Jan. 13, 1998
Arizona State Takes on NCAA Champions
ARIZONA STATE (12-5/2-2 IN PAC-10) Thurs., Jan. 15 #5 Arizona Wildcats (13-3/4-0) 6:30 p.m. MT Tucson, Ariz. KTVK-3/KMVP 860 AM
SUN DEVILS take on Wildcats: The Arizona State men's basketball team, winner of six of its past eight but picked to finish last in the Pac-10 preseason media poll, travels south to take on the defending NCAA Champion Arizona Wildcats. ASU (12-5; 2-2 in the Pac-10) is led by senior Jeremy Veal, who averaged 18.7 ppg. last year en route to earning All-Pac-10 and is averaging 19.9 ppg. this year (tops in the Pac-10). The Sun Devils, who have just seven healthy scholarship players, have already surpassed their 1996-97 win total with 12 after going 10-20 last year. The combined opponent's record of ASU's five losses (as of Tues., Jan. 13) is 66-10 (.868), as Oklahoma State is 12-1,Washington 9-3, UCLA 12-2, Kansas 19-2 and UConn 14-2.
RECENT SUN DEVIL HAPPENINGS:
|
| Jeremy Veal. |
TALK ABOUT IMPROVEMENTS: Much talk recently has centered around ASU Coach Don Newman and the job he has done since being named to the position on Sept. 22, 10 days after Bill Frieder resigned. A look at some of the statistics regarding the 1997-98 Sun Devils:
97-98 96-97
Games at 50% Shooting 10 of 17 5 of 30
ASU has shot at least 50 pct. in 10 of 17 games...ASU had shot 50 percent just eight times in the past two seasons...ASU's 61.3 pct. (38-of-62) vs. NAU on Dec. 3 was the best since ASU shot 62 percent at Cal on Jan. 14, 1995...ASU has shot above 55 percent in four games.
Team FT shooting 74.9% 66.5%
ASU is at 74.9 percent from the FT line, its best mark since the 1954-55 squad shot that same percent 75.4 percent, the second-best mark in ASU history...ASU is tied for the league lead in FT percentage with Arizona.
Eddie House's 3-Pt Shooting 45.7% 31.8%
|
| Eddie House. |
House also is 45.7% from the field after shooting 41.6% last year...is 11-of-19 (.579) from the three-point stripe in the past five games.
Games of at least 80 points 13 8
ASU has scored at least 80 points in 13 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.
Wins 12 10
ASU was just 10-20 last year and lost its last 11 games. The Sun Devils finished last in the Pac-10, going 2-16...ASU is 10-1 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, who arguably could be the nation's most improved player, has posted 155 assists after posting just 77 last year. He 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. Lewis posted his best overall game of the year on Jan. 11 at WSU, notching 21 points and seven assists. A look at the improvement of Lewis:
97-98 96-97
Games Started All 17 10 of 29
Minutes Per Game 34.5 16.4
Free Throw Percentage 84.1 57.1
Rebounds Per Game 3.8 1.7
Assists Per Game 9.12 2.7
Assist-to-Turnover Ratio 1.85-to-1 1.2-to-1
Steals Per Game 1.65 0.7
Points Per Game 6.9 2.7
Double-Digit Assist Games 7 0
Double-Digit Point Games 3 0
ON A ROLL: Junior Bobby Lazor has posted five "double-doubles" in the past eight games...40-of-50 (.800) from the FT line in his past nine games...named Tribune Classic MVP after averaging 24.5 points and 10.5 rebounds in the two games...a strong candidate for Academic All-American as a business major with a 3.61 grade point average...had a career-high 16 boards vs. USC on Jan. 3...a quick look at Lazor in the past eight games:
Date Opponent FGs (Pct.) FTs (Pct.) Pts. Rebs.
Dec. 19 Texas A&M 8-13 (.615) 6-7 (.857) 23 10
Dec. 22 Weber St. 4-7 (.571) 7-10 (.700) 16 10
Dec. 27 La Salle 8-13 (.615) 7-7 (1.000) 24 9
Dec. 28 E. Michigan 10-16 (.625) 4-4 (1.000) 25 12
Jan. 3 USC 3-7 (.429) 7-10 (.700) 13 16
Jan. 5 UCLA 9-19 (.474) 2-3 (.667) 20 11
Jan. 8 @Washington 4-8 (.500) 0-0 (.000) 9 13
Jan. 11 @WSU 2-8 (.250) 4-6 (.667) 9 4
Totals 48-91 37-47 139 85
(.527) (.787) 17.4 10.6
Top 1997-98 numbers: Here's a look at ASU's top players, with Pac-10 rankings noted:
Scoring Pac-10
Jeremy Veal 1st 19.9
Bobby Lazor 7th 17.7
Mike Batiste 12th 15.9
Rebounding
Bobby Lazor 6th 7.7
Mike Batiste 10th 6.9
FG Pct.
Bobby Lazor 3rd 58.3
Mike Batiste 6th 57.2
Assists
Ahlon Lewis 1st 9.12
Steals
Eddie House 5th 2.35
Blocks
Mike Batiste 1st 2.24
Bobby Lazor 3rd 1.76
3-PT Percentage
Eddie House 5th 45.7
FT Percentage
Ahlon Lewis 4th 84.1
1997-98 Team statisticsFree Throw Pct. 2nd 74.9 Assists Average 1st 21.18 Blocks 1st 4.82 Assist/TO Ratio 2nd 1.30 Field Goal Pct. 2nd 49.2 Scoring Offense 2nd 88.1 Steals Per Game 2nd 9.82 Turnover Margin 2nd +3.1 Scoring Margin 6th +5.8 3-PT FG Pct. 5th 35.7 3-PT FG Pct. Def. 5th 33.0 FG Pct. Defense 7th 44.5 Rebound Margin 10th -4.3 Scoring Defense 10th 82.4QUICK NOTES
*The last time ASU was picked to finish tenth in the Pac-10 media poll (1992-93), ASU finished tied for third with an 18-8 overall and 11-7 Pac-10 mark.
*Jeremy Veal is the only current Sun Devil who has played at ASU for more than one year.
GOOD HOUSEKEEPING NOTES: Eddie House has 40 steals (2.35 per game) and 49 (3.1) assists through 17 games this year and has just 26 turnovers...was 5-of-8 (.625) from the floor with two three-pointers in UC win...had 22 points vs. No. 2 Kansas on Nov. 26...has 161 assists and 65 turnovers through 47 games in his career, a 2.48-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 a freshman in ASU history...has played 19 turnover-free games in his 47 game-career, averaging 30.4 minutes per game...had 24 points on 9-of-11 shooting in Eastern Michigan win on Dec. 28...is 27-of-56 (.482) from the field and 11-of-19 (.579) from the three-point stripe in his past five games...hit the game-winning shot vs. Washington State on Jan. 11...team leader with 40 steals.
UA SERIES INFORMATION: Arizona leads the all-time series 118-72, which dates back to 1913-14...UA has won four straight...ASU has won just four times since the 1986-87 season...ASU has won at Tucson just one time since the 1983-84 season, a double-overtime 103-98 win...in Tempe last year on Jan. 11, Michael Dickerson led the way for UA with 32 points in a 92-84 Wildcat win...Mike Batiste had 25 points in the game in Tempe...UA topped ASU 87-71 in Tucson on Feb. 5, but ASU led at the half 36-30...Jeremy Veal had 27 points and six assists in that game...Veal averaged 23 points and five assists vs. Arizona last year.
BATISTE NOTES: Last season at this time, junior college transfer Mike Batiste had just joined the Sun Devil roster as the 6-8 forward transferred in December and played in 22 games (his first on Dec. 22, 1996) despite having left knee surgery the previous March...shooting 57.2 percent from the floor on the year...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 with big games vs. Stanford and Arizona...posted three 20-point games in 1996-97 and has four in 17 games this year...turned 20 years old on Nov. 21...already has 38 blocks on the year after posting just 17 last season...has two games of double-digit rebounds...has two "double-doubles" and three other games of double-digit points and nine rebounds...made the Tribune Classic All-Tournament team, averaging 16 points and 10 boards in the two-game tournament...has hit 11-of-13 (.846) free throws in the past three games.
LEAGUE'S BEST SHOOTER???: Jeremy Veal is shooting 78.8 percent (283-of-359) from the FT line in his career...posted 32 points against Cal State Northridge, 26 at Washington State and 25 at Cincinnati...has eight 20-point games on the year...needs 178 points to become ASU's career leader...third on the ASU career scoring list (1,657 points...only the second player in ASU history to notch at least 1,400 points and 300 assists...averaging 4.7 boards per game and had a career-high 10 boards vs. Northern Arizona...has been (or shared) ASU's leading rebounder in five games...is the only player in the Pac-10 returning this year who finished in the league's top 10 in both 3-point shooting percentage and FT percentage...finished third in 3-point percentage (.443/58-of-131) and 10th in FT percentage (.774/106-of-137)...has yet to miss a game in his 107-game career.
MORE QUICK NOTES: 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's 39 assists vs. Delaware State was the most by any Sun Devil team in the 1990s...the last two times ASU has started the season 3-0, it has advanced to the NCAA Tournament (1990-91 and 1994-95), ASU's only NCAA appearances since 1980-81...this year also marked just the third time in the past 10 seasons ASU has started 3-0. The last time was in 1994-95, when ASU won the Maui Invitational and advanced the Sweet Sixteen and ended the season 24-9. ASU also was 3-0 in 1990-91, when it ended 20-10 overall, and lost to Arkansas in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. In 1987-88, ASU started 3-0 but ended the season 13-16...ASU has outrebounded just three opponents (Wagner, La Salle and Eastern Michigan) on the year...the last ASU opponent to score 100 points in the UAC was Arizona on Feb. 27, 1988, when it topped ASU 101-73...ASU's last win over a ranked team was 103-98 in double overtime at Arizona on March 11, 1995...ASU has not beaten a team ranked higher than it at the UAC since Jan. 15, 1995, when No. 15 ASU topped No. 9 Arizona 53-52 in the Pac-10 opener...ASU has lost 11 straight games to teams ranked in the AP poll...the last time ASU did not make a three-pointer in a game was Jan. 10, 1987 vs. USC in Tempe in a 66-62 Trojan win, the 12th game of the 1986-87 season. ASU has made a three-pointer in 330 straight games since then...ASU is 4-2 in games decided by six points or less.
BEEN THERE, DONE THAT: Since the NCAA Tournament field expanded to 64 teams in 1984-85, only five Pac-10 teams have reached the Sweet Sixteen. Arizona (1988, 1989, 1991, 1994, 1996, 1997), UCLA (1990, 1992, 1995, 1997), California (1993, 1997), Stanford (1997) and Arizona State (1995).
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
BAD LUCK: Since 1990, 23 of 24 Pac-10 teams who have won 11 conference games have been selected to the NCAA Tourney. The exception? ASU in 1992-93, when it was 11-7 and tied for third. Also, 27 of 28 teams since 1990 who have posted 18 overall wins and 10 Pac-10 wins have qualified for the NCAA. Again, the odd team out was ASU in 1992-93.
GETTING TO KNOW DON NEWMAN: Named ASU's 11th head coach on Sept. 22, 1997...turned 40 on Nov. 22...born in New Orleans...played at LSU and Idaho...has coached at Cal-State Sacramento, Washington State, Moscow High School and Lewiston High School, both of them in Idaho...played for numerous professional teams, including: Seattle Seahawks, Boston Celtics, Montana Golden Nuggets, New York Jets, Saskatchewan Roughriders, Edmonton Eskimos and Hamilton Tiger Cats...coached at Montana by George Karl...went 20-114 at Cal State Sacramento while taking team from Division II to Division I...CSS traveled to almost half the country (22 states) in five-year career.
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), 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).
HOUSE ON ALL-FROSH SQUAD: Eddie House made the Pac-10 All-Freshman Team, becoming the seventh Sun Devil to accomplish the feat. Others are: Steve Beck (1983-84), Chris Sandle (1984-85), Jamal Faulkner (1990-91 and also Pac-10 Freshman of the Year), Dwayne Fontana (1990-91), Mario Bennett (1991-92) and Ron Riley (1992-93).
ALL-LEAGUE HONORS: Jeremy Veal earned All-Pac-10 honors, the 13th Sun Devil to earn the honor. The last Sun Devil to accomplish the feat was Mario Bennett in 1995. Veal will have a chance to earn 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).
MEDIA COVERAGE: KMVP 860 AM is the radio home of Sun Devil basketball. Tom Dillon, Arizona's Sportscaster of the Year 15 years running and the voice of Sun Devil athletics as well as the Arizona Cardinals handles the play-by-play duties. All games are on KMVP 860 AM, except those that conflict with other KMVP programming. Sun Devil games are then moved to KTAR 620 AM. Tim Healey and Gil Tyree handle the play-by-play and color commentary for KTVK-3. KTVK-3 will broadcast 14 Sun Devil games this year.
PRESEASON PREDICTIONS*Lonnie White, Basketball Weekly...picked the Sun Devils to finish ninth in the league, in front of only Washington State.
*Pac-10 Media...picked ASU 10th in preseason media poll.
*Matt Paulson, ASU State Press...picked the Sun Devils 10th in the league.
ARIZONA STATE Sun Devils (12-5/2-2 in 1997-98)
Pos # Name Yr Ht. PPG RPG Notes
G 11 Ahlon Lewis Sr. 6-0 6.9 9.1* 21 pts. and 7 assists at WSU; 159 minutes in 4 Pac-10 games
G 21 Jeremy Veal Sr. 6-3 19.9 4.7 1,657 career points; 365 career assts.; 8 20-point games on year
G 5 Eddie House So. 6-1 12.2 3.1* 32-70 (45.7%) from 3-pt./40 steals/24 points vs. Eastern Michigan
F 4 Bobby Lazor Jr. 6-9 17.7 7.7 Syracuse transfer; 9 20-pt. games in '97/58.3% from field
F 24 Mike Batiste Jr. 6-8 15.9 6.9 111-194 (57.2 %) from floor/38 bks on year/70.9% career FTs
G 3 D'Angelo Jones Fr. 5-10 0.6 0.6 Walkon from Scottsdale, Ariz./speaks Japanese fluently
G 13 Ron DuBois Jr. 5-10 1.9 0.4 Walkon who has earned scholarship/11 games in 2-year career
G-F 22 Jason Patton So. 6-4 6.4 2.8 21 pts. vs. Del. St./11.9 minutes per game/10 pts. vs. E. Michigan
F-C 25 Okeme Oziwo So. 6-8 2.9 5.2 Will miss season (car accident injuries in late August)
F 32 Derek Smith Fr. 6-5 1.0 1.0 Walkon from Grand Junction, Colo./6 games played
F 40 Urit Kelly Sr. 6-6 5.4 3.2 9 pts. and 5 boards at WSU/8 rebs. vs. UCLA/14 pts., 7 rebs. vs. La Salle
* -- denotes assists per game.
1997-98
PAC-10 STANDINGS
(as of Jan. 12)
Conf. Overall
Team W L W L
UA 4 0 13 3
STAN 3 0 14 0
UCLA 3 1 12 2
UW 2 1 9 3
ASU 2 2 12 5
USC 2 2 6 8
CAL 1 2 5 6
UO 1 3 6 7
WSU 0 3 7 7
OSU 0 4 9 6
PAC-10 PICKS: A look at ASU's finishes compared to the Pac-10 preseason media picks in the 1990s:
WALKON INFORMATION: ASU has 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.
QUICK NOTES: ASU led the league in turnover margin (+5.2) for the fourth time in the past five years last year...Eddie House earned honorable mention Freshman All-America honors from Basketball Weekly. House also set the ASU freshman record for steals with 59 and became the first ASU freshman to notch 50 steals (59) and 100 assists (108)...Mike Batiste earned Pac-10 All-Newcomer honors. Batiste joined the team in mid-year and played in 22 games and averaged 12.0 points and 6.7 rebounds. He shot 72.2 percent from the free throw line...Eddie House tied a Great Alaska Shootout Tournament record with seven three-pointers vs. Maine on Nov. 30.
Media Pac-10
Picks Finish
1997-98 10th ???
1996-97 9th 10th
1995-96 6th 8th
1994-95 4th 3rd
1993-94 5th T-4th
1992-93 10th T-3rd
1991-92 3rd 5th
1990-91 6th 3rd
1989-90 6th T-7th
ASU vs. UA
In the 1990s: 4-12
UA @ASU in the 1990s:
3-5
ASU @UA in the 1990s:
1-7
Series Streak: UA, four
*UA has won four of the past 7
Year W/L Site Score
1989-90 L ASU 61-70
L UA 50-71
1990-91 L ASU 71-74
L UA 50-71
1991-92 L UA 55-92
W ASU 77-74
1992-93 L ASU 87-91
L UA 80-116
1993-94 L UA 81-98
W ASU 94-87
1994-95 W ASU 53-52
W UA 103-98*
1995-96 L UA 76-108
L ASU 69-71
1996-97 L ASU 84-92
L UA 71-87
*-double overtime
ASU CAREER POINTSRk. Points Name Years 1. 1,834 Ron Riley 1992-96 2. 1,673 Stevin Smith 1990-94 3. 1,657 Jeremy Veal 1994-presentFIELD GOALS MADE
Rk. FGs Name Years 1. 651 Ron Riley 1992-96 5. 603 Steve Beck 1984-87 6. 591 Jeremy Veal 1994-presentASSISTS
Rk. FGs Name Years 1. 454 Bobby Thompson 1984-87 4. 416 Stevin Smith 1990-94 5. 377 Johnny Nash 1976-81 6. 365 Jeremy Veal 1994-presentSTEALS
Rk. FGs Name Years 1. 246 Stevin Smith 1990-94 5. 141 Marcell Capers 1992-95 6. 136 Steve Beck 1984-87 7. 134 Jeremy Veal 1994-presentSEASON ASSISTS
Rk. ASSTS Name Years 1. 233 Marcell Capers 1994-95 4. 177 Lynn Collins 1991-92 5. 156 Lynn Collins 1990-91 6. 155 Ahlon Lewis 1997-98SEASON BLOCKS
Rk. BKS Name Years 1. 115 Mario Bennett 1994-95 2. 113 Rodger Farrington 1996-97 3. 55 Mario Bennett 1991-92 3. 55 Alton Lister 1979-80 9. 42 Jon Taylor 1984-85 10. 38 Mike Batiste 1997-98