2005-06 ASU Hoops

[MaoTosiFanClub]

Not to change the subject away from Devils basektball, but how is this year's Arizona team "a mess?"

 

[Lefty]

Just a gut feeling. It's not like I'm a master prognosticator, as I've had to take a break from getting my ass handed to me lately.

I've seen ASU. Are they good? No. Is UofA good? Depends on how you view ball. In a traditional sense, this year's UofA team is a mess. I don't care who they've played. But, they're good enough to be a top 3 team in the PAC (which isn't saying much).

At least Evans has this team playing hard. Win or lose, the guys seem to do what's asked of them... even though it's usually not good enough.

Please. The UofA is good. They have the talent to go far in the NCAA this year. Lute has gone on record as saying by February, this team will be just as good as last year's team. I listen to a Hall of Fame coach rahter than an ASU fan. In three of the UofA's four loses, which are all ranked in the top-25, the Cats played them tough and had the chance to win. Who has ASU played? They lost to freaking Utah Valley State.

You say at least Evans has the Devils playing hard. So what, you definitely have a different meaning to playing hard than I do. The Cats play hard all game and the results show it. You obviously have not seen the UofA played. They play their a$$es off on defense. Look at the opponents turnovers when they play the Cats.

Evans is the worst coach in the Pac-10. He is a very dumb coach and it shows on the court. How could they let USC shoot a three in the final seconds the other night? Horrible coaching. Have they not practiced that? What about that great coaching at the end of yesterday's loss to UCLA. Where was the defense?

 

[sly fly]

Please. The UofA is good. They have the talent to go far in the NCAA this year. Lute has gone on record as saying by February, this team will be just as good as last year's team. I listen to a Hall of Fame coach rahter than an ASU fan. In three of the UofA's four loses, which are all ranked in the top-25, the Cats played them tough and had the chance to win. Who has ASU played? They lost to freaking Utah Valley State.

You say at least Evans has the Devils playing hard. So what, you definitely have a different meaning to playing hard than I do. The Cats play hard all game and the results show it. You obviously have not seen the UofA played. They play their a$$es off on defense. Look at the opponents turnovers when they play the Cats.

Evans is the worst coach in the Pac-10. He is a very dumb coach and it shows on the court. How could they let USC shoot a three in the final seconds the other night? Horrible coaching. Have they not practiced that? What about that great coaching at the end of yesterday's loss to UCLA. Where was the defense?

Wow. Your reading comprehension skills need some work. Why don't you re-read what I said...

As far as UofA being a "mess" in the traditional sense? Yes, compared to past Lute Olson teams, I believe they're vulnerable.

Before the year started, most UofA fans were preaching dominance. Instead, I see...

... an erratic point guard in Shakur.
... an erratic, wannabe 3 point gunner in Rodgers.
... inconsistency from Radenovic and Walters.
... a dominant Adams. Better hope he stays healthy.
... a great freshman in Williams.
... more one-on-one offense from the wrong guys.

I simply predicted ASU would beat the UofA. I didn't say UofA would not make the tournament. And, I did say ASU stinks. Don't get your panties all bunched up, Zona90.

 

[Arizona's Finest]

Just a gut feeling. It's not like I'm a master prognosticator, as I've had to take a break from getting my ass handed to me lately.

I've seen ASU. Are they good? No. Is UofA good? Depends on how you view ball. In a traditional sense, this year's UofA team is a mess. I don't care who they've played. But, they're good enough to be a top 3 team in the PAC (which isn't saying much).

At least Evans has this team playing hard. Win or lose, the guys seem to do what's asked of them... even though it's usually not good enough.

The key sentence is the bolded one Cat fans........

The comment about not being a top 3 team in the Pac is asinine. UCLA played the game of their lives against UA and credit is due to them for that. Farmar and Affalo are players to watch. Saying that they are just as inconsistent as they lost to a average Cal team at home and could not follow up there strong effort against a crap team like ASU...

I was dissapointed in the UCLA loss but they were due and Shakur had a bad game of epic proportions. Farmar is that good though......With a win there, we would have been the team to beat. But reinforcements are arriving and while i am disappointed in Walters and Shakur, Adams and Williams have lived up to their hype (and Williams even more so....)

So if UCLA is our only main comp (and it looks that way with WSU beating U-Dub) i like our chances, especially in the revenge game in LA. Expect the Wildcats on a whole to be playing better (thats the trademark of well coached teams Devil fans....i'll get someone to fill in the details of that at a later point) and i expect Hassan to have a BIG game in his final one in LA.

UA's biggest problem from year to year is motivation. They are always well coached and talented. But they lack mental toughness. UCLA was more of the same after the sweep in Washington and injuries to UCLA. For the first time all year the defense was non-exisitent. Fortunatly like they always do, they followed up with an a$$-whupping on a talented USC team.

The Cats will be playing their best ball come March, especially if McClellan starts playing like he did in last years tourney. ASU's golf games will be in full swings and spring break plans will be in full force come March in Tempe......

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

As far as UofA being a "mess" in the traditional sense? Yes, compared to past Lute Olson teams, I believe they're vulnerable.

Every team is vulnerable. Does Arizona have more flaws than Duke or UConn? Of course, but they're still a Top 25 team with an impact player still waiting to take the court. As far as recent history goes, they're certainly better than the 2003-2004 disaster but worse than last year's team mostly due to the lack of an interior presence.

Before the year started, most UofA fans were preaching dominance. Instead, I see...

Who predicted dominance? The only "dominant" Arizona teams I have ever seen were the 1998 and 2003 squads and even those teams had flaws seeing in that they were both bounced from the Tourney in the Elite 8. This is roughly like the team I thought I was going to see except we're much better defensively (top 10 nationally) than I thought and much worse offensively.

... an erratic point guard in Shakur.
... an erratic, wannabe 3 point gunner in Rodgers.
... inconsistency from Radenovic and Walters.
... a dominant Adams. Better hope he stays healthy.
... a great freshman in Williams.
... more one-on-one offense from the wrong guys.

- Agree on Shakur. For every game he looks like he's the second coming of Tony Parker there's one where he looks like the second coming of Jason Braxton.

- Rodgers has been erratic especially from the field but his defense makes up for it. I actually think Rodgers has been the second best player on the team this year.

- Arizona frontcourts with the exception of the Wright/Jefferson/Woods days have always been inconsistent. Guard play is much more important in the NCAA that frontcourt play. The Arizona bigs just need to rebound better as the scoring will come from elsewhere.

- Adams has never had injury problems so it's doubtful any flares up now. Generally terrific athletes like Hassan stay way from the injury bug *knock on wood*

- Williams is a stud. I've read scouts are already drooling all over the guy. Imagine his effectiveness when he actually fills out.

- Most Arizona fans are intent on blaming the players, but I also think the offensive scheme this year is lacking. Arizona has always run a pro-style one-on-one offense, but this year it seems even worse. But I want to see what we look like in a couple weeks after getting McClellan in before panicking.

 

[sly fly]

Looks like your reading comprehension skills needs some touching up, as well.

Why don't you re-read what I wrote in which I stated "UofA IS a top-3 team in the PAC"...

Yeah, UofA's biggest problem has always been motivation. RIIIIIGGGGHHHTT. You're god's gift to the college world. If UofA came prepared every night, they would be 425-0.

Ass-whooping on USC? UofA was up 32-30 at halftime... at home.

Myopia at it's finest.

 

[sly fly]

Every team is vulnerable. Does Arizona have more flaws than Duke or UCONN? Of course, but they're still a Top 25 team with an impact player still waiting to take the court. As far as recent history goes, they're certainly better than the 2003-2004 disaster but worse than last year's team mostly due to the lack of an interior presence.


Who predicted dominance? The only "dominant" Arizona teams I have ever seen were the 1998 and 2003 squads and even those teams had flaws seeing in that they were both bounced from the Tourney in the Elite 8. This is roughly like the team I thought I was going to see except we're much better defensively (top 10 nationally) than I thought and much worse offensively.



- Agree on Shakur. For every game he looks like he's the second coming of Tony Parker there's one where he looks like the second coming of Jason Braxton.

- Rodgers has been erratic especially from the field but his defense makes up for it. I actually think Rodgers has been the second best player on the team this year.

- Arizona frontcourts with the exception of the Wright/Jefferson/Woods days have always been inconsistent. Guard play is much more important in the NCAA that frontcourt play. The Arizona bigs just need to rebound better as the scoring will come from elsewhere.

- Adams has never had injury problems so it's doubtful any flares up now. Generally terrific athletes like Hassan stay way from the injury bug *knock on wood*

- Williams is a stud. I've read scouts are already drooling all over the guy. Imagine his effectiveness when he actually fills out.

- Most Arizona fans are intent on blaming the players, but I also think the offensive scheme this year is lacking. Arizona has always run a pro-style one-on-one offense, but this year it seems even worse. But I want to see what we look like in a couple weeks after getting McClellan in before panicking.

Everything you wrote makes perfect sense.

 

[Arizona's Finest]

Looks like your reading comprehension skills needs some touching up, as well.

Why don't you re-read what I wrote in which I stated "UofA IS a top-3 team in the PAC"...

Yeah, UofA's biggest problem has always been motivation. RIIIIIGGGGHHHTT. You're god's gift to the college world. If UofA came prepared every night, they would be 425-0.

Ass-whooping on USC? UofA was up 32-30 at halftime... at home.

Myopia at it's finest.

Usually i just gloss over ASU hoops thread posts so you are lucky i got that much of your post right....

Umm talent wise i think they have put out the best NBA players over the last ten years....that developing has a lot to so with the excellent coaching they have recieved from there hall of fame coaching as well....so i dont think i am going out on a limb by saying they are not hurting talent and coaching wise.....does that mean they go 425-0....well i guess only a devil fan makes that correlation....apparently college basketball (and understandly so) is not your strong suit....

Even a highly talented, well coached, AND highly motivated team doesn't win EVERY game they line up to play...(see Rose Bowl 2006)

You are right 32-30 at the half isn't exactly dominating the enitire game....but i think you would agree its much better than 66-65 losing final score....at home

Myopia? I got some better words for you....how about irrelevent...obsolete....appalling.....depressing.....dismal......try beating us for gods sakes before you become the resident critic on what constitutes a good basketball team......

 

[Lefty]

Wow. Your reading comprehension skills need some work. Why don't you re-read what I said...

As far as UofA being a "mess" in the traditional sense? Yes, compared to past Lute Olson teams, I believe they're vulnerable.

Before the year started, most UofA fans were preaching dominance. Instead, I see...

... an erratic point guard in Shakur.
... an erratic, wannabe 3 point gunner in Rodgers.
... inconsistency from Radenovic and Walters.
... a dominant Adams. Better hope he stays healthy.
... a great freshman in Williams.
... more one-on-one offense from the wrong guys.

I simply predicted ASU would beat the UofA. I didn't say UofA would not make the tournament. And, I did say ASU stinks. Don't get your panties all bunched up, Zona90.

I sure would like to read all those UofA fans posts regarding dominance. I thought with the loss of Frye and Salim Lute would have his work cut out for him.

As for this team being a mess, most every team goes through some ups and downs. Look at the Cats 1997 and 2001 teams, both made it to the championsip game. The 1997 team was without Miles Simon for the begining and they finished in 5th in the Pac-10.

The 2001 team did not get off to a great start. Bobbi Olson passed away and Lute took some time off. That team was a mess. I thought after they had lost to Missiissippi State in the Fiesta Bowl Classicthat they would not make the Big Dance. The team got it going and if not for Gilbert Arenas getting hurt in the Final Four against Michigan State and Luke Walton having a broken finger, I truly believe they would of taken care of Duke in the finals.

If you knew anything about the Cats, Shakur has been erratic since he got here. Many fans I know were saying Prince would be starting by the start of Pac-10 season. Prince is the future along with recruit Nic Wise coming in next year.

Walters has never been a focal point and has been replaced in the starting lineup. Radenovic has been injured and has shown some up and downs, but since had a strong talking he has had two strong games.

If you want, I would glady make a wager with you on the two games the UofA and ASU play this year.

 

[Lefty]

[QUOTE Myopia? I got some better words for you....how about irrelevent...obsolete....appalling.....depressing.....dismal......try beating us for gods sakes before you become the resident critic on what constitutes a good basketball team......[/QUOTE]

Since Lute has arrived at the UofA he has flatout dominated the Devils. His record is 39-6. Enough said.

 

[Lefty]

Read this in this morning's AZ Daily Star. It just shows Lute knows how to coach develop and coach talent.

Through Wednesday's games, Arizona's NBA players combined to average 138.1
points per game. Here's some context: no other college team is close. UConn was
second at 119.9, followed by Duke at 117.6 and North Carolina at 104.8. Kansas
(77.3) and Kentucky (65.2) are in the pack.

Of all the recruiting tools available to Lute Olson, that has got to be among
the best.

The list: Gilbert Arenas at 29.7, Mike Bibby at 19.5, Richard Jefferson at 19.3,
Jason Terry at 16.4, Channing Frye at 14.3, Andre Iguodala at 11.8, injured
Damon Stoudamire at 11.7, Salim Stoudamire at 9.8 and Luke Walton at 5.6.

Arizona's previous best year for NBA scoring was 2002, when it pooled for 104.5
per game with Sean Rooks, Steve Kerr, Jud Buechler and Chris Mills still in the
league.

Frye's 30-point effort Friday against Washington, his second 30-point game this
season, was achieved in just 26 minutes. It also included his second three-point
basket of the year. Frye's Arizona high was 30 last season at Washington.

 

[HooverDam]

Thats kind of a stupid stat. Lute/UofA are known for producing great guards, and guards often score a lot. Especially shooting guards. I wonder what college team leads the NBA in blocks or steals or rebounds, probably not the UofA. That stat is highly biased to the type of player UofA produces.

 

[Russ Smith]

The key sentence is the bolded one Cat fans........

The comment about not being a top 3 team in the Pac is asinine. UCLA played the game of their lives against UA and credit is due to them for that. Farmar and Affalo are players to watch. Saying that they are just as inconsistent as they lost to a average Cal team at home and could not follow up there strong effort against a crap team like ASU...

I was dissapointed in the UCLA loss but they were due and Shakur had a bad game of epic proportions. Farmar is that good though......With a win there, we would have been the team to beat. But reinforcements are arriving and while i am disappointed in Walters and Shakur, Adams and Williams have lived up to their hype (and Williams even more so....)

So if UCLA is our only main comp (and it looks that way with WSU beating U-Dub) i like our chances, especially in the revenge game in LA. Expect the Wildcats on a whole to be playing better (thats the trademark of well coached teams Devil fans....i'll get someone to fill in the details of that at a later point) and i expect Hassan to have a BIG game in his final one in LA.

UA's biggest problem from year to year is motivation. They are always well coached and talented. But they lack mental toughness. UCLA was more of the same after the sweep in Washington and injuries to UCLA. For the first time all year the defense was non-exisitent. Fortunatly like they always do, they followed up with an a$$-whupping on a talented USC team.

The Cats will be playing their best ball come March, especially if McClellan starts playing like he did in last years tourney. ASU's golf games will be in full swings and spring break plans will be in full force come March in Tempe......

Wow where to start?

Shakur's bad game had zero to do with Farmar who was a virtual non factor until the end of the game. Shakur was destroyed by a freshman, Darren Collison. There was a rumor that Shakur had a touch of the flu, but he seemed fine on Saturday so I don't know if that's true.

Agree that UCLA played extremely well, they shot the lights out.

That said having seen UA/UCLA and UA/USC Saturday I gotta say did the Pac10 change refs? I've never seen so much mugging allowed by the refs, Rodgers is a terrific defender but he was manhandling Collison and getting away with it and in the USC game he did the same thing. UCLA turns it over enough as it is on their own, without a team being allowed to literally trip the guy with the ball and get away with it. I'm still amazed UCLA turned it over that much and won. To say UA didn't play defense in that game is inaccurate, they forced a ton of turnovers, the problem was when UCLA did NOT turn it over, they got a lot of easy shots, got rolling, and then hit some more difficult shots. UA's aggressiveness at times resulted in layups or dunks by UCLA when Collison or Farmar got inside.

UA getting McClellan back is huge, not sure who he bumps out of the lineup as Williams is clearly playing well, and they certainly don't want to demote Shakur and put Rodgers at PG. My guess is McClellan is 6th man until he's sharp and then Williams becomes 6th man. UA should get better as Jawaan gets into it, and as Williams continues to get better. Getting anything from prince would be good for them too.

Contrast that with UCLA. They've had more injuries than the other 9 teams in teh conference combined. The rumor is Bozeman may try playing again in 2-3 weeks, we'll see.

Now you take the current roster, Shipp is playing his way into shape, should easily get better as the year goes on. Farmar should improve. Collison is inconsistent but again should improve as most freshmen with his talent do. Wright's ankle is starting to heal and he's starting to get better, needs work on defense and rebounding, but again should be much better later in the year. Aboya had 2 knee surgeries to rehab from, he's getting better visibly, again defense and blocking out to rebound need work but he's the most skilled low post scorer of the 3 freshman bigs, and will continue to improve. Luc is playing well and beginning to show signs of offense.

I think of the 4 teams currently at the top, it's hard to argue that any of them figure to improve any more than UCLA given all their injuries and that UCLA plays 4 freshman MAJOR minutes in their rotation. UCLA has had 9 scholarship players in practice recently, just getting some guys healthy for practice will make an impact.

UW is also young in some key areas and figures to improve.

Cal has the best frontline and a nice starting 5, but very little depth beyond Benson.

I consider UA the biggest threat in the conference because they have experience in Adams and Rodgers(and Shakur) young talent coming on, and a great coach. UW has talent and arguably the best player in the conference in Brandon Roy, but I'm not a big fan of Romar. Cal lacks depth. I think it's going to be wide open but I don't think McClellan's return automatically pushes UA to the top, there are clearly other teams who are also going to get much better and UCLA figures to be one of them.

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

Tell me Russ - Were you this upset with the refs when Cameron Dollar mugged opposing Pac-10 guards for four consecutive seasons?

 

[Russ Smith]

Tell me Russ - Were you this upset with the refs when Cameron Dollar mugged opposing Pac-10 guards for four consecutive seasons?

Well he didn't do it to the extent Rodgers does because UCLA didn't play that full court defense like UA is doing. Dollar certainly was a hands on defender don't deny it at all. And now he's at UW breaking recruiting rules.

Don't get me wrong, Rodgers is a phenomenal defender, he strips everyone, but twice in that game he literally tripped Collison and got away with it. Of course one of the reasons he gets so fired up for UCLA is that last year Olson said Afflalo was the best defender in the conference, as a freshman. Lute is no dummy he said that to fire up Rodgers and he repeated it before the game Thursday when asked about Afflalo on Adams, said best defender in the conference. He is smart enough to fire up Rodgers and it worked.

Glad UA gets McClellan back want to see more strong Pac 10 teams so we can make a bigger impact in the NCAA tourney this year.

 

[Arizona's Finest]

Wow where to start?

Shakur's bad game had zero to do with Farmar who was a virtual non factor until the end of the game. Shakur was destroyed by a freshman, Darren Collison. There was a rumor that Shakur had a touch of the flu, but he seemed fine on Saturday so I don't know if that's true.

Agree that UCLA played extremely well, they shot the lights out.

That said having seen UA/UCLA and UA/USC Saturday I gotta say did the Pac10 change refs? I've never seen so much mugging allowed by the refs, Rodgers is a terrific defender but he was manhandling Collison and getting away with it and in the USC game he did the same thing. UCLA turns it over enough as it is on their own, without a team being allowed to literally trip the guy with the ball and get away with it. I'm still amazed UCLA turned it over that much and won. To say UA didn't play defense in that game is inaccurate, they forced a ton of turnovers, the problem was when UCLA did NOT turn it over, they got a lot of easy shots, got rolling, and then hit some more difficult shots. UA's aggressiveness at times resulted in layups or dunks by UCLA when Collison or Farmar got inside.

UA getting McClellan back is huge, not sure who he bumps out of the lineup as Williams is clearly playing well, and they certainly don't want to demote Shakur and put Rodgers at PG. My guess is McClellan is 6th man until he's sharp and then Williams becomes 6th man. UA should get better as Jawaan gets into it, and as Williams continues to get better. Getting anything from prince would be good for them too.

Contrast that with UCLA. They've had more injuries than the other 9 teams in teh conference combined. The rumor is Bozeman may try playing again in 2-3 weeks, we'll see.

Now you take the current roster, Shipp is playing his way into shape, should easily get better as the year goes on. Farmar should improve. Collison is inconsistent but again should improve as most freshmen with his talent do. Wright's ankle is starting to heal and he's starting to get better, needs work on defense and rebounding, but again should be much better later in the year. Aboya had 2 knee surgeries to rehab from, he's getting better visibly, again defense and blocking out to rebound need work but he's the most skilled low post scorer of the 3 freshman bigs, and will continue to improve. Luc is playing well and beginning to show signs of offense.

I think of the 4 teams currently at the top, it's hard to argue that any of them figure to improve any more than UCLA given all their injuries and that UCLA plays 4 freshman MAJOR minutes in their rotation. UCLA has had 9 scholarship players in practice recently, just getting some guys healthy for practice will make an impact.

UW is also young in some key areas and figures to improve.

Cal has the best frontline and a nice starting 5, but very little depth beyond Benson.

I consider UA the biggest threat in the conference because they have experience in Adams and Rodgers(and Shakur) young talent coming on, and a great coach. UW has talent and arguably the best player in the conference in Brandon Roy, but I'm not a big fan of Romar. Cal lacks depth. I think it's going to be wide open but I don't think McClellan's return automatically pushes UA to the top, there are clearly other teams who are also going to get much better and UCLA figures to be one of them.

Russ I respect your view point more than anyone elses in a consistent matter so i will let you in on something....I have been unable to watch many cat games (i have seen five total) including the UCLA game due to my living in florida and having no time. But i do read every last article and talk to my friends back home to get more insight.....so i will defer to you on this....

But after watching Farmar a few games this year, i just love what he brings to the table....I assumed Shakurs bad game had to do with Farmar using his big body and denying penetration....with him, Affallo and Shipp there is a great nucleus in place that shoudl get the Pac-10 title next year no questions asked...I love ben Howland too and was very upset that UCLA actually made a good hire

My defense comment was in relation to the shooting percentage UCLA had (was it not like 60%)...having not seen the game i will once again defer but i would think that % had got to be the highest of the year for an opposing team, and so by default, their "worst defensive perfomance"

But i do think you are undervaluing McClellan.....i watched every Cat game last year and i got the same feeling from him (esp later in the year) that i currently get with Marcus Williams, although the numbers are no where near the same....but he adjusted well on a senior team last year to the college level and you would be hard pressed to find a Cat fan who doesn't think he was the fourth best player onlast years team, even as a freshman recieving limited minutes....so im hoping the time off has not cause to much problem and that he can step in an complement Adams....

 

[Arizona's Finest]

Thats kind of a stupid stat. Lute/UofA are known for producing great guards, and guards often score a lot. Especially shooting guards. I wonder what college team leads the NBA in blocks or steals or rebounds, probably not the UofA. That stat is highly biased to the type of player UofA produces.

A valid point....I'm wondering if ASU has enough players in the NBA to qualify for most DNP-CD

 

[Russ Smith]

But i do think you are undervaluing McClellan.....i watched every Cat game last year and i got the same feeling from him (esp later in the year) that i currently get with Marcus Williams, although the numbers are no where near the same....but he adjusted well on a senior team last year to the college level and you would be hard pressed to find a Cat fan who doesn't think he was the fourth best player onlast years team, even as a freshman recieving limited minutes....so im hoping the time off has not cause to much problem and that he can step in an complement Adams....

Gotcha.

My comment on Farmar was he really didn't play that much, 24 minutes, to 30 by Collison, and for the most part Shakur was on Collison because Collison was playing PG. They used farmar some at SG to take pressure off him having to handle the ball since his ankle is bad. SHakur was on Farmar at times but not that much IMHO.

At half Lute said he was mad at Shakur for not forcing Farmar left, he said something like he's not strong enough to go left, we can't let him go right. I think he meant because of the ankle, but it struck me as odd for that very reason Shakur was getting killed by Collison, not Farmar.

I like McClellan and I do think he'll make a difference no question, I'm just not clear how much because I kind of doubt he and Williams will play a lot together. Rodgers is NOT a PG so you need Shakur, and I think trying to play Hassan or Williams or McClellan in place of Walters or Radenovic will expose pretty quickly their lack of strength inside.

For example UCLA did that last year playing Dijon Thompson at PF, he led the team in rebounds and scoring but he got actually killed on defense, Rod Benson, David Paris, a bunch of mediocre bigmen lit him up last year. Mboute isn't really a PF either but the interior defense from him has been much improved from Thompson because he's stronger. I think if UA puts either Williams or McClellan in the lineup in place of Walters they're going to find themselves playing Hassan Adams at PF and that takes away from his freedom to play passing lanes.

I really like UA I just think that UCLA figures to improve as much from simple health and freshmen improvement, as UA will from getting McClellan back.

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

Not to pile on ASU fans, but something got me wondering about how incompetent Rob Evans truly is. Had ASU gotten all the solid players from this state that Lute didn't want (Haryasz, Dewitz, Fontenet, Hill, etc.) to go with the solid guys he's brought in like Millage and Diogu, how much better would threy be over the last few years? I'm sorry, but a lot of Evans apologists use the "there's no good players in Arizona" excuse to dismiss the horrific job Rob has done during his tenure. If you look around the Pac-10, that's simply not the truth.

 

[DevilPrideBAS]

Every loss is another step closer to a new era in ASU basketball, a new era without Rob Evans. I cant wait to see the day.

 

[AZBALLER]

Since when did Lute decide that he didn't want Matt???

Although, I agree with your main point Mao.

But, the problem at ASU isn't only talent, it's also bad coaching and gameplanning...As much as I hate Lute, I think he could take ASU's team to the tourney this year...There is plenty of talent and depth on ASU's team right now...

Furthermore, I think the problems might stem from having a staff of mostly incompetent assistants...

 

[sly fly]

As much as I hate Lute, I think he could take ASU's team to the tourney this year...There is plenty of talent and depth on ASU's team right now...

You're kidding, right?

Jeff Pendergraph gives hope to the next coach and Kevin Krueger is as good as a gamer gets at the collegiate level.

Atuahene and Seay "might" develop into solid, consistent players.

Beyond that, the cupboard is bare. This program has hit the wall faster than Pamela Anderson on Hep C.

The in-state talent is vastly underrated by A LOT of big-name programs. Gone are the days in which this state produces 1-2 solid D-1 players.

Evans seems like a great guy, who takes kids and molds them into students first- athletes second. He took over a program who was looking straight at the "Death Penalty". He did the best he could, but caught some unlucky breaks along the way... so now it's time to move on.

IMO, the school needs to make a big splash with a big-name, respected coach. Despite what some cynists think, ASU can build a traditional basketball power. With the in-state talent growing every year, I see no reason why this coach can't land 1-2 of the best EVERY YEAR.

Lisa Love can't afford to see 2,000 at Wells Fargo every other Thursday and Saturday night. Hell, her jobs on the line if she can't put her fingerprint on the program.

 

[DevilPrideBAS]

Evans seems like a great guy, who takes kids and molds them into students first- athletes second.

Did you catch the article in the Arizona Republic a couple days ago? ASU bball has the worst graduation percentage in the entire Pac-10. Basically this means Evans needs to pack his bags. U of A has players leave early every year, and they still have a better graduation percentage than us. Its frickin riduculous and after this year of misery, the program better be going in a new direction, because it cant get much worse.

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

Since when did Lute decide that he didn't want Matt???

Although, I agree with your main point Mao.

But, the problem at ASU isn't only talent, it's also bad coaching and gameplanning...As much as I hate Lute, I think he could take ASU's team to the tourney this year...There is plenty of talent and depth on ASU's team right now...

Furthermore, I think the problems might stem from having a staff of mostly incompetent assistants...

First, you're right that Lute did want Haryasz but he had no scholarships available for him and invited him to walk-on. They had just brought in Latimore, Frye, and Isaiah Fox who were all highly regarded for whatever reason. And also at the time of his recruitment Lute was counting on Recker and Ndubi Ebi being in an Arizona uniform. In hindsight it was a stupid move and one that has haunted the program this year.

And I vehemently disagree about the talent thing. Yeah, ASU would be ebtter with Lute at the helm but nobody could coach these guys to the Tournament. Your best player is Kevin Kruger who's a smart, hustling player but is very average and limited athletically. There's some hope on the horizon as Pendergraph, Seay, and Antwi look like they could be good down the road but they need a real coach around to get the most out of their abilities. Most players just don't develop under Rob Evans.

 

[Lefty]

Does any ASU fan think the Devils can beat the UofA Wednesday? A few weeks ago I said they couldn't beat the Cats but now that Jawann and Rodgers are out, I think this game could go either way.

ASU plays a lot better at home. Losing to USC and UCLA by one and giving Stanford all they can handle shows that teams can't just go there expecting to win.

Outside shooting favors ASU as the Cats have no consistent guy who they can rely on from the outside. This is one area where they definitely miss Salim.

Should be a very close game.