Men's hoops season tips soon

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The men's basketball team opens its season with practice this weekend and fans will have a chance to see the team at 10 a.m., Oct. 22, for a scrimmage followed by autograph and pictures until noon at Wells Fargo Arena. Here are some other notes and nuggets as we tip off Herb Sendek's sixth season in Tempe (and some stuff will be added later). Keep in mind only five All-Pac-10 players return from last year, and the Sun Devils have one of them in junior Trent Lockett. Trent's 6.7 points per game increase last year was fifth-best in the league. That +6.7 increase is the best from first year to second year by a Sun Devil since Jeremy Veal went from 7.4 in 1994-95 to 18.9 in 1995-96 (+11.5).

HAVE TO REPLACE THREE GUYS WHO WON 80 GAMES IN FOUR SEASONS
Arizona State saw the careers of seniors Ty Abbott, Rihards Kuksiks and Jamelle McMillan come to a close in 2010-11 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.

BUT THE LAST TIME ASU HAD TO REPLACE A BUNCH OF SCORING
ASU loses 47 percent of its scoring from last season as it heads towards 2011-2012. One thing to remember...after the 2008-09 season the team lost 49 percent of its scoring 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 (22-10) in three straight seasons for the first time since JFK was President, 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. ASU was picked for seventh in the 2009-10 preseason media poll and tenth by Sporting News.

THEN AND NOW
ASU has three 20-win seasons under Herb Sendek in five years. How much has he changed the mindset in Tempe? It had three 20 win-seasons in the previous 25 seasons of Coach Sendek. The 2009-2010 season also was the first since 1994-95 (previous 15 seasons) that ASU did not have a three-game losing streak. After going 8-22 in Coach Sendek's first year (2006-2007), ASU is 80-53 (.602) since.

A RECENT PAC-10 COACH OF THE YEAR WINNER
Herb Sendek in 2009-10 became just the second Sun Devil to earn Pac-10 Coach of the Year honors in ASU's 32 years of Pac-10 play (Ned Wulk in 1979-80).

DON'T FORGET THIS GUY EARNED ALL-PAC-10 LAST YEAR
Trent Lockett earned 2010-11 second-team All-Pac-10 honors from the league's coaches. 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 first five seasons, joining 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 also is the first player from Minnesota to earn All-Pac-10 honors. He 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
Trent Lockett had a then career-high 22 points in the 2009-10 season opener at New Mexico (Nov. 16) where two of his dunks placed him No. 2 on SportsCenter's Top-10...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 30 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...finished season 8-of-18 (.444) from the three-point stripe after starting season 2-of-13...led team in scoring in each of the first four games averaging 20.8 points in those games and in 12 games on the season and in 13 times in his career...led team in rebounding a team-best 13 times in 2010-11 and 16 times in his career...also shared team lead or has led team in assists in eight games...also earned first-team Pac-10 All-Academic honors.

LINEUP
With its injuries and illnesses ASU used 11 starting lineups and 11 players made a start in 2010-11...only player to see action in all 31 games was freshman Kyle Cain...11 lineups was most by the Sun Devils since 2003-04 team started 13 and tied for third-most in 18 seasons...1996-97 (11 lineups) and 1995-96 (12) teams under Bill Frieder also tried different options...each of ASU's top four scorers missed at least two games due to injury including leading scorer Trent Lockett missing the Oregon road trip where ASU fell at Oregon State but beat Oregon...ASU had its full compliment of players in just 10 of 18 Pac-10 tilts in 2010-11.

ALL-PAC-10 SECOND-TEAM
Trent Lockett (Golden Valley, Minn.) earned 2010-11 second-team All-Pac-10 honors from the league's coaches as a sophomore. 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 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 also 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.

HE IS THAT YOUNG AND BEEN COACHING THAT LONG
Coach 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 turned 48 on Feb. 22, 2011. After coaching in more than 500 career games at three schools and in seven NCAA tournaments and having eight former assistants serving as head coaches at the D-I level, he also remains the third-youngest coach in the Pac-10 even with seven hires in the past three seasons.

YOUNGEST COACHES WITH 300 DIVISION I WINS
Billy Donovan, Florida, 395 (May 30, 1965)
Greg McDermott, Creighton, 303 (Nov. 25, 1964)
Steve Alford, New Mexico, 327 (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)

CAIN WAS ABLE
Kyle Cain finished the season averaging 5.4 rebounds per game, the sixth-best mark by a freshman in ASU history and third-best by Sun Devil freshman in the past 19 seasons. He had 17 rebounds vs. Houston Baptist on Nov. 25, the most by a Sun Devil since Jeff Pendergraph had 19 at Oregon on Feb. 8, 2007. The 17 boards is tied for second-most by a freshman in ASU history with Mario Bennett, who had 17 vs. Oregon on Feb. 1, 1992. Ike Diogu has the ASU freshman record with 18 vs. Oregon on March 13, 2003, in the Pac-10 Tournament. Cain then posted 16 boards vs. Long Beach State in 26 minutes on Dec. 21 and had 14 boards (but zero points) in just 23 minutes vs. North Carolina A&T on Dec. 23. He also shot .545 from the field (78-of-143), fifth-best by a freshman in ASU history. Kyle also led the Sun Devils in rebounding 11 times on the season.

FROSH
Two freshmen took advantage of some playing time late last season. Keala King averaged 13.8 minutes and 6.8 points in the final six games and was 14-of-17 (.824) from the free throw stripe in those tilts. He started the year 16-of-38 (.421) from the charity stripe. Chanse Creekmur led ASU to its 73-72 Feb. 19 win over Washington State with 18 points, including five three-pointers, just the second Sun Devil freshman to hit five three-pointers in a game in the past four seasons (Ty Abbott was the other). Creekmur averaged 17.8 minutes and 5.3 points in the final nine games and made 13-of-33 (.394) three-pointers in the final eight games.

BEST TREE IN THE LAND
Herb Sendek had eight former assistants who were D-I coaches in 2010-11, the best mark of any coach in the nation this past season and has added a ninth for 2011-12. Twelve-year sidekick Mark Phelps 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). Dayton's Archie Miller (assistant at both NC State and at Arizona State) became the ninth in spring of 2011.

HEAD COACH
Herb Sendek, 88-75 (.539) at ASU, finished his 18th season as a head coach in 2010-2011 and has averaged 19 wins per season. He led the NC State Wolfpack to five straight NCAA appearances from 2002-06 and is now 342-233 (.594) and was 191-132 (.591) at NC State. The 48-year-old (born Feb. 22, 1963) Pittsburgh, Pa., native remains is the fourth-youngest coach in the Pac-12 yet has the fourth-most career wins. 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).

CURRENT LONGEVITY AMONG PAC-10 COACHES (YEARS ENTERING AT SCHOOL)
Lorenzo Romar, Washington-Tenth Year
Ben Howland, UCLA-Eighth Year
Herb Sendek, ASU-Sixth Year
Johnny Dawkins, Stanford; Mike Montgomery, Cal; Craig Robinson, OSU-Fourth Year
Ken Bone, Washington State; Kevin O'Neill, USC; Sean Miller, UA-Third Year
Dana Altman, Oregon-Second Year

PAC-10 COACH OF YEAR NOTE
The Pac-10 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).