Despite the team's lack of experience, expectations are high as ASU men's basketball kicks off action tonight at Wells Fargo Arena against the EA Sports All-Stars.
The key components of a team that finished fourth in the Pac-10 and advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament are still around. The Sun Devils have another year of experience, and the taste of postseason play is fresh in their systems.
Despite the return of Ike Diogu, one of the best players in the country, and two-year starter Jason Braxton, some basketball experts are predicting the Sun Devils to finish near the bottom of the conference. In a recent poll of Pac-10 media, the writers believe ASU is the seventh-best team in the Pac-10.
A few preseason magazines also have pegged the Sun Devils to finish as low as eighth, making a return trip to March Madness look like a pipe dream.
"I think we're going to win the Pac-10 championship; I really do," senior guard and team co-captain Brandon Goldman said. "We have a lot of depth and a lot of guys who are underrated. I'm very confident we're going to do well this year."
Still, a few question marks are lingering around the team, and the Sun Devils will have to answer them if they want to make back-to-back trips to the NCAA tournament for the first time since the 1980-81 season:
1. Who are these guys?
The Sun Devils feature a roster that includes eight players who have yet to play at the Division I level. Most pundits have cited this as the main flaw of a squad that lost three of last year's starters and two bench players who saw action at critical times.
ASU head coach Rob Evans understands his team is young but believes his group of new players, which includes four high school recruits and a junior college transfer, is ready to take over the team.
"This is a very young basketball team," Evans said. "The biggest improvement we made is we got guys who can put the ball in the hole."
Leading Evans' new-look group of youngsters is Steve Moore. A 6-foot-4 guard, Moore follows in the footsteps of Curtis Millage, a fellow southpaw and Los Angeles native. While not as quick as the elusive Millage, Moore has a better jump shot and should battle for playing time at both guard positions immediately.
"I think fundamentally, he's a lot further along then most [junior college] players who I have had over the years," Evans said. "He's a tough kid and understands the game of basketball."
Joining Moore in the youthful backcourt is freshman Tron Smith. The Moreno Valley, Calif., native comes from the same high school Braxton did and brings a sense of toughness to the team. At 6-foot-2 and 195 pounds, Smith has an incredible leaping ability (40-inch vertical) but also can score from three-point range (42 percent from behind the stripe during his senior year of high school).
"He's probably the best athlete on this team," Evans said of Smith, who looks like he has the body to suit up and play safety for the football team. "He brings everything to the table that I like in a basketball player."
Forwards Wilfried Fameni and Chris Low join the team as bigger men who could see a lot of action. Fameni, a native of Cameroon, combines the skills he learned as a soccer player with his 6-foot-7, 230-pound frame that allows him to be a threat both inside and outside. At 6-foot-8 and 220 pounds, Low has a surprising touch for a player his size but also can bang with the big guys.
Joining the tall players is Keith Wooden, a 6-foot-8 forward out of Lawrence, Kan. Wooden is expected to come in and help Diogu down low for the Sun Devils and has a look that will remind older ASU fans of Mario Bennett from the 1994-95 season.
Rounding up the new faces that are expected to make an impact is redshirt freshman Kevin Kruger, a feisty point guard from Marietta, Ga. Kruger has the purest jump shot on the team and is expected to back up Braxton.
2. How can Ike top last year?
No one, including Diogu himself, expected last year's breakout season. The Garland, Texas, native earned Pac-10 Freshman of the Year honors and was the only freshman named an All-Pac-10 player after averaging 19.0 points and 7.8 boards per game. He joined Syracuse's Carmelo Anthony, the third pick in the 2003 NBA Draft, as the only freshmen to receive votes for Associated Press All-American.
This year, Diogu won't be surprising anyone. He's been a consensus first-team preseason All-American and is a candidate for the coveted John Wooden Award, which is given to the best player in college hoops. Both the sports media and double teams will surround the 6-foot-8 forward at all times, a problem Diogu doesn't seem to mind.
"I just want to go out there and play hard. That's just the bottom line," Diogu said. "I want to go back to the tournament and want to go a lot farther than we did last [year]."
Diogu hopes to use his outside game more this year, something the coaching staff shied away from during his freshman campaign. In limited attempts, Diogu hit at a .375 clip from behind the arc, the best among returning players.
"It's definitely going to keep double and triple teams off of me," Diogu said. "I don't think anybody's going to be dumb enough to put two people on me on the outside."
Evans thinks having Diogu on the outside will give his team more options, but the post will still be his home. Banging away on the inside last year, Diogu made more free throws than anyone else in the Pac-10 even attempted. He is the leader among returning players in the conference in field goal percentage (.608).
"He's really worked hard on shooting the basketball on the perimeter, putting the ball on the floor and attacking the basket," Evans said. "It's a difficult matchup for some people because we can bring him inside some with some mismatches and be able to get him the ball inside along with some other guys."
Diogu is questionable for tonight's exhibition after he aggravated a strained right hip during practice Friday. He was limited in practice but is doing light conditioning drills and should be ready for the beginning of the regular season.
3. Where will the leadership come from?
Jason Braxton. Without former point guard Kyle Dodd and Millage, Braxton will have the sole responsibility of running the show and setting an example for an inexperienced team. The junior is not new to the position, however, playing in every game of his first two years and starting in 45.
"I know people are going to follow me," Braxton said. "I have to keep my poise, stay under control, run the team and keep everyone happy. I just have to be a leader, step up and lead these young guys."
The 6-foot-2 guard also has been working on his shooting touch, a problem that has plagued his college career. Last season, Braxton shot .386 from the field and .200 from three-point range. The junior did show signs of improvement, however in the Sun Devils' second-round loss to Kansas in the NCAA Tournament, going 7-of-12 for a season-high 17 points in just 20 minutes of play. The performance against the Jayhawks, however, was Braxton's second double-digit point performance of the season.
"We were playing 4-on-5 a lot of the time last year, and I felt like I was a nonfactor unless I was pushing the ball up court," Braxton said. "I feel when they sag off me and double down in the post, I'll be more of a shooting threat and hit the mid-range shot."
Evans also is looking to his three seniors, Jamal Hill, Kenny Crandall and Justin Allen. While only Hill is expected to see major minutes, the group wants to pass on its knowledge to the younger guys.
"Whether I play five minutes or 30 minutes, it doesn't matter," said Crandall, who started 23 games his freshman year in 1998 before going on a church mission. "[I just] want to help the guys learn a lot more about what Coach Evans is doing, and I think for a freshman, it's tough to go through that long and grueling season."
4. What will happen with the small forward position?
This year was designed for Serge Angonou to take over and start the season - at least until last season's game against the EA traveling team. In the exhibition, Angonou scored 11 points with eight rebounds but injured his knee and has been sidelined ever since. After multiple surgeries, the 6-foot-8 Cameroon native is expected to be ready sometime in late December before Pac-10 play starts.
"The doctors tell me he's coming along, so hopefully we'll be able to play him," Evans said, "but we are only going to play him if that knee is completely healthy. We're not going to sacrifice the kid."
Until he returns, Fameni and sophomore Allen Morill will battle for time at small forward. While freshman Fameni has matured dramatically since coming to Tempe, there is no clear-cut winner as of yet. Morill, a former boxer in high school, is the strongest player on the team and will use his intensity as an advantage. Fameni's shooting range is his biggest asset and might win him the spot.
It won't be a surprise if Evans goes with a three-guard set, with Braxton running the point and both Smith and Moore in the game to field his most athletic team possible.
5. How will the schedule affect the team?
With a young group of guys, the team's pre-Pac-10 travel is light, to say the least. Last season, ASU played in two early-season tournaments, the Maui Invitational and the Las Vegas Showdown, and also hit the road to play Utah.
This year, the Sun Devils have only two nonconference away games: Dec. 3 against Nebraska and Dec. 17 at Northwestern. Otherwise, ASU's nonconference schedule is fairly light.
"Scheduling is a difficult thing on the collegiate level," Evans said. "I really feel like our schedule is what we need for this particular group."
The biggest home test won't exactly be at home. On Dec. 9 at America West Arena, the Sun Devils take on John Chaney and Temple. The Owls return senior guard David Hawkins, who led the team with 16.9 points per game last year.
ASU also will host the ASU/azcentral.com Hoops Classic before the Fiesta Bowl. The tournament includes Winthrop, Western Michigan and San Diego. The Sun Devils all-time record in the event's 36-year history is 60-12.
The other non-Pac-10 opponents include Arkansas-Little Rock, Cal State Fullerton, UC Riverside and McNeese State.
With parity being the new story in the Pac-10, it's anyone's guess for who will come away with a conference championship. The Sun Devils are confident that this team will surpass last year's 20 wins and advance further in the NCAA tournament.
"Honestly, I feel this team has a lot more heart," Hill said. "I know last year we had heart, but we came in hungry [this year]. Nobody's backing down on this team."
Reach the reporter at jeffrey.hoodzow@asu.edu.
