The ASU men's basketball team still has many things left to accomplish before beginning its season in less than a month.
The Sun Devils are scheduled to open their 2001-02 campaign Nov. 17, hosting Stephen F. Austin. Before then, ASU must not only become more consistent offensively, but it also needs to be more aggressive on defense and remain physical on the boards.
"We've got to continue to do the things we're doing," ASU head coach Rob Evans said. "We've got a lot of work to do, but we've got time to do it."
With a bench that runs deeper than it has in recent years, the Sun Devils will have enough depth to keep fresh bodies on the floor throughout most games. As many as a dozen players could see quality minutes in nearly every game this year.
"When you get in the Pac-10, there's no easy games," ASU junior forward Donnell Knight said. "When you're only playing with eight guys, it's pretty tough. To have the extra four or five guys is huge."
ASU will continue to use an aggressive defense that has been employed by Evans on virtually every team he has coached in his 10-year career. After giving up an average of 76.9 points per game a year ago, the Sun Devils will likely press often this season in an attempt to force more turnovers.
With three newcomers on this year's roster, the Sun Devil coaching staff has been devoting a majority of practice time toward reviewing various defensive tactics. ASU will attempt to fine-tune its motion offense early next week.
"Our guards are going to be good enough to where if we put the ball in their hands, they can create for themselves and for other people once they learn our system and what we're trying to do," Evans said.
The Sun Devils posted an average of 71.6 points per contest last season, but are looking to get more production out of their offense this year. ASU should be able to put more points on the board with sophomore guards Justin Allen, Kenny Crandall and Tanner Shell back in the lineup.
Alton Mason tossed in an average of 15.3 points per game last year and was the team's leading scorer, but has since graduated and is now playing overseas. Look for senior forward Awvee Storey (12.4 ppg) and junior forward Tommy Smith (11.5 ppg) to pick up the slack.
"We can play whatever kind of game coach wants to play. Everybody on our team likes to run, so we're more of an up-paced kind of team," Smith said.
The Sun Devils have not had a go-to guy since Eddie House was in Tempe from 1997-2000. House poured in an average of 23 points per game in his senior campaign, but ASU simply does not have someone capable of posting those kind of numbers. Three players averaged double figures last year, and the Sun Devils hope to have a balanced scoring attack once again this season.
"We try to spread the ball around. We want to have balanced scoring so nobody can key on one or two guys and be successful against us," Evans said. "We have guys we can go to in certain situations. We've got guys that are willing to give themselves up for the team."
The Sun Devils must continue to crash the boards with the same kind of reckless abandon they displayed last year. ASU outrebounded its opponents by an average of 5.4 boards per game.
Storey led the pack with 9.7 rebounds per contest last season, but many other players failed to grab a piece of the action. Expect 6-foot-9, 240-pound junior forward Chris Osborne to get his fair share of rebounds this year.
"Individually is nothing that we're looking at," Storey said. "We have our individual goals that we want to achieve and that will get us motivated to play, but (playing) as a whole and as a team is definitely our focus this year."
Injury report
Osborne had a cast removed from his left wrist last week and is now wearing a protective brace. He sustained the injury last year while playing at Compton Community College in Los Angeles. Osborne could be ready to practice again by next week at the earliest.
Storey twisted his ankle and has been icing it down to ease the swelling. He has continued to practice and should be fine by the season opener.
ASU sophomore guard Jonathan Howard has had to sit out during some practices this week because of a heart condition. He is taking medication intended to prevent his heart from racing. Howard's play should not be affected by the problem.
Scheduling details
The Sun Devils will play a pair of games this season at America West Arena. ASU is slated to take on Montana State Dec. 13 at 7 p.m.
Tickets for the Southwest Showdown will go on sale Saturday morning on ticketmaster.com. Illinois will face UA and ASU will meet up with Utah in part of the Dec. 4 doubleheader at AWA.
Reach Brian Gomez at bsundevil@aol.com.
