During his press conference on Tuesday, ASU coach Herb Sendek was in full character.
He mentioned the “Ambassador” Jeff Pendergraph and all he has meant for the program both on and off the court. He rattled off his weekly spiel about how the Pac-10 Conference competition is indistinguishable from that of any other.
Then, of course, was his existential view that all people should strive to live in the now.
“There’s a direct correlation between youth and the ability to stay in the present,” Sendek said. “That’s the wonder of a 5-year-old. Although our guys are older than that, they’re still young enough that they’re able to stay in the present. That’s a great gift to have.
“All of us — as we get older — are admonished to stay childlike in some way.”
Given the way the No. 21 Sun Devils (21-7, 10-5 Pac-10) have played this year, most expect them to be a lock for the tournament and strictly playing for a higher seed.
Last year at this point, ASU was still sitting on The Big Dance bubble.
So when a reporter asked Sendek to compare the situations, Sendek did his best to stay childlike.
“Right now, [all I’m thinking about] is Stanford,” Sendek said. “Stanford. And I’m not capable of anything else.”
It’s a good thing, because the Cardinal (16-11, 5-11) will play at Wells Fargo Arena Thursday night.
While Thursday’s contest and Saturday’s against Cal should be opportunities for ASU to prove it’s a no-doubter for the NCAA Tourney, they should also serve as a celebrated end to Pendergraph’s storied career in Tempe.
Assuming any unforeseen setbacks, Pendergraph will pass Eddie House (114) on ASU’s list of all-time starts when his name is called on Saturday. There will also be a small ceremony to honor Pendergraph — ASU’s lone senior — before the Cal contest.
Pendergraph has started in all but six of his career games in the maroon and gold, something he can’t even believe.
“I thought I started every game that I played in,” he said. “Whoever said I missed those [starts] is lying. I think it’s cool; it’s like a little Brett Favre thing. Everybody gets banged up, everybody gets beat up, everybody gets hurt and everything. But you just got to play through it.”
Pendergraph also said he will miss competing against his Pac-10 brethren of big men, namely Washington’s Jon Brockman, UA’s Jordan Hill, Washington State’s Aron Baynes and USC’s Taj Gibson.
“When you go to the Pac-10 Conference [Tournament], you’ll probably see all of us hanging out,” Pendergraph said. “All the guards will be walking around talking about how much they don’t like the other guys. We’re just going to be sitting there in the big old chairs like, ‘Man, aren’t the little guys funny?’ Because all they do is complain about each other.”
Though the conference is stacked with plenty of quality big men, Stanford is one team lacking a significant post presence. The last time these two teams met on Jan. 2, Pendergraph dropped a career-high 31 points to go along with 11 rebounds in ASU’s 90-60 victory.
The Cardinal’s leading rebounder is 6-foot-7-inch swingman Landry Fields (6.6 rebounds per game).
Stanford is coming off a 75-63 home victory over USC — something Sendek was quick to note — but has lost five of its last six conference games.
Meanwhile, ASU will attempt to dust itself off from last weekend’s back-to-back overtime losses at the Washington schools.
One of the biggest concerns for Sun Devil fans may be the team’s short bench.
“We have not established our depth in the most ideal way,” Sendek said.
Reach the reporter at alex.espinoza@asu.edu.
