While Thursday night's exhibition game against Alberta-Edmonton won't count in the ASU men's basketball team's season standings, it will serve as a much-needed fresh start to a new season.
The Sun Devils, coming off a disappointing and frustrating campaign last season, will be looking to start strong and find the right group of players to bring them back as a contender in the Pac-10.
Leading the way, in what could be his last season in a Sun Devil uniform, will be junior forward Ike Diogu. Diogu, a pre-season Playboy All-American, will once again be the driving force behind the team.
However, it is Diogu's supporting cast that will determine how well the Sun Devils do this season. Most notable is at the guard position, which head coach Rob Evans said the competition is heated, as seniors Jason Braxton and Steve Moore, as well as sophomores Kevin Kruger and Tron Smith are all competing for playing time.
Regardless of who steps up this season and contributes on the floor, Evans already feels his team is stronger because of their maturity.
"I think we have more experience than we had last year; these guys have been through wars," he said. "We'll also be a better defensive basketball team, the team we had last year was one of the weaker defensive teams I've had."
The seniors, especially Braxton, hope that last year serves as a lesson for the team. Braxton, who was the Sun Devil's point guard two seasons ago when they reached the second round of the NCAA tournament, said that the disappointment of last season helped him put the game of basketball back into perspective.
"Personally, I just wasn't having fun last year, I forgot that basketball was supposed to be fun," Braxton said. "This year, I want to get back to enjoying basketball and I know the wins will follow."
The initial step to erase the past and starting new begins on Thursday night at 7 at Wells Fargo Arena.
Reach the reporter at matt.reinick@asu.edu
