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(04/10/13 12:00am)
Everyone who's played sports competitively at some point has that one coach (or four) that's pushed athletes vigorously enough to make them cry.It's one thing for strict coaches to beat drills, instruction and suicide-like workouts into players. It's another thing to literally beat them. Footage of former Rutgers men's basketball coach Mike Rice Jr. that surfaced last week showed him kicking, shoving and launching balls at players. The video sparked national outrage and led to Rice's dismissal from the team.Unfortunately, he's probably not the only coach on any level that's been getting away with this.It's a sad consequence what the "suck it up, rub some dirt on it" mentality toward sports has created. That culture has distorted the line between exercising discipline and bullying. Players often don't know how to tell the difference between a good, tough coaching tactic and a criminal offense.If this happened in any other profession, coaches like Rice would easily be thrown in jail and would certainly be banned from working the same position again.I'm against a lot of aspects in sports being exaggerated and softened to be "safer," but this is an issue I hope the Rice scandal could shed light upon.Coaches are teachers, not bullies.Reach the columnist at jnacion@asu.edu
(04/02/13 12:53am)
ASU senior wing Carrick Felix has one more opportunity to compete in a Sun Devil uniform.
(03/28/13 11:52pm)
There is a position battle brewing for the backup quarterback job at ASU’s spring football camp.
After redshirting last season, redshirt sophomore Mike Bercovici is back and ready to compete with the Sun Devils.
And he’s after redshirt sophomore Michael Eubank’s job.
While coach Todd Graham insists every position is up for grabs during spring practice, the No. 2 quarterback spot is one of the most tightly contested. Bercovici and Eubank shared equal reps with the second-string offense during practice Thursday.
“(Bercovici) has made some great throws,” Graham said. “He’s had a great spring. … Berc’s a guy that you better not rest your laurels on.”
Bercovici was Brock Osweiler’s backup in 2011. When Osweiler left for the NFL Draft, Bercovici competed for the open starting position for the 2012 season. Graham named redshirt sophomore Taylor Kelly as the starter, with Eubank backing him up before the season started, prompting Bercovici to use his redshirt year.
Eubank began the 2012 season splitting a set number of snaps with Kelly, but his production steadily declined throughout the year.
Pressure on WRs
The Sun Devils return 16 projected starters for the 2013 season.
Of the six that departed however, two were ASU’s starting wide receivers.
The Sun Devils lost Rashad Ross and Jamal Miles due to graduation, and Graham knows the receiver position is where ASU must improve the most offensively.
Redshirt senior Kevin Ozier was a consistant target for Kelly last season, racking up 324 receiving yards on 21 catches and five receiving touchdowns.
Ozier said he is ready to capitalize next season.
“I’m just looking to produce and make the best out of every opportunity,” Ozier said. “I know I have to be crisp with my assignments and route running and just make plays on offense.”
Making up the rest of the receiving corps will be redshirt senior Alonzo Agwuenu, sophomore Richard Smith. Redshirt sophomore Gary Chambers and redshirt freshman walk-on Frederick Gammage have also gotten some reps in spring camp.
Ozier, also a former walk-on, said he’s been impressed with Gammage. Gammage has improved throughout spring practice and broke into the open field for a touchdown during Thursday’s scrimmage.
“He’s been making a name for himself as a walk on, making some plays that if he continues to keep it up out there, he’ll see the field this time,” Ozier said.Graham signs Texas placekicker
ASU received a national letter of intent from placekicker Zane Gonzalez from Deer Park High in Texas, the team announced Thursday.
“We have a lot of confidence in the guys here, but we have an opportunity to get a guy who’s probably one of the most accurate guys we’ve seen on film," Graham said. "We did a lot of research and feel good about it."
According to his ASU Athletics bio page, Gonzalez was a perfect 10-for-10 on field goals and converted all of his extra points in his senior season. He is the No. 11 placekicking recruit in the nation according to KohlsKicking.com
Graham noted that ASU was one of the highest scoring teams in the nation last season. He believes it makes ASU an attractive destination for kickers, since it gives them more opportunities for PAT and field goal attempts.
Gonzalez joins the team in a three-man competition for the starting placekicker spot with redshirt juniors Alex Garoutte and Jon Mora. Garoutte and Mora switched time at the position in several instances last season.
Reach the reporter at jnacion@asu.edu
(03/24/13 11:00pm)
Freshmen “one and done”s hurt everyone in college basketball.
Since the NBA outlawed high school prospects from jumping straight to the pros in 2006, many players in the past seven years have opted to spend just one season in college before declaring for the NBA Draft.
It’s certainly not helping any school housing these players for a mere season. It’s often bad option for kids as well.
Take UCLA. Instead of trying to build a traditional dynasty, Bruins coach Ben Howland instead went after premier prospect Shabazz Muhammad. He will likely leave the program after one year. Muhammad appeared to be checked out during the Pac-12 Tournament after declaring for the NBA Draft weeks prior and his draft stock plummeted after several developments.
UCLA fired Howland on Sunday after the Bruins were knocked out of the first round in the NCAA Tournament.
It worked in the short-term for Kentucky, which rode Anthony Davis and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist straight to a national championship.
With both gone this year, the Wildcats ended up in the NIT this season and lost in the first round to Robert Morris.
While there are legitimate cases why they should go to the NBA, many freshmen just aren’t ready to turn pro, and it leaves their schools in the dust.
Money trumps all in the end of course, but it blinds everyone from thinking for the long run.Reach the columnist at jnacion@asu.edu
(03/23/13 2:30am)
ASU men’s basketball’s turnaround season came to an end Friday.
(03/19/13 6:28pm)
ASU wanted to bring Sparky into the 21st century with a contemporary redesign.
(03/17/13 9:51pm)
Looks like the Pac-12 Tournament will stay in Las Vegas for a while.
(03/14/13 7:53pm)
LAS VEGAS — Frustration and defeat were clear in the faces of the ASU men’s basketball team after the Sun Devils (21-12) fell to UCLA 80-75 Thursday.
(03/13/13 8:20pm)
LAS VEGAS — Wednesday's game was a virtual microcosm of how the ASU men's basketball team’s regular season turned out this year.
(03/13/13 4:49pm)
LAS VEGAS — ASU senior wing Carrick Felix has been named the Pac-12 Men's Basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year, the conference announced Wednesday.
(03/11/13 9:15pm)
ASU redshirt freshman guard Jahii Carson has been named the Pac-12 Co-Freshman of the Year, the conference announced Monday.
(03/09/13 11:33pm)
TUCSON — Different arena, same issues.
(03/08/13 12:40am)
UA is just another name on the schedule for ASU coach Herb Sendek.
The Territorial Cup matchup is a critical game for every ASU sports team, but Sendek, who is 7-7 against the Wildcats, treats it as equally as every other game of the season.
“The truth of the matter is we feel about it in every one,” he said. “They’re all big. Hopefully, we do our best every time, and so it’s not possible to do any more than that.”
Meanwhile, redshirt freshman guard Jahii Carson is looking forward to his first game at McKale Center.
“It’s definitely a hostile environment down there,” Carson said. “One of the loudest arenas in the country. It’s my first time down there, so I want to go down there and make a statement. It’s the first time for people in Tucson to watch me play, watch our team play. It’s a different style of basketball we’re playing this year. Definitely want to go out there and get an upset. Have our fans look something to forward to.”
A win over rival UA (23-6, 11-6 Pac-12) in Tucson could revive the Sun Devils (20-10, 9-8 Pac-12) heading into the Pac-12 Tournament in Las Vegas next week.
The Sun Devils’ NCAA Tournament hopes were decimated after ASU dropped five of its last seven games.
“We know what’s on the line, and we know what we have to do,” senior wing Carrick Felix said. “We know what it takes to take care of business, and it takes from each individual and the coaches. Knowing that, I think we have the right mind right now going into this weekend.”
The Sun Devils last won in Tucson on Feb. 21, 2010. UA took the first meeting in Tempe 71-54 on Jan. 19.
The Sun Devils’ 54 points against UA in January remains as ASU’s lowest scoring output of the season. The Sun Devils’ 39.1 percent shooting from the field in that loss is also a season low. ASU committed 17 turnovers in the first meeting, which was its second highest single-game total of the year.
“Taking care of the basketball is always important, especially so against a team like Arizona who works so quickly and so efficiently on the other end, and that’s certainly led to too many points in our standpoint and in transition in our first game,” Sendek said. Felix hopes to bounce back after shooting 1-for-8 in the first game.
“I remember how I played,” Felix said. “I’m definitely ready to come back and have a good game in this one. It’s something to laugh about. It’s one of those games for the career, but it’s definitely going to be fun this weekend."
While ASU dropped both games in its Los Angeles road trip last weekend, UA didn’t see much success on the same trip either. Despite senior wing Kevin Parrom’s 21-point outing, the Wildcats fell to USC by 11 points on Feb. 27. They followed that up by a five-point loss to UCLA Saturday.
ASU will have senior guard Chris Colvin this time around. He was suspended for the first matchup in Tempe. Without a reliable backup point guard in Colvin, Carson was forced to play heavy minutes despite being in foul trouble the entire game. Carson played most of the second half with four fouls and the UA backcourt attacked Carson. Carson is looking forward to having Colvin on the court to guard UA stand out guards sophomore Nick Johnson and senior Mark Lyons.
“He’s the tougher guy,” he said. “They didn’t really get the chance to see and feel his physicality that he brings to the court. Some of the guards that like to drive the paint more, he’s not going to let you do that as much. He takes a lot of pressure off me when it comes to playing defense against Johnson and Lyons. He takes me off the court and allows me to score from the two-guard spot.”
Besides the Territorial Cup points, a victory would also help ASU's seeding for the Pac-12 Tournament.
A win over UA could give ASU the No. 6 seed, but falling to the Wildcats could bump the Sun Devils down to as low as the No. 9 seed.
“It’s definitely important for us to have a high seed in the tournament, but we just want to worry about getting this win," Felix said. "We’re ready to battle.”Reach the reporter at jnacion@asu.edu
(03/04/13 12:00am)
This past weekend, the fate of the U.S.'s sensitive relations with North Korea was in the hands of former NBA star Dennis Rodman.Yes, Dennis Rodman. The flamboyant bad boy who has dyed his hair more colors than Craig Sager's suits, wore wedding dresses, married Carmen Electra and is the only reason why Metta World Peace won't go down as the strangest player in NBA history.U.S. citizens were stunned when they found out that Rodman would travel to North Korea as an American diplomat to ease tensions and prevent nuclear war from breaking out between the two nations.Sounds like a reasonable plan, right?Actually, for the short run, it worked. North Korean supreme leader Kim Jong Un chatted with Rodman at a basketball exhibition game and told Rodman to call President Barrack Obama so they can talk basketball.All in the name of basketball.This is why I love sports. Aside from the action, they bridge contrasting cultures. Sports has given nations a form of truce several times in history and offers a distraction from their struggles.If U.S.-North Korea animosity truly settles down, we can all thank basketball and ambassador Rodman for making it possible.Reach the reporter at jnacion@asu.edu
(02/22/13 12:00am)
Free Raising Cane’s meals have been a slam dunk for ASU men’s basketball fans this season.
(02/19/13 12:55am)
Ever owned something that initially seemed like the best thing you’ve ever bought? Then it became so high maintenance that it you didn't even want it anymore?
(02/15/13 1:00am)
The NBA Sprite Slam Dunk Contest is arguably the greatest All-Star event in all of sports.But judging from the past few years, Saturday's show won't be anywhere near as good as the competitions of 10 years ago. It's really no surprise that whenever we think of the most epic dunk contests, we think of the ones from 2004 or earlier.Now, instead of judging who the best high flyer is, the contest has evolved to simply determining which player is the flashiest entertainer.Too many rules have ruined the contest. This year's exhibition now features a complex East vs. West battle, and judging in the final round has gone to fans who still can't even pick the All-Star Game starting lineup correctly. The contest focuses so much on popularity and showmanship that it seems like the few Dunk Contest winners are the players most endorsed by TNT sportscaster Kenny Smith. Would Blake Griffin really have won the Dunk Contest in 2011 with his dunking ability alone?Bring it back to the years when contestants were only allowed two dunk attempts in two minutes. Mix the field with superstars and rising talent and start featuring those Dominique Wilkins versus Michael Jordan-esque rivalries again. Maybe then the Dunk Contest can remain the premier All-Star Weekend event.Reach the columnist at jnacion@asu.edu or follow him @josh_nacion
(02/12/13 10:17pm)
Bad news, wrestling fans.
(01/24/13 1:00pm)
The Pro Bowl has become a joke. Just ask Baltimore Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs.
(01/16/13 11:30pm)
Steve Patterson experienced it all as a pro-sports executive.