ASU moving up
Dick Vitale
SPECIAL TO ESPN.COM
What a special hoops story unfolding at Arizona State. I am talking about a program that has made one NCAA tournament appearance in the last 12 years. Yes, the name is Herb Sendek, and he is helping write this tremendous story.
I am talking about the same guy that took North Carolina State to five consecutive (2002-2006) years to the NCAA, but it was never good enough. Sendek is the former disciple of Rick Pitino, where he served on one of the greatest staffs with cohorts Tubby Smith, Billy Donovan and Ralph Willard. My friends, Mr. Sendek is now finally getting some RESPECT!
His Sun Devils have jumped out to a 13-2 mark, including a blowout of Xavier. Arizona State finally ended a streak of 12 consecutive losses to rival Arizona. The resume also has a win over Oregon.
What a difference a year makes. Last season, the Sun Devils won just two Pac-10 games, finishing 8-22 overall. This season, Sendek some more of his own players in, including a brilliant diaper dandy in James Harden. There is more depth with a host of other solid young players.
Sendek has had success wherever he has been. His record speaks for itself, a .600 win percentage in his time as a head coach at Miami-Ohio, NC State and now Arizona State.
It certainly will not get easy as life in the Pac 10 this year will be a real challenge. On January 17th, the Arizona State quintet hits the road for a tough assignment versus California, followed by a showdown against Stanford.
You get the picture, there will be some L's baby, but every game will not be a "final exam" as it was in Raleigh. That was life on Tobacco Road where the expectations were very, very high. Yes, going against North Carolina and Duke was difficult, and it is pretty tough to coach when you have to live game to game.
Sendek is happy out in the Pac-10, enjoying sunshine and success out in Tempe.
Brian in MesaAdvocatus Diaboli
Dback JonDoing it My Way