ASU junior guard Ty Abbott still hadn’t fully recovered from his offseason knee surgery when he suffered a lacerated eyelid against LSU on Friday.

Abbott played just 13 minutes against Arkansas-Pine Bluff and scored four points.

Tuesday marked the six-week anniversary of Abbott’s knee surgery, meaning the athletic guard returned well ahead of schedule but still isn’t 100 percent.

“The timeline for that comeback is four to six weeks,” ASU coach Herb Sendek said. “Theoretically, if he was just coming back Monday, he wouldn’t have been late.”

The biggest hurdle for Abbott to overcome is making up for lost practice time, something that is harder to do once the season is underway.

“He literally didn’t practice for four weeks, and those are four really important weeks from Oct. 16 to your first game,” Sendek said. “That’s when you’re putting everything in.

“That’s when you’re getting in shape. That’s when you’re for the first time in the season playing together with your teammates.”

Glasser nears milestones

Senior guard Derek Glasser is just 25 assists away from breaking the school record for career assists, but he’s also chasing down the school’s career free-throw percentage record.

Alex Austin, who played at ASU from 1986-1990, currently is the school’s leader with a career percentage of 81.5. Glasser is currently at 82.7 percent for his career and would break the record at his current pace.

Freshman spark

After the game on Monday, Sendek was not only disappointed with the energy his team brought, but also the energy in Wells Fargo Arena.

The player that consistently brings energy is freshman guard Trent Lockett.

“He gives us the spark,” junior guard Jamelle McMillan said. “The hustle plays. Those type of guys are energy guys, utility guys that we need in order to get on a run.”

On Monday, Lockett had two monstrous alley-oop dunks off passes from Glasser and junior forward Rihards Kuksiks.

“The dunks he caught were unbelievable tonight,” McMillan said.

Rebounding a concern

Sendek has brought it up multiple times: Rebounding is not a strength of the ASU men’s basketball team this season.

But despite being out-rebounded by a smaller Arkansas Pine-Bluff team, Sendek wasn’t too concerned.

“Pine Bluff is a very good rebounding team,” Sendek said. “They were averaging seven more rebounds per game than their opponents. Rebounding is going to be our signature. I don’t think this is at the top of the list of the strengths of our team.”

Road ahead

ASU welcomes Baylor (6-1) into Wells Fargo Arena Thursday night at 8:30.

The game is part of the Pac-10/Big 12 Hardwood Series. Last season, Baylor knocked off ASU 87-78 at the 76 Classic in Anaheim.

Following Thursday’s contest, ASU heads to Provo on Dec. 8 to take on BYU (5-0).

Reach the reporter at andrew.gruman@asu.edu.