Blogging with the Devils

Arizona State played well against Saint Francis on Saturday afternoon. That can be hard to tell when the Sun Devils are the obviously superior team, but the words, tone and body language of players and coach Herb Sendek were vastly different than after they beat Idaho last week. They were quicker on their feet running at shooters, moved the ball side-to-side and cut down turnovers.

Are they ready for the Pac-10? We’ll find out in a few days. The team said the right things afterward, but even a scuffling Oregon team and Arizona without Jerryd Bayless (for the moment) is a millennium removed from Saint Francis.

They’re counting on freshmen to do a lot, namely be prepared for a huge leap. But the upside is they’ve already responded to making this leap against Lousiana State and Xavier.

“When the Pac-10 starts, it’s like season two,” junior Jeff Pendergraph said. “Everything that happens before it is kind of irrelvant. Guys could have bad games all through nonconference and conference comes, they’re a brand new team. All the (Sports) Ticker and SportsCenter, all that stuff doesn’t even matter, because when Thursday-Saturday comes, it’s go time.”

In talking about the Pac-10, it was mentioned to Sendek that ASU received votes in the past two Associated Press top 25 polls.

His reply: “Obviously, not everyone has seen us play.”

Don’t worry, it was said tongue-in-cheek.

ASU fell at No. 13 Oregon 55-51 last year. The 55 points by the Ducks, the eventual Pac-10 Tournament champion and Elite Eight team, remains the fewest scored by Oregon since a 70-53 loss to UCLA on Feb. 26, 2006, a span of 53 games. The Ducks averaged 75.9 points per game last year, and have pushed it above 80 points per game this season.

Malik Hairston (17 points per game) looks pretty smart in choosing Oregon over Michigan four yearas ago. He leads five Ducks who average double figures. He’s shooting 52.6 percent from the field and from behind the 3-point line. The Ducks are 41 percent from outside as a team.

There a few James Harden-related impressions forthcoming, but I’ll save those for later this week.

Until then, Happy New Year.

Arizona State quarterback Rudy Carpenter is sacked by Texas safety Drew Kelson during the Holiday Bowl on Thursday.

I was on the sideline at Qualcomm Stadium as Arizona State’s football team came out for pregame warmups prior to the Holiday Bowl on Thursday and noticed quarterback Rudy Carpenter running by the Texas players already on the field, clearly saying something in spirited fashion.

My thought was that it was just Carpenter being Carpenter — the intense, passionate player in the process of psyching himself up. The Longhorns did not seem to think much of it either, as they simply continued with their warmups. If they took offense to anything Carpenter said, they masked it well.

As a result, I was surprised on Friday to see Carpenter taking a beating on the Internet, accused of trash-talking to Texas in the days before the Holiday Bowl.

During ESPN’s broadcast of the game, analyst Kirk Herbstreit said: “This week, I guess, Rudy Carpenter let the Longhorns know at every event how he feels about them, kind of taunting the Longhorns leading up to this game.” He did not elaborate.

This Internet column about Carpenter talking smack contains not a single quote from the quarterback, not a single quote from a Texas player in response — not a single quote, period.

I stood inches away from Carpenter at each of the three post-practice interviews he gave before the game and heard nothing about the Longhorns that could be classified as trash talk. If I had, I certainly would not have hesitated to get it in the Tribune.

Carpenter, Dec. 19: “Texas is obviously a storied program. They’ve got four national championships. They got one in the Rose Bowl a couple of years ago. They’re a really good team. It’s going to be fun to play a team with the great amount of tradition that they have. I think it’s going to be exciting for us.”

In that same interview, on the Longhorns defense: “They’ve got a guy named Marcus Griffin, he plays safety for them. He’s a pretty good player. He’s fast, big, strong, physical. They also have a middle linebacker, (Rashad) Bobino who is a very good player, too. He’s a fast guy who plays really hard. Those two guys really stick out to me. They’ve got a good defense.”

A lot of the pregame chatter was centered on if Texas would be motivated to play after a disappointing loss to rival Texas A&M to end the regular season. If Carpenter had served up such motivation on a platter, would that not have made Lone Star sports headlines for at least a day or two? I saw no such reports from the Austin (Texas) American-Statesman, whose UT football coverage I have read daily since the Holiday Bowl matchup was announced.

Yes, the Longhorns had four sacks and frequent hurries of Carpenter. But if someone points to that as evidence of a fired-up defense, that person has obviously not seen ASU play this year. The Sun Devils gave up a school-record 55 sacks.

Carpenter speaks his mind, and on occasion, some ears burn as a result. There is a reason that he was allowed to talk to the media only after games and on Mondays during the regular season.

Could he have said something — perhaps to Texas players during a bowl function, with no reporters present — that was insulting? Could he have offered some friendly banter that was misinterpreted? Absolutely. However, if that were the case, I certainly would have expected some sort of reaction from the Longhorns as Carpenter ran onto the field on Thursday.

In some corners, Carpenter is getting vilified for something he allegedly said. Before jumping on that train, however, we should at least have an idea of what — if anything — he said.

Right now, we do not.

A reminder that Saturday’s 2 p.m. tipoff between Arizona State and Saint Francis at Wells Fargo Arena is free for all ASU students, as well as one guest. It’s also free for Maricopa Community College District students. Just show a vaild student identification at the South ticket windows. 

We’ll find out if a week off did the Sun Devils good. It may be hard for most of us to get a gauge how well they really played (we’re not coaches who can scrutinize game film for hours), but coach Herb Sendek is pretty forthcoming when it comes to assessing his team. At least, there was no sugar coating after barely beating Idaho.

The Sun Devils need to not only win, but play well for themselves (regardless of the final point margin). Oregon may be struggling lately, but come Thursday, the Ducks will be a steep upgrade in opposition from Saint Francis.

Quick injury update: Jeff Pendergraph hyperextended some fingers and wore a wrap on his left hand in practice late this week, and Ty Abbott took an inadvertent elbow to the face from Steve Jones. Both should be fine. 

Arizona State vs. Texas

When: 6 p.m. Thursday
Where: Qualcomm Stadium; San Diego
TV/Announcers: ESPN/Brent Musberger, Kirk Herbstreit and Lisa Salters
Radio: KTAR (620 AM)
Records: Arizona State 10-2; Texas 9-3
Rankings: ASU No. 12 Associated Press/No. 11 USA Today (coaches)/No. 12 Harris Interactive/No. 11 Bowl Championship Series standings; Texas No. 17/No. 17/No. 17/No. 19
Series: First meeting
Tickets: Less than 1,000 remain. Available online at ticketmaster.com or texasboxoffice.com

SUN DEVILS’ KEYS TO VICTORY

1. Handle the athleticism: Against Southern California on Thanksgiving, ASU was overwhelmed by the Trojans’ speed and physicality at times. As a school that annually has stellar recruiting classes, Texas will have a load of both on the field. Good assignment football is a must for the Sun Devils.

2. Know that the Longhorns will play: There has been speculation if Texas even wants to be in the Holiday Bowl, fueled by coach Mack Brown’s early-morning practices and depth-chart shakeups. Brown tried many of the same tactics last year before the Alamo Bowl, a game in which Iowa stormed to a 14-0 first-quarter lead. The Longhorns came back to win 26-24.

3. Make it a home game: ASU is the designated visiting team, but the Sun Devil fans easily sold their 11,000-ticket allotment — Texas still has seats left — and could have as many as 20,000 supporters in the stands. That could create a fan-noise advantage similar to what ASU had at the 2004 Sun and 2005 Insight bowls.

INJURY REPORT

Arizona State
OUT: DB Chris Baloney (leg); DB Josh Barrett (knee); DL Saia Falahola (triceps); OL Zach Krula (knee); DL Tranell Morant (knee); QB Samson Szakacsy (elbow); RB Ryan Torain (foot) PROBABLE: OL Paul Fanaika (leg), RB Keegan Herring (ankle), OL Brandon Rodd (ankle)

Texas
OUT: LB Antwan Cobb (knee); OL Dallas Griffin (knee); OL Tony Hills (leg); WR Limas Sweed (wrist) QUESTIONABLE: LB Drew Kelson (knee)

WHEN ASU HAS THE BALL

A good balance between run and pass has gotten the Sun Devils this far, but Rudy Carpenter might get a few more chances to sling the ball against Texas, for three reasons. With two weeks of rest, Carpenter’s right (throwing) thumb feels the best it has since he suffered the injury in October; Keegan Herring has been limited by a sore ankle, meaning that Dimitri Nance will carry the bulk of the ASU running game — something the sophomore has never done before — and Texas’ pass defense has been generous, allowing an average of 419.3 yards in the last three games. The Sun Devils must beware Texas defensive tackle Frank Okam and rush ends Lamarr Houston, who could exploit ASU’s propensity to give up sacks.

Texas tailback Jamaal Charles (25)  and quarterback Colt McCoy (12) are the Longhorns’ top two rushers.

WHEN TEXAS HAS THE BALL

Only USC and Oregon — who both defeated ASU — have provided as big of a challenge on offense as the Longhorns, whose capability to run and pass the ball with near-equal success should test a Sun Devil defense that prides itself on taking away an opponent’s strength. Quarterback Colt McCoy’s passing and his ability to run if a play breaks down prevents defenses from keying on speedy tailback Jamaal Charles, who is averaging 6.3 yards a carry. ASU does not give up many big gains, but Texas — which has played through the loss of star receiver Limas Sweed and offensive linemen Dallas Griffin and Tony Hills to injuries — has the capability to nickel-and-dime its way to scores.

THE INTRIGUE

The Sun Devils and Longhorns have a bowl TV window all to themselves — in fact, there are no other games on Thursday — so a potentially big audience on ESPN will tune in to watch both try for program-affirming victories. ASU has already improved its “competitive traction,” as athletic director Lisa Love would say, in its first season under coach Dennis Erickson, which would be validated with a win against one of college football’s most storied programs. An 11-victory season would be the sixth in school history. A loss against rival Texas A&M that might have kept Texas out of the Bowl Championship Series has the team and coach Mack Brown feeling heat from fans. The Longhorns are looking for redemption, and a victory would increase their nation-leading streak of double-digit win seasons to seven.

TEAM REPORTS

ASU OFFENSE

SE 1 Michael Jones; LT 62 Brandon Rodd; LG 67 Shawn Lauvao; C 76 Mike Pollak; RG 63 Paul Fanaika; RT 79 Julius Orieukwu; TE 87 Brent Miller; SLOT 6 Kyle Williams; FL 13 Chris McGaha; QB 12 Rudy Carpenter; RB 31 Dimitri Nance

ASU DEFENSE

LE 97 Luis Vasquez; DT 77 Michael Marquardt; DT 90 David Smith; RE 58 Dexter Davis; SLB 44 Travis Goethel; MLB 25 Mike Nixon; WLB 29 Robert James; CB 32 Omar Bolden; CB 4 Justin Tryon; FS 22 Rodney Cox; SS 14 Troy Nolan

ASU 2007 schedule and results

ASU 2007 statistics

TEXAS OFFENSE

SE 6 Quan Cosby; LT 71 Chris Hall; LG 52 Charlie Tanner; C 65 Buck Bernette; RG 55 Cedric Dockery; RT 74 Adam Ulatoski; TE 16 Jermichael Finley; FL 9 Nate Jones; QB 12 Colt McCoy; TB 25 Jamaal Charles; FB 49 Luke Tiemann

TEXAS DEFENSE

DE 98 Brian Orakpo; DT 96 Derek Lokey; DT 97 Frank Okam; DE 36 Lamarr Houston; SLB 40 Robert Killebrew; MLB 44 Rashad Bobino; WLB 33 Scott Derry; LCB 28 Brandon Foster; RCB 13 Ryan Palmer; FS 26 Marcus Griffin; SS 21 Erick Jackson

Texas 2007 schedule and results

Texas 2007 statistics

Arizona State coach Herb Sendek looked about as ticked off as he has after any win this season. This won’t make him feel any better about his team, but it might make you, the fans, raise an eyebrow.

A win is a win, right?

Derek Glasser started in place of Jamelle McMillan on Saturday. McMillen has struggled the past three games. He made two nice plays against Idaho, forcing a turnover by knocking away an in-bounds pass and finding Pendergraph on a lob pass for an easy basket, but it’s a lot of growing pains going on for Jamelle, especially in decision-making and avoiding turnovers.

Jamelle McMillan comes from an NBA background (his dad, Nate, coaches the Portland Trailblazers) and often sends game films home for dad to critique.

It’ll take him some time, but the extremely bright, well-spoken McMillan will figure it out and eventually be a solid point guard in the league.

Meantime, Glasser had a career-high nine assists and earlier this week coach Herb Sendek noted Glasser’s increased confidence with his shot. Before Saturday’s 0-fer, he was at 51 percent on the season.

Unofficially, ASU is one of three teams (possibly four) in the country with more wins before Christmas then all of last season.

ASU is 9-2. It went 8-22 last season.

Iona is 5-7. It went 2-28 last year.

Northern Colorado is 5-6. Last year: 4-24.

The wild card is UNC-Wilmington, which led at halftime Saturday when this blog entry went into cyberspace. The Seahawks entered the game 7-4 after going 7-22 last season.

Remember Coppin State? The team the Sun Devils beat 60-43 early this month?

The Eagles play a brutal schedule to begin with (Xavier, Kent State, Southwest Missouri State and Ohio State). This weekend, they played an 8 p.m. (Central time) game Friday night at Marquette, lost by 47 points, then took an overnight bus from Milwaukee to Bloomington, Ind., for a noon (Central time) tipoff Saturday against the Hoosiers.

Ouch. No wonder the Eagles lost by 35 points.

The final two Saturday non-conference games are free to all Arizona State and Maricopa Community College District students with valid student identification. Also, ASU students can bring a guest for free. Students and guests should enter through the south gate (student entrance) with a student ID.

A final tidbit about Jeff Pendergraph: As a freshman, he made 65 of 89 free throws, or 73.0 percent. As a sophomore, he made 73 of 100 free throws, or 73.0 percent. So far as a junior, he’s made 27 of 37 free throws.

Yep, 73.0 percent.

Idaho is in town for a game with ASU Saturday afternoon, and while it doesn’t scream “sellout,” at Wells Fargo, a couple Vandals players might have a few extra cheerleaders in the stands.

Veteran high school basketball followers may remember Michael Crowell, a 2004 graduate of Mesa High after he transferred from Chandler.

He starred at Blinn College and Central Arizona before joining Idaho as a junior.

By far the best 3-point shooter on Idaho at 48.4 percent, Michael Crowell was a stud at Chandler before transferring to Mesa, but the Vandals are looking for big things in his senior season.

The 6-foot-7 Crowell is playing 31.6 minutes per game, is third on the Vandals in scoring at 9.3 points per game, and second with five rebounds per game.

Secondly, freshman guard Barrett Brown played at Phoenix Mountain Pointe. He’s redshirting this year after a senior season of 8.8 points, three assists and two steals, but there’s plenty of athletic prowess in his background.

Barrett Brown led Phoenix Mountain Pointe to the state semifinals in 2006 and was one of the best to come out of the 5A Central Region last year.

One cousin, Terrence, plays football at New Mexico. Another cousin, David Carter, plays football at UCLA. A third cousin, Chris Carter, plays football at Fresno State.

Bob Clark of the Eugene (Ore.) Register-Guard goes Arizona State heavy in his Pac-10 notes for the week. Be sure to check out the last quote by Arizona interim coach Kevin O’Neill. It’s what’s made him a favorite for years.

A few leftovers:

Bad news for the rest of the Pac-10, as Stanford’s 7-foot center Brook Lopez is back and eligible for the next semester. The high school All-American was one of the better freshman in the league last year, averaging 12.6 points and six rebounds per game.

When one returns, another leaves. Oregon State freshman Michael Stovall left the team on Wednesday. He averaged 5.4 minutes in seven games.

The latest NCAA stat rankings were released Monday. ASU is third-best in the Pac-10, allowing 55.7 points per game. The Sun Devils are tops in the conference in field goal percentage allowed (36.7 percent), free throws (77.3 percent, although that number will drop following Tuesday night’s trepedatia) and No. 1 at 7.8 steals per game.

Some overtime notes following Tuesday’s wacky Montana State-Arizona State game (which almost went to overtime):

Was Montana State that good (14-of-24 from 3-point range), or did ASU really have the letdown its players preached to one another wasn’t going to happen?

Both. I can remember the Bobcats getting three open looks from beyond the arc. All the others were either contested or at least not wide open.

But the Sun Devils’ offense stagnated. Cuts weren’t sharp, and coach Herb Sendek wasn’t impressed with his team’s passing.

James Harden entered the game as the leading free-throw shooter in the Pac-10 at 87.5 percent, but he missed two key ones in the final minute, which would have sealed the deal for ASU.

He wasn’t alone. Pendergraph is normally a good stripe shooter, but he missed three, as did Eric Boateng.

One of those nights.

“Why won’t someone make a free throw?”

The 14 3-pointers made by Montana State tied for third-most allowed by an ASU team. Indiana State holds the record by hitting 18 in 1988.

Think the presence of Harden and Ty Abbott isn’t making a difference to others? Jerren Shipp made 36-of-107 from outside last year (33.6 percent). He’s made 18-of-37
(48.6) percent this year.

An interesting question was brought up to Arizona State coach Herb Sendek following Tuesday’s win against Montana State.

The Sun Devils led 65-62 with 12 seconds left. The Bobcats had the ball and were 12 of 22 from 3-point territory.

Was there ever a thought to fouling the Bobcats and sending them to the free throw line instead?

Answer: “No.”

Sendek referenced his time at Kentucky, when it led Tennessee on the road by three points in the final possession. Kentucky fouled Tennessee, the Volunteers made the first free throw, intentionally missed the second (obviously), still got the offensive rebound and turned it into a three-point-play. Kentucky lost.

Then he referenced a game when he was North Carolina State. The Wolfpack trailed Clemson by three points and were fouled. They made the first, missed the second, got the rebound and tied the game. N.C. State won in overtime.

“I’ve been on both sides,” he said. “Flip a coin. … A lot of things happen sometimes when you extend the game.”