Men's Basketball

Oct. 16, 1997

Arizona State Men's Basketball Preview

It is not an ideal situation, but don't look for Don Newman to make excuses.

Don Newman takes over the Sun Devil basketball program in 1997-98.

On Sept. 22, 1997, Arizona State Athletic Director Dr. Kevin White named Don Newman as his interim head basketball coach for the 1997-98 men's basketball season. Newman inherits a team that will start the year with just nine healthy scholarship players and has just five letter winners returning, only one of them with more than one year of Division I experience. Numbers don't lie, and Newman knows some of the tough ones he must deal with:

One...as in just one player with over one year in a Sun Devil uniform. Although Ahlon Lewis and Urit Kelly are seniors, they transferred from junior college last year. Only All-Pac-10 performer Jeremy Veal has three years worth of experience as a Sun Devil.

One...as in just one player over 6-8. That is Syracuse transfer Bobby Lazor, who will be expected to step into a starting role after sitting out all of last season as a transfer student.

Two...is the number of Pac-10 wins for Arizona State last year, and Newman knows the toughest part of winning is teaching kids to win when they have not done that recently.

But don't expect Newman to feel sorry for the team. The 1987 Idaho graduate says the Sun Devils will come out fighting this year, led by a strong backcourt. The Sun Devils led the league in turnover margin (+5.2) for the fourth time in the past five seasons and also tied for the league lead in assists per game (17.8) last year. ASU also averaged 10.0 steals per game, second best in the loop. It is those kinds of "hustle" categories that gives Newman some positives to build on and talk about heading into the 1997-98 season.

"This is a tough time for our program because of some unexpected things, but we are not going to feel sorry for ourselves. We are moving forward. It is time for us to make some positives here, and the only way to make that happen is to have the right attitude.

"I look at this as a unique situation. We heard all the high-profile names tossed around during the coaching search, but now that I have been given the job, it is important that we move forward. My game plan is to rally the troops and maximize the skills we have. I just want to take what we have and make it better."

Senior guard Jeremy Veal

One of the first things Newman did as coach was name seniors Jeremy Veal and Ahlon Lewis as co-captains. Newman wants it to be known that the Sun Devils will have strong leadership.

"When you look at the best teams in the nation, both collegiately and on the professional level, they have leadership from the players. That is what I want with this team. I want Ahlon and Jeremy to take control and lead this team. Guys like Mike Batiste and Eddie House have to want to improve, but Veal and Lewis are the ones in control. This is their squad."

The best player in the country that no one talks about might reside in Tempe.

Because of two losing seasons for ASU in 1995-96 and 1996-97, Jeremy Veal has not had a lot of the accolades and honors that go along with leading a team in scoring for two straight seasons, but that certainly is not because he has not done his part.

Veal has carried the burden since ASU went to the Sweet Sixteen in 1995, but last year's efforts were especially impressive. When it was realized that not only was Veal the best shooting guard but the best point guard on the squad, he basically took on both duties. The accomplishments earned him All-Pac-10 honors last year, the first time in three seasons a Sun Devil had earned the honor. Want to know what position Veal plays? Don't call him a point guard or a shooting guard. Call him a "lead" guard, because he leads the team in almost every category.

Veal proceeded to score 18.7 points per game and average 4.7 assists last year, which placed him in the league's top five in both categories. How hard is that to do in the Pac-10? Since 1983, it has happened just five other times (by just three players). And the names of those players are ones to remember, like Damon Stoudamire, Terrell Brandon and Gary Payton. He also was one of just two players in the league (Brevin Knight the other) to rank among the league's top ten in scoring, assists, three-point percentage and free-throw percentage. Veal posted 13 20-point games for the second straight year and led the team in scoring in 18 games.

"Jeremy is arguably one of the top guards in the nation," says Newman. "But what people don't know about him is how hard he has worked. His work ethic is incredible.

ASU struggled to an 11-16 record in 1995-96, but it was a good one for Veal. Veal, in just his sophomore season, averaged 18.9 points per game and was the top returning scorer in the Pac-10 last season.

The San Dimas, Calif., product notched 13 20-point games on the year and shot 81.9 percent from the free throw line, which was sixth in the loop. Veal had a then career-high 29 points vs. Oregon on Feb. 24 and was 64-of-76 (.842) from the free throw line in his final 22 games. Veal took on the leadership role after averaging a team-leading 34.2 minutes per game in 1995-96.

Veal tied a school mark for most games played by a freshman in 1994-95 with 33, and averaged 7.4 points per game, including 19 against Washington State, and an even more impressive 7.7 points per game in Pac-10 play. He also made 33-of-40 (.825) from the free throw line, which was good enough to lead the team, including 18-of-22 (.818) in Pac-10 games. Veal started the final four games of the season, getting him ready for the 1995-96 breakout year.

It could easily be said that Veal, despite being just a rookie, was the most consistent Sun Devil during their run to the Sweet Sixteen, as he knew his role and went out and put forth a good effort in each contest. Yet at the end of the year, he showed a flair for being more than just a role player, as he averaged 11.2 points per game in the final five tilts. How important was he to ASU's success? The Sun Devils were 8-3 when he reached double digits in scoring in 1994-95. He also showed the coaching staff toughness with 14-point road games at Stanford and at Arizona. Veal also contributed in the NCAA Tournament, averaging 10.3 points per game in the three games.

"Veal would rather average five points again if we could go back to the NCAA Tournament. He has contributed much to this program, and it would be great for him to go out this season with a good final year."

Junior forward Mike Batiste

One player who benefitted from summer conditioning is junior forward Mike Batiste. Batiste transferred from Long Beach City College last December and played in 22 games. He came out of the gates fast, scoring 25 points against Stanford in just his fourth collegiate game and then had 25 vs. eventual national champion Arizona just three games later. He ended the season averaging12.0 points and 6.7 rebounds per game and shot an impressive 72.2 percent from the line.

But what was not talked about much was Batiste's injured knee,one that he had surgery on in March of 1996. Batiste now has had a year of strength training and his knee is healthy.

"Michael did not finish the year strong last year," says Newman. "He is now in good shape physically as well as mentally and he is ready to go. He has two years left, and I believe he will become one of the best players in the league by the time he leaves Arizona State."

An unfortunate car accident will likely keep Okeme Oziwo, who had added 30 pounds from his freshman year fall to his 6-8 frame, out of action last year. Oziwo hurt himself in late August while driving in California and suffered numerous injuries and will likely miss all of ths year. Oziwo redshirted last year after. gaining valuable experience as part of the Pac-10 1996 Summer Tour to Japan, where he shot 12-of-21 (.571) from the floor in four games and averaged 7.5 points and 4.5 boards per game.

Oziwo earned honorable mention All-Pac-10 Freshman Team honors in 1995-96 and was the Team Rookie the Year. He averaged 25.4 minutes per game, fourth on the team, and grabbed 32 rebounds in his final five games of the season. He averaged 2.9 points and 5.2 boards per game. He showed flashes with a 13-rebound performance against Texas Southern in the season opener, the most by an ASU freshman since Mario Bennett grabbed 17 in 1992. He led the Sun Devils in rebounding in three games.

"What happened to Okeme obviously hurts our program, bu the important thing is that the young man heals and comes back to the program in good shape. He is in no rush, and the most important thing for Okeme right now is his health."

Urit Kelly, a 6-6, 185-pound forward from Nassau in the Bahamas, adds excellent athleticism to the frontcourt and played in 30 games last year, starting in 24. He averaged 4.9 points and 4.7 rebounds per game.

In junior college, Kelly averaged 19.3 points, 9.9 rebounds and 1.5 steals in 31 games in 1995-96 for St. Gregory's College. He shot 57 percent from the floor in his senior year. Kelly, who also played volleyball in high school, will be counted on to run the floor and take advantage of ASU's fast-breaking style and might see some playing time at the wing position this year.

"Kelly will be able to get out on the break and score some points by outhustling the bigger players. He has some tremendous athletic ability that we need to use better than we did last year. Usually, junior college players take a year to develop, and that is what we are hoping for with Urit."

Sophomore Eddie House, a 6-1, 180-pound guard from Hayward High School in Union City, Calif., showed the most promise of anyone on the squad last year. House became just the seventh Sun Devil to earn Pac-10 All-Freshman honors, and he set an ASU freshman mark for steals with 59. He also earned honorable mention Freshman All-America honors from Basketball Weekly .

House averaged12.6 points and 3.6 assists per game and played in all 30 contests. He started in 22 games and became the first freshman in ASU history to notch 50 steals (59) and 100 assists (108) in a season. His Pac-10 All-Freshman honor was the first for a Sun Devil since Ron Riley accomplished the feat in 1992-93.

In his prep days, House averaged 27.6 points per game to rank 15th in California in his senior year and was a two-time Hayward Area Athletic League Player of the Year. He is also a proven winner, leading his squad to unbeaten league titles in both his junior and senior seasons.

"Eddie needs to make the tough jump from a good freshman season to a great sophomore one. He needs to keep on working hard. He was a tough player last year who probably played too much in his rookie year. He was thrown into the fire, and he came out with a good year. He needs to work on his shooting and be more consistent. He could learn a lot from Jeremy Veal."

Sophomore guard Eddie House

A player with one-year of Division experience is 6-0 guard Ahlon (pronounced) Lewis, who played two seasons at highly-touted San Jacinto Junior College and was an All-Texas Eastern Athletic Conference selection after leading his team in assists, steals and free-throw percentage. Lewis will see increased minutes after playing in 29 games and starting in 10. He averaged 2.7 points and 1.7 rebounds per game in his first year at Arizona State, and was third on the team with 77 assists.

A native of Houston, Texas, Lewis earned several prep honors while at Sharpstown High School and will give ASU solid minutes at point guard.

"Lewis can pass and find the open man, which is what is needed when you have Veal and House shooting the ball. He is probably one of the hardest working players on the team, as he knows he needs to play well this year. He has worked as hard as anyone in the offseason."

Newcomers like Bobby Lazor, Maurice McCree, Reggie Hester and Jason Patton need to give Arizona State a jump start this year. Lazor, at 6-9, will give the Sun Devils some size but also can step outside and hit the jump shot. He played two years at Syracuse before transferring to Arizona State and sitting out last year. McCree and Hester were a strong forward-guard combination at Northland Pioneer College last year and can bring some explosiveness to the offense this year. McCree will play the small forward postion at 6-7 while Hester will fill in at all three guard postions. Patton is a 6-4 inch leaper who will play the wing. All of the newcomers are athletic.

"Bobby Lazor and Jason Patton have been watching basketball for a year, and I know he can't wait to get on the court. McCree and Hester will be rushed into the system, but they both play at an intense level and will give us strength off the bench in the early season. When you don't have a lot of guys, you need your newcomers to step up and play as soon as possible. Those guys made the right choice of a university if their goal was playing time, because they will get it this year fast."

"Obviously, when you look at the talent in the league, it is going to be tough for such a small team like us to move up, considering our lack of depth, with the likes of UCLA, Arizona and Stanford returning so much talent. USC and Washington also have a ton of young talent, while Oregon State and California should be solid.

"Veal is having a tremendous career and I love his attitude. He can shoot with the best of them in the nation. We will need guys like Eddie House and Mike Batiste to step up and be leaders. Last year, they were new players and did not have to be leaders. That needs to change this year."

Name              Team             Scoring    Assists    3-PT Pct.  FT Pct.
Toby Bailey       UCLA             14.1/NR    4.8/4th    33.3/NR    66.1/NR 
Stais Boseman     USC              16.0/9th   3.6/NR     33.3/NR    70.1/NR 
Michael Dickerson Arizona          18.9/3rd   1.5/NR     33.1/NR    71.2/NR 
Isaac Fontaine    Washington State 21.9/2nd   2.5/NR     44.1/4th   78.5/9th
Ed Gray           California       24.8/1st   2.2/NR     30.2 /NR   79.0/T-8th
Brevin Knight     Stanford         16.3/8th   7.8/1st    40.9/7th   83.4/2nd
Jelani McCoy      UCLA             10.9/NR    1.5/NR     00.0/NR    44.6/NR
Charles O'Bannon  UCLA             17.7/6th   2.4/NR     34.7/NR    79.1/6th
Mark Sanford      Washington       17.0/7th   2.2/NR     33.3/NR    69.8/NR 
Miles Simon       Arizona          18.4/5th   4.2/10th   40.5/8th   75.4/NR
Jeremy Veal       Arizona State    18.7/4th   4.7/T-5th  44.3/3rd   77.4/10th
Kenya Wilkins     Oregon           15.7/10th  4.6/7th    39.2/NR    82.5/3rd