TRA TO AUSTRALIA: As part of the Pac-12 Global initiative Sun Devil junior-to-be Tra Holder, who last year became the first Pac-12 player to open league play with four straight 20-point games since Cal's Patrick Christopher in 2008-09, is part of the Pac-12 Conference's All-Star Team going to Melbourne, Australia for a series of cultural experiences and exhibition games against the Australia Men's National Team in July of 2016. In 2015-16, he averaged a team-best 14.2 points and made 49 three-pointers. He led the team in scoring in 16 games and had seven 20-point games, after not having any in his freshman season. He became the first Sun Devil to post five straight 20-point games since James Harden did it in his freshman season of 2007-08.???????????
TRA HOLDER IMPROVEMENT FROM YEAR ONE TO YEAR TWO
2014-15/2015-16
PPG: 7.0/14.2
FG%: .317/.387
3PM: 12/49
3PT%: .240/.366
FT%: .708/.727
TRA HOLDER 7 20+ SCORING GAMES
26 at UCLA (1/9/16)
24 vs. #8 Arizona (1/3/16)
23 vs. CSU-Bakersfield (12/28/15)
22 vs. North Carolina State (11/23/15)
21 at USC (1/7/16)
20 vs. #23 USC (2/12/16)
20 vs. Washington State (1/16/16) ????????
WOW ON SAM CUNLIFFE:?Before we go any further, let's chat about freshman Sam Cunliffe and how awesome this video ....?
We see you @SamCunliffe_3 https://t.co/UOKoFbmEUh @SunDevilTix @sundevilclub @DevilsDigest @JB_Long @mattmuehlebach @hollywood_XI
? Sun Devil MBB (@SunDevilHoops) June 14, 2016
SCHEDULE NOTES: Here is an update on the schedule for this year. Please note Pac-12 "pairings" will be announced soon, with specific dates and times available in early September. ASU played non-conference games at two of the top attendance leaders in 2015-16. Kentucky averaged 23,361, which led the nation, and Creighton was tenth in home attendance, averaging 15,941 per game.
@SUNDEVILHOOPS 2016-17 SCHEDULE (NOTE DATES ARE TENTATIVE)
FRIDAY, NOV. 11 VS. PORTLAND STATE
ASU opens on Veterans Day against Portland State, who it has played five times in its history, most recently during the 2006-07 season. ASU leads the series 3-2.
SUNDAY, NOV. 13 VS. CAL POLY
After playing Friday, we will tip Sunday vs. Cal Poly. Since the team has to leave on Tuesday (Nov. 15) for Puerto Rico and will be gone for six nights, playing two games in the first three games is necessary.
Any Sun Devils in Puerto Rico around Nov. 17-20? @ESPNPRTipOff ? https://t.co/ZUjK5QpkYs These teams will be... pic.twitter.com/zvsnOIDYUp
? Sun Devil MBB (@SunDevilHoops) June 17, 2016
NOV. 17-20 AT PUERTO RICO CLASSIC
ASU will visit Puerto Rico for the second time in its hoops history in November, as it plays in the Puerto Rico Tip-Off at Coliseo Roberto Clemente in San Juan. Oklahoma (29-8), who advanced to the 2016 Final Four, and three other 2016 PRTO participants who competed in the postseason are in the field, with Northern Iowa (23-13) and Xavier (28-6) being NCAA entrants and Davidson (20-13) a NIT team. Clemson (17-14), Missouri (10-21), and Tulane (12-22) complete the field. Northern Iowa won the Missouri Valley Tournament, but lost to Texas A&M (92-88 in overtime) in NCAA West Regional action. Xavier defeated Weber State (71-53) and lost to Wisconsin (66-63) in their East Region games, but the Musketeers split a pair of games with NCAA champion Villanova. Davidson is led by the nation's fifth-leading scorer Jack Gibbs. Gibbs averaged 23.7 points a game and scored 30 or more points in 10 games last season. ASU's only other trip to Puerto Rico was in November of 1999 when it fell to Texas, beat American of Puerto Rico, and lost to Virginia.
WEDNESDAY, NOV. 23
We hope to have more information on an opponent for this date soon. Stay tuned.
Anyone want to join us in the Bahamas? Kentucky vs. Arizona State | Basketball in Paradise | Atlantis, Bahamas https://t.co/19jR1SRfHu
? Sun Devil MBB (@SunDevilHoops) June 16, 2016
MONDAY, NOV 28 VS. KENTUCKY IN THE BAHAMAS ( http://www.thesundevils.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=30300&ATCLID=210164297 )
Yes, the Bahamas against Kentucky. The game will be played in the 3,800-seat Imperial Ballroom at the Atlantis ? Paradise Island resort on Nassau's Paradise Island, the site of the yearly Battle 4 Atlantis tournament.
"We look forward to a great matchup with Kentucky in a place where Arizona State has never played," said Arizona State head coach Bobby Hurley. "It is important for our program to play high-level competition early in the season, while at the same time gaining exposure for our players. It will be another great learning experience for our team in a place that is becoming popular in the college basketball world with regards to early-season games. The list of teams playing in Atlantis increases every year, and we are glad to be part of it."
SATURDAY, DEC. 3 VS. UNLV
ASU has won all three games in the recent series, and each win has had some great highlights. Jahii Carson dropped 40 in November of 2012, ASU came back from an a big deficit early in Tempe the following year, and last year ASU fell behind big, but stormed back to defeat UNLV in Las Vegas.
TUESDAY, DEC. 6 VS. PURDUE AT NYC
ASU will play in the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden against Purdue. It will mark ASU's first trip to the Garden since November of 2009 when it fell to Duke and beat LSU.
SATURDAY, DEC. 10 AT SAN DIEGO STATE
San Diego State won the Mountain West Conference championship last season and has been a regular in the NCAA Tournament. ASU will make the trip and then the Aztecs return to Tempe in 2017-18.
SATURDAY, DEC. 17
ASU will fill this date soon, stay tuned for an opponent.
TUESDAY, DEC. 20 VS. CREIGHTON
Creighton made its 18th postseason in the last 19 years with last season's trip to the NIT quarterfinals. The Bluejays will return four starters from last year's team that finished (20-15), securing the program's 16th 20-win season in the past 18 years. CU has been picked as a preseason top-25 team in several early polls and boasts a proud program that features Kyle Korver, Doug McDermott, and former Phoenix Suns forward Anthony Tolliver as recent alums in the NBA.
THURSDAY, DEC. 22 CENTRAL ARKANSAS
Former ASU assistant coach, radio analyst and former Arizona interim head Coach Russ Pennell will come to campus as the Central Arkansas head coach in ASU's final non-conference game of the season.
Big thanks @JHarden13 for stopping by @BobbyHurley11 camp today!!! @Pac12Network @DougHaller @AZSports @DevilsDigest pic.twitter.com/T1lb66WrZX
? Sun Devil MBB (@SunDevilHoops) June 9, 2016
MEET SHANNON EVANS: Transfer Shannon Evans arrived at ASU in spring of 2015, after having spent two seasons under Coach Hurley at Buffalo. As a sophomore in 2014-15, he averaged 15.4 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 4.6 assists and led the Bulls to the NCAA Tournament as he earned second-team All-MAC honors. As a freshman, he averaged 8.5 points and 3.3 assists per game and was named to the All-MAC Freshman Team. He played in all 29 games off the bench, posting one of the highest minute totals amongst all bench players nationally (26.4 minutes per game). He sat the 2015-16 season, but will have two years to play starting in 2016-17.
We welcome Anthony Coleman and his wife Nellie and son Avery to Sun Devil family! https://t.co/sUolTKwGXw
? Sun Devil MBB (@SunDevilHoops) June 9, 2016
OBI ONE TO KEEP AN EYE ON: It was the Jan. 14 WSU game where junior Obinna Oleka (Oh-BEE-nah Oh-LEH-ka) began to emerge. He was in double figures in 13 of the final 16 games and averaged 11.4 points, 7.8 rebounds and was 41-of-49 (.837) from the free throw line in that time. Obi also had three of his four double-doubles in that span. Oleka had no points and one rebound in the first two games, but because he only played five games for State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota two seasons ago and didn't play last year, a slow start was expected. Consider this: Before he took the court in the opener Nov. 13, his previous official game was Dec. 7, 2013...a 705-day break between games.
OBI OLEKA FIRST 10 GAMES/FINAL 22
MPG: 19.0/27.4
FG: 22-61 (.361)/82-202 (.406)
3PT: 3-16 (.188)/24-70 (.343)
FT: 17-27 (.630)/56-67 (.836)
RPG: 4.9/6.6
PPG: 6.4/11.1
JUSTICE BEING SERVED: Kodi Justice will be a junior in 2016-17 and has made 77 three pointers in just 50 career games. He suffered a fractured navicular bone in his left foot on Jan. 25 of his freshman year (2014-15) and missed the remainder of that season, but bounced back with a solid sophomore season in 2015-16. His injury happened the game following a season-high 16 points at California, so he was just starting to get in the groove his freshman season, and then adapted to a new coaching staff in the summer of 2015 while getting healthy. He posted 10 double-digit scoring games last year (had three in 18 games in 2014-15). He was tied for second on the team in assists last year with 76 and was third in steals with 30.
KODI JUSTICE CAREER STATS
2014-15/2015-16
MINUTES PER GAME: 12.7/24.8
3PT MADE: 17/60
ASSISTS: 28/76
STEALS: 5/30
PPG: 4.6/7.9
KODI JUSTICE TOP SCORING GAMES
20 vs. Houston Baptist (12/19/15)
17 vs. Washington (1/16/16)
16 vs. Washington State (1/14/16)
16 at California (1/22/15)
14 at Washington (2/3/16)