Valley Sports

More tidbits of randomness this week before the Arizona State men’s basketball team heads up to the Bay Area for a HUGE series against Stanford and Pac-10-leading California…

–ASU will try and sweep Stanford for just the second time in 16 seasons on Thursday, and ninth time in its 32-years of Pac-10 existence. The most recent double-dip of victories came in 2004-2005.

–Rihards Kuksiks’ 17 points off the bench against Arizona last Sunday were the most by a Sun Devil “reserve” (a term used loosely since Kuksiks played 35 minutes) since Christian Polk scored 18 off the bench against the Wildcats in February, 2007 (Herb Sendek’s first season).

Kuskiks’ six rebounds were the most since he had nine against Washington in early January.

“He shot the ball well against Arizona and made some big baskets,” Sendek said. “With him that always goes a long way. With most guys it does.”

Kuksiks struggled during a stretch in early February, getting beat up physically as an undersized forward, not rebounding or defending the way Sendek wants.

But he’s gotten back into the flow the past two weeks, and Sendek was asked if the improved performances would get him back into the starting lineup.

“I don’t know,” Sendek said. “I don’t know that we’ve had five starters this year. I’ve had teams where the same five started every game and there’s really never any question or doubt. It was almost a foregone conclusion by everybody. As this team’s evolved, I think we have six starters, and which five of the six start, who knows.”

–Sendek has an iPod this season, and the story goes that he likes to walk laps and listen to music around the Weatherup Center court before practice.

Players have heard him singing on occasion but specifics have been hard to figure out.

“It’s quite a scene,” point guard Derek Glasser said. “I have no idea what it is. I couldn’t even name the genre of music. We all get a kick out of it.  When he’s in the zone, I don’t think he sees anything but what’s in front of him.”

“It’s a good thing he chose coaching.”

–On Thursday, Glasser will tie Jeff Pendergraph on the ASU career games played list (126), then Glasser will break Pendergraph’s mark on Saturday.

Senior Jerren Shipp will move past Eddie House (124) and into third place on Saturday, then probably pass Pendergraph next week.

–Former ASU standout Jeremy Veal will be inducted into the Pac-10 Hall of Honor during the Pac-10 Tournament next month. Veal played for the Sun Devils for four years in the mid-1990s. He was ASU’s career scoring leader and eventually became the fourth Pac-10 player with 1,900 points and 400 assists (Sean Elliott, Ron Lee and Gary Payton).

Arizona State left-hander Josh Spence, the expected ace of the Sun Devils who turned down a large pro signing bonus to return to Tempe for his senior season, is not expected to pitch this weekend against Towson because of continued arm soreness, assistant director of media relations Randy Policar said Wednesday.

Spence, who went 10-1 with a 2.37 ERA last year,  also did not throw in the season-opening series against Northern Illinois.

Policar said neither interim coach Tim Esmay nor pitching coach Ken Knutson would comment on injuries, so it’s a guessing game at this point on the severity of the injury.

Spence does not throw hard – his fastball generally tops out at 87 miles per hour – but any arm trouble at the beginning of the season is cause for concern. Since it is early in the year he likely would have been on a schedule that was closely monitored to not tax the arm, so it wouldn’t be from overuse.

For Spence’s sake, hopefully the injury is not serious. If he had signed with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim last season, Spence likely would have gotten a signing bonus in the neighborhood of $300,000.

He turned it down, and take a look at what has happened since he returned to Tempe:

- Baseball coach Pat Murphy was forced to resign by the athletic department, forcing Spence to adjust to his third head coach in three years.

- Pitching coach Josh Holliday also left.

- Arm soreness has already shelved him, and after various injuries last season, professional teams might be more wary of drafting him because of durability concerns.

Furthermore, the minute he stepped on campus, Spence lost plenty of leverage, as the threat to return to school is gone, and the team that drafts him can try a lowball offer. Former ASU right-hander Jason Urquidez went through it a few years ago when he returned for his senior season and ended up signing for a fraction of what he would have made as a junior.

Spence is an easygoing guy and someone easy to root for. This very well could be a minor blip for him, as he could return to the dominant form of last season and help the Sun Devils to another College World Series. But concerns do loom, and only time will tell whether he made the right decision to return to school.

Arizona State junior guard Ty Abbott was arrested by campus police last week for driving with a suspended license and failing to pay fines or appear in court.

The fines stem from an August incident in which Abbott was cited for speeding, old license plates and driving without insurance. Abbott was supposed to make a court appearance in November.

“Overall, I had some things and some issues and I didn’t handle them properly in a timely manner,” Abbott said Tuesday. “I know now to do that moving forward.”

As for it being a distraction: “It happened before Sunday and I was fine, so I’m good.”

Abbott scored 28 points in a win against Arizona on Sunday.

The arrest was first reported by the State Press. Traffic violations are not a violation of ASU’s student-athlete code of conduct policy, but Abbott’s car was impounded and his license confiscated.

According to the State Press, he was on his way to practice Feb. 16 at the time of the arrest near Rural Road and Sixth Street in Tempe.

“The matter is being handled internally,” ASU coach Herb Sendek said Tuesday. “I’ll talk to Ty about it and not get carried away trying to put adjectives or labels next to it right now.”

Initial reactions from Tiger Woods’ press conference on Friday morning:

– Although Tiger Woods is the biggest sports figure on the planet, it’s obvious from his many transgressions that we don’t know much about him privately. But Friday’s apology to a world-wide audience seemed genuine and heartfelt, and was the most vulnerable we have ever seen him.

Yes, it seemed a little robotic at times and too scripted. When your every word is going to be dissected by the masses, some of that is to be expected. But he put the blame solely on himself, where it should be, owned up to his transgressions, and looked straight into the camera when offering up his apology.

“I was unfaithful. I had affairs. I cheated. What I did was not acceptable, and I am the only person to blame,” Woods said.

– Even though Tiger didn’t take questions and only read from a statement, I give him credit for publicly owning up to his mistakes. In today’s society, that’s pretty rare for a public figure. Has Barry Bonds ever offered up such a speech? Roger Clemens? Pete Rose? Bill Clinton?

It certainly doesn’t excuse what Tiger did, but a sincere public apology is a step in the right direction.

– Tiger’s wife Elin was not present, at least publicly, which was for the best. Even if she does stay by his side, that’s an awkward position to put someone in. His mother was in the audience, looking very scolding throughout the speech. But, in the end, her long embrace with Tiger was everything you’d expect from a mom.
– Whether you buy Woods’ remorse or not, in the end, they are just words. His actions in the coming months and years will speak much louder.

Amare Stoudemire is still a member of the Phoenix Suns. Whether that’s still the case in 48 hours is open for debate.

But on Tuesday, at least, Stoudemire was still in a Suns uniform as they traveled to Memphis. The Suns play at Dallas Wednesday, then have a day off as the NBA trading deadline looms on Thursday.

According to several media outlets, Miami, Cleveland and Philadelphia are the teams most interested in trading for Stoudemire. But there seem to be flaws in each proposed deal, which is why one hasn’t happened yet.
ESPN’s Marc Stein reported the Heat are “coming hard” after Stoudemire in hopes of pairing him with Dwyane Wade, and could offer some combination of Michael Beasley, Jermaine O’Neal’s expiring $23 million contract and a first-round pick.

But there are conflicting reports on the Suns’ interest in Beasley, who averages 15.5 points and 6.7 rebounds and (like Stoudemire) is not known for his defense. There are some maturity issues as well with Beasley. O’Neal’s expiring contract is also an issue because it would require the Suns to give up more players to balance out the contracts. A deal with Miami would likely require a third team to get involved.

Cleveland is reportedly offering power forward J.J. Hickson, the expiring contract of center Zydrunas Ilgauskas and a late first-round pick. Hickson has played better of late (possibly being showcased) but is averaging just 7.4 points and 4.4 rebounds. Is that the best the Suns can get for Stoudemire?

There was speculation Stoudemire  might not want to be paired again with Shaquille O’Neal in Cleveland, but he went out of his way on his Twitter feed Monday night to dispel that rumor.

“I play very well with Shaq. I averaged more points WITH him & played better D. You guys can stop saying we don’t play well together,” Stoudemire tweeted.

Philadelphia could offer Andre Iguodala in a deal for Stoudemire (an ESPN report speculated the Suns could package Stoudemire and Leandro Barbosa in a deal for Iguodala and center Samuel Dalembert).

I’m not sure I understand the interest in Iguodala — or Dalembert. Iguodala is a good defender and averages 17.1 points and 7 rebounds per game. But he’s not a good 3-point shooter (31.3 percent), which is a must for a small forward in Phoenix’s system. And he is owed $40.5 million over the next three years, with a $15.9 million player option the year after that. Good small forwards are easier to find, especially in the draft, than talented power forwards like Stoudemire.
Dalembert (7.3 points, 9.7 rebounds, 2.2 blocks) is a good defender without much of an offensive game (think Robin Lopez) and is owed $12.2 million next season before he can become a free agent.
It’s still possible that Stoudemire re-signs with Phoenix. If he’s willing to do so at a reasonable price — in the next two days — that is the Suns’ best option. But without an agreement, the Suns need to get something for him before he can walk away as a free agent after the season.

The latest word from Amare Stoudemire’s camp is that the All-Star forward is leaning toward picking up his $17.7 million option next season rather than become a free agent.

That sounds nice and all. But, really, Stoudemire can say anything he wants at this point. Unless there’s some action at the end of those words, I still think the Suns should trade him before the Feb. 18 deadline, as I wrote here.

Stoudemire can exercise his player option any time he wants. So if he really wants to stay, put it in writing. Give a commitment through next season and let’s see how far this version of the Suns can go.

Otherwise, it’s just talk — and all that does is prevent a worst-case scenario for Stoudemire.

The worst case for Stoudemire is that he gets traded in the next eight days, goes to a new team that doesn’t have Steve Nash and a free-wheeling offense behind him, and his offensive numbers dwindle. And that does nothing but hurt his market value if he becomes a free agent at the end of the year.

I just got back from the press conference at Arizona State, where football coach Dennis Erickson announced his 26-player recruiting class for 2010.

Erickson raved about junior college recruits Brice Schwab and George Bell, who are both expected to come in and compete for playing time. Schwab, an offensive tackle, is probably the most important piece in the class because the Sun Devils have had injury and performance issues on the offensive line.

The offense also lost its only consistent wide receivers from last year – Kyle Williams and Chris McGaha – so Bell has a chance to come in and have immediate success.

The coaching staff signed six junior college players, which is higher than usual, but to Erickson, not an egregious amount.

“Taking six junior college kids to fill needs is not very many,” he said.

Other players of note include running back Deantre Lewis, defensive end Nduka Onyeali and tight end Josh Fulton, who recently had shoulder surgery and may need to redshirt next season.

Damien Williams, out of San Diego, was the final player to sign, sending in his letter of intent late in the afternoon. Williams was expected to play running back at ASU, but Erickson said he could see the 6-foot, 205-pounder as a cornerback.

Erickson only signed four in-state prospects, but isn’t concerned with missing many of Arizona’s elite this year.

“You’ll lose some of them to out-of-state guys, you’ll lose some to the U of A, that’s just how it is,” Erickson said. “Does it bother me? Not at all.”

Erickson also announced that wide receivers coach Eric Yarber is leaving to take the same position with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Erickson would like to fill his position quickly, as soon as the end of the week, and would like a coach that has experience recruiting the Los Angeles area.

Arizona State senior point guard Derek Glasser was on crutches with a boot on his right foot Tuesday.

He said he hurt himself during Monday’s practice when he stepped on a team manager’s foot during a drill. He wasn’t planning on practicing Tuesday but still wanted to play Thursday at Washington State.

Glasser suffered an ankle sprain to his left foot during the San Diego State game in December, and managed to play a couple days later (though it was a nagging injury). He said this didn’t feel as bad as that ankle twist.

“As of right now I think I’m playing but anything can happen,” he said Tuesday afternoon. “I have to see how it responds.”

– Coincidentally, junior guard Jamelle McMillan was likely to practice this week and could play against the Washington schools this weekend.

McMillan has missed four games with plantar fasciitis in his foot he aggravated against Oregon in mid-January.

Without McMillan, one of the team’s best defenders who can play both guard positions, freshman Demetrius Walker became Glasser’s defacto backup point guard.

“He’s making progress,” ASU coach Herb Sendek said. “We’re obviously very anxious to have him return. It’s going to take some time to regain his stride after being out for as long as he’s been out, but he’s making progress.

Sendek was non-committal about declaring McMillan as being back in the rotation this week, although a few players hinted that he would return.

“I hope so,” Sendek said. “He hasn’t practiced yet, but doing a little more and more every day. We’ll see how he responds this week as we try to inch him forward.”

Former ASU baseball coach Pat Murphy has been hired by the San Diego Padres as a special assistant to baseball operations, according to the San Diego Union Tribune.
Murphy, who was fired at ASU on Nov. 20 for undisclosed reasons, led the Sun Devils to four College World Series appearances and four Pac-10 titles since taking over in 1995. He was also the national College Coach of the Year in 1998 and was a four-time Pac-10 Coach of the Year.
The NCAA has been investigating the ASU baseball program for the past two years, although ASU said that inquiry was not related to Murphy’s dismissal.

There’s a slew of randomness to recount in the wake of Arizona State’s blowout win against Stanford, one universally hailed as being important in the grander scheme given the Sun Devils recent slide and unpleasant trip to Washington waiting for them next week.

–A strange day for Derek Glasser, who was benched to start the game for the first time in 54 contests (minus one game he missed last year because of a concussion), then came in and had 10 assists – including the 500th assist of his school record-breaking career – with improved defense.

While ASU coach Herb Sendek “wanted to let some of the air out for him. Let him see the first few minutes and get his feet on the ground.”

Glasser said all the right things afterward, and he knows about his shooting slump (7 of 30 from the field the past four games). But his defense lacked at times against Arizona and California, and the Sun Devils had trouble offensively until Stanford.

Demetrius Walker got the start in place of Glasser because Jamelle McMillan missed his fourth consecutive game with plantar fasciitis.

There’s a better than 50-50 chance McMillan is cleared to practice this week.

“It’s no secret I’ve been struggling and the past two games I hadn’t been holding my end on the defensive end,” Glasser said. “I didn’t deserve to start. I wasn’t playing as well as other guys were and Demetrius has been better in practice.”

Said Sendek: “I wasn’t trying to send any message or prove any points. I wasn’t trying to be a master mind. I was trying to help a young guy who’s pressed a little bit catch his breath.”

Glasser’s ability to hit shots makes ASU more potent, especially because Ty Abbott and Rihards Kuksiks have played well of late, but Glasser’s 10 free throws in the second half proved pivotal when Stanford slashed ASU’s 30-point lead down to 12 (and for one possession, it could have been nine).

Abbott is one of Glasser’s best friends on the team and are roommates on road trips, but even though Abbott went through a three-month shooting nightmare last season, Glasser said he tries not to talk about it outside Wells Fargo Arena or the Weatherup practice facility. It would only further drag him down mentally.

Everyone goes into a funk during the season, and given the shots Glasser takes, this doesn’t feel like another version of what Abbott suffered through last winter.

“I’m not really too worried about scoring,” Glasser said. “I’ve never been worried about that. I’m more worried about us winning and getting guys involved. As long as that’s happening we’re all good.”

Though the guess here is it’s inevitable, Sendek wouldn’t commit to putting Glasser back into the starting lineup next week, noting that there’s another practice Monday.

To that end, teammates saw the move as a reminder that leaders must practice what they preach.

“I knew DG would be fine with it,” freshman Trent Lockett said. “He’s a good teammate. He came in and had a good game. It gave me a lot of confidence our leaders are going to do the same thing they expect from the people they lead.”

–Speaking of Lockett, he’s locked in of late with 32 points against the Bay Area schools. He shot 10 of 18 from the field and 11 of 16 from the free throw line, 12 rebounds and five steals.

Thanks in large part to his slashing ability, he’s drawing more defensive attention and it let to a career-high eight assists against Stanford. Prior to Saturday’s game, he had 15 assists for the season.

So much for the freshman funk he went through in December and early January.

“I think it was confidence,” he said. “When I play with it I’m more aggressive and feel like I can play with anybody. Just getting the confidence back and working hard.”

–Don’t think the second half dropoff (or Stanford pickup, depending on your point of view) will go unnoticed by Sendek. A slight turnaround by the Cardinal was inevitable, as Sendek noted the first-half scoring discrepency wasn’t a reflection of the difference between these two teams.

Stanford missed its first 15 attempts from behind the arc, so a few were bound to go in during the second half, and the Sun Devils weren’t as crisp on either end of the floor.

Sun Devils fans started to squirm. Had Jeremy Green made an open 3-pointer with a little more than three minutes left in the game (and he’s already made a few in the second half that were contested), it would been a nine point Sun Devil lead. But he missed so Lockett’s and Glasser’s free throws ended it.

Stanford still hasn’t won a true road games this season, but even having only seen the Cardinal play one full game (and a couple partials on TV), it’s hard to believe they nearly beat Kentucky early this season.

–This won’t become a constant, but the first junior college player commit in the Sendek era at ASU happened this weekend when point guard Brandon Dunson gave a verbal nod to the Sun Devils for next season.

The 6-foot-2, 175-pound Funson was at Mt. Carmet, Ill. after he transferred out of Tennessee-Chattanooga.

He’ll joined the highly-touted Keala King, Estrella Foothills guard Corey Hawkins and center Jordan Bachynski expected to sign in April.

–Now midway through the 18-game Pac-10 schedule, This is the third time in 15 years the Sun Devils are above .500 (5-4) at the turn. The other two were in 2009 and 2002.

–Since the USC misery on Jan. 2, Abbott is averaging 18.6 points per game, including 24.5 ppg this weekend. Both he and Lockett should be leading candidates for Pac-10 Player of the Week honors.

“Guys were setting screens for me,” Abbott said. “I hit a couple and they kept coming back to me. They’re finding me and I’m hitting open shots. It’s not like I’m going out there 1-on-1 or 1-vs.-5. I’m getting open and lucky enough to knock down open ones.”