April 10, 1998
ARIZONA STATE men's basketball (18-14/8-10) final release
ASU REACHES POSTSEASON: The Arizona State men's basketball team, picked to finish last in the Pac-10 preseason media poll, finished its season by participating in postseason play for the seventh time in the 1990s. ASU (18-14; 8-10 in the Pac-10) was led by Associated Press Honorable Mention All-American and two-time All-Pac-10 honoree Jeremy Veal, who averaged 20.8 ppg. this year, tops in the loop. ASU, with just seven scholarship players, posted an 18-win season after going 10-20 last year (and 11-16 in 1995-96).
ASU ended the season with a 5-9 mark against teams that made the NCAA Tournament, which included: Pac-10 champion Arizona (0-2), Stanford (1-1), UCLA (0-2), Washington (1-1), Oklahoma State (0-1), Conference USA champion Cincinnati (1-0), Big 12 champion Kansas (0-1), BIG EAST champion UCONN (0-1), Big Sky champion Northern Arizona (1-0) and Mid-America Conference tournament champion Eastern Michigan (1-0). Cincinnati won its final 18 home games since ASU topped the Bearcats on Nov. 21, while Stanford advanced to the Final Four.
1999 NCAA WEST REGIONAL ACTION: Arizona State University and America West Arena will host the 1999 West Regional on March 18 (Thursday) and 20 (Saturday), the first West Regional to be held in Arizona. First- and second-round games will be played in Seattle and Denver. Those wanting tickets can call the NCAA ticket line at 602-727-2695. Cost is $90 for the entire session. Arizona State has hosted first- and second-round games at the University Activity Center on five occasions: 1975, 1978, 1980, 1992 and 1996.
VEAL AND LEWIS NOTCH RECORD NUMBERS: Jeremy Veal became the second Sun Devil to lead the Pac-10 in scoring as he averaged 20.8 points...Byron Scott averaged 21.6 in 1982-83 to lead the league...Ahlon Lewis led the nation and the league in assists, averaging 9.19 per game...the 294 assists by Lewis set the Pac-10 record, as he is the first Sun Devil to lead the Pac-10 in assists...Mike Batiste became the fourth Sun Devil to lead the league in blocks per game with 1.59 per game, 51 overall...ASU led the Pac-10 in FT percentage (.746) and assists per game (19.97)...Bobby Lazor finished third in field goal percentage at .558...the 84.5 ppg is tied for the sixth-best mark in ASU history...ASU'S 74.6% at the FT line is tied for the third-best mark on the ASU chart (ASU shot 75.6 percent in 1977-78 to set the school record)...it marked just the second time ASU had led the league in free throw shooting, the other being 1986-87 when ASU also shot 74.6 percent...ASU used the same lineup in 32 games, with its only change during senior night (Urit Kelly for Eddie House)...ASU's 48.1% shooting is the tenth-best mark in school history.
SWEET: Since the NCAA Tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985, six Pac-10 teams have reached the Sweet Sixteen. Arizona (1988, 1989, 1991, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998), UCLA (1990, 1992, 1995, 1997, 1998), California (1993, 1997), Stanford (1997, 1998), Washington (1998) and ASU (1995).
Six different Pac-10 teams have reached the Sweet 16 in the past four years
NIT HISTORY: ASU made its seventh appearance in the postseason National Invitational Tournament and has a 2-6 mark...ASU has lost four straight postseason NIT games...overall, ASU is 19-26 (.422) in postseason play...this year marked ASU's first postseason appearance since the 1995 NCAA Tournament.
Year Score(s) Site
1997-98 Hawaii 90, ASU 73 Honolulu
1993-94 BYU 74, ASU 67 Provo
1992-93 Georgetown 78, ASU 68 Tempe
1991-92 Utah 60, ASU 58 (second round) Tempe
1991-92 ASU 71, UCSB 58 (first round) Santa Barbara
1989-90 Long Bearch State 86, ASU 71 Tempe
1982-83 TCU 78, ASU 76 (second round) Tempe
1982-83 ASU 87, CS-Fullerton 83 (first round) Tempe
1,900/400: Jeremy Veal accumulated 1,984 points and 413 assists in his 122-game career. A look at the only other three players in Pac-10 history who notched 1,900 points AND 400 assists:
Player School Years Points Assists Jeremy Veal ASU 1994-present 1,984 413 Gary Payton OSU 1987-90 2,172 938 Sean Elliott,Arizona 1986-89 2,555 451 Ron Lee Oregon 1972-76 2,085 572
Note: WSU, UCLA, USC have not had a player notch 1,800 points AND 350 assists in a career.
THIS WAS RESEARCHED AND WILL REMAIN IN THIE RELEASE UNTIL STREAK ENDS: The last time ASU did not make a three-pointer in a game was Jan. 10, 1987 vs. USC (0-of-3) in a 66-62 Trojan win in Tempe, the 12th game of the 1986-87 season. ASU has made a three-pointer in 345 straight games since then.
ALOHA: Arizona State will return to the Maui Invitational next fall (Nov. 23-25). The Sun Devils won the Maui Invitational in 1994, beating Texas A & M, No. 13 Michigan and No. 7 Maryland. The 1998 field will include five teams that made the 1998 NCAA Tournament (Indiana, Michigan, Syracuse, Clemson and Utah), NIT participant ASU, Western Kentucky and Chaminade.
ALL OVER: ASU's Pac-10 travel combined with an aggressive non-conference slate enabled it to log 21,182 air miles in 1997-98. The round-trips from Phoenix included: Cincinnati (3,132), New York City for the Chase NIT (4,282), Oklahoma City (1,662), Seattle (2,216), Bay Area (1,292), Portland for Oregon/OSU (2,020), Los Angeles for UCLA/USC (750) and Honolulu for NIT first-round action (5,828).
ALL-LEAGUE: Jeremy Veal earned All-Pac-10 in 1997 and 1998, the 13th Sun Devil to earn the honor. The last Sun Devil to earn the feat was Mario Bennett (1995). Veal earned the honor twice in his career, something accomplished by just three other Sun Devils: Mario Bennett (1993-94 and 1994-95), Lafayette "Fat" Lever (1980-81 and 1981-82) and Stevin Smith (1992-93 and 1993-94). Bobby Lazor earned honorable mention honors.
LAZOR ON LISTS: ASU's Bobby Lazor (Norwich, N.Y.) ranked among the Pac10 leaders in five categories...named as the Pac-10's top non-freshman newcomer (Fred Hessler Award)...ranked 12th in scoring (16.8), sixth in rebounding (7.8), third in field goal % (.558), fifth in blocks per game (1.22) and tenth in free throw % (.777)...posted 13 20-point games...an honorable mention All-Pac-10 pick...a first-team Pac-10 All-Academic selection...a second-team All-Pac-10 pick according to Basketball Weekly...was 54-of-69 (.783) from the FT line in the final 11 games...averaged 8.9 rebounds in Pac-10 games...posted 11 "double-doubles"...had 13 double-figure rebounding games...a strong candidate for Academic All-American as a business major with a 3.61 GPA...earned GTE Academic All-District VIII honors...named Tribune Classic MVP after averaging 24.5 points and 10.5 rebounds in the two games...had a career-high 16 boards vs. USC on Jan. 3...had 22 points and 14 boards at No. 4 Stanford on Jan. 31...posted 32 points (12-of-20 shooting) in Feb. 7 win over UW...had 20 points and 10 boards vs. UA on Feb. 14.
NEWMAN ON LIST: Don Newman's 18 wins put him in the second slot for wins among ASU coaches in their first season. Bob Weinhauer posted 19 wins in his first season.
ASU Coach Year Record Pct. Don Newman 1997-98 18-14 .563 Bill Frieder 1989-90 15-16 .484 Steve Patterson 1985-86 14-14 .500 Bob Weinhauer 1982-83 19-14 .576 Ned Wulk 1957-58 13-13 .500 Bill Kajikawa 1948-49 12-16 .429 Rudy Lavik 1939-40 8-11 .421 Earl Pomeroy 1933-34 11-10 .524 Theodore Shipkey1930-31 12-6 .667 Aaron McCreary 1927-28 10-5 .667
ALL-AMERICA CANDIDATE JEREMY VEAL: Jeremy Veal (San Dimas, Calif.) averaged 22.3 points in the final 12 games...led ASU in scoring in 12 of the final 15 games...posted 15 20-point games in his final 19 outings...posted 20 20-point games on the year...averaged 38.8 minutes in Pac-10 games...did not miss a game in his 122-game career...posted 46 20-point games in his career...matched a season-high with eight assists at Cal on Jan. 29...played at least 39 minutes in 16 games...posted 32 points against Cal State Northridge, 31 at UCLA, 30 at Hawaii, 26 at WSU, 25 at Cincinnati, 26 at Arizona, 27 at Stanford and 24 vs. Arizona...first on the ASU career scoring list (1,984 points)...was ASU's leading rebounder in six games...posted at least 20 points 13 of the final 16 contests...shot 49.0 percent (25-of-51) from the three-point stripe in the final 11 games
VEAL VS. TOP-FIVE OPPONENTS IN 1997-98: Jeremy Veal, with his 24-point effort vs. No. 3 Arizona, posted four strong outings against top five teams this year, averaging 25.5 points in the four outings...Veal was 38-of-78 (.487) from the floor in the four games against No. 2 Kansas (Nov. 26), at No. 5 Arizona (Jan. 15), at No. 4 Stanford (Jan. 31) and vs. No. 3 Arizona (Feb. 14)...was 11-of-24 (.458) from the three-point stripe in those outings...also averaged five assists, including eight at Arizona.
QUICK HITTERS: MIKE BATISTE was 10-of-20 (.500) from the three-point stripe in Pac-10 play...EDDIE HOUSE has played 24 turnover free games in his 62-game career...AHLON LEWIS, who had 294 assists in 32 games, set the Pac-10 single-season assist record...the old mark was 272 by Jason Kidd in 1994...the last ASU opponent to score 100 points in the UAC was Arizona on Feb. 27, 1988, when it topped ASU 101-73. The current streak of an ASU opponent not scoring 100 points in the UAC stands at 171 games...ASU had six players post at least one 20-point game, as all five starters notched 20 points along with Jason Patton...ASU played the final 19:23 of the game at Washington State on Jan. 11 without commiting a turnover...ASU outrebounded six opponents (Wagner, La Salle, Eastern Michigan, UCLA, Oregon and Cal)...the Sun Devils posted one of their best defensive outputs in the past three years when it topped Oregon 67-51 on Jan. 24...the 51 points was the fewest by an ASU opponent since the Sun Devils topped Oregon State 82-44 on Feb. 25, 1995, a span of 83 games...ASU's win at No. 4 Stanford on Jan. 31 marked the first time since 1980-81 that the Sun Devils topped a top five opponent on the road. Fifth-ranked ASU topped then unbeaten and top-ranked Oregon State 87-67 on March 7, 1981, which was the final day of the regular season...the 123 points vs. Delaware State on Dec. 1 is the fourth-most points in ASU history, and the most since ASU topped DePauw 124-73 on Jan. 2, 1971...ASU was 5-4 in games decided by six points or less...this year marked the first time ASU topped both Stanford and Washington on the road since 1980-81.
THEY KEEP GOING, AND GOING, AND GOING...: The minutes played for the ASU starting five was staggering...in the overtime win at No. 4 Stanford on Jan. 31, all five ASU starters either matched or set career-highs in minutes...Bobby Lazor played 43 minutes, Mike Batiste notched 42, Eddie House took a breather and logged 39, while Jeremy Veal and Ahlon Lewis both played the full 45...ASU's starters played all but 11 minutes and all but three minutes in the second half and overtime...the Stanford bench (seven players) notched 81 minutes, 28 points and 15 rebounds...ASU's "depth" of Urit Kelly played 11 minutes and had six points and four boards...Kelly was bothered by shin splints all season long and was forced to play reduced minutes...ASU's starting five averaged just under 176 minutes (out of 200) in Pac-10 games...ASU had only one reserve (Urit Kelly) who averaged more than 13 minutes...Ahlon Lewis, with the 45 minute outing at Stanford, is averaged 39.9 minutes in Pac-10 play and played 40 minutes in 14 of the 18 league tilts...ASU did not show any signs of fatigue against Stanford, as evidenced by its 29-of-33 (.879) performance at the free throw line...the 29 FTs made was the most since March 12, 1994, when ASU was 32-of-45 (.711) in a win over No. 7 Arizona, a span of 113 games.
TALK ABOUT IMPROVEMENTS: Much talk centered around Don Newman and the job he performed since being named to the position on Sept. 22, 10 days after Bill Frieder resigned. A look at some of the statistics regarding the Sun Devils:
97-98 96-97
Games at 50% Shooting 15 of 32 5 of 30
ASU shot 50 pct. in 15 of 32 games...ASU had shot 50 percent just eight times in the past two years...ASU's 61.3 pct. (38-of-62) vs. NAU (Dec. 3) is the best since ASU shot 62 pct. at Cal on Jan. 14, 1995...ASU shot above 55 percent six times...ASU's 33-of-56 (.589) shooting against California on Feb. 28 was the best by a Sun Devil squad in the past 60 Pac-10 games (ASU was 60.7 percent, 37-of-61, vs. California on Feb. 9, 1995).
Team FT shooting 74.6% 66.5%
ASU shot 74.5 percent from the FT line, the fourth-best mark (tie) in school history...the 1954-55 squad shot 75.4 percent...ASU led the league in FT%, becoming just the second ASU team to accomplish the feat (1986-87 also led the league at 74.6 percent)...all five starters shot above 64% from the line, while four starters were above 75%.
games of at least 80 points 20 8
ASU scored at least 80 points in 20 games. Last year, ASU scored 80 points eight times, two of those games against non-Division I teams...ASU scored in triple-digits in back-to-back games for the first time since 1992-93 and has notched triple-digits four times...ASU's 84.5 points per game is second in the league and is tied for the sixth-best mark in school history.
Wins 18 10
ASU was just 10-20 last year and lost its final 11. ASU finished last in the Pac-10, going 2-16...ASU was 14-4 at home after going 9-9 in the UAC last year...ASU was just 17-17 at home in the past two seasons prior to this year...the win at Cincinnati ended a 12-game road loss streak for ASU, with its last road win on Feb. 15, 1996, 69-66 at USC, while the win at WSU ended a 13-game Pac-10 road loss streak dating back to that same USC game.
TURNAROUND: Point guard Ahlon Lewis (Houston, Texas), who arguably was the nation's most improved player this past season, posted a Pac-10 record 294 assists after posting just 77 last year...set the school record on Dec. 3 vs. Northern Arizona with 16...the 16 assists also is tied for the fourth-best mark by any Pac-10 player and is the most assists by a Pac-10 player since Jason Kidd posted 18 for Cal on Jan. 20, 1994...posted his best overall game of the year on Jan. 11 at WSU, notching 21 points and seven assists...made 64-of-75 (.853) from the free throw line, one of the best marks in the league and the fifth-best mark in school history...played all but six minutes in Pac-10 games, averaged 39.9 minutes...averaged 9.19 assists per game, which led the nation...had 14 games of at least 10 assists...a look at the improvement of Lewis:
97-98 96-97
Games Started All 32 10 of 29
Minutes Per Game 37.0 16.4
Free Throw Percentage 85.3 57.1
Rebounds Per Game 3.7 1.7
Assists Per Game 9.19 2.7
Assist-to-Turnover Ratio 1.85-to-1 1.2-to-1
Steals Per Game 1.72 0.7
Points Per Game 7.5 2.7
Double-Digit Assist Games 14 0
Double-Digit Point Games 8 0
BATISTE NOTES: Last season, junior college transfer Mike Batiste (Long Beach, Calif.) joined ASU as a 6-8 December transfer and played in 22 games (his first on Dec. 22, 1996) despite having left knee surgery the previous March...matched a career high with 38 minutes at Cal and then posted 42 at Stanford...posted 16 rebounds at Cal on Jan. 29, the most in his career in a Pac-10 game...posted 12 points, six boards and four blocks in win at UC...had career highs with 36 points and 20 rebounds vs. Wagner on Nov. 19...posted six blocks in opener vs. Northridge...made the Pac-10 All-Newcomer team last year...posted three 20-point games in 1996-97 and had seven this year...turned 20 years old on Nov. 21...had 51 blocks on the year after posting 17 last season...1.59 blocks led the Pac-10...had eight games of double-digit rebounds...had seven "double-doubles" and four other games of double-digit points and nine rebounds...made the Tribune Classic All-Tournament team, averaging 16 points and 10 boards...10-of-20 (.500) from the 3-point stripe in Pac-10 play...a look at the improvement, compared to the 22 games last year after joining the team in December:
97-98 96-97
Games Played 32 22
Games Started All 32 21
Minutes Per Game 31.8 28.2
Blocks Per Game 1.59 0.8
Points Per Game 15.3 12.0
Double-Digit Rebounding Games 8 4
Double-Doubles 7 2
Pac-10 Scoring Avg. 15.2 10.9
Pac-10 Rebounding Avg.7.8 6.3
Pac-10 FG% 56.1 37.7
HOUSEKEEPING: Sophomore Eddie House (Union City, Calif.) had a team-leading 64 steals (2.0 per game) and 91 assists (2.91) this year and had just 43 turnovers...had 22 points vs. No. 2 Kansas on Nov. 26...has 201 assists and 82 turnovers through 62 games in his career, a 2.45-to-1 ratio...Mike Bibby and House were the only Pac-10 players to notch at least 50 three-pointers, 50 steals and 100 assists in 1996-97...posted 59 steals (ASU frosh record) and hit 57 three-pointers and dished out 108 assists, the second-best amount for an ASU freshman...has played 24 turnover-free games in his 62-game career, averaging 30.1 minutes...had 24 points on 9-of-11 shooting in Eastern Michigan win on Dec. 28...hit the game-winning three-pointer at Washington State on Jan. 11...played 39 minutes at Stanford and vs. USC on Jan. 3 (career high)...had no turnovers in the two games on Oregon road trip...had 22 points at UCLA on March 5.
PAC-10 MEDIA POLL: ASU was picked to finish tenth by the Pac-10 Media in a preseason poll, announced on Nov. 6. The results, with first-place votes in parentheses:
1. Arizona (22) 2. UCLA (5) 3. Stanford 4. Washington 5. California 6. USC 7. Oregon State 8. Oregon 9. Washington State 10. Arizona State
VEAL IN GOOD COMPANY: Jeremy Veal finished in the league's top five in both scoring (4th/18.7 ppg) and assists (T5th/4.7) last year (1996-97), becoming only the fourth Pac-10 player to accomplish the feat since 1983. The others are all NBA stars: Damon Stoudamire (1993-94 and 1994-95), Terrell Brandon (1990-91) and Gary Payton (1988-89 and 1989-90).
WALKON INFORMATION: ASU had three walkons on its roster in 1997-98, two of them newcomers...Ron DuBois, a 5-10 guard, was on the squad last year and earned a scholarship for 1997-98...Derek Smith, a 6-5 forward from Grand Junction, Colo., and D'Angelo Jones, a 5-10 freshman from Scottsdale, Ariz., joined the team in the fall.
PAC-10 CAREER POINTS Rk. Points Name Years 12. 2,003 Isaac Fontaine, WSU 1993-97 13. 1,984 Jeremy Veal, ASU 1994-98PAC-10 CAREER THREE-POINTERS Rk. 3PT Name Years 7. 230 Bennie Seltzer, WSU 1989-93 8. 224 Jeremy Veal, ASU 1994-98
PAC-10 SEASON ASSISTS Rk. ASSTS Name Years 1. 294 Ahlon Lewis, ASU 1997-98
FIELD GOALS MADE--Veal Career Record Holder Rk. FGs Name Years 1. 711 Jeremy Veal 1994-98
CAREER ASSISTS Rk. ASSTS Name Years 1. 454 Bobby Thompson 1984-87 4. 416 Stevin Smith 1990-94 5. 413 Jeremy Veal 1994-98
CAREER STEALS Rk. FGs Name Years 1. 246 Stevin Smith 1990-94 3. 202 Ron Riley 1992-96 4. 158 Jeremy Veal 1994-98
SEASON BLOCKS Rk. BKS Name Years 1. 115 Mario Bennett 1994-95 3. 55 Mario Bennett 1991-92 55 Alton Lister 1979-80 5. 51 Mike Batiste 1997-98
ASU TEAM--HIGHEST POINT AVERAGE Rk. AVG SEASON 1. 90.2 1970-71 2. 90.1 1961-62 3. 86.9 1974-75 4. 85.2 1964-65 5. 84.6 1971-72 T6. 84.5 1997-98 T6. 84.5 1992-93
ASU TEAM--STEALS Rk. STEALS SEASON 1. 345 1994-95 3. 299 1996-97 4. 290 1997-98
ASU TEAM--BLOCKS Rk. BLOCKS SEASON 5. 144 1980-81 6. 114 1997-98
ASU TEAM--FREE THROW PERCENTAGE Rk. FT% SEASON 1. 75.6 1977-78 2. 75.4 1954-55 T3. 74.6 1997-98 T3. 74.6 1986-87 5. 73.0 1956-57