Rihards Kuksiks is one of the best pure shooters in college basketball. (Icon SMI)

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By Ryan Feldman
rfeldman@thehoopsreport.com

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Arizona State Sun Devils
Last Season: 22-11 (12-6)
Key Losses: Eric Boateng, Derek Glasser, Jerren Shipp
Head Coach: Herb Sendek

Projected Starting Lineup
PG: Jamelle McMillan 6-2 Sr.
SG: Ty Abbott 6-3 Sr.
SF: Trent Lockett 6-4 So.
PF: Rihards Kuksiks 6-6 Sr.
C: Ruslan Pateev 7-0 So.
Key Reserves: Keala King 6-5 Fr. SG

A team losing its starting point guard and center is always tough to overcome, but with the system Herb Sendek has built at Arizona State over the last few years, the Sun Devils will be just fine in 2010-11. Although starters Eric Boateng and Derek Glasser are gone, Arizona State still returns some key players in Jamelle McMillan, Ty Abbott, Rihards Kuksiks and Trent Lockett. The Sun Devils will use their tough zone defense and patient offense that led them to a successful 22-11 overall (12-6 in conference play) season last year to try and climb through a weak Pac-10 and possibly capture a conference title in 2010-11.

The Sun Devils made a nice run in conference play to get to 12-6 and had a chance to get an at-large bid into the NCAA tournament with a few wins in the conference tournament, but they lost in the first round to Stanford and had to settle in the NIT. When they got there, they were upset in the first round once again, losing to Jacksonville 67-66 to end their season.

Glasser and Boateng were two extremely valuable players. Glasser ran the point and did a great job controlling the game and hitting shots when he had to. Without him, Jamelle McMillan will have to step into the starting lineup. The new point guard averaged 2.8 assists and 1.1 turnovers in 27.6 minutes per game last season. McMillan's assist-to-turnover ratio was actually better than Glasser's. For a team with limited size down low, Boateng is a huge loss. He averaged 7.2 rebounds and 0.8 blocks in 27.1 minutes per game. Having that defensive-minded big man in the middle is a valuable asset. Without him, inexperienced 7-foot sophomore Ruslan Pateev will have to step up and fill that void.

Abbott and Kuksiks will be the guys carrying the scoring load for the Sun Devils. Both players scored about 12 points per game last season. Both are also excellent 3-pointers, as Kuksiks shot 38.4 percent from beyond the arc and Abbott shot 40.4 percent. Both players made about 2.5 3-pointers per game. The stats in every category were very similar for both players last season, so either of the two is capable of stepping up and carrying the offensive load at any time.

The major x-factor could be Trent Lockett, a sophomore guard who is capable of exploding for a big game at any time. Lockett has star potential but could also fade into the background at times. Lockett averaged 6.7 points in 19.6 minutes per game last season.

Another x-factor could be 6-foot-5 freshman guard Keala King, who is ranked by Rivals.com as the No. 26 recruit in the class of 2010. King is an athletic wing who can score from anywhere on the court and is a very good ball handler. He can penetrate into the lane and dish to other teammates or he can finish around the basket himself. He is capable of playing and defending three different positions.

Sendek has developed a solid program at Arizona State where he can continuously reload and compete for an NCAA tournament berth every year. Despite losing Glasser and Boateng, the Sun Devils could take advantage of a weak Pac-10 and be even stronger this season. The guards and wings are there, but the big question will be how effective the inexperienced big men who have to replace Boateng will be.

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