Men's hoops hosts New Mexico Lobos

--Sun Devils sign three Arizona prep student-athletes in fall signing period
--Coach Sendek still the nation's leader in former assistants now D-I coaches with nine
--For ASU updated stats in HTML format click here

Sun Devil Men's Cagers vs. UNM (PDF)

SUN DEVILS VS. LOBOS
Sixth-year Sun Devil coach Herb Sendek and Arizona State (1-1) plays host to the New Mexico Lobos on Friday, Nov. 18, at 6:30 MT at Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe. FOX Sports Arizona (Tom Leander/Tom Kuyper/Jody Jackson) have the visuals while KTAR 620 AM (Tim Healey/former ASU point guard Kyle Dodd) provide the audio. After posting just three 20-win seasons in the previous 25 seasons, ASU posted three 20-win seasons under Herb Sendek in his first five years. ASU was 8-22 in Coach Sendek's first year (2006-2007), but is 81-54 (.602) in past five and giving up just 61.9 ppg. in his 165 games as Sun Devil head coach. Seven lettermen return including 2010-11 All-Pac-10 second-team and first-team Pac-10 All-Academic performer Trent Lockett.

BOTH COACHES ON THIS LIST
Herb Sendek earned the Miami of Ohio job in the spring of 1993 at age 30. Three years later he took over the NC State program at age 33. Some 18 years later he ranks near the top of the youngest coaches with at least 300 career Division I wins, as he will turn 49 on Feb. 22, 2012. Joining the list soon will be Thad Matta at Ohio State (292 entering this season and born July 11, 1962), Greg Marshall at Wichita State (276 wins and born Feb. 27, 1963) and Ron Hunter at Georgia State (274 wins and born on March 7, 1964).

YOUNGEST COACHES WITH 300 DIVISION I WINS (NUMBERS ENTERING 2011-12 SEASON)
Billy Donovan, Florida, 395 (May 30, 1965)
Greg McDermott, Creighton, 303 (Nov. 25, 1964)
Steve Alford, New Mexico, 328 (Nov. 23, 1964)
Herb Sendek, Arizona State, 342 (Feb. 22, 1963)
Bill Self, Kansas, 444 (Dec. 27, 1962)
Mark Few, Gonzaga, 316 (Dec. 27, 1962)
Jay Wright, Villanova, 346 (Dec. 24, 1961)
Kevin Stallings, Vanderbilt, 359 (Oct. 1, 1960)
Jeff Jones, American, 327 (June 29, 1960)

SUN DEVIL QUICKIES
ASU has split its first two games, beating Montana State 78-72 in the opener (Nov. 11) and then falling to hot shooting Pepperdine 66-60 (Nov. 15)...sophomore Keala King had his best game vs. Montana State, as he had career-highs in points (15) and minutes (29) and was 3-of-4 from three-point range. In his freshman season he was 1-of-18 on the year from three-land. He was also matched his career-high with eight boards. He averaged 13.8 minutes and 6.8 points in the final six games and was 14-of-17 (.824) from the free throw stripe. He started season 16-of-38 (.421) from the charity stripe...it is early, but it is probably noteworthy that Carrick Felix has six steals through two games. Felix saw action in 30 games and showed great flashes but was sidelined by illness in the middle of year...sophomore Kyle Cain is averaging eight boards. He was the only Sun Devil to play in all 31 games last year and averaged 5.5 boards and shot .545 from the field...junior Trent Lockett had his second career double-double with 17 points/10 rebounds vs. MSU and followed that up with 23 points vs. Pepperdine. He also added a career-high four steals vs. MSU and has 32 double-figure scoring games. He has led ASU in scoring 15 times in his career. He averaged 13.4 points and 5.3 boards in 30.7 minutes last year (37.0 minutes and 20.0 ppg. this year)...junior Ruslan Pateev, who entered the season 23-of-42 (.548) from the free throw line, has made all six of his free throw attempts and has six blocks....newcomer Chris Colvin is averaging nine points and 26.5 minutes at point guard...Iowan Chanse Creekmur led ASU to its 73-72 Feb. 19 win over Washington State with 18 points (five three-pointers). Creekmur averaged 17.8 minutes and 5.3 points in final nine games and made 13-of-33 (.394) three-pointers in final eight...7-2 sophomore Jordan Bachynski has added about 15 pounds.

VS. NEW MEXICO
Last season the Sun Devils opened the season on the road for the first time since Dec. 1, 1992, when it fell at New Mexico 76-62 on Nov. 16. New Mexico entered this season 49-5 in home games under Steve Alford and was coming off 30-5 season in which it won the Mountain West regular season title. ASU was led by sophomore Trent Lockett, who had a then-career-high 22 points. ASU records have the Lobos leading the series 42-38 with the Lobos last trip to Tempe an 86-79 win on Dec. 5, 1995.

MORE TRENT
Trent Lockett averaged 13.4 points last year en route to All-Pac-10 second-team honors, and that makes him the fifth-leading returning scorer. He ranked 12th, but top eight scorers departed. The other four returning All-Pac-10 players are Jorge Gutierrez (Cal), Reeves Nelson (UCLA), Jared Cunningham (OSU) and Harper Kamp (Cal). Lockett averaged more in the 14 games away Tempe last year (15.2) than in home games (11.8).

BEST HOOPS STUDENT-ATHLETE IN PAC-12?
When you take it all into consideration...Barrett Honors College, second-team All-Pac-10 pick, first-team Pac-10 All-Academic pick, two solid seasons....it is hard to not say Trent Lockett is the best overall men's basketball student-athlete in the Pac-12 this year. He is the only first-team Pac-10 All-Academic pick from last year who earned All-Pac-10 honors.

LAST TIME ASU HAD TO REPLACE A BUNCH OF SCORING
ASU lost 47 percent of its scoring from last season. One thing to remember...after the 2008-09 season the team lost 49 percent of its scoring and two NBA draft picks and then went out and won 22 games in 2009-10 and finished second in the Pac-10 at 12-6. ASU was winners of 20 games (22-11) in three straight seasons for the first time since JFK was President that season, made its third straight postseason appearance for the first time since the mid-1990s and finished second in the Pac-10 (12-6) for the first time since 1980-81.

HAVE TO REPLACE THESE THREE
Last season saw the careers of seniors Ty Abbott (B.S., Sociology), Rihards Kuksiks (B.I.S., Communication/Sociology) and Jamelle McMillan (B.S., Communication) come to a close as the trio produced 80 wins, the most by any seniors in ASU history. The Sun Devils were 21-13 (2007-08), 25-10 (2008-09), and 22-11 (2009-10) in their first three seasons. Prior to their arrival, ASU won 37 games in the previous four seasons. ASU's best four-year span of total wins was 88 from 1959-60 to 1962-63 and also from 1960-61 to 1963-64, but that was before freshman were eligible. The 80 wins by each of the seniors is the best by any four-year player, as Gary Jackson (1973-76) was with the program for 79 wins. One thing that has to be accounted for is the three-point shooting of Kuksiks and Abbott, as they combined for 553 career three-pointers. Kuksiks is seventh in Pac-10 history with 280 while Abbott ended eighth with 273.

PAC-10 COACH OF YEAR NOTE
The Pac-12 has five current coaches who have earned Pac-10 Coach of the Year. Herb Sendek earned the honor in 2009-10, while Sean Miller (2010-11), Lorenzo Romar (2008-09 and 2004-05) and Ben Howland (2005-06) earned kudos at their school. Mike Montgomery earned it four times at Stanford (2003-04, 2002-03, 1999-2000 and 1998-99).

ALL-PAC-10 SECOND-TEAM
Trent Lockett (Golden Valley, Minn.) earned 2010-11 second-team All-Pac-10 honors from the league's coaches in his sophomore season. It marked the second Pac-10 honor for the Hopkins High School product, as he earned All-Pac-10 Freshman Team honors in 2009-10. The league selects a 10-man first team and a five-man second team. Lockett became the fourth Sun Devil to earn All-Pac-10 honors under Coach Sendek in his five seasons, joining Ty Abbott (first-team in 2009-10), James Harden (first-team in 2007-08 and 2008-09) and Jeff Pendergraph (2007-08 third-team and 2008-09 first-team). Lockett is the first player from Minnesota to earn All-Pac-10 honors. He also earned first-team Pac-10 All-Academic honors and was the only first-team Pac-10 All-Academic honoree to earn All-Pac-10 honors.

MORE TRENT
Had a then career-high 22 points in the season opener at New Mexico (Nov. 16) in 2010-11...off to a great start in 2011-12 with a double-double vs. Montana State (17 and 10) and 23 points and nine boards vs. Pepperdine on Nov. 15...two of his New Mexico dunks placed him No. 2 on SportsCenter's Top-10 that night...earned 2010-11 second-team All-Pac-10 honors...finished the year with 22 points in the Pac-10 Tournament as he made his first 10 shots vs. Oregon on March 9...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 32 double-figure scoring games...missed both games of the Oregon road trip on Dec. 30-Jan. 1 with a sprained big left toe...11-of-25 (.444) from the three-point stripe in past 13 games after starting last season 2-of-13...led team in scoring in each of the first two games averaging 20.0 points and in 15 times in his career...led team in rebounding a team-best 13 times in 2010-11 and 17 times in career...shared team lead or led team in assists eight times...also earned first-team Pac-10 All-Academic honors.

TRENT'S 20-POINT SCORING GAMES
24 vs. Weber State (Nov. 26, 2010)
23 vs. Pepperdine (Nov. 15, 2011)
22 vs. Oregon @Pac-10 Tournament (Mar. 9, 2011)
22 at New Mexico (Nov. 16, 2010)
20 vs. Washington State (Feb. 19, 2011)
20 at #20 Washington (Jan. 22, 2011)