Shamefully, Devon Kennard could suffer a wrath from ASU’s overzealous if he dares to make a leap and play elsewhere. (Ahwatukee Foothills News photo)

There was Phoenix Desert Vista senior-to-be Devon Kennard decked out in a blinding red suit on Sunday night, talking high school recruiting with Ross Shimabuku on Ch. 3.

Before Kennard revealed his top five schools of choice (Southern California, Arizona State, Texas, California and UCLA, in no particular order), Shimabuku listed his top five schools for Kennard, all of which were ASU logos.

This blog is normally a fan of Shimabuku, but he upstaged an already over-the-top premise of some baited-breath TV announcement, not even for a school of choice, but five schools of choice.

A top-five announcement-turned-TV-event is bad enough, but a top five of ways to force ASU down a kid’s throat was beyond homerish and pandering. It was embarrassing.

Kennard is a freak athlete, clearly the best in the past few years to come out of Arizona. He’s also an intelligent (academically and otherwise), grounded kid. His father, former Arizona Cardinal Derek Kennard, and older brother, Derek Jr., make sure of that.

ASU has more than a viable shot at him, which they wouldn’t have had a short time ago, and the fan base should be delighted.

But if Kennard chooses — gasp! — a school other than ASU, he’ll be villified by the desert masses, and a group of Sun Devil zealots might build a wall to keep him out.

Traitor for life!

It’s out there; a scary, but very real sentiment. It’s considered blasphemous for a local prep star to find his own way, without the jeers, behind-his-back jeers from local cronies and snide comments of “disgracing” the hometown ‘U.’

Is Shimabuku one of those? Doubtful, but the charade reinforced a sad state of affairs: Kennard, and other big-time East Valley recruits, will learn the hard way should they dare don a visitor jersey.

Answer: Pat Murphy and the Arizona State baseball team. A little.

The Sun Devils were mocked, ridiculed and scorned thrice-over for blowing a 1-0 series lead to Fresno State in the Tempe Super Regional.

Did you notice who won the College World Series on Wednesday night? Fresno State, which won six elimination games and beat four nationally-ranked teams in a month.

The Bulldogs were the first No. 4 seed of a regional to reach a CWS (it’s about the equivalent of a No. 13 seed winning the NCAA men’s basketball tournament), then the Bulldogs pulled off a top-three when it comes to all-time improbable NCAA championship runs.

Yes, ASU was the better team and shouldn’t have lost consecutive home games.

Except nobody was a better team in June than Fresno State, and because of that, ASU can pull parts of itself off the hook.

It’s a Mardi Gras (sort of ) at Arizona State, as Lisa Love’s athletic department earned a fourth-place finish in the Directors’ Cup standing, best in school history.

The long-awaited totals have been added, and Arizona State finished a school-best fourth place in this academic year’s Directors’ Cup standings.

The Sun Devils were hovering around ninth place most of the year, but a national championship in softball, a second-place finish in women’s track and field, fifth place from the women’s golf team and sixth place from men’s track and field pushed ASU into the top five for the first time in school history.

Baseball and men’s golf also combined for another 110 points.

The rest of the Pac-10 did its part and more. The conference won 13 NCAA titles in the 2007-08 academic year, one short of the all-time record set by the Pac-10 in 1996-97.

The Big Ten was second place with five total championships. ASU and UCLA were the only Division I schools to win three national championships.

In addition, Pac-10 women’s teams compiled eight national championships, easily the most of any Division I conference.

Mark Heller will hold down the blog fort for the next four weeks as I take some time to relax and recharge the batteries for football season. I will return in mid-July, prior to Pac-10 football media day in Los Angeles.

Activity inside Arizona State’s athletic department figures to slow down, as coaches and administrators take vacations. However, there are four items to keep an eye on in the coming weeks:

1. The final U.S. Sports Academy Directors’ Cup standings that measure overall success of athletic departments will be released on Thursday, and ASU is expected to post its highest placement ever. The school is ninth in the current standings, which matches its best finish, in 2000-01.

After ASU’s point totals from baseball (64), men’s track and field (73.5) and women’s track and field (90) are tallied, it is projected to have 1,146 points, which should be enough to pass at least eighth-place Penn State.

2. A report on the findings of an internal investigation into the baseball program is being prepared for submission to the NCAA and Pac-10. Athletic director Lisa Love said that ASU plans to publicly disclose the findings when the report is complete.

Coach Pat Murphy, who got a vote of confidence from Love on Friday, believes that any infractions will be minor.

When I asked Love last week about compliance issues in general, she said: ”There will always be things that challenge us. People make mistakes with violations, but that comes with the territory in college athletics, I’m sorry to say. But I can promise that we will continue to be diligent on how we handle such things.”

3. ASU’s preseason football practice schedule is still in limbo as officials evaluate the construction progress of the indoor practice facility, which is scheduled to be completed on Aug. 1. Coach Dennis Erickson said on Friday that Camp Tontozona near Payson will be utilized, but the length of the Sun Devils’ stay is to be determined.

“I think we should know more in about two weeks,” Erickson said.

4. Men’s swimming and men’s tennis, which were two of the three sports cut by ASU in May, continue fund-raising efforts in hopes of gaining reinstatement. The swimming program recently sent an e-mail to supporters outlining a process of raising $1 million by March 31, which would provide four years of operating expenses.

For now, ASU officials will not raise their optimism above the cautious level.

“We’re still working toward meeting the (fund-raising) goals,” senior associate athletic director Dawn Rogers said.

Love said that a deadline has not been set for the two sports — they each need an endowment of $5 million — to secure funding that would allow them to compete in 2008-09. If necessary, she said, the Pac-10 could quickly revise schedules.

See you in a month.

Michael Jones gets a high-five from ASU teammate Ike Davis after hitting a home run against Oklahoma during the 2008 NCAA tournament. (Darryl Webb/Tribune)

Arizona State football coach Dennis Erickson does not relish the thought of his most experienced wide receiver playing minor-league baseball, but he will allow Michael Jones to pursue his diamond dreams.

Jones, an outfielder, was drafted in the 29th round by the New York Yankees earlier this month. He recently told PinstripesPlus.com that he “hopes to get started right away and get into the Yankees’ organization.”

An NFL prospect, Jones can still play college football if he signs a pro baseball contract.

“We’ve talked about it,” Erickson said. “Obviously, there is a chance for him to make a little money. We should know something in the next week or so.”

Since his arrival as coach in December 2006, Erickson has been fine with Jones playing baseball for the Sun Devils. In three years, Jones has played in 94 games (34 starts), batting .225 (21-for-93) with a home run and 11 RBIs.

Erickson, however, is not as enthusiastic about Jones living the minor-league life, far away from Tempe, with a football season looming.

“But you have to let him do what he feels is best for him and his future,” Erickson said.

In 2007, playing minor-league baseball during the summer did not affect Oregon quarterback Dennis Dixon once the season started. He was the Heisman Trophy front-runner and had the Ducks on the brink of the Bowl Championship Series title contest until suffering a season-ending knee injury in the 10th game.

The 6-foot-4, 203-pound Jones has 70 receptions for 1,109 yards and 13 touchdowns in three football seasons at ASU.

In other football matters, Erickson has been pleased with the progress of quarterback Rudy Carpenter, who had surgery on his right (throwing) thumb after spring practice.

“He’s close to 100 percent, a lot better than he was at the end of the year,” Erickson said. “He’s got more mobility, and he told me that he’s throwing the ball really well. He’ll only get better as the summer goes on.”

Many players are currently taking part in on-field, non-pads workouts that, per NCAA rules, cannot be attended by coaches.

Erickson is not concerned about the tight end position after the departure of projected starter Dane Guthrie, believed to be due to academics, and backup Lance Evbuomwan.

The training-camp competition figures to be wide open, with returnees Andrew Pettes, Jovon Williams and Dan Knapp and junior-college transfer Stanley Malamala leading the pursuit. ASU also signed incoming freshmen Steven Figueroa and Toa Tuitea (who might play defensive end).

In 2007, Pettes and Williams had one catch each, and Knapp redshirted.

“I still like what we have,” Erickson said. “Jovon, Pettes and Knapp have shown what they can do, and we brought Stanley in because we think he adds something for us. We kind of expected the thing with Guthrie might happen, so we weren’t off-guard.”

The Sun Devils plan to utilize more four- and five-receiver packages in the fall, meaning that a tight end will not be on the field as much.

There have been no position changes since the end of spring drills.

The Oct. 5, 2013, game between ASU and Notre Dame at the Dallas Cowboys’ new facility in Arlington, Texas, will be broadcast nationally and in prime time.

As part of the contract extension through 2015 reached between NBC and Notre Dame on Thursday, the Fighting Irish’s annual off-site home game (beginning in 2009) will kick off at night, presumably at 8 p.m. Eastern time. The ASU game is one of three off-site dates confirmed; Notre Dame plays Washington State in San Antonio in ’09 and Army in Chicago in ’10.

The 6-foot-3 Brandon Jennings was rated as the No. 1 guard in the country, but the Arizona recruit has hired a lawyer to explore overseas options if test scores prevent him from going to Tucson.  

Some actual news going on in the college basketball world in late June.

The 2008 Anaheim Classic field has been locked up. Arizona State knew it was a part of this back in April, and the Sun Devils will be joined by the likes of Baylor and St. Mary’s (NCAA tournament teams), Cal State Fullerton, Providence, Charlotte and Wake Forest.

Matchups haven’t been determined yet for the three-day tournament, but it’s a solid non-conference tournament. The schedule will be followed by matchups against San Diego State (No. 82 in final RPI), Pepperdine (No. 204 in a down year), BYU (No. 25) and Nebraska (No. 96), plus a few also-rans.

Remember, though, the Maui Invitational last year had a group featuring Duke and Marquette, but ASU wound up with Illinois and Louisiana State, which didn’t do the Sun Devils favors in strength of schedule.

But the big tidbit for the moment comes from Tucson, where Andy Katz of ESPN.com says Brandon Jennings is looking at playing overseas if Arizona doesn’t pan out. Jennings is the All-American prized recruit of the Wildcats, and while he plans to play at UA and is qualified, red flags went up after he took two standardized tests with widely varied results, so he’ll take a third test and learn its results next week.

Jennings also said he’d likely have gone pro if not for the NBA requirement of either playing one year in college or being 19 years old within the draft’s calendar year.

He’s likely to be this year’s Jerryd Bayless anyway, especially since Chase Budinger will also likely go pro next summer. Still, Arizona believes he’ll qualify and everything will be fine, and though it could set an interesting benchmark of American kids going from high school to Europe to the NBA, my money says he’ll be a Wildcat this fall.

Speaking of age requirements, the National Association of College Basketball Coaches wants to put the collective foot down when it comes to recruiting. USC coach Tim Floyd has been a key figure in this (though hardly the only one), since he’s offered scholarships to at least two 15-year-olds in the past three years. One, Ryan Boatright, chose USC before he knew what high school he’d attend.

This all makes sense for obvious maturation, development and academic reasons. The question is whether coaches will ultimately heed their own preaching.

Kevin O’Neill has found a new home under former Suns assistant Marc Iavaroni in Memphis. Nice to see he found a job (though that wasn’t going to be too tough and he’s always wanted to return to the pros), we’ll see how well he holds up in NBA purgatory.

Russ Pennell is part of Lute Olson’s overhauled staff in Tucson, which meant giving up his Arizona Premier Basketball Academy business and radio gig alongside Tim Healey at ASU. 

Reports of Tucson’s demise have been overexaggerated.

So says Russ Pennell, as I caught up with the affable Arizona assistant and former Arizona State assistant and radio analyst.

He sold his home in Gilbert within 24 hours of putting it on the market, found a place to live in northwest Tucson three days later, and is still working with his children on adjusting to this new phase of life. 

“My daughter says she can’t root for Arizona, that she’s a Sun Devil,” he said. “I told her she’s going to have to learn to change that, because they’re signing dad’s paycheck.”

Contrary to his previous hopes and sentiments, he will be hitting the recruiting roads hard for most of July. His experience and connections through his former business (the Arizona Premier Basketball Academy, now run by his father) shouldn’t go to waste.

“That was wishful thinking,” he said of staying home.

The bridging of trust continues between Lute Olson, his new assistants and his players, as longtime assistant Jim Rosborough, Josh Pastner and Miles Simon have been replaced by former Nuggets assistant Mike Dunlap, Pennell and Reggie Geary.

The coaching staff fully expects McDonald’s All-American Brandon Jennings to qualify academically, and in doing so, would give Arizona one of the best starting lineups in the Pac-10, with Chase Budinger, Nic Wise and Jordan Hill returning.

He’s seen the Sun Devils’ Ty Abbott and Jeff Pendergraph a couple times this summer, and remains close friends with ASU assistant Dedrique Taylor, so while he’s now engaged on the other side of this bitter feud, he hopes it’s only on the court.

“My relationship with those guys will never change,” Pennell said. “Doesn’t mean we can’t compete against them and try to win, but as people and friends, that will continue.”

As expected, the Pac-10 was hit hard. Such is the price to be paid when you’re a top-three conference in the country with a handful of phenomenal freshmen.

Four of the five first-teamers from last season’s All Pac-10 crew are gone: O.J. Mayo (Southern California), Kevin Love (UCLA), Brook Lopez (Stanford) and Ryan Anderson (California).

The oddball college kid left? Arizona State’s James Harden.

Arizona’s Jerryd Bayless could have been on the first team as well, and he’s gone, and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute and Russell Westbrook left UCLA early.

Chase Budinger stayed a Wildcat. Projected as a late first-round pick with UA coach Lute Olson in his other ear every other day recruiting him to come back, Budinger probably made the right decision. He has a little toughness and consistency to prove in the college game, and the Wildcats have a quality starting lineup returning with Budinger, a healthy point guard Nic Wise, incoming high school All-American guard Brandon Jennings and junior-to-be Jordan Hill in the middle.

After those four … ouch.

Among those who pulled out of the NBA draft and will return to school is Brigham Young guard and and co-Mountain West Conference player of the year Lee Cummard.

Lee Cummard withdrew from the NBA draft last weekend, which means the BYU senior and Mesa native gets a homecoming (sort of) on Dec. 20, when the Cougars and Sun Devils square off at University of Phoenix Stadium.

The former Mesa High star led the Cougars in setting a school-record 27 regular-season wins and a MWC-record 14 league victories.

Lee, a senior-to-be, was the only player in the conference to rank in the top 10 in nine different statistical categories.

He led the Jackrabbits to a state championship in 2004.

As part of the Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series, the Sun Devils’ rematch with Nebraska will be Dec. 7 at Wells Fargo Arena. The tip-off time won’t be determined until late fall.

The basketball team posted a 3.13 grade-point average for the spring semester. Derek Glasser (3.67), Rihards Kuksiks (3.25), Jeff Pendergraph (3.0) and Harden (3.0) led the way.

Greg Bordes forces Gavin Hedstrom of Fresno State at second base and fires to first on a double-play attempt during the Tempe Super Regional. (Ralph Freso/Tribune)

Arizona State shortstop Greg Bordes has signed a free-agent contract with the Diamondbacks and will report to the team’s Single-A club in Yakima, Wash., his father, Charlie, said.

Bordes, who had a year of eligibility remaining at ASU, batted .304 with 21 RBIs in 44 games (21 starts) this season. A utility bench player for much of his Sun Devil career, he became the regular shortstop in April after Marcel Champagnie struggled defensively.

A product of Mesa Dobson High, Bordes started and had at least one hit in each of ASU’s six NCAA tournament games, going 9-for-22 with seven RBIs.

Bordes’ brother, Brett, pitched at ASU from 2003-06 and is currently with the Delmarva Shorebirds, the Baltimore Orioles’ Single-A affiliate in Salisbury, Md.

An internal investigation of ASU’s baseball program is complete, and the school is preparing a report to submit to the NCAA and Pac-10, athletic director Lisa Love said. She added that ASU will publicly disclose the findings after the report is finished.

Former ASU star Eddie House went from forgotten to front-page fodder after Thursday night. This Associated Press photo became a popular choice among Internet sites and sports section covers across the country Friday morning.

Did you turn the channel after the first hour (heck, even 30 minutes) of Thursday night’s Game 4 of the NBA Finals?

Hope you turned it back.

The Boston Celtics pulled off an unbelievable 21-point comeback against the Los Angeles Lakers to take a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, it was the biggest comeback in NBA Finals history since the organization starting keeping the NBA’s statistics in 1970.

In the middle of it all was Arizona State product and NBA journeyman Eddie House.

It’s been an unremarkable postseason for House. He barely played in the early series against Atlanta and Cleveland, mostly because of Sam Cassell.

That changed Thursday night with 11 points, including a couple of crucial jumpers in the fourth quarter, on a night when the rest of the Celtics launched duds from outside.

House nudged his way back into the picture, and his Thursday exploits became an instant topic during the lull between Games 4 and 5.

Despite the five “DNP — coach’s decision” designations this postseason, 19 total minutes in five games against Detroit in the Eastern Conference finals, and a pair of zeros in the first two games of the NBA Finals, House bided his time, in-part because he’d been there before.

In his 1999-2000 senior season at ASU, House shot 0-for-16 against Brigham Young, and the Sun Devils lost, 78-67.

Following an 11-day holiday break, House scored 37 points in the first half against San Diego State (he finished with 48 points).

Three weeks later came the 61-point night against California in double overtime, part of a stretch in which he averaged 36 points per game for seven games.

A week after the Cal game, he was “held” to 25 points against Washington State. He scored 12 points in the first three minutes before the Cougars used a triangle-and-two defense, in which the “and two” jobs were to guard House.

I’d bet the House he’ll see more playing time on Father’s Day for Game 5. An NBA championship makes for a great gift, one not even his three children can offer.