Three seniors, the first recruiting class of the Herb Sendek era, walked off the Wells Fargo Arena court on Saturday not as winners this season, but as arguably the greatest winners in the history of ASU men’s basketball. Ty Abbott, Jamelle McMillan and Rihards Kuksiks finished their college careers with 80 total victories, more than any other group of ASU basketball players.
The trio, which of course started with James Harden, who left early for the NBA draft, recorded three straight seasons with 20 plus wins, including one NCAA tournament berth in 2009.
With that level of success in the group’s first three seasons, it’s still difficult to understand this season’s final standings.
ASU struggled this year, there’s no doubt about that, but senior weekend provided some amount of justice for the three players. In Thursday’s victory over Oregon, all three scored in double figures, with Abbott and Kuksiks each surpassing 20 points doing what they have done their entire career: making 3-pointers. Then it was a similar story against Oregon State on Saturday. After teary-eyed senior introductions, Abbot again dropped 22 points behind six 3-pointers, followed by Kuksiks at 18 and McMillan with 10 points and eight assists.
It was a fitting finish, even if only 5,000 fans were there to see it.
After all, ASU men’s basketball isn’t a name full of tradition.
Since 1981, the Sun Devils have made the NCAA tournament a total of four times, tied last in the Pac-10 with Washington State.
Maybe it’s over-exposed because of its heavy contrast to rival UA, who has made the Big Dance 25 times over the same time period, or maybe it’s because there was never a foundation for success.
And the opportunity to do so is slipping away.
These three seniors may have set a strong base, but replacing their leadership and knowledge of winning now falls almost entirely on Sendek.
Next season’s lone senior, guard Brandon Dunson, has little experience in a Sun Devil uniform, and only one sophomore, Trent Lockett, received adequate playing time on a winning ASU squad.
Leadership is the biggest question for 2011.
Mesa High School guard and ASU recruit Jahii Carson lit up the playoffs with 58 points in his final game as a Jackrabbit (yes, it was a loss), and he is expected to make an immediate impact for the Sun Devils next year. There is only one area of concern with that level of talent: Who is going to teach the young phenom? McMillan and Abbot, who had major influences on this season’s freshman, will be gone.
Jeff Pendergraph was there to lead ASU’s last phenom, James Harden, when he first arrived at ASU, but Carson won’t have that type of example.
The season may have been sour for ASU’s 2011 senior class, but they will be missed by many more than the 5,000 people in attendance on Saturday night.
