Dec. 29, 1997
Surprising Arizona State Opens Pac-10 Play
SUN DEVILS PLAY HOST TO LA SCHOOLS: The Arizona State men's basketball team, winner of seven of its past eight and four straight but picked to finish last in the Pac-10 preseason media poll, plays host to the USC Trojans and the No. 9 UCLA Bruins to open Pac-10 play on Jan. 3 (USC) and Jan. 5 (UCLA). ASU (10-3) is led by senior Jeremy Veal, who averaged 18.7 ppg. last year en route to earning All-Pac-10 and is averaging 19.5 ppg. this year. The Sun Devils, who have just seven healthy scholarship players available, have already equaled their 1996-97 win total with 10 victoires. Two of ASU's three losses were to ranked teams (then-No. 2 Kansas 90-88 in OT and then-No. 11 UConn 82-61, both in the Chase NIT at Madison Square Garden), while its third was to undefeated Oklahoma State (9-0). The combined opponent's record of ASU's three losses (as of Sunday, Dec. 28) is 35-2 (.946), as Kansas is 15-1 and UConn 11-1.
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 13 5 of 30
ASU has shot at least 50 pct. in 10 of its 13 games...ASU had shot 50 percent just eight times in the past two seasons entering 1997...ASU's 61.3 pct. shooting (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 on the year.
Team FT shooting 75.4% 66.5%
ASU is shooting 75.4 percent from the FT line, its best mark since the 1954-55 squad shot that same percentage, the second-best mark in ASU history...ASU currently leads the league in FT percentage...ASU is 71-of-88 (.807) in its past three games at the charity stripe.
Eddie House's 3-Pt Shooting 44.4% 31.8%
House also is 47.1% from the field after shooting 41.6% last year...fifth in Pac in 3-PT%.
games of at least 87 points 11 3
ASU has scored at least 87 points in 11 of its 13 games. Last year, ASU scored 87 points just three times, and two of those games were against non-Division I opponents...ASU has scored in triple-digits in back-to-back games for the first time since 1992-93.
Wins 10 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 9-0 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).
NON-CONFERENCE WINS: ASU's 10 wins matches the most regular-season non-conference wins since the 1975-76 season. ASU's Sweet Sixteen team of 1994-95 also won 10 non-conference games in the regular season, while the 1975-76 squad was 12-1 in non-conference play before going 5-9 in the Western Athletic Conference. ASU's regular-season non-conference records in the 1990s listed below:
Year Record Pct.
1989-90 7-2 .778
1990-91 9-1 .900
1991-92 9-4 .692
1992-93 7-2 .778
1993-94 5-4 .556
1994-95 10-2 .833
1995-96 5-4 .556
1996-97 8-4 .667
1997-98 10-3 .769
HOME COOKING: ASU has won nine straight home tilts to start 1997-98, which is the second-best season-opening home mark in the University Activity Center's (14,198) history, which opened in 1974-75 as ASU posted a 14-0 home mark that year. ASU went on to post wins in its first six games of 1975-76, giving it a 20-game home winning streak, the longest in UAC history. A quick look at other quick home starts:
Year Opening Streak Notes 1974-75 14 25-4 overall; 14-0 at home 1997-98 9 10-3 to start year 1992-93 8 18-10 overall; NIT bid
REMARKABLE TURNAROUND: Junior Bobby Lazor has 250 points this year (19.5 ppg) after scoring just 96 points in 43 games at Syracuse from 1994-1996...has posted three "double-doubles" with 23 points and 10 boards vs. Texas A & M (Dec. 19); 16 points and 10 boards vs. Weber State (Dec. 22); and 25 points and 12 boards vs. Eastern Michigan on Dec. 28...is 4-of-5 (.800) from the three-point stripe in his past four games...27-of-31 (.871) from the FT line in his past five 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.
REMARKABLE TURNAROUND II: Point guard Ahlon Lewis, who arguably could be the nation's most improved player this year, has posted 117 assists on the year 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 vs. Cal on Jan. 20, 1994. A look at the improvement of Lewis:
97-98 96-97
Games Started All 13 10 of 29
Minutes Per Game 32.8 16.4
Field Goal Percentage 47.2 40.6
Free Throw Percentage 85.2 57.1
Jeremy Veal is 21-of-23 (.913) from the FT line in his past five games.
top 1997-98 numbers: Here's a look at ASU's top players, with Pac-10 rankings noted:
Scoring Pac-10
Jeremy Veal 3rd 19.5
Bobby Lazor 4th 19.2
Mike Batiste 11th 16.2
Eddie House 19th 12.5
Rebounding
Mike Batiste 7th 7.5
Bobby Lazor 12th 6.7
FG Pct.
Bobby Lazor 4th 62.7
Mike Batiste 7th 55.8
Assists
Ahlon Lewis 1st 9.0
Jeremy Veal 9th 4.1
Steals
Eddie House 3rd 2.5
Blocks
Mike Batiste 1st 2.3
Bobby Lazor 2nd 2.1
3-PT Percentage
Eddie House 7th 44.4
FT Percentage
Bobby Lazor 9th 80.3
1997-98 Team statistics
Free Throw Pct. 1st 75.4
Assists Average 1st 22.2
Blocks 1st 5.3
Assist/TO Ratio 2nd 1.36
Field Goal Pct. 2nd 51.3
Scoring Offense 2nd 91.2
Steals Per Game 3rd 10.4
Turnover Margin 4th +3.5
Scoring Margin 4th +9.3
3-PT FG Pct. Def. 5th 32.7
3-PT FG Pct. 5th 37.4
FG Pct. Defense 6th 43.9
Rebound Margin 10th -3.7
Scoring Defense 10th 81.8
QUICK NOTES
Road Hotel
ASU will stay at the Oklahoma City Marriot (3233 N.W. Expressway) in (405-842-6633) and will arrive late Wednesday evening. Assistant SID Doug Tammaro will accompany the team.
ARIZONA STATE sun devils (10-3 in 1997-98) Pos # Name Yr Ht. PPG RPG Notes G 11 Ahlon Lewis Sr. 6-0 6.0 9.0* 19 points/8 assts. vs. Weber State; 6 double-digit assist games G 21 Jeremy Veal Sr. 6-3 19.5 4.7 1,572 career points; 352 career assts.; 5 20-point games on year G 5 Eddie House So. 6-1 12.5 3.5* 24-45 (44.4%) from 3-pt./33 steals/24 points vs. Eastern Michigan F 4 Bobby Lazor Jr. 6-9 19.2 6.7 Syracuse transfer; 8 20-pt. games in '97/62.7% from field F 24 Mike Batiste Jr. 6-8 16.2 7.5 87-156 (55.8 %) from floor/30 bks on year/9.7 rebs in past 3 games G 3 D'Angelo Jones Fr. 5-10 0.6 0.6 Walkon from Scottsdale, Ariz./speaks Japanese fluently G 12 Terrell McKnight Jr. 5-9 4.5 2.5 Walkon joined team Dec. 19/ 9 pts. and 4 assts. vs. La Salle G 13 Ron DuBois Jr. 5-10 1.5 0.2 Walkon who has earned scholarship/10 games in 2-year career G-F 22 Jason Patton So. 6-4 6.8 2.8 21 pts. vs. Del. St./12.3 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 1.2 1.0 Walkon from Grand Junction, Colo./5 games played F 40 Urit Kelly Sr. 6-6 5.6 3.0 75.4 pct. from FT line in career (49-65)/14 pts. and 7 rebs. vs. La Salle G 42 Reggie Hester Jr. 6-2 6.3 1.9 12 pts. vs. Kansas; 5-5 FGs vs. NAU * -- denotes assists per game. Note # change for Hester (#2 to #42) from media guide. Rebounds Per Game 3.8 1.7 Assists Per Game 9.0 2.7 Assist-to-Turnover Ratio 1.88-to-1 1.2-to-1 Steals Per Game 1.7 0.7 Points Per Game 6.0 2.7 Double-Digit Assist Games 6 0 Double-Digit Point Games 2 0
GOOD HOUSEKEEPING NOTES: Eddie House already has 33 steals (2.5 per game) and 45 (3.5) assists through 13 games this year and has just 20 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 153 assists and 59 turnovers through 43 games in his career, a 2.59-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, an ASU freshman record, and also hit 57 three-pointers and dished out 108 assists, the second-best amount for a freshman in ASU history last year...has played 17 turnover-free games in his 43 game-career, averaging 30.2 minutes per game...had 24 points on 9-of-11 shooting in Eastern Michigan win on Dec. 28.
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.
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. 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.
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 have left knee surgery the previous March...shooting 55.8 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 three in 13 games this year...turned 20 years old on Nov. 21...already has 30 blocks on the year after posting just 17 last season...has five 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.
LEAGUE'S BEST SHOOTER???: Jeremy Veal is shooting 79.2 percent (263-332) from the FT line in his career...posted 32 points against Cal State Northridge and 25 at Cincinnati...has five 20-point games on the year...needs 263 points to become ASU's career leader...tied for third on the ASU career scoring list (1,572 points) with Byron Scott (1979-83)...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 four 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 103-game career.
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 his 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).
USC-UCLA SERIES INFORMATION: ASU trails in both series, as the Trojans lead 30-24 and the Bruins have won 17 straight and lead 39-9...ASU has not topped the Bruins since
Feb. 16, 1989, when ASU won 93-86 in Tempe...interim coach Bob Schermerhorn coached ASU to that win...Jeremy Veal has averaged 16.3 points vs. UCLA and 12.5 vs. USC in his six games...Veal is 19-of-38 from the three-point stripe vs. UCLA...Mike Batiste averaged 13.5 points and nine boards vs. UCLA last year...USC has won three of the past four overall and three of the past four in Tempe...ASU has not beaten the Trojans at ASU since 1994-95...UCLA has won 21 of the past 22 vs. ASU.
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 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.
Barry Tompkins and Dan Belloumini will call the action for the USC game on Fox Sports Net.
DOUBLE-O: Okeme Oziwo, a 6-8 sophomore who played the 1995-96 season as a true freshman and redshirted last year with stress fractures, will miss the entire 1997-98 season after suffering numerous injuries in a car accident in late August. Oziwo suffered a broken tibia and fibula and several other injuries. He earned honorable mention All-Pac-10 Freshman honors in 1995-96 and had gained 30 pounds since his freshman year in preparation for this year.
PRESEASON PREDICTIONS
1997-98 PAC-10 STANDINGS (as of Dec. 29)
Conf. Overall
Team W L W L
STAN -- -- 9 0
UCLA -- -- 8 1
OSU -- -- 7 2
ASU -- -- 10 3
UW -- -- 6 2
UA -- -- 8 3
WSU -- -- 6 4
UO -- -- 5 4
USC -- -- 4 5
CAL -- -- 3 4
PAC-10 PICKS: A look at ASU's finishes compared to the Pac-10 preseason media picks in the 1990s:
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 CAREER POINTS
Rk. Points Name Years
1. 1,834 Ron Riley 1992-96
2. 1,673 Stevin Smith1990-94
3t. 1,572 Byron Scott 1979-83
3t. 1,572 Jeremy Veal 1994-present
FIELD GOALS MADE
Rk. FGs Name Years
1. 651 Ron Riley 1992-96
6. 590 Paul Williams1979-83
7. 561 Jeremy Veal 1994-present
ASSISTS
Rk. FGs Name Years
1. 454 Bobby Thompson 1984-87
2. 444 Lafayette Lever 1979-82
3. 437 Marcell Capers 1992-95
4. 416 Stevin Smith 1990-94
5. 377 Johnny Nash 1976-81
6. 352 Jeremy Veal 1994-present
STEALS
Rk. FGs Name Years
1. 246 Stevin Smith 1990-94
2. 236 Lafayette Lever 1979-82
3. 202 Ron Riley 1992-96
4. 150 Byron Scott 1979-83
5. 141 Marcell Capers 1992-95
6. 136 Steve Beck 1984-87
7. 122 Jeremy Veal 1994-present
WALKON INFORMATION: ASU has four walkons on its roster in 1997-98, three of them newcomers...Ron DuBois, a 5-10 guard, was on the squad last year and earned a scholar
ASU CAREER STATS VS. UCLA AND USC MIKE BATISTE * 1996-97 * (one season) Team G-GS FG-A PCT 3P-A PCT FT-A PCT REB AVG AST PTS AVG HI UCLA(0-2)2-2 10-29 .345 2-7 .286 5-6 .833 18 9.0 3 27 13.5 15 USC(0-2) 2-2 7-26 .269 0-8 .000 6-9 .667 11 5.5 0 20 10.0 13 EDDIE HOUSE * 1996-97 * (one season) Team G-GS FG-A PCT 3P-A PCT FT-A PCT REB AVG AST PTS AVG HI UCLA(0-2)2-1 11-27 .407 5-14 .357 1-2 .500 4 2.0 5 28 14.0 24 USC(0-2) 2-1 14-30 .467 3-12 .250 0-0 .000 3 1.5 2 31 15.5 18 URIT KELLY * 1996-97 * (one season) Team G-GS FG-A PCT 3P-A PCT FT-A PCT REB AVG AST PTS AVG HI UCLA(0-2)2-2 6-12 .500 0-0 .000 0-0 .000 7 3.5 4 12 6.0 6 USC(0-2) 2-2 4-9 .444 0-0 .000 6-6 1.000 12 6.0 2 14 7.0 10 AHLON LEWIS * 1996-97 * (one season) Team G-GS FG-A PCT 3P-A PCT FT-A PCT REB AVG AST PTS AVG HI UCLA(0-2)2-1 0-3 .000 0-2 .000 0-2 .000 2 1.0 4 0 0.0 0 USC(0-2) 2-1 2-4 .500 0-2 .000 1-2 .500 4 2.0 7 5 2.5 3 JEREMY VEAL * 1994-97 * (three seasons) Team G-GS FG-A PCT 3P-A PCT FT-A PCT REB AVG AST PTS AVG HI UCLA(0-6)6-4 33-76 .434 19-38 .500 13-18 .722 19 3.2 18 98 16.3 26 USC(3-3) 6-4 27-81 .333 9-34 .265 12-15 .800 15 2.5 16 75 12.5 21
asu vs. USC: 24-30
Series Streak: USC, two
*USC has won three of the past four at ASU.
ASU/USC since 1989-90
Year W/L Site Score
1989-90 L USC 59-69
L ASU 63-88
1990-91 W ASU 84-80*
W USC 88-83
1991-92 L ASU 64-69
L USC 66-81
1992-93 L USC 79-87
W ASU 101-67
1993-94 W USC 87-62
L ASU 56-68
1994-95 W ASU 81-71
W USC 74-70
1995-96 L ASU 67-80
W USC 69-66
1996-97 L USC 56-75
L ASU 66-72
*-overtime game
asu vs. UCLA: 9-39
Series Streak: UCLA, 17
*UCLA has won 21 of past 22
*ASU has won both games of the season series just once (1979-80).
ASU/UCLA since 1989-90
Year W/L Site Score
1989-90 L UCLA 53-62
L ASU 72-80
L ASU 78-79!
1990-91 L ASU 68-82
L UCLA 44-64
1991-92 L ASU 62-83
L UCLA 77-85
1992-93 L UCLA 85-89
L ASU 74-77
1993-94 L UCLA 81-98
L ASU 70-76
1994-95 L ASU 72-85
L UCLA 77-82*
1995-96 L ASU 73-87
L UCLA 70-87
1996-97 L UCLA 62-79
L ASU 81-92
!-Pac-10 Tournament
*-overtime game
ship 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...Terrell McKnight, a 5-9 junior from Long Beach City College, earned his roster spot on Dec. 19. McKnight played with Mike Batiste at Long Beach.