Sure looks like it...


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Here is how I felt regarding ASU coaching changes:
Koetter: Against
Erickson: Against
Graham: For
Herm: Against

Evans: for
Sendek: Against
Hurley: Against (for now)

Murphy: Against
Esmay: For
Smith: Against

Tracy Smith announced after the game that starter Erik Tolman is done for the season with Tommy John surgery, joining fellow key starters Cooper Benson and Boyd Vander Kooi.

“Chase Lucas is everything for this program, and I mean everything." ASU DB's coach Chris Hawkins heaps praise on the local sixth-year senior who isn't only playing with a purpose but servers as an example to a young group of cornerbacks. Gabe Swartz reporting

Just saw this from yesterday. Jeff Metcalfe first reported. Ayzhiana Basallo, a 5'5 PG originally with San Jose State, has announced on her Instagram that she will join ASU WBB. She played just two games this season for the Spartans due to an ACL injury but was Mountain West Newcomer of the Year in 2019-20 when she averaged 18.5 PPG on 45.4 percent from three. Metcalfe says she has two years of eligibility.

Mornin Mates...

Today's Topic = Anatomy of a Season

Mercifully, our basketball season ended this week when we lost to the Ducks in the PAC tournament...

We were expected to lose to the Ducks but we certainly weren't expected to have a losing season in the PAC and overall, either, for that matter...

We had been picked in the preseason to finish second in the conference by the media and expectations were high due to the star-studded roster we were going to put on the floor during games...

So, what the heck happened..??

Was it the pandemic and a slew of injuries that transformed a once promising season into a disaster or did it go deeper than that..??

Were the more important factors, in searching for answers, related to coaching and/or a lack of chemistry on the team, as an intangible, that cannot be measured, but can be seen by those watching the subtle connecting tissues of the team anatomy, that bind and hold a team together during a season..??

Was some connecting tissue missing..??

Don't you need well functioning connecting tissue in order for the muscles, organs and brain to all be working together to make the a well functioning body or in this case a team..??

Factually, Romello White, who transferred before his senior season at ASU, went missing, and both Rob Edwards and blue-collar, lunch pail handyman Mickey Mitchell were gone due to graduation...

However, AA Remy Martin returned and two new five-star rated talents in Josh Christopher and Marcus Bagley arrived on campus so who cared if White, Edwards and Mitchell were no longer with the team, right..??

Once the season started, however, Remy appeared to be a different PG, one might assume to be in deference to the new stud arrivals, who were now to be the leading characters in the Sun Devils big dance quest...

So, he went from leading man to a secondary actor on the Sun Devil BB stage, it would appear, at least to some of us...

This apparently turned out to be a source of consternation within the team's tissue framework and led to a lot of losses, as a result, as we all know...

Remy had gone from the proverbial straw that stirred the drink to a role player and the new designated stud straws apparently were not ready for their leading roles as Hurley had envisioned, I speculate...

Then injuries and other pandemic related factors intervened which led to Remy reclaiming his leading role and started stirring the Sun Devil drink again and, as a result, the Devils turned around the season to a large degree once this all occurred...

From what I can gather at least one of the new studs did not gel well with the team and may have created some distraction as a result and, another player, who frequently played out of emotional control during games, missed most of the season for unknown reasons...

So, there were apparently a confluence of seen and unseen reasons, in my estimation, for what happened this season, that might also involve Bobby's ability to blend and develop talent at any given time...

Also, a good question for this day is this...can you have too much of a good thing on a team if it doesn't end up coming together to form a team where the parts create a greater, more successful whole..??

I think Talent Is Destiny but it sure didn't turn out to be the case with this BB team, that's for sure, even factoring in all of the pandemic related issues...

More importantly, how do you get the connecting tissue back to its well functioning self in our BB program so that all of its parts act as a well functioning whole again..??

Do the Devils need less stars and more blue-collar, lunch pail guys, both big and small on the team, who will be there long enough to develop and make a difference over time rather than the alternative one-and-done guys that may or may not help you much in the short run..??

As always, I look forward to your feedback regarding the anatomy of this BB season and what it meant in terms of wins and losses...

G'day Mates and Go Devils!!!

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I caught up with Herm Edwards to discuss some crucial issues surrounding his program. We cover the lasting impact of the COVID year, the struggles of local recruiting, developing a staff and mentoring Antonio Pierce, whether 2021 is a make-or-break season, his desired legacy and more.

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Jesse Morisson's game recap

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He's doing an incredible job especially in Florida to start the 2022 recruiting class:

1) Oregon State wins the PAC tournament and gets into the Big Dance as a result...

2) Josh Pastner, of AU-Mayberry fame, guides the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets to the Big Dance by winning the ACC tournament...

3) Nate Oats, who was an assistant under Bobby Hurley, wins the SEC tournament in only his second year on the job at Alabama and is now a #2 Seed in the NCAA tournament...

4) Grand Canyon wins the WAC tournament and advances to the Big Dance with a 17-6 record...

As you will recall, the Beavers were picked by the preseason media to finish last in the PAC and, in the tournament, they beat the #4 seeded UCLA Bruins, the #1 seeded Oregon Ducks and the #3 seeded Colorado Buffs to win the tournament and advance to the Big Dance...

The Yellow Jackets were a #4 seed in the ACC tournament and beat #2 seed Florida St to advance to the Big Dance with an overall record of 17-8...

Alabama was picked by Lindy's Basketball, in the preseason, to finish 7th in the SEC, so climbed the expectations ladder quite a bit under Nate Oats...

Grand Canyon almost beat the Sun Devils during the season and were good enough to capture the WAC title in coach Bryce Drew's first year at the school that got them into the Big Dance...

Obviously, all of the teams mentioned far exceeded expectations, while some, like Oregon St, exceeded far more than the others, but they all fit the Cinderella story line as far as I'm concerned...

And, as we all know, our Sun Devils "underachieved" perhaps more than just about any other team in the country given the very high expectations Bobby, the media and us fans had of them entering the season...

I brought up Josh Pastner because Hansen had an article about him this morning in the newspaper down here and because I met him once in a Tucson post office around 2002 and was able to talk to him a little bit about our respective programs, after he had become an assistant coach to Lute and Rob Evans was our coach...

Josh is an awe-shucks kind of man who would fit right into the Andy Griffith Mayberry world, in my estimation...I wondered how he could be a great recruiter with that sort of demeanor but he was really connected to the basketball world, seemed to know everyone that mattered in it, and worked 24 hours a day to enhance Wildcat basketball...

When I asked him what ASU needed to do to elevate our program, he hemmed and hawed, trying to be diplomatic, and while beating around the bush and complimenting Rob Evans, he let slip, in not so many words, that the Sun Devils probably weren't committed enough to their program (the way the Cats were to their program)...

He was not considered ready for the big time at age 30 when Lute was on the way out but Memphis hired him and he has had a pretty good career to date but not a great one, yet...

Some may wonder why the Sun Devils didn't hire Nate Oats instead of Bobby but the answer is really simple...BH was a head coach, while Nate was only an assistant, before taking over Buffalo when BH left and, then as a head coach, who had shined at Buffalo, got the Bama head coaching job...

Some may wonder what it would take to elevate our BB program significantly and I think the answer probably lays in what Pastner had said about our program almost 20 years ago...lack of commitment from our administration...

One wonders what would happen if Ray Anderson approached basketball the way he approached our football program...??

For there are only two money making sports in any athletic dept and they are football and basketball which pay the way for the entire athletic dept...

I think I'll be rooting for all of the Cinderella stories going on in the Big Dance and hope that some day our dreams will come true like the Beavers did this year...

Go Devils!!!

Major takeaways out of @AllAmericaGame Dallas camp includes notes on some standout performers, including outstanding OL/DL battles + more on recruits from East Texas, The Boot and Oklahoma

STORY: https://n.rivals.com/news/takeaways-from-under-armour-dallas

Three of ASU's position coaches spoke to the media following Monday's practice session, and the phrase "light years" was used more than once. It's fitting- a team that at one point struggled to comprehend Zak Hill's offensive scheme is now embracing it. Plus, updates on the wide receiver room and special teams.

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After a look at the news, @Joe Healey and I break down the notable developments from spring football practice. Then we are joined by ASU basketball radio analyst Kyle Dodd to get his insight into the disappointing 2020-21 season. Finally, we head to the diamond and discuss how the baseball team has won nine straight despite the rash of injuries.
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Apologies again for the delay.


Much like the last two sessions, the team was still in helmets and shoulder pads and also in the Dickey Dome due to the slick fields.

Personnel news and I will just list both the ongoing and the new absences:

Let’s start with the good news and that is sophomore defensive back Willie Harts was back today for the first time. Obviously wasn’t doing any drills versus the offense.

Redshirt freshman defensive lineman Amiri Johnson was doing conditioning drills on the side, as was senior safety Evan Fields. Also not practicing were:

Junior defensive lineman Tyler Johnson is out of the entire spring (knee)

Redshirt defensive tackle Stephon Wright out of the arm sling, still not dressed.

Freshman offensive lineman Sioene Veikoso still out (ankle)

Freshman offensive lineman Isaia Glass seemed to have injured his right hand on Saturday as it was heavily bandaged (but no cast).

Didn't see Freshman defensive lineman Joe Moore. Did report that he had a cast on his left arm on Friday so perhaps that’s related to his absence.

Freshman offensive lineman Jacob Nunez wasn’t dressed.

Sophomore offensive lineman Dohnovan West wasn’t dressed. Was told it’s a minor knee injury.

Did not see freshman offensive lineman Triston Miller, freshman wide receiver Elijhah Badger, junior defensive lineman DJ Davidson, and sophomore linebacker Connor Soelle.

Sophomore wide receiver Ricky Pearsall wasn’t dressed.

Freshman wide receiver Chad Johnson Jr. suffered a turf toe injury on Friday and according to WR coach Prentice Gill will miss the next could of practices or so.

Junior defensive lineman Corey Stephens dressed but was conditioning on the sidelines.

Junior defensive lineman Jermayne Lole not at practice due to personal reasons. DL coach Robert Rodriguez implied that he could be back before the end of the 15 sessions.

Looking at the footage I took from the 11 on 11, here's the two-deep:

First team offense

QB Jayden Daniels
RB the two that rotated were Chip Trayanum and Daniyel Ngata
OL from left to right Kellen Diesch, LaDarius Henderson, Cody Shear, Henry Hattis, and Ben Scott
WR Johnny Wilson
WR LV Bunkley-Shelton
WR Andre Johnson
TE Curtis Hodges

Fullback Case Hatch and tight end John Stivers were in there in three tight-end sets (13 personnel) the first time this spring I personally observed that with the team. Those two rotated with A.Johnson and Bunkley-Shelton.

First team defense

Right defensive end Travez Moore and Michael Matus rotated
3-technique Shannon Forman
Nose Omarr Norman-Lott
Left defensive end Anthonie Cooper
LB Merlin Robertson
LB Darien Butler
LB Kyle Soelle
S DeAndre Pierce
S Cam Phillips
CB Chase Lucas
CB Jack Jones

Lucas took some nickel reps with Jones and Ed Woods beside him. We also saw dime packages (six defensive backs) with the starting four DB’s along with Timarcus Davis and Jordan Clark. Linebacker Eric Gentry got a good deal of first team reps today.

Second team offense

QB Finn Collins
RB the two that rotated were Rachaad White, and Daniyel Ngata
OL from left to right Ralph Frias, Armon Bethea, Ben Bray, Jarrett Bell, and Spencer Lovell
WR Johnny Wilson
WR Andre Johnson
WR Giovani Sanders (walk-on)
TE Jalin Conyers and John Stivers rotated and also were in two-tight end sets


Second team defense

Right defensive end Travez Moore
3-technique Anthonie Cooper
Nose Omarr Norman Lott
Left Right defensive end Stanley Lambert
LB Will Shaffer
LB Jordan Banks
LB Xavier Steele (walk-on)
S Alijah Gammage (walk-on)
S Vincenzo Granatelli (walk-on)
CB Keon Markham
CB RJ Regan

Lined up as kick returners were Rachaad White, Geordon Porter, DJ Taylor, and Tommi Hill.

Lined up as punt returners were Jack Jones, Rachaad White and Tommi Hill.

Kicker Jace Feeley who started classes last week has been in practice since Saturday. Ironically wearing no. 45 that belonged to Cristian Zendejas.

With the defensive line now having additional absences than last week, especially in the interior, it’s no surprise that the running game enjoyed success today and honestly overshadowed a pretty pedestrian passing game today. Naturally, the three-tight set also helped the ground attack’s cause. Center Cody Shear is proving to be a capable backup to Dohnovan West. Ben Bray at second team center was more erratic with his snaps today.

In terms of the passing game Giovani Sanders, who also had a good Friday session that I saw, continues to be a pleasant surprise and taking full advantage of the multiple sidelined players here. All in all, aside from dinks and donks really didn’t see that much from the passing game, although understandable with all the absences. But you also give credit for DB’s such as Chase Lucas and Kejuan Markham who had some solid pass breakup to prevent potential big plays.

All in all, with so many absences in the two-deep today it was hard to get a true read as to the state of the team midway through spring. With some of these players coming back later this week and next I believe a truer picture can be painted.

As you know, the media outlets covering the team rotate in coverage, so we cannot be there at practice for all 15 sessions. I hope to be back later this week.


As always, I can answer any questions.

“We’re expecting to win. The standard is higher, and we’re not as accepting of mistakes." An uncompromising ASU DL coach Robert Rodriguez knows that embracing the daily grind and developing good habits are vital for his group's improvement. Story by Gabe Swartz

A young wide receiver group needed to turn the page from a struggling 2020 campaign and as Mac Friday reports the position coach Prentice Gill sees his unit during spring practice "very comfortable in the system ."

Willie Harts back

Dohnovan West out minor injury
Isia Glass not dressed both are here
Willie Harts back in practice