After starting the year out on fire, junior swingman Steve Moore has hit a cold streak, a common problem for many junior college transfers.
Moore, who played at Santa Ana College and was the sixth-leading scorer in the Community College League of California, was averaging close to 20 points per game for ASU at the beginning of the season. In the last five games Moore has averaged just seven points and shot 4-of-23 from three-point range.
"It seems like I've been somewhat of a let down because you need all five (players on the court) - that's the family out there and you can't work with just four," said Moore, who also said he felt he needed to improve his defensive intensity.
Many players who transfer from junior colleges go through midseason slumps, such as senior swingman Jamal Hill, the only other junior college transfer on the team.
In his first season with the team last year, Hill ended the campaign with just five points in the final seven games.
"Me and Steve are pretty close, and we've come from the same kind of situation," said Hill, who is the team's third-leading scorer and playing mostly off the bench. "He's one of the leaders of the team, and he's a big part of what we are trying to do."
In Hill's first season, he had Curtis Millage - last year's second-leading scorer and fellow junior college transfer - to mentor him, a role Hill is trying to fill for Moore.
"I just keep telling him to be aggressive, and 'you're going to get out of it,' " Hill said. "I always tell him to keep his confidence up and continue to keep looking for your shot. It's going to come back. He just has to be patient."
Kruger steps up
Despite an 85-83 loss to California on Saturday - ASU's 10th defeat in the last 12 games - freshman point guard Kevin Kruger finally had the breakout game he's been waiting for.
Against the Golden Bears, Kruger scored a career-high 12 points, all coming from behind the three-point arc. Kruger was given the ball for the final shot, a desperation attempt that failed to hit the rim.
Coming into the Northern California series, Kruger was averaging less than two points per game, but scored a combined 20 points in the two losses.
"It felt pretty good shooting the ball in the game, but a loss is still a loss," Kruger said. "I remember shooting around before the game, and I really couldn't hit anything. Then in warm-ups, I loosened up as much as possible."
This season, all but six of Kruger's 43 field goal attempts have been from three-point range.
ASU head coach Rob Evans now has four players that are capable of running the point: Kruger; junior Jason Braxton, who has started all but one game this season; freshman Tron Smith; and Moore.
"I'm going to play the guys that are playing the best," Evans said. "Show me in practice and you get a chance to play. If you don't, sit over there with me, and watch the ball game."
Battling for the boards
The Sun Devils could end the season being outrebounded by their opponents, something an Evans-led team has never done.
With just seven games to go in the regular season, ASU has a slim 10-rebound advantage against its opponents and has been beat on the boards in nine of the last 11 games.
"I do take a lot of pride in it," Evans said of his team's work on the glass. "I don't relish being outrebounded because most of the time when that happens, that's a sign of people not working.
"I don't ever want to be in a situation where somebody outworks me."
Juggling the lineup
The Sun Devils have used 10 different starting lineups this season - the most since the 1996-97 season when 11 combinations were put in play, and the most by any of Evans' teams. The latest lineup features Smith starting in place of Braxton at the point.
"We got a lot of new guys, and some of the guys we felt like would step to the front haven't stepped to the front," said Evans, who attributed the multiple lineups to the injuries of Smith and redshirt freshman forward Serge Anogunou. "Generally, you have a set lineup, and you have a set rotation. I've never been in a situation where I haven't, but I've never had a situation quite like this."
Sharp shooting
ASU's 12 three pointers made against Cal were the most since the Sun Devils connected on 12 against Chaminade on Jan. 6, 1997 - a stretch of 217 games. ASU won that game 89-54 in Bill Frieder's last season as head coach.
Hill's return home
This weekend's trip to the Bay Area was a homecoming for Hill, who is from Oakland, Calif., and played at San Jose City College before attending ASU. Hill has fond memories of playing at Cal's Haas Pavilion in Berkeley. Many members of Hill's family were in attendance at both games.
"I haven't seen my family since Christmas break and that was for like three days," said Hill, who is averaging 14 points per game in the past seven contests. "I played a lot of AAU ball at (Haas) and went to open gyms here. I was so used to that court.
"[The games] were a big thing for me and for my family to see me in person instead of on TV."
Reach the reporter at jeffrey.hoodzow@asu.edu.
