TEMPE, Ariz. – The wolverine is back in ASU center Jordan Bachynski’s game, and the Pac-12 is feeling the teeth.
A more physical Bachynski has become a force in the paint the last two weeks following a talk with his family and his Mormon mission president that cemented the notion that easy-going in the world and born-ready on the floor are not mutually exclusive.
“It’s tough to change from being a nice guy off the court to being an animal on the court. I just keep telling myself when I’m on the court, ‘Be an animal, be an animal, be an animal. Be aggressive. Go after the boards and score.' It’s not that I was too nice. It’s more that I wasn’t mean enough,” said Bachynski, a 7-foot-2 sophomore.
The change has been remarkable. Bachynski had 10 points and seven rebounds against Utah, and he followed that with nine points and a career-high 13 rebounds against Washington last Thursday. He had a career-high 11 points and two rebounds against Washington State, when foul trouble – the occasional price of physical play – limited him to 17 minutes in his third start of the season, his first since the Tulsa game Dec. 3.
After averaging 10 points and 7.3 rebounds in the last three games, Bachynski is expected to remain in the starting lineup for the Pac-12 weekend series against the Bay Area schools that begins Thursday against Stanford. The Sun Devils (7-14, 3-6) play at California on Saturday to complete their only games against the Bay Area schools this season.
“He can be tremendous for us once he starts to have a fingerprint on the game,” said Arizona State assistant coach Dedrique Taylor, who works with the big men in practice.
“You have to account for him as a presence around the rim, as far as affecting shots, and in scoring at the other end. We’ve always encouraged him to be more physical and have more of a presence. You can’t keep letting people move you like a feather.”
Bachynski first discovered the wolverine in his game while in high school in Calgary, Alberta.
“I was in a slump, and one of my mom’s really good friends who plays basketball said, ‘You have to stop playing like a little pussy cat and start playing like a wolverine.’ I needed to get back to that,” he said.
“I’ve been really working on my mental game, being able to focus and deliver in games. What has happened lately has been a culmination of things coming together. It’s taking it to them as opposed to them taking it to you.”
It has shown on the offensive end, where Bachynski has begun to widen his body and his elbows to establish position. He has made 11 of 15 field goal attempts in the last three games, all on inside moves, and has been a shot-changer at the other end. He blocked four shots in 19 minutes against Utah and had two more against Washington State, and despite limited playing time is sixth in Pac-12 games with 12 blocked shots.
“It all clicked before the Utah game. I’m working on being consistent, not only playing well in games but going as hard as I can in practice as well. Because I’m doing that, I believe my teammates have a lot more confidence in me. Instead of at the beginning of the year, when they’d pass me the ball and I’d drop it, they know that when they enter the ball, something good is going to come of it,” Bachynski said.
The wolverine also came out in a hard, legal screen Bachynski set on Washington freshman Tony Wroten a week ago, when Wroten was knocked to the floor and the Huskies called a timeout at the next dead ball.
“He cleaned his clock,” one observer said of the pick.
When Bachynski arrived at ASU two years ago, the athleticism that had top programs such as UConn among his suitors was evident. But so, too, was the rust from missing almost three years of competition. Bachynski missed most of his senior season at Las Vegas (Nev.) Findlay Prep because of a fractured ankle before spending two years on a church mission in the Miami area, where he was only able to pick up a ball once a week.
“During those two years, I had to be the nicest guy on the planet,” Bachynski said of his mission work.
Returning to the competitive game "was tough not only from that standpoint, but also from getting the speed of basketball going again. Last year, I was half a second late, and now I’m catching up to the speed of the game again.
"I don’t think I’m where I need to be or where I can be, so I’m just going to keep working hard and it is going to come together.”
Post players can take longer to develop, and Taylor said Bachynski’s arrival fits the timetable.
“He’s right on time,” Taylor said.
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What’s gone right? While it took awhile, ASU has returned to its old-school ways, doing things diving on the floor for loose balls and making the extra pass or two to find the best shot. Washington coach Lorenzo Romar was effusive in his praise of the ASU staff last week, saying “they put themselves in position at the end of the game to have a chance to win. That’s all you can ask for, especially when they are so undermanned.”
What’s gone wrong? It started with the inability of freshman point guard Jahii Carson to gain his eligibility. ASU had to trash the up-tempo offense it installed with Carson in mind because it did not have the personnel. Keala King was a bad fit at point and a sourpuss, and he was suspended and then dismissed one game into Pac-12 play. Top player Trent Lockett has missed the last six games with an ankle injury.
Pleasant surprise: Freshman Jonathan Gilling has blossomed since moving into the starting lineup three weeks ago. He has shown a nice touch from the outside, making 21 of 49 3-point attempts, and has a high basketball IQ. He has made the transition from deep reserve to go-to guy without much of a hitch, and if he continues, he'll be shoo-in for the Pac-12 All-Freshman team.
Needs to step up: It has been a difficult season for JC transfer Chris Colvin, who lost his job as starting point guard early in the nonconference season and was suspended twice. He fought through that with his best games the last two weeks in Lockett’s absence, and his play at the point will be critical moving forward.
Second-half forecast: ASU is playing its best ball of the season right now. The players have bought into the patient flex offense, and Gilling and Bachynski, especially, have taken their games to a higher level. With five home games in its final nine, it would not be a stretch to believe ASU could win at least as many games in the second half as it did in the first, especially if Lockett returns sooner rather than later. Projected Pac-12 record: 7-11.
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