Ty Abbott has seen the very best of emotions that college basketball can provide an individual. He’s also been down near the bottom of emotions as well.
It certainly has been an up and down career.
Abbott burst onto the scene as a freshman in 2008, only to fall into a severe shooting slump during his sophomore season.
While a lot of players would have continued to stay down in the dumps after such a prolonged shooting slump, Abbott responded.
He bounced back to become an All-Pac-10 player his junior season.
Primed for a big senior season, Abbott showed flashes of his talent, but right when he was playing at his best, a shoulder injury struck to prevent him from practicing and playing at his best.
Despite the bumpy road, ASU coach Herb Sendek appreciated how much he truly cared about the game of basketball and helping the team win.
“When you look back at the totality of his career, it is going to be amongst the very best at Arizona State,” Sendek said. “He’s done so many things for us. He’s been a great leader. He’s brought so many valuable intangibles as well.”
Being Sendek’s first in-state recruit, Abbott wanted to prove to high school basketball players in the state that they can be successful playing at ASU.
“I just wanted to make ASU a better basketball school,” Abbott said. “Being the first one from Arizona, I felt like I wanted to show the people from out here that I could play at this level. There were quite a few that didn’t think that.”
His sophomore season was rough, but McMillan said the way he bounced back really showed him a lot about his teammate.
“We can all remember his sophomore year here, yikes,” McMillan said. “His true character was revealed when he bounced back with and was All-Pac-10. He’s a guy that you will be seeing play after [ASU].”
Even when he wasn’t scoring at a high level, Abbott provided things that weren’t seen in the box score. He became one of the Pac-10’s best defenders and an outstanding leader by example, his work ethic unmatched.
He took the incoming freshmen under his wing, trying to provide an example for how hard they have to work at this level.
“I couldn’t have asked for a better teammate, I really couldn’t,” McMillan said. “If I would say I had a best friend on the team, that’s who it is. I’m really proud of him, it’s been a lot of fun having him by my side.”
The low point of his sophomore season helped him become the player and teammate that he is today. He takes the lessons learned from some of his struggles, both individually and team wise and applies them every day.
“Be ready for anything, it is something I can implement in the future,” Abbott said. “When you expect great things, sometimes it doesn’t work. Life will throw you a curveball.”
When he struggled individually, the team still won games.
This year has been tougher on Abbott because despite personal successes, the team has struggled.
“It has been hard, I can admit that,” Abbott said. “I’m not always the most positive person. It has been rough but at the end of the day I still have to wear the jersey and go out and play. It is a pride type of thing to go out and make it happen.”
This past offseason Abbott studied film of NBA players extensively to try and improve his knowledge of the professional game.
His ultimate goal is to play in the league, but he will go anywhere and to any country to continue playing basketball.
“I’d love to play some more, overseas or wherever,” Abbott said. “I feel like I can, I have years to play and that is what I want to do.”
If that doesn’t work out, he has a backup plan.
“I can be an assistant [coach] for Jamelle,” Abbott said. “Just call me associate head coach.”
Reach the reporter at andrew.gruman@asu.edu
