NC State won 53 total ACC games (regular season and ACC tournament). Only Duke was better (76) in that time frame. Maryland also had 53.<separator></separator>JMAC Senior <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/mcmillan_jamelle00.htm… McMillan</a> has played through a nagging groin injury since December that caused him to miss three games but is averaging 11.7 points in the past six games and is 14-of-26 (.538) from three in those tilts...he has posted three of the top scoring games in his career in the past six contests with a career-high 17 at Stanford (Feb. 5), 14 at Cal (Feb. 3) and 13 vs. UCLA (Jan. 29)... ASU is 51-32 (.614) with Jamelle and 6-5 (.545) without. In the past two seasons those numbers go to 29-23 (.560) and 3-4 (.429)...299 career assists and 145 turnovers...six steals vs. Long Beach on Dec. 21, most by a Sun Devil since <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/harden_james00.html">J… Harden</a> had seven vs. USC on March 13, 2008, in the Pac-10 Tournament...leads the Pac-10 in assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.67 (88 assists/33 turnovers) which is 17th nationally.<separator></separator>JAMELLE'S TOP SCORING GAMES 17 at Stanford (Feb. 5, 2011) 16 vs. Weber State @Alaska (Nov. 26, 2010) 16 vs. UCSB (Dec. 21, 2009) 15 vs. USC Upstate (Dec. 23, 2009) 14 at California (Feb. 3, 2011) 14 at Oregon State (Feb. 7, 2009) 13 vs. UCLA (Jan. 29, 2011)<separator></separator>ACTIVE WITH BLOCKS ASU had six players notch a total of nine blocks vs. Arizona on Feb. 13, second-best in the Herb Sendek-era. ASU had 11 blocks vs. Southern Illinois on March 20, 2008. ASU also had eight blocks vs. USC on Jan. 27 this season.<separator></separator>INFO TO KNOW ASU has had some poorly-timed injury/illness items since the opening of the Pac-10, as it lost at Oregon State 80-58 (Dec. 30) and won at Oregon 60-55 (Jan. 1) to close Mac Court, without leading scorer <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/lockett_trent00.html">… Lockett</a> (14.7 ppg.), who missed both games with a sprained left big toe. Then senior point guard <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/mcmillan_jamelle00.htm… McMillan</a> missed both games of the Bay Area home series (Jan. 6-8) and the Jan. 12 Tulsa win due to a groin injury. The Washington trip the scrambling continued as <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/felix_carrick00.html">… Felix</a> and <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/dunson_brandon00.html"… Dunson</a> couldn't travel for the first game as both were ill. The main bummer? Felix was averaging 13.6 points (tied for team lead), 3.6 boards, 31.2 minutes and was 14-of-18 (.778) from the free throw line in the previous five games. Recently both <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/kuksiks_rihards00.html… Kuksiks</a> and <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/abbott_ty00.html">Ty Abbott</a> missed the Feb. 19 Washington State win while Kuksiks missed the Washington game on Feb. 17 as well. Each of ASU top four scorers has missed at least two games.<separator></separator>WITH TRENT OUT When <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/lockett_trent00.html">… Lockett</a> was not in the lineup the opening Pac-10 weekend ASU had to replace a player who in the Pac-10 ranked at the time 11th in scoring (14.7) and rebounding (6.5) and fifth in field goal percentage (.571) and in minutes per game (33.5).<separator></separator>BEST TREE IN THE LAND <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/sendek_herb00.html">He… Sendek</a> has eight former assistants who are D-I coaches, the best mark of any coach in the nation in 2010-2011. Twelve-year sidekick <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/phelps_mark00.html">Ma… Phelps</a> earned the Drake spot in the spring of 2008 after serving for 10 years on the staff at NC State and for two years at ASU. Former NC State sidekick John Groce also earned the Ohio University position in the spring of 2008. The others are Jim Christian at TCU (Miami assistant in 1995-96), Charlie Coles at Miami of Ohio (Miami assistant from 1994-96), Larry Hunter at Western Carolina (NC State assistant from 2001-05), Ron Hunter of IUPUI (Miami assistant from 1993-94), Ohio State's Thad Matta (Miami assistant in 1994-95) and Arizona's Sean Miller (assistant at both Miami from 1993-95 and at NC State from 1996-2000).<separator></separator>TY NOTES Returning first-team All-Pac-10 performer <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/abbott_ty00.html">Ty Abbott</a> had some back, knee and shoulder issues the last three weekends, as he missed all but four minutes of the game at Stanford on Feb. 5...has 10 20-point games in his career, including three this year...he is averaging 33.0 minutes per game this year. Only <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/harden_james00.html">J… Harden</a> in each of his two seasons (35.8 in 2008-09 and 34.4 in 2007-08) has averaged more than 34 minutes per game in <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/sendek_herb00.html">He… Sendek's</a> first four seasons at ASU...now has 1,282 career points which is 18th on the Sun Devil career list. Art Becker ranks 17th at 1,284 while Al Nealey has 1,304 career points...also has 114 starts, tied for second on the ASU career chart with <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/house_eddie00.html">Ed… House</a>. <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/pendergraph_jeff00.htm… Pendergraph</a> has the ASU record with 120 starts...Abbott missed the Nov. 25 Houston Baptist game due to a knee bruise and the Feb.19 Washington State win with a shoulder injury...currently fourth on the Sun Devil career chart for minutes played. <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/house_eddie00.html">Ed… House</a> has the career mark, playing in 124 games from 1996-2000 while notching 4,164 minutes (33.6 per game). Abbott is at 3,866 and could become just the second Sun Devil to play 4,000 career minutes.<separator></separator>ASU CAREER MINUTES/GAMES/MPG 1. <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/house_eddie00.html">Ed… House</a> (99-2000)--4,164/124/33.6 2. <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/veal_jeremy00.html">Je… Veal</a> (94-98)--3,980/122/32.5 3. <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/glasser_derek00.html">… Glasser</a> (06-10)--3,955/131/30.2 4. <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/abbott_ty00.html">Ty Abbott</a> (07-11)--3,866/125/30.9<separator></separator>PAC-10 COACH OF YEAR <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/sendek_herb00.html">He… Sendek</a> became the second Sun Devil to earn Pac-10 Coach of the Year in ASU's 32 Pac-10 seasons in 2009-10 (Ned Wulk/1978-79). What is even more eye opening is the 30 years between Sun Devil winners. That is nothing new as his 2003-04 ACC honor was NC State's first in 15 seasons (Jim Valvano/1988-89).<separator></separator>HERB PAC-10 NOTE Last season's second -place Pac-10 finish matched ASU's best in its 32 seasons of Pac-10 play and its 12 wins were the most since 1994-95. ASU has notched at least 11 Pac-10 wins eight times, <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/sendek_herb00.html">He… Sendek</a> has done it in each of the past two seasons.<separator></separator>MOST SUN DEVIL WINS IN PAC-10 PLAY 1980-81, 16-2/2nd/Ned Wulk 1979-80, 15-3/2nd/Ned Wulk 2009-10, 12-6/2nd/Herb Sendek 1994-95, 12-6/3rd/Bill Frieder 1982-83, 12-6/T-3rd/Bob Weinhauer 2008-09, 11-7/T-3rd/Herb Sendek 2002-03, 11-7/4th/Rob Evans 1992-93, 11-7/T-3rd/Bill Frieder<separator></separator>THIS IS ABNORMAL If something hasn't happened in 18 years, it is probably safe to say that it is an an anomaly. Consider a team struggling at the free throw line under Coach Sendek just that (.631). Consider the following when talking about Coach Sendek's teams his 18 seasons as a head coach: NC State led the nation and set an ACC record for free throw shooting (.799) in 2003-04. That mark is tied for the best in the nation in the past 12 seasons with St. Joseph's in 2005-06 (Jameer Nelson and Delonte West) and is tied for seventh-best in NCAA history...has coached four teams at ASU and two of them rank fifth (.739 in 2007-08) and sixth (.737 in 2008-09) on the ASU charts for best free throw seasons...last year's team shot .713 in Pac-10 games, third-best in the loop. In overall statistics, ASU has been a top-five Pac-10 free throw shooting team in each of the past three seasons...in his 10 seasons NC State led the ACC in FT percentage four times, including three straight seasons from (2001-02 to 2003-04).<separator></separator>TRIO STEPPED UP With leading scorer <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/lockett_trent00.html">… Lockett</a> out and all three of ASU's seniors in foul trouble at Oregon on Jan. 1, a trio stepped up. First-year players <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/felix_carrick00.html">… Felix</a> had then-season highs of 19 points, six boards, four assists and 34 minutes while <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/dunson_brandon00.html"… Dunson</a> did the same with 14 points and 29 minutes. Sophomore <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/pateev_ruslan00.html">… Pateev</a> (career highs with 10 points in 28 minutes) also helped the cause as ASU continued its solid work in close games.<separator></separator>HEAD COACH <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/sendek_herb00.html">He… Sendek</a>, 86-72 (.544) at ASU, is in his 18th season as a head coach in 2010-2011 and has averaged 19.4 wins per season. He led the NC State Wolfpack to five straight NCAA appearances from 2002-06 and is now 340-230 (.596) and was 191-132 (.591) at NC State. The 47-year-old (born Feb. 22, 1963) Pittsburgh, Pa., native remains the third-youngest coach in the Pac-10. Only Duke posted more ACC wins (regular season and ACC Tournament) than NC State's 53 from 2002-2006. An overlooked note is his 10-year stay at NC State. To compare it to the Pac-10, since the league expanded to 10 teams in 1978-79, only five coaches have coached at their schools for at least 10 years: Lute Olson (24/Arizona), Ralph Miller (19/Oregon State), Mike Montgomery (18/Stanford), Ernie Kent (13/Oregon) and Ben Braun (12/California).<separator></separator>

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