March 21, 2003
By Brian Gomez, TheSunDevils.com
OKLAHOMA CITY -- Anyone who didn't know who freshman forward Ike Diogu was before Thursday's West Regional opener between Arizona State and Memphis certainly knows who he is now.
Despite fouling out for only the second time this season, Diogu managed to get his due against Memphis senior forward Chris Massie by scoring a game-high 22 points on 9-of-11 shooting from the field in 32 minutes. He was a perfect 2-for-2 from three-point range in the second half.
"When I'm open, coach (Rob) Evans has full confidence in me, so he just tells me to take the shot," said Diogu, whose efforts lifted the No. 10-seeded Sun Devils to an 84-71 victory over No. 7 Memphis before a crowd of 18,462 at the Ford Center. "There are times when I don't take the shot and he kind of gets on me. When I'm open, I have his approval to take it."
After a relatively quiet first half during which he scored only six points in 15 minutes, Diogu came alive thanks to a change in his team's game plan. ASU switched to an open-post offense, which not only enabled Diogu to roam freely around the perimeter, but also created many passing lanes for his teammates.
Although Diogu's three-pointer at the 18:43 mark of the second half put the Sun Devils ahead for good, the big man was just warming up. He later buried another trey from the top of the key on a pass from senior point guard Kyle Dodd.
"We watched tape on him, but once you get out there on the court, it's a whole different story," Memphis senior center Earl Barron said. "He's by far one of the best freshman I've played against. He plays in control, he's smart, he doesn't try to do anything he knows he can't do and he just plays real unselfish."
Diogu helped ASU put the game away in the final three minutes with a pair of rim-rattling dunks. He threw them down after receiving crisp passes from senior forward Shawn Redhage and senior shooting guard Curtis Millage, both of whom penetrated through the lane and dealt the ball at precisely the right time.
"They were doing a good job sagging down on me, so there was a reason why our guards weren't throwing the ball inside," Diogu said. "It was just a matter of time. I just let it come to me."
On Wednesday, Memphis head coach John Calipari expressed concern about Diogu, but there was little his team could do Thursday. The Sun Devils shot 69.6 percent (16-for-23) from the field in the second half.
"The greatest thing about him when you watch him on tape is that his temperament never changes," Calipari said. "His temperament and what he does is steady."
REDHAGE STRONG AGAIN: After scoring in double figures in each of his last five games, Redhage continued his solid play Thursday when ASU needed it the most. He finished with 18 points on 6-of-13 shooting from the field in a career-high-tying 37 minutes. Redhage also had five rebounds, two assists and two steals.
BENCH COMES THROUGH: Having watched his bench score only two points in the last two games, Sun Devil head coach Rob Evans knew his team needed more production from its reserves. The subs didn't disappoint Thursday.
Sophomore point guard Jason Braxton scored five points on 2-of-2 shooting from the field. His three-pointer midway through the second half in part of a 13-0 run over a four-minute stretch extended ASU's lead to 10 points.
Senior forward Donnell Knight chipped in six points, four of which came from the free-throw line in the closing minute. Junior guard Kenny Crandall added one point in two minutes.
Even though senior forward Chris Osborne failed to score, his contributions cannot be overlooked. Osborne provided help against Massie during the final four minutes of the second half after Diogu picked up his second foul and he entered the game again with 1:23 left when Diogu fouled out.
"Late in the season, we shortened our bench and we went with about seven or eight guys because we were trying to get to the (NCAA) Tournament," Evans said. "I told these guys to be ready because we were going to play a lot of guys. We played those guys quite a bit earlier in the year and mid-season, so I've got a lot of confidence in them."
JAYHAWKS SURVIVE SCARE: Despite getting outscored in the second half, No. 2 Kansas escaped with a 64-61 victory over No. 15 Utah State in Thursday's finale. Senior forward Desmond Penigar scored a game-high 25 points for the Aggies, who missed a pair of three-pointers in the waning moments that would have sent the game into overtime. Sophomore guard Keith Langford led Kansas with 22 points and senior forward Nick Collison tossed in 18 points on 9-of-12 shooting from the field.
"Needless to say, I think we're very fortunate," Kansas head coach Roy Williams said. "We have no chance, no hope, if we don't play better Saturday."
PAC-10 PERFECTION: The other three Pac-10 teams that played Thursday in the NCAA Tournament are also headed to the second round. No. 8 California narrowly defeated No. 9 North Carolina State, No. 1 Arizona cruised past No. 16 Vermont and No. 4 Stanford handled No. 13 San Diego. No. 8 Oregon will face No. 9 Utah on Friday in Nashville.
"I know that often times, people on the East Coast and in the South don't get a chance to see Pac-10 basketball because it's played so late, but as I stated a long time ago, the Pac-10 is as good as any league in the country," Evans said. "I think that's been shown. We play tremendous basketball. There are some teams in the Pac-10 that aren't even in this tournament that are pretty good."
Reach the reporter at brian.gomez@asu.edu.