Arizona State Sun Devils
Pac-12 (20-11, 10-8)
Arizona State had some questions to answer heading into the 2011-2012 campaign after Coach Charli Turner-Thorne took a leave of absence. Long-time assistant coach Joseph Turner has taken over the program this season on an interim basis and done a solid job. The Sun Devils did not garner any attention grabbing victories in non-conference play, but they played pretty well, beating solid teams like Illinois, UTEP and Illinois State.
Big Wins: 12/28 UTEP (47-45), 1/28 at Washington (57-53), 2/16 Washington (47-41)
Bad Losses: 1/7 UCLA (48-64), 1/12 at Oregon State (51-56), 2/9 at Utah (46-50)
Coach: Joseph Anders (1 season at Arizona State)
Why They Can Surprise:
Arizona State will win games with their stellar defense. Center Kali Bennett is one of the best shot blockers around and she swats away about three shots per game. However, she alters countless others and forces the opposition to think twice before even going into the paint. Bennett, a 6-5 senior who started her collegiate career at Washington, is just the start of the ASU’s defensive effort. While Bennett discourages most players from heading to the basket, a handful of other Sun Devils will look for steals. Micaela Pickens, Kimberly Brandon, Promise Amukamara and Alex Earl are all solid defensive guards who can cause havoc on the perimeter. Arizona State will take some gambles on the defensive end, but with Bennett under the basket, it works out very well and that is why the Sun Devils have one of the best field-goal percentage defenses in the nation. More often than not, one of the guards will get a steal that leads to a fast break instead of gambling and losing and allowing an easy bucket for the opposition.
Why They Can Disappoint:
And ASU really needs those easy buckets to spark the offense. This is not a team that will score very easily in the half-court offense. They lack a go-to-scorer and instead have a large group of players who can score a little, but not one who can create opportunities for herself and her teammates. Kimberly Brandon and Bennett are the best two scorers on the team. Brandon, a 6-2 wing, is the most dangerous scorer. She is not much of a shooter, but she is athletic enough to score facing the basket and off of the dribble. With her size, Bennett will mostly score around the bucket, but she will step outside occasionally. Those two are also the best rebounders on the team, but outside of sparingly used freshman Jada Blackwell, there is not another strong rebounder on the team. That means when Brandon and Bennett are not on the floor, ASU can struggle on the glass. The roster is full of roleplayers who average around five points per game, but some of them need to step up in March if Arizona State hopes to make a run. The most likely candidate is point guard Deja Mann. She is third on the team in scoring, but she is better off running the team and feeding Brandon and Bennett. The third scorer could come from one of the two shooters on the roster, Alex Earl and Olivia Major, if they can get hot from long range at the right time.
Probable Starters:
Deja Mann, Junior, Guard, 7.4 ppg, 3.5 apg
Micaela Pickens, Junior, Guard, 5.9 ppg, 1.9 spg
Alex Earl, Senior, Guard, 5.6 ppg, 1.5 apg
Kimberly Brandon, Senior, Forward, 9.7 ppg, 6.4 rpg
Kali Bennett, Senior, Center, 8.4 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 2.8 bpg
Key Roleplayers:
Olivia Major, Senior, Guard, 3.5 ppg
Promise Amukamara, Freshman, Guard, 4.4 ppg
Jada Blackwell, Freshman, Forward, 5.3 ppg, 3.6 rpg
Janae Fulcher, Junior, Forward, 6.2 ppg, 3.3 rpg
Adrianne Thomas, Sophomore, Guard, 1.6 ppg
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 57.4 (264th in nation, 12th in conference)
Scoring Defense: 52.1 (11, 1)
Field-Goal Percentage: 39.3 (150, 8)
Field-Goal Defense: 34.0 (12, 2)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 3.6 (269, 11)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: na
Free-Throw Percentage: 65.8 (252, 8)
Rebound Margin: -0.1 (175, 8)
Assists Per Game: 13.4 (108, 4)
Turnovers Per Game: 16.9 (146, 10)
Recent Postseason Appearances:
Arizona State 2011 NCAA Round of 64 loss to Temple
Arizona State 2010 NIT Round of 64 win over New Mexico State
Arizona State 2010 NIT Round of 32 loss to BYU
Arizona State 2009 NCAA Round of 64 win over Georgia
Arizona State 2009 NCAA Round of 32 win over Florida State
Arizona State 2009 NCAA Regional Semifinal win over Texas A&M
Arizona State 2009 NCAA Regional Final loss to Connecticut
Arizona State 2008 NCAA Round of 64 win over Temple
Arizona State 2008 NCAA Round of 32 loss to Duke
Arizona State 2007 NCAA Round of 64 win over UC Riverside
Arizona State 2007 NCAA Round of 32 win over Louisville
Arizona State 2007 NCAA Regionals Semifinal win over Bowling Green
Arizona State 2007 NCAA Regional Final loss to Rutgers
*all team stats through 3/1
