After nine seasons of heartbreak, trial and tribulation, Herb Sendek is out.
During his time at ASU, he achieved a 159-137 overall record and had a winning record against just one Pac-12 school. He went to only two NCAA tournaments and four NITs — in addition to finishing in 10th thrice in the conference.
In other words: not good enough for ASU athletic director Ray Anderson. Following a meeting Tuesday morning with Athletic Director Ray Anderson, Sendek was notified that he will no longer be the head coach of the ASU men’s basketball team.
He’s had his ups and downs in Tempe. Here,The State Press editorial board reflects on the highs and lows from the Sendek era.
Highs:
- The upsets of the University of Arizona. Sendek’s squads were always at least respectable against rival Arizona. ASU upset Arizona in the past two seasons, with the Wildcats being ranked in the top 10 at the time in both games.
- Getting James Harden to come to Tempe. It took hiring his high school coach, but Harden was the best player for ASU in the Sendek era. He averaged 19 points in two seasons with ASU, and his jersey was retired this season.
James Harden. Need I say more? #ASU @statepress pic.twitter.com/hnUXgdtaqM
— Ben Moffat (@bmoffatphotos) February 19, 2015
- That time when Sendek restored order in Wells Fargo Arena. In a 2013 game against Marquette, Sendek grabbed a mic to tell students to stop throwing things (glowsticks) onto the floor after ASU assessed a technical foul because of it.
ASU head coach Herb Sendek gets on mic and admonishes students for throwing stuff and then drops the mic! Literally! — Amin Elhassan (@AminESPN) November 26, 2013
- Of course, it would be remiss to not include the times when ASU advanced to the NCAA Tournament. He accomplished that twice in nine seasons, which is only better than one other program in the conference (Oregon State). In 2009, ASU defeated Temple in the first round, the program’s only NCAA Tournament victory under Sendek.
Lows:
- The entire 2011-12 season. Heralded point guard Jahii Carson was viewed as the savior for the program. But he was ruled academically ineligible for the season and guard Keala King was dismissed as well. Without a true point guard (and even when King was on the team), it was a bad year.
- The Pac-12 Tournament loss to USC in 2015. Sendek was never good in the Pac-12 Tournament — he went 3-9 in it. But the loss to USC belongs in an entirely new category. ASU blew a 15-point lead and was upset by the team that finished last in the conference. Even though Anderson said one game didn’t decide Sendek’s fate, it’s hard to imagine Sendek being fired if he wins that game.
- The NCAA Tournament loss to Texas that became a meme. The situation: ASU was tied with Texas near the end of the game. Texas badly missed a 3-pointer, but Cameron Ridley picked up the offensive rebound and scored at the buzzer to knock ASU out.
RIP ASU's bench #BangBang pic.twitter.com/WwrRuNzuQk
— Jose Mendez (@JoseMendez618) March 21, 2014
- Getting snubbed from the NCAA Tournament in 2010 and then losing to Jacksonville State in the first round of the NIT. One of the knocks against Sendek was a poor out-of-conference schedule, and it may have hurt the Sun Devils in 2010 after being one of the last four teams left out of the tournament.
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