The ASU men’s basketball team dismissed sophomore guard Keala King from the program Sunday.
King, along with junior guard Chris Colvin and sophomore forward Kyle Cain, was suspended indefinitely by coach Herb Sendek for unacceptable conduct last week. None of the three traveled with the team during the two-game road trip against USC and UCLA.
King was removed just a day after ASU lost to UCLA Saturday, 75-58.
“We have decided that Keala will no longer be with the team,” Sendek said in a statement. “We wish him nothing but the best in his future.”
Once a five-star recruit, ranked No. 26 overall according to Rivals.com, King’s behavioral issues stunted his growth at ASU. He didn’t start during his freshman year in 29 games and averaged 3.7 points per contest.
It appeared King had made some progress in the summer heading into his sophomore campaign as he started in 13 games and led the Sun Devils in scoring with 13.7 points a game before his suspension.
Following the suspensions of King, Cain and Colvin, the Sun Devils snapped a four game losing streak Thursday, defeating the Trojans 62-53.
The status of Cain and Colvin are unknown at this moment.
Following the ASU men’s basketball team’s short-handed 62-53 victory over USC Thursday, coach Herb Sendek was asked during a radio interview after the game how important rest would be before Saturday’s game against UCLA.
He quoted former football coach Don Shula, “Better fresh than ready.”
As it turns out, it’s easier said than done with just six scholarship players available. A 305-pound problem on the opposing bench didn’t help the cause either.
The Sun Devils (5-10, 1-2 Pac-12) dropped the back end of their Southern California road trip, losing to the Bruins (9-7, 2-2 Pac-12) 75-58.
Similar to its start Thursday, ASU started the game executing on both sides of the floor. It jumped out to a 24-14 lead behind the hot hand of freshman forward Jonathan Gilling, who made three of his five three-point shots midway through the first half. He led ASU with a career-high 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting.
The Sun Devils slowly saw their lead diminish from that point and eventually ran out of gas. The Bruins went on a 19-6 run to take the lead at halftime, 33-30, and never looked back.
UCLA had 13 second-chance opportunities resulting in a number of easy buckets in the paint. The Bruins dominated the glass, 30-20. Five of the seven rebounds grabbed by sophomore forward Travis Wear were on the offensive end. He also added 16 points shooting 5-for-7 from the floor.
“They really amped it up and turned it up and we weren’t able to sustain their effort,” assistant coach Lamont Smith said in a radio interview after the game.
In the second half, sophomore center Joshua Smith took over for the Bruins. He didn’t play against UA on Thursday due to a concussion, but proved to be just fine Saturday. Joshua Smith used his big body to will his way in the post against ASU forwards. He finished with 18 points and four rebounds in 21 minutes.
“He’s an absolute beast,” assistant coach Smith said. “He’ll catch (the ball) so deep in the paint and with that size and strength, it’s hard to stop him.”
Perhaps just as effective, Joshua Smith cut junior forward Ruslan Pateev’s night short. Pateev didn’t score after halftime due to foul trouble after a 10-point, 4-for-4 performance in the first half. He eventually fouled out with 9:55 left. Four of his five fouls were committed on Joshua Smith. Pateev was the only starter who did not play over 30 minutes against either UCLA or USC.
“Any team we play in our league is good and we wanted to come out and throw the first punch and that’s exactly what we did,” Joshua Smith said during a television interview after the game.
Coming off a career-high 22 points Thursday, junior wing Carrick Felix was quiet all game. He was 0-for-6 in 33 minutes, scoring just one point.
Lockett had 12 points and four assists in 34 minutes at point guard in the absence of King and Colvin.
ASU’s next game is against Oregon Thursday at Wells Fargo Arena.
Reach the reporter at mtesfats@asu.edu
