(Photo: Zac Pacleb/WCSN)
The questions surrounding Arizona State have been well-documented. Roster changes, concept changes and the big losses from last season’s squad landed ASU at ninth in the Pac-12 preseason media poll.
After days, weeks and months of projections about what to expect from head coach Herb Sendek’s team, the season is finally here, but the questions will persist well into the 2014-15 season.
Nobody around the program is kidding themselves; this team lacks that bonafide superstar at this moment. None of the major statistical leaders have returned, and that forces role players like seniors Jonathan Gilling, Bo Barnes and Shaquielle McKissic into roles with much more responsibility.
“I think we have to be a team in every sense of the concept,” Sendek said. “We don’t have any NBA draft picks right now on our roster.”
In a college basketball world littered with one-and-dones and players’ draft stocks being projected before they even graduate high school, having NBA prospects is a general indicator for the overall talent on a team’s roster.
Such is the case for the Arizona Wildcats. Despite losing Nick Johnson and Aaron Gordon, they are a near-consensus favorite to win the conference once again, and that is mostly driven by the arrival of freshman forward Stanley Johnson. The 6-foot-7 swingman from Mater Dei High School (Calif.) is projected to be a top-five pick in the 2015 NBA draft despite not even stepping on the court for the Wildcats yet.
ASU, on the other hand, will be relying on a bevy of new faces including freshman point guard Tra Holder, who many expect to be the starting point guard in the Sun Devils’ season opener against Chicago State.
“I’ve been extremely pleased with the transition Tra is making, and he is getting better each and every day,” Sendek said. “The improvement he’s made week to week has been significant, and I think consistently throughout early practices, he’s done a great job of setting his teammates up for good shots.”
Naturally, Holder will go through his growing pains because the transition to the collegiate game for point guards is often the most difficult jump to make. But, the biggest safety blanket for the California-native will be if his teammates can knock down those open looks that he hypothetically sets up for them.
That transitions the focal point to the touted junior college recruiting class Sendek rounded up, consisting of guards Roosevelt Scott and Gerry Blakes as well as forwards Willie Atwood and Savon Goodman.
Blakes and Scott certainly give ASU flexibility in the backcourt with their defensive ability and athleticism, and theoretically, the Sun Devils will be able to play an uptempo brand of basketball with so many athletes on the floor.
In the front court, Atwood has the biggest spotlight on him of the transfers. A third-team All-American while at Connors State, Atwood will be looked to immediately to provide an inside-scoring threat for ASU. Goodman will not be eligible until December 16, but he impressed in his time during the Maroon and Gold scrimmage.
“Whoever has the wide-open shot, take it,” McKissic, a former JUCO transfer himself, said. “We’ve got a lot of trust in our guys to be disciplined enough. We’re learning now to not take unexpected shots that put us in a bad position defensively.”
Not to be lost in all the fresh faces are the returners. McKissic put a lot of work in during the offseason to smooth-out his form, something that has visibly improved since last season, and with all the JUCO transfers, McKissic has taken on a leadership role.
“If you went to JUCO you went there for a reason,” McKissic said. “No matter which way you try to get around it, there was an area in your life where you weren’t disciplined, so I just try to encourage them to not make the same mistake twice. You’ve been given a second chance.”
Making mistakes is to be expected by the Sun Devils in the nonconference season that features matchups against No. 24 Harvard and fringe teams like UNLV and Maryland. Finding a flow in those games will be critical for ASU.
“There’s a number of guys that are capable of doing different things, but who’s going to consistently do those things?” Sendek said. “On offense, not to be unexpected early in the year, we’re still really emphasizing taking care of the ball.”
Sendek and his team have echoed that the loss of Pac-12 blocks leader Jordan Bachynski will be a major difference this season.
“We don’t have Jordan Bachynski at the rim, but I feel like we have some offensive guys that can come and put the ball in the hoop as well,” McKissic said. “Being more athletic on the perimeter, defensively, that’s kind of I would say, a plus for me.”
Stepping into that primary role in the middle will be junior forward Eric Jacobsen, who averaged just 2.3 rebounds per game to go along with 2.4 points per contest.
“Eric’s ability to play his best will have as much to do with our team’s success as anything,” Sendek said.
Certainly, the fact that the majority of the team will be making its Division I basketball debut is something to look out for. Whether that visual comes to fruition in the form of turnovers or hustle, that is up in the air, but McKissic is sure his team will play hard.
“We’ve got a lot of fight,” McKissic said. “And this stance we have going into this season, being picked ninth in the conference, I think it’s a bit of more motivation in practice, and these JUCO guys are really good kids.”
Being one of the more experienced players, McKissic understands the road ahead is a difficult one and that the learning curve will be long, but the Sun Devils seem eager to prove that they are better than their No. 9 ranking in the conference.
Every question mark surrounding this team is more than justified, as are the doubts. Nonconference, for all its hooplah and fun, won’t give away the tell-tale signs that are exposed once conference play begins. The one consensus about this team, however, is that the ceiling is pretty high, but the basement is just as low.
That being said, the Pac-12 is generally diluted of talent. The recruiting classes were as solid as always, but the vibe of the conference seems to be an open, competitive one outside of the Wildcats who are far and away the powerhouse team.
“Nobody wants to get picked ninth, and once we saw that,” McKissic said. “I was kind of more happy for it. Guys understand we have a long road ahead, but we’re definitely capable of returning and advancing.”
Returning to NCAA Tournament and advancing is the goal, but ultimately, this is college basketball — one of the more unpredictable spectacles in sports.
Let the games begin.
You can reach Zac Pacleb on Twitter @ZacPacleb or via email at zacpacleb@gmail.com
