The ASU men’s basketball players took a long, hard look at themselves following last Thursday’s loss at Washington State.
The film didn’t lie.
“It was embarrassing,” senior guard Ty Abbott said.
They knew they had to make improvements or face a blowout just two days later against Washington.
The Sun Devils played better and with more emotion, but still came away with a loss. Now sitting in last place in the conference, any progress is a positive.
“I think Washington was one of the better games we have played here in the Pac-10,” ASU coach Herb Sendek said. “Our guys have shown some competitive spirit. We at least competed for rebounds. There were some positive things to take away from the Washington game.”
When asked what he took away from the UW game, senior guard Jamelle McMillan said he liked the way his team fought when another team could have given up on its season.
“The competitive spirit of the basketball team, guys fought,” McMillan said. “We shot 52 percent because we were getting good shots. We put together two good games of offense and we are building from there. It is good to see guys finally playing together and playing the game the right way.”
ASU made offensive progress, but the team still needs to improve defensively if they want to turn the season around.
“As much progress as we’ve made on the offensive end, we have to start stringing together some stops on the defensive end,” McMillan said. “If we shift our focus and work just as hard on the defensive end, it can be an exciting weekend for us.”
Interior defense was especially damaging to the Sun Devil cause last weekend, with WSU junior forward DeAngelo Casto and UW senior forward Matthew Bryan-Amaning torching the Sun Devils inside.
More talented post players await this weekend, starting with USC’s twin towers in junior forward Nikola Vucevic and redshirt senior forward Alex Stepheson.
While Vucevic will present an individual challenge defensively for ASU, the strength of the Trojans as a team is their defense.
“They are especially good on defense; they don’t give you any easy baskets,” Sendek said. “Playing against them, you almost feel like a hockey team at times. They have a goalie effect with Vucevic and Stepheson. They are really put together to play great defense, they are hard to score against.”
That was clear last Thursday when USC held Stanford to just 42 points. Sendek knows his team must take advantage of every good look they get against the Trojans.
“We’ll have to be really efficient offensively,” Sendek said. “When we have opportunities we have to capitalize. They won’t be handed to us and won’t be easy.”
After seeing improvement in a loss, ASU now needs victories. McMillan sees much of what is holding the team back as psychological.
“The main thing is choosing to believe that we are a team that should and can win,” McMillan said. “On the roster we have a very talented group. Each individual is an amazing basketball player, but collectively we haven’t had much success.”
If success happens, McMillan thinks the Sun Devils can get hot in a hurry and rattle off a few wins. They will need to get on a roll to have any chance in the postseason tournaments.
“We’ve never really seen this situation since I’ve been here,” McMillan said. “It is difficult for some guys, but we are working through it. We understand where we are and this position we put ourselves in. We are looking to do whatever it takes to get ourselves out.
“If we are able to string together a couple of wins, I think we can get on a nice run. Hopefully we can make something happen. This is a group where some really great things can happen quickly.”
A lot of teams tend to fold up and give up after their chance at making the NCAA Tournament dries up.
Sendek doesn’t think that will be the case with his group.
“Just the opposite,” Sendek said. “I see guys if anything, tightening their seatbelts and really trying to pull together and get better. That is one thing I really like about our team’s mindset. Yesterday at practice you wouldn’t have known that we (weren’t) undefeated.”
Reach the reporter at andrew.gruman@asu.edu
