Sophomore forward Savon Goodman alley-oops the ball in the first half against Arizona, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2015 at Wells
Fargo Arena in Tempe. The Sun Devils defeated the Wildcats
81-78. (Ben Moffat/The State Press)
Savon Goodman played a pivotal role in the takedown of No. 6 Arizona on Saturday, scoring 15 points in the game, as well as leading his team in rebounds with nine.
“He just played with a lot of heart,” ASU coach Herb Sendek said. “What an easy guy to cheer for. Somebody we can all be proud of. He just gives everything he has, and it’s so important to him. He had a monster game for us.”
Even though the fans and his teammates have come to expect big performances from Goodman, it has been a long road to get to where he is.
“It’s so exciting to see his development,” Sendek said. “He didn't play for a whole year, and then he joined our team midstream in December. Thats not easy to do. Once he got his bearings, he continues to make strides.”
Goodman recognizes that he has come a long way, and attributes his improvement to finding his place on the team as well as his off the court research.
“I’m just learning the game more,” Goodman said. “Slowing down, and a lot more emphasis on finishing, being precise, and being as efficient as possible. I’m just doing as much learning as possible, watching film and just looking where I need to improve and be more efficient. I’m trying to finish around the basket; I’m trying to improve my foul line percentage — just all the things that consist of winning.”
In the game against Arizona, Goodman had to face opponents bigger and more physical than himself. In order to compete and succeed against them, he had to step his game up.
“I had to be more aggressive,” Goodman said. “I knew I had to bring another level of intensity and I also knew I had to bring another level to show my teammates that we are not backing down this game.”
Goodman played with something to prove, as the Sun Devils lost against the Wildcats in Tucson earlier in the season, and he wanted redemption.
“We went up there and felt like we got punked,” Goodman said. “Coming down, we definitely wanted to make a statement and let them know that anytime we play them from here on out it is not going to be that easy.”
Like most aspiring college athletes, Goodman watches professional players. Unlike the average athlete however, he does not watch the crème de la crème of the NBA.
“I watch a lot of film on (Golden State forward) Draymond Green, I watch a lot of film on (San Antonio guard) Kawhi Leonard, defensive tendencies,” Goodman said. “It’s not always good to watch superstars. I think it's good to watch role players who develop and become key players to the team. On this team we don't have any superstars or any go-to guys. We play as a team, we win as a team, and we lose as a team.”
Goodman takes away certain aspects from each of these player’s game, and tries to implement into his own.
“(Green) plays with extreme effort,” Goodman said. “He plays tenacious, and he has two of the leading scorers in the league on his team. I try to watch and see how he gets his points and he's the second leading rebounder on that team. I just watch his tendencies, how he rebounds against those big NBA fours and threes, and how he creates baskets for himself.”
While Goodman looks to Green for offensive inspiration, he looks to Leonard for defensive tendencies.
“He’s a hassle for the offensive player on defense,” Goodman said. “If you are going against him you know you are going to have to play hard. I just try to watch him, learn his tendencies on how he guards players, how he moves his feet, how he cuts off players and avoids foul trouble.”
Goodman looks at these two players and draws a likeness between their situation and his, and sees how he can become like them.
“I look at my situation now. My role on this team is to be a role player. I’m not the person that is going to go out there and shoot the threes, or go out there and try and score the most points, I'm just going to try and get my teammates open and play for each other out there.”
Goodman is humble about his role on the team and always puts the team before himself. He finds that playing unselfish can pay off in a big way.
“It’s never about me,” Goodman said. “It’s always about the team. Anything I can do to help, I’m going to do it. If I play for my teammates, it always seems that I get open more, and I create action for myself playing off of them and trying to get them buckets.”
Goodman is optimistic about the remainder of the season and is confident that the Sun Devils could defeat anyone that they have yet to play after their victory against Arizona.
Reach the reporter at mtsteine@asu.edu or on Twitter @MarcTSteiner.
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