Arizona State opens the season at home on Nov. 18 against Florida A&M with the expectation of improving on last year's 10-21 record that was primarily of product of struggles on offense, especially in the turnover department.
There are reasons for hope, among them freshman point guard Jahii Carson, a big-time local recruit who was academically ineligible last year; there are also reasons ASU was picked to finish 11th in the conference at Pac-12 media day last week.
With both possibilities in mind, here are nine things to know about this year's Sun Devils as the season approaches.
1. ASU will do better than the 11th-place conference finish predicted by the Pac-12 media, and it is not much of a stretch to see the Sun Devils being markedly better. The Devils have a dynamic leader in point guard Jahii Carson, a scorer in off guard Evan Gordon, a post presence in Jordan Bachynski and an athletic small forward in Carrick Felix, who could flourish in an open-court game. The big question: How quickly can the team adapt to both its up-tempo offense and its new man-to-man defense?
2. Freshman point Jahii Carson will not be superman, but he will be very, very good. Carson was considered one of the best point guard recruits in the nation at Mesa High before failing to qualify academically last year, and there is no reason to believe any rust accumulated during his hiatus. Carson practiced with the team last year and has even more familiarity with forward Carrick Felix as an AAU teammate. ASU will put the ball in Carson’s hands and let him run with it, and that is fine with Carson, who said he models his game after NBA points Ty Lawson, Tony Parker and Steve Nash.
3. This will not be a typical Herb Sendek team on the defensive end. The Sun Devils are expected to primarily play man-to-man defense rather than the matchup zone Sendek preferred in his first six seasons. Man-to-man defines responsibilities to a much greater degree, making it (at least in theory) easier to play and thus causing fewer communication errors. The most visible change: There will not be a 7-foot center racing to the corner in an attempt to guard a 3-point shooter.
4. Transfer off guard Evan Gordon could be one of the top newcomers in the Pac-12 this season. Gordon, who sat out last season after transferring from Liberty, is the ice to Jahii Carson’s fire. Gordon has shown an ability to not only shoot from 3-point range but also feel his way to the basket, even at 6-foot-1. He can use both hands around the rim, and he was Liberty’s leading scorer at 14.4 points a game in 2010-11. The bloodlines are certainly present: Gordon’s brother, Eric, was a top offseason target of the Phoenix Suns before signing a matching offer sheet to remain with the Hornets in New Orleans. ASU will be glad there is one Gordon in town.
5. Coach Herb Sendek appears safe. There is much speculation in the press about Sendek’s vulnerability after two straight losing seasons and double-digit program defections in his tenure, although most of those departures were related to playing time. One preview magazine said a failure to make a postseason tournament “could spell trouble” for Sendek. Another said a low Pac-12 finish “could seal his fate.” New athletic director Steve Patterson weighed in Wednesday, saying “Herb is the right man for the job." Sendek’s contract runs through the 2015-16 season.
6. Junior center Jordan Bachynski began to assert himself more after a meeting with a family friend and adviser on the Sun Devils’ trip to Utah last season, a change that should carry over. Bachynski, 7-foot-2, averaged about 10 points and six rebounds in the final 13 games of last season, showing the talent that made him one of the top high school recruits in the country three years ago but lay fallow because of an ankle injury in his final year of high school and a two-year LDS mission after that. Bachynski has a nice touch around the basket, shooting 58 percent from the field last season, and he is agile enough to block shots.
7. The Sun Devils remain thin, even with newcomers Jahii Carson, Evan Gordon and Bo Barnes, a Scottsdale native and a transfer from Hawaii who is seen as a perimeter scoring threat after setting a Warriors freshman record with 57 made 3-pointers in 2010-11. Reserve center Ruslan Pateev is the only other true in-the-paint player other than Bachynski, and an injury to either Carson or Gordon could wreak more havoc in a backcourt that was understaffed last season. The Sun Devils had no answers when Carson was ruled ineligible last season. Freshman Eric Jacobsen, a 6-foot-10 forward/center from Chandler Hamilton, has played well in early practices and could work his way into the rotation.
8. Carson, 5-foot-10, has the game that ASU has lacked since $80 million man James Harden left three years ago and a swagger than even Harden did not posses, at least outwardly. Taken by themselves, Carson’s quotes about his ability and his potential impact make him appear a little cocky, even arrogant. But that is just fine with Sendek, who wants to see a more assertive attitude throughout the roster after the transfer of ultra-competitive Trent Lockett, who will play his final season at Marquette to be closer to his mother, who has been diagnosed with cancer.
9. Excessive turnovers, the major cause of the 10-21 season last year, will not be as much of a factor. Carson will push the ball and commit his share, but at least he understands the decision-making process involved in running the point, a mindset lacking in his absence when last year's Sun Devils averaged 16.3 turnovers a game, which ranked 328th out of the 338 Division I programs. Chris Colvin, Carson’s backup this season, showed more control and seemed to grow into the position by the end of last year. Wings Keala King and Trent Lockett, forced to play point at times last year, are gone.
