I guess you could say we are in a rebuilding mode. Or are we? What ever we are going through, the rest of the PAC-10 is going through it too. It will be interesting to see how we deal with losing James Harden and Jeff Pendergraph to the NBA. One thing we have going for us is Herb Sendek. Sendek is one of the most talented coaches in the NCAA, who stresses fundamentals and defense. From allpac10.com; “Will ASU be able to survive without the superstar duo? I believe the answer is yes for one simple reason: Herb Sendek. Sendek has proven that his Devils can compete against anyone because of a deliberate offense and meticulously crafted zone defense. Aside from Pendergraph and Harden, ASU returns every major contributor from last season’s NCAA Tournament team. The challenge this year will be incorporating a talented freshman recruiting class into Sendek’s complicated system.” And it’s not like we are completely devoid of talent. Derek Glasser will be returning. This senior is tough as nails, humble, and had a better NCAA Tournament then James Harden last year. From statepress.com; “It’s definitely going to be a committee role. I’m not going to sit here and tell you we have a new James Harden. I’m not going to sit here and say I’m going to do everything he did, or Ty’s going to do everything he did. We have a team of role players — we don’t have a superstar now. Somebody’s going to have to step up, whether it’s me or it’s Ty or Rik, and be, I’m not going to say a star, but somebody’s going to have to offensively pick up some slack.” Another senior that is expected to step it up, is center Eric Boateng, he has improved and will be needed to hit the boards. The Sun Devils start the season Friday the 13th against Western Illinois.
