Arizona State Basketball

Hey ESPN network, what did you think of ASU on their first ESPN broadcast of the year? Maybe you should make more of an effort to cover ALL the major conferences. I am sick of watching the Big East conference night in night out and hearing about how great they are.

The Pac-10 conference sends a team to the Elite Eight every year and the Final Four in the past four years. For some reason, ESPN/USA Today ranks Pac-10 teams only when they have to. I can't say the same about the Big East.

They rank UCLA in the top 10 because they are their "west coast affiliate team" who had the best coach in the history of college basketball at one point, John Wooden, even though they should deserve to be there because of excellent play.

Outside of UCLA, no teams in the conference get any respect.

They rank ASU 18th because they know James Harden is a lottery pick, and Washington 24th because they absolutely have to.

Arizona State has swept UCLA (a top-10 team for most of the season) in conference play and is 19-5 on the season. No. 7 Louisville (18-5) has only one win over a top 10 opponent and is 11 spots higher than the Sun Devils. Explain to me how this is fair?

No. 7 Louisville's last loss was to Notre Dame, 90-57. Notre Dame traveled to No. 6 UCLA in their previous game and it wasn't even a contest, with the final score being 89-63 in the Bruins favor.

Notre Dame has faced every opponent in the Big East thus far which has been three teams in the top ten and five teams in the top fifteen. UCLA handed them easily their largest defeat of the season.

No. 24 Washington (17-6) is 10-3 and in first place in the Pac-10. The Huskies beat ASU and UCLA this season. No. 22 Syracuse (19-7, 7-6) has done nothing to prove they deserve to be in the top 25, yet they have remained in the rankings all year

Does anyone at ESPN even know who Isaiah Thomas is? A player who I feel is the best freshman in the country has not been given the opportunity to play on a nationally ESPN televised game yet.

Thomas, at 5'8" and 170 pounds, scored 25 vs. UCLA, and 24 vs. ASU in route to their two biggest victories of the season. Yet, he is not even mentioned as one of ESPN's top freshman in the county.

One may ask why? The answer is simple, they have never seen him play.

These three schools are guaranteed to get screwed by the voters come tournament time. They are going to make some big noise when they face overrated Big East teams that play on TV every night of the week.

Watch your back, ESPN, The Pac-10 is sneaking up behind you.

1) The Arizona State Sun Devils have gotten back on track.  Herb Sendek is one of the best coaches that flies under the national radar, and N.C. State has to be kicking themselves for when he resigned under pressure.  However, the only "easy" game they have the rest of the way is at home against Stanford.

They're also not a deep squad, as only seven players average more than 15 minutes a game.  But they have a great inside-outside combo with James Harden and Jeff Pendergraph and are poised for their first Sweet 16 run since 1995.

2) Former Stanford coach Trent Johnson has put down the eyebrows raised when he took the LSU job.  Since the Bayou Bengals lost to Alabama, they have gone 7-1, with the lone black mark coming against Xavier.  At this rate Chris Johnson (no relation) and company are in the driver's seat to take the overall regular season title in the SEC and are poised for their first dance card invite since their Final Four run in 2006.

3) Siena and Xavier both lost this weekend, but unless they suddenly collapse, both teams should be OK even if they stumble in their conference tournaments.  Their current RPIs are a healthy 27 and 5, respectively.  If they do stumble, expect the committee to collectively grab some antacid, as there's going to be a few teams that get invited whose credentials will be debated long after the tournament is over.

4) One of those teams could be Georgetown.  The Hoyas have played the nation's toughest schedule (per collegerpi.com) but have lost six of their last seven.  They have to go to Syracuse, South Florida (stop laughing, ask Marquette), and have the aforementioned Golden Eagles at home.  They could easily be 4-10 in the conference after Feb. 21.

5) Another team that could upset the bracket's apple cart is Wisconsin-Green Bay.  No, the Bennetts haven't come back, but the Phoenix have a 59 RPI, an 11-2 conference record, and beat Butler.  Considering that it's very muddled in Bracketville when it comes time to consider 11 and 12 seeds, a case could be made for this team as an at-large selection.  They have five players who average double figures and are fairly deep.  If they do get in, whoever plays them in the first round better be ready.

1 - UConn

2 - UNC

3 - Oklahoma

4 - Pitt

5 - Louisville

6 - Memphis

7 - UCLA

8 - Duke

9 - Michigan State

10 - Marquette

11 - Xavier

12 - Villanova

13 - Wake Forest

14 - Kansas

15 - Butler

16 - Clemson

17 - Utah State

18 - Missouri

19 - Purdue

20 - Florida

21 - Syracuse

22 - Gonzaga

23 - Illinois

24 - Arizona St.

25 - LSU

Round one of the Pac-10 Conference schedule is over, and it's proved to be a wild one.

The conference leaders (Washington and UCLA) are sitting pretty at 7-2, but there are six other teams within just three games of the lead.

No. 24 Arizona State (16-5, 5-4 Pac-10) was picked to finish second in the conference but currently sits in fourth place.

Last season, the Sun Devils were left on the outside of the NCAA Tournament bubble looking in. So what do they have to do to reach the Big Dance for the first time under third-year coach Herb Sendek?

Here are a few things to look out for in the coming weeks.

Can they put the ball in the basket?

Just one week ago, ASU was coming off back-to-back wins at UCLA and at Arizona and was 5-2 in the conference. Even better, it was set to host the Washington schools for its first home games in nearly a month.

After a 65-55 loss to Washington State and an 84-71 meltdown against UW, the Sun Devils are hurting.

They shot a combined 43-of-110 (39.1 percent) from the field for the weekend, something very uncharacteristic of this year's team.

Dating back to their Jan. 21 contest against UA, the Sun Devils have shot the ball poorly in three consecutive games.

Sendek's complex motion offense was really humming for most of the season until recently, and was among the nation's best in field goal percentage.

So what gives?

During Tuesday's press conference, Sendek said the offense is still producing open shots and may even be improving right now. He suggested that shots simply aren't falling right now.

Can Kuksiks remain a consistent third scoring option?

Sophomore forward Rihards Kuksiks is one of the nation's best from three-point range. Junior guard Derek Glasser said Kuksiks once nailed 88 of 100 shots from behind the arc as a freshman in practice.

Behind sophomore guard James Harden and senior forward Jeff Pendergraph, Kuksiks (10.5 ppg) has been the team's best scorer.

Kuksiks has been slumping (five for his last 23 from three-point range) the past three games, but really spreads out the floor when he's on point.

Can Abbott snap out of his Pac-10 funk?

The numbers only tell part of the story.

Since conference play has started, Ty Abbott is only averaging 2.4 points and 2.7 rebounds per game. Granted, he has been hampered by a left thumb injury he incurred against Oregon State on Jan. 8.

However, Abbott doesn't look confident with the ball on the offensive end of the floor. In 12 non-conference games, he had eight games of scoring at least 12 points.

A productive Abbott would do wonders for the ASU offense. With he and Kuksiks on the perimeter, Harden being Harden, Pendergraph staying consistent, and Glasser at the point, ASU would have a very tough starting five to guard.

Defensively, though, Abbott is still as effective as ever. It's perhaps the only part of his game that hasn't appeared to be affected by his injury.

Can Pendergraph stay out of foul trouble?

Pendergraph is as emotional as they come. He's only fouled out twice this season, but has a history of taking himself out of games.

He's averaged nearly 38 minutes a game in the past four, though, something almost unheard of. The Sun Devils need Pendergraph's presence down low to compete with the elite.

Backup Eric Boateng has definitely improved this season, but the drop-off in offensive production would be hard to make up.

Can they defend home court?

The Sun Devils were swept by two quality teams in WSU and UW, but they can't let it happen again for the rest of the season.

ASU hasn't won three Pac-10 road games in a row since 1995-96 and have just one weekend sweep in the past six seasons (Bay Area schools in 2005).

Here's some news and notes from around the Pac-10....

California's 66.7 percent field-goal percentage against Oregon was the best any Pac-10 team has registered in conference play this year. Theo Robertson of the Golden Bears still leads the nation in three-point percentage, shooting 55.2 percent. 

Cal's Patrick Christopher is just 13 points shy of 1,000 career points, currently sitting at 987 points.  Teammate Jerome Randle is right behind at 957.  Randle is also ninth in career 3-point field goals made at 125, and tenth in career assists with 313. Randle is also first in career free-throw percentage at 85.7 percent.

This is just the third time Washington has started 6-1 in the last 25 years. Washington has won 13 of their last 14 games. It is the first time the Huskies have been in sole possession of first place in the Pac-10 since January 2005.

It is just the third time Washington has started 6-1 in the conference in the last 25 years. The only time the Huskies ever had a better start through seven games was 1953 when they went 7-0.

Last week, Washington averaged getting to the free throw line 41.5 times a game.  If they keep getting to the line this much they will be hard to beat.

Jordan Hill’s 30 points and 18 rebounds against Houston was the Arizona junior's first game of his career that he broke the 20-point and 15-rebound plateaus. Oklahoma's Blake Griffin, on the other hand, has put together 10 such games so far this year.

Aubrey Coleman’s face stomp of Chase Budinger was the most classless act I have seen in years.  He should have been suspended multiple games for that. Each high-five he got while leaving the game should have added a game to it.

Oregon State’s three conference victories so far match their total of the last two seasons combined.

Joe Lunardi currently has Arizona State, California, UCLA and Washington getting in the dance.  It is hard to see any other Pac-10 teams really making a push.  USC has been too inconsistent still and they are the only other team with a shot in my mind.

Check Lunardi's bracket out here.

Player of the week - Calvin Haynes, Oregon State

Haynes averaged 22 points a game this week.  Haynes shot 64 percent from the field, including 7-for-12 from 3-point range and a perfect 5-for-5 from the line.  He also averaged four rebounds a game in Oregon State’s 2-0 week.

Honorable Mention:

Isaiah Thomas averaged 20.5 points while leading the Huskies into first place in the Pac-10 this week. Jerome Randle of Cal averaged 21 points, 6.5 assists, and 3.5 rebounds a game in two games this week. In Jordan Hill’s only game this week he scored 30 points and had 18 rebounds for Arizona.

Team of the week - Washington

As well as Oregon State is doing, Washington held court at home against USC and UCLA.  Walking away with both victories vaulted the Huskies into first place.  The team has won 13 of their last 14 and is on fire.

Game of the week

Arizona’s comeback against Houston this week was impressive.  The Wildcats were down nine with less than a minute to play. 

Arizona’s furious comeback can partly be attributed to Aubrey Coleman’s blatant disregard for Chase Budinger’s face.  After he stepped on Budinger’s face and was ejected, Arizona mounted a comeback. The Wildcats scored 55 points in the second half.

Best game of the upcoming week:

01/31 Washington at Arizona State – Washington has yet to play one of the top-tier teams (Arizona State, UCLA, Cal) on the road.  It will be a great chance to see James Harden go up against Isaiah Thomas.  Arizona State has a chance to snap Washington’s four-game winning streak and get the Sun Devils back into a tie for first place.

Team Rankings:

1. Washington (15-4, 6-1)

2. Arizona State (16-3, 5-2)

3. UCLA (15-4, 5-2)

4. California (16-4, 5-2)

5. USC (13-6, 4-3)

6. Oregon State (9-10, 3-5)

7. Stanford (13-4, 3-4)

8. Arizona (12-8, 2-5)

9. Washington State (11-8, 3-4)

10. Oregon (6-14, 0-8)

For the detailed team rankings and my Pac-10 notes check RushtheCourt every Thursday.

If you're not careful, you could mistake ASU coach Herb Sendek as a publicist for the Pac-10.

It seems he's incapable of going through a press conference or post-game interview without stressing the quality of the conference from top to bottom. Every game is a tough game, and anyone can beat anyone.

Tuesday's presser was no exception, as he offered up some vintage Sendek analysis.

"Our league is really good," he said. "I think we need to recognize that and proclaim that. You could be a really good team and lose a couple in a row or a few in a row. It’s not that hard to fathom."

After Thursday night's results, though, it may be hard to argue with him. Oregon State beats Cal on the road? Washington State a buzzer-beater away from handing UCLA its second straight loss?

Somebody pinch me.

It seems that UCLA's choke hold on the rest of the Pac-10 has become considerably weaker, leaving the possibility for another team to claim conference supremacy.

Among those teams trying to knock off the kings are Sendek's Sun Devils. In fact, they already did—in one contest at least.

On Jan. 17, ASU marched into Pauley Pavilion and pulled off a 61-58 overtime victory. The Sun Devils closed out regulation on an 11-0 run and allowed only one UCLA field goal over the final 13-plus minutes of the game.

Wednesday, Sendek's squad followed it up by beating rival Arizona 53-47 at the McKale Center in Tucson in one of the ugliest games in recent memory.

Those wins, coupled with ASU's 90-60 thrashing of Stanford at Maples Pavilion on Jan. 2, made ASU the first Pac-10 team to win on the road against UCLA, UA, and Stanford in the same season since 1980-81.

Take that with a grain of salt, though, since those three programs are incapable of achieving such a feat.

So as we take a look at the Pac-10 standings after Thursday's games, we see UCLA and a surprising Washington team leading with their 5-1 records. Just behind them are ASU at 5-2 and Cal at 4-2.

Then comes the quagmire at the middle of the Pac, with Stanford, USC, and WSU all tied at 3-3.

To think that a team as talented as UA (2-5) sits eighth is a testament to the strength of the conference.

So where does that leave us? Who knows?

We probably won't know until the end of the Pac-10 Tournament in March.

You could make a case for any of the aforementioned teams to make a run for the title, so here is mine for the Sun Devils.

They have a premier coach in Herb Sendek.

A former assistant under Rick Pitino, the 45-year-old Sendek now has eight former assistants roaming the sidelines as Division I head coaches. He's a constant preacher of improvement and one of the brightest minds in the game.

They have arguably the league's best player in James Harden.

The sophomore guard has made a habit of carrying the team on his back. He leads the league in scoring and seemingly takes over games whenever he feels like it.

Barring his four-point, zero-field-goal performance at USC on Jan. 15, he's mostly had his way with opposing defenses.

But he does more than score. He can rebound, his playmaking ability has become indispensable, and his penchant for the clutch has been nothing short of amazing.

ASU is 6-0 in overtime games since Harden came aboard. Coincidence?

They have a legitimate post presence in senior Jeff Pendergraph.

JP is among the nation's best when it comes to field goal percentage, and he is the unquestioned emotional leader of the team.

Before the start of the season, Harden said, "[Pendergraph]’s the one that yells and screams and stuff like that. I’m just behind him, like ‘Yeah, yeah.’”

Some great imagery right there.

They can play defense.

Sendek's brand of a matchup zone has been effective dating back to his first year on the job. Even when the Sun Devils went 8-22 in 2006-07, they were playing games in the 50s and even the 40s in some cases.

This season they rank second in the conference in scoring defense behind WSU and just in front of UCLA.

They have the role players.

Point guard Derek Glasser and sharpshooter Rihards Kuksiks are crucial to the team's success. Wing player Ty Abbott has been hampered by an injured left thumb, but when healthy can be another offensive weapon.

Then there are serviceable backups Jamelle McMillan, Jerren Shipp, and Eric Boateng.

They've already played the toughest part of their conference schedule, and they're sitting at 5-2.

ASU has played five of its first seven conference games on the road, suffering losses at Cal and at USC.

That means the Sun Devils have just four more road contests for the rest of the regular season, and two of them will be against the lowly Oregon schools.

I know it's early and anything can happen, but the Sun Devils look poised to make a serious run at the Pac-10 crown.

What awaits ASU in what is probably Harden's—and definitely Pendergraph's—final season in the maroon and gold? We'll just have to wait and see.

But if anything is certain in this year's Pac-10, it's that nothing is certain at all.

Today is a Blockbuster of a day in NCAA basketball. The match-ups are so intense that it’s almost like a sneak peek in to what’s to come in March Madness.

Key games all day long!

I have some super fun things in store for today and I’m hoping to give you some live updates later!

I’m even going to give you the sneak peek at my newest article which I published to Bleacher Report this morning! It’s in a fun slide-show format there! Or you can wait an hour and I’ll be jazzing it up a bit with my unique flair for here! Two of the players featured are actually in the key match-ups today!

The Top 9 College Basketball Players You Need To Know But Probably Don’t

Noon: No. 13 Notre Dame at No. 8 Syracuse

Tough call for me because I just wrote about Syracuse’s Arinze Onuaku but I think that ND’s Kyle McAlarney is super-hot. And Syracuse is in N.Y. and their colors are orange and blue like my college. I’m going with Syracuse.

*Update: Syracuse won 93-74 but the game was closer than that throughout.

2:03 p.m. No. 5 Oklahoma Sooners at Texas A&M Aggies

I don’t care, I’m going Sooners because I still feel bad that Sam Bradford and the Sooners lost in the BCS football title game. And they have Blake Griffin who is in the elite of elite in the country right now. And he’s HOT. Holy crap. He has a brother Taylor! Shut up! So going Sooners! I take back what I said earlier about What Happened to the all the Hot College Players?

3:30 p.m.: No. 3 Wake Forest at No. 9 Clemson

I may regret this but I think I am finally going to put aside my 10 year grudge with Wake Forest. I’ve been anti-Demon Deacons ever since they had Tim Duncan and they would go head-to-head with UMass and Marcus Camby. Wake Forest has Jeff Teague, one of the best guards in the country. And the only reason I didn’t mention him in my Unknown Players that You Gotta Know article is that he seemed to already be known! I’m going with you guys. You better not piss me off or I will seriously never, ever, ever pick you in a March Madness bracket ever again!

3:45 p.m.: No. 15 ASU at No. 7 UCLA

Best all-around player in ASU’s James Harden. Best point guard in the country with UCLA’s Darren Collison. For shits and giggles I’m going with the Arizona State Sun Devils. I learned all about their silent star James Harden last night and I really liked what I learned. He’s been having a rough patch the last few games but I think he has what it takes to beat the Bruins

4:00 p.m.: Illinios at No. 10 Michigan State

I’m going MSU. And you will love my reason why! I was reading about their guard Kalin Lucas who is pretty much bad-ass and went to look-up a pic of him to see if he was as hot as his stats and this is the pic I found:

It is a true BFF moment if I ever saw one!

6:00 p.m.: No. 1 Pittsburgh at No. 20 Louisville

I usually love when the No. 1 falls but I truly don’t know enough about this yet. I have a few hours to think it over but for now I’ll go Pitts.

Other games that I don’t know times for…sorry!

8:00 p.m. Miami at No. 6 North Carolina.

I am so going with Miami. I don’t even care if they lose spectacularly. I’m not going with UNC because I can’t tell you how many times I heard the name Tyler Hansborough last night and it’s really starting to irritate the crap out of me.

Georgetown at Duke

I am just going with Duke because otherwise my friend Mark will never help me with another college basketball article ever!

————————————————————————-

And now I’m just going to direct you over to ESPN.com for the complete breakdown and I do apologize. It’s been a hell of a week first with the flu and now with a major plumbing thing. Let’s just say my upstairs shower is somehow leaking into the downstairs bathroom. At least it’s landing right into the toilet! But the plumber is here and I’m running up and downstairs with him.

Stay tuned for more Blockbuster Saturday fun!

TEMPE, Ariz - Herb Sendek's brainchild is evolving.

Is his brand of complex motion offense finally burned into his players' minds? The matchup zone defense becoming second nature?

Thursday, No. 20 ASU held lowly Oregon State (6-8, 1-3 Pac-10) to 15 first-half points in its 69-38 victory. The 38 points allowed by the Sun Devils was the lowest total in the school's 31-year affiliation with the Pac-10. The ASU offense was nearly perfect in the second half, making 16 of 18 shots.

Sunday, the Sun Devils (14-2, 3-1) picked apart Oregon to win 76-58, despite off-days from senior forward Jeff Pendergraph and sophomore guard James Harden.

"I thought it was a good team effort to win this afternoon," Sendek said. "Our guys navigated through some foul trouble...Derek Glasser had a impressive afternoon."

Five Sun Devils scored double-digits, but four picked up at least three fouls.

Pendergraph was in foul trouble all day and played just 18 minutes. He scored 10 points (five-of-seven) and grabbed seven rebounds before fouling out with 1:13 left.

Junior point guard Derek Glasser picked up the slack and scored 15 points to go along with a career-high 11 assists.

Though Harden scored a game-high 19 points, he shot just five-of-12 (one-of-six from three) and eight-of-13 from the line.

Sendek likened Harden to a running back who is getting a lot of carries. "He's getting beat up a little bit," Sendek said.

Sendek also offered up his NFL predictions in the postgame press conference, saying his hometown Pittsburgh Steelers and the nearby Arizona Cardinals would advance to the next round.

The Oregon defense had no answer for ASU, who amassed 18 assists on 24 field goals. Meanwhile, the Ducks shot just 38.9 percent for the game and 29.2 percent in the first half.

"We still have a few kinks to work out," Glasser said. "But I like where we're at right now."

ASU led 41-25 at intermission and closed out the first half on a 17-5 run. The Sun Devils led by as many 26 in the second half, but played pretty sloppy to finish the game.

Both Glasser and Sendek said they would like to have seen the team end the game on a better note.

Still, the team is slowly forming a new identity. Sendek is starting to play Glasser and fellow point guard Jamelle McMillan on the floor together, something that never happened last year.

McMillan re-worked his three-point shot in the offseason and can be another proficient spot-up shooter if he's not facilitating the offense. Sunday he went three-of-seven from behind the arc.

Both Glasser and McMillan said they like playing alongside each other.

"That’s giving us a nice rotation with our point and two guard with Ty [Abbott], Jamelle, and Derek complementing each other," Sendek said.

Junior center Eric Boateng is also looking more and more comfortable on the floor. Sunday he played 22 minutes in wake of Pendergraph's absence and scored seven points to go along with six rebounds and two blocks.

To coincide with the All Anything NBA teams, I decided on going with an all Arizona State University to NBA team. This would be my five man starting lineup for an All ASU team. Now one of the best players in ASU history is not on this list due to the fact he did not have a great NBA career or much of one at all.

Michael Batiste for those who dont know of him (wiki him) attended ASU from 1995-1999 and was named to the All Pac 10 first team in 1998-1999. He did not go on to have a great NBA career only playing for the Grizzlies in the 2002-2003 season playing in 75 games averaging 6.4ppg.

He then moved on the Panathinaikos of the Greek League, also known as one of the top three best teams in all of Europe. Since being there he earned last season the Greek League award for best Forward in the league.

Now on to the list of players who actually have been in the NBA and have stuck there, there arent many to choose, but here they are, my starting lineup for ASU basketball.

PG: 2007/2008 Eddie House:
The 37th pick in the second round of the 2000 NBA draft, Eddie House has been a journeyman within the NBA playing for eight teams in his eight year NBA career. A former Pac 10 Player of the year in college House was able to light it up from almost anywhere for the Sun Devils which included a 61 point effort vs. Cal.

House saw himself get back on the NBA map with the Phoenix Suns in the '05-06 season which saw him score 9.8ppg but no season did he seem to play as big of a role as he did then last season the world champion Boston Celtics. Although House only avg. 7.5ppg during the regular season it was his leadership and incredible hussle that led the Celtics to the world title.

SG: 1987/1988 Byron Scott

The fourth overall pick in the 1983 draft Scott had a long and successful career winning three NBA titles with the Los Angeles Lakers. The 1987-1988 season proved to be Scott's best as he averaged a Lakers best for that season 21.7ppg to go along with 1.91spg. He was the Lakers starting SG from the 1984 season until the 1993 season. He also won a Greek League and European Championship playing for Panathinaikos. He is now the head coach of the New Orleans Hornets where he most recently won the NBA 2007-2008 Coach of the Year.

SF: 1977/1978 Lionel Hollins:

The sixth overall pick of the 1975 NBA draft, Lionel Hollins had an excellent career which saw him named as an NBA All Star one time and an All NBA defender twice and named to the All NBA Rookie Team in 1975. He also won a World Title with the Portland Trailblazers in the 1976-1977 NBA season.

He was a solid player at Arizona State and that translated to the NBA as he enjoyed his best season during the 1977-1978 NBA season which saw him average a career high 15.9ppg. After his playing days were over he became the head coach of the then Vancouver Grizzlies for the '99-00 season and he is now an assistant coach for the Milwaukee Bucks.

PF: 2005/2006 Ike Diogu:

The ninth overall pick in the 2005 NBA Draft, Ike Diogu was the reigning Pac 10 player of the year and was named to the 2nd Team All America when he left ASU after his Jr year to pursue and NBA career. Diogu hasn't lived up to the hype he had when he left ASU but did enjoy a nice rookie year campaign where he averaged 7.0ppg in 69 games with the Warriors, 14 of those games he started. Diogu has a lot of promise still ahead of him it is just injuries and multiple trades have slowed him down from becoming the player he can.

C: 1986/1987 Alton Lister:

The 21st overall pick in the 1981 draft Lister was a very successful player at ASU and that led to him having a pretty solid NBA career. His best season took place in the 1986-1987 season with the Seattle Supersonics which saw Lister avg. 11.6ppg and 9.4rpg in 75 games. Lister was known throughout his career as a solid defensive player and an excellent rebounder and shot blocker he retired from the NBA after the 97-98 season.

Bench:

2007-2008 - Awvee Storey

1968-1969 - Freddie Lewis

1970-1971 - Joe Caldwell

1985-1986 - Kurt Nimphius

1988-1989 - Lafayette Lever

To coincide with the All Anything NBA teams, I decided on going with an all Arizona State University to NBA team. This would be my five-man starting lineup for an All ASU team.

Now one of the best players in ASU history is not on this list due to the fact that he did not have a great NBA career or much of one at all. Michael Batiste, for those who don't know of him (wiki him), attended ASU from 1995-1999 and was named to the All Pac-10 first team in 1998-1999.

He did not go on to have a great NBA career, only playing for the Grizzlies in the 2002-2003 season in 75 games averaging 6.4ppg. He then moved on the Panathinaikos of the Greek League, also known as one of the top three best teams in all of Europe. Since being there he has earned the Greek League award for best forward in the league.

Now on to the list of players who actually have been in the NBA and have stuck there. There aren't many from which to choose, but here they are—my starting lineup for ASU basketball.

PG: 2007/2008 Eddie House

The 37th pick in the second round of the 2000 NBA draft, Eddie House has been a journeyman within the league, having played for eight teams in his eight-year NBA career. A former Pac-10 Player of the Year in college, House was able to light it up from almost anywhere for the Sun Devils—including a 61-point effort vs. Cal.

House got back on the NBA map with the Phoenix Suns in the 05-06 season, scoring 9.8 ppg.  Of course, he had his biggest role last season with the world champion Boston Celtics. Although House averaged only 7.5 ppg during the regular season it was his leadership and incredible hustle that led the Celtics to the world title.

SG: 1987/1988 Byron Scott

The fourth overall pick in the 1983 draft, Scott had a long and successful career, winning three NBA titles with the Los Angeles Lakers. The 1987-1988 season proved to be Scott's best. He averaged a Laker best for that season, 21.7 ppg, to go along with 1.91 spg.

He was the Lakers' starting shooting guard from the 1984 season until the 1993 season. He also won a Greek League and European Championship playing for Panathinaikos.

He is now the head coach of the New Orleans Hornets where he most recently won the NBA 2007-2008 Coach of the Year.

SF: 1977/1978 Lionel Hollins

The sixth overall pick of the 1975 NBA draft, Lionel Hollins had an excellent career which saw him named as an NBA All-Star one time and an All NBA defender twice. He was also named to the All NBA Rookie Team in 1975.

Hollins won a World Title with the Portland Trailblazers in the 1976-1977 NBA season. He was a solid player at Arizona State and that translated to the NBA as he enjoyed his best season during the 1977-1978 NBA season which saw him average a career high 15.9 ppg.

After his playing days were over he became the head coach of the then Vancouver Grizzlies for the 99-00 season and he is now an assistant coach for the Milwaukee Bucks.

PF: 2005/2006 Ike Diogu

The ninth overall pick in the 2005 NBA Draft, Ike Diogu was the reigning Pac-10 Player of the Year and was named a Second-Team All-American when he left ASU after his junior year to pursue and NBA career.

Diogu hasn't lived up to the hype he had when he left ASU, but did enjoy a nice rookie year campaign, averaging 7.0 ppg in 69 games with the Warriors. He started 14 of those games.

Diogu has a lot of promise still ahead of him. It is just that injuries and multiple trades have slowed him down from becoming the player he could be.

C: 1986/1987 Alton Lister

The 21st overall pick in the 1981 draft, Lister was a very successful player at ASU and that led to him having a pretty solid NBA career. His best season took place in the 1986-1987 season with the Seattle Supersonics. Lister averaged 11.6 ppg and 9.4 rpg in 75 games.

Lister was known throughout his career as a solid defensive player and an excellent rebounder and shot blocker. He retired from the NBA after the 97-98 season.