One game reveals very little -- and it's usually long forgotten in about two weeks -- but rebounding was a topic of conversation this week around Arizona State basketball team, and not for the better.
On the first possession of Friday night's opener against Mississippi Valley State, the Delta Devils had four offensive rebounds, and they finished with 14 for the game.
The total difference was 31-25, and though it hardly mattered in the 80-64 final score, players knew to expect an unhappy coach Herb Sendek before they even left the floor.
"You can kind of read his face a little," junior guard Derek Glasser said. "We knew when the buzzer sounded it wasn’t our best performance and he was going to be pretty upset. We knew we got our butts whooped on the boards and that was a big key for us going into the game because they had 20 offensive rebounds in their scrimmages. It was very evident on the first two possessions. We knew we’d be in for it on the glass."
Ty Abbott led the Sun Devils with eight rebounds, an encouraging sign from the athletic 6-foot-3 sophomore, but it wasn't good enough.
Foul trouble early took away the team's best rebounder in Jeff Pendergraph, and a lot of 3-point shooting led to some wild bounces off the rim, but those were only excuses.
"They sent five guys and we sent two or three, that’s the main thing," fellow guard Jamelle McMillan said. "Size had nothing to do with it. I think it was a combination of effort and them being a little more desperate because of their size. We couldn’t find bodies to put on people and it’s going to cost us if we play a little better team."
Size isn't the team's strength, though further development by Eric Boateng and freshman Taylor Rohde will help some.
Whether long or short, high off the rim or beneath the basket, the Sun Devils failed to collect.
"There was a garden variety (of missed rebounds)," Sendek said. "There were some to serve every taste."
A few other bits of randomness to pass along before the 9 p.m. tipoff against San Diego State, the earliest date for an ASU road game in school history:
Glasser suffered an injured finger in practice a couple weeks ago and is wearing a splint on his left hand. He's missed some practice time with it, and though he got through Friday night's game, Sendek said it was swollen and hurting on Saturday. He practiced Sunday and it won't keep him out of games while trying to let it heal, but it is a hindrance.
Tonight's game at San Diego State can be seen on CBS College Sports (which normally requires a satellite dish) but can be followed via these Internet tubes: http://all-access.cbssports.com/player.html?code=mwc&media=90819 [1]
The current issue of Post magazine (available on newsstands) has a story about Sendek, Louisville's Rick Pitino and Minnesota's Tubby Smith. The three will lead their teams into the Stadium Shootout on Dec. 20 (ASU vs. Brigham Young and Louisville vs. Minnesota). The story traces back the trio's time together on Kentucky's staff 20 years ago, with Pitino in charge and Sendek and Smith as assistants.
[1] http://all-access.cbssports.com/player.html?code=mwc&media=90819
[1]
We'll find out Wednesday if the spaceship is ready to host more than football.
The official announcement will come down Wednesday morning, but it's hard to imagine the Valley wouldn't get one of the five slots to host a Final Four between 2012 and 2016.
Phoenix/Glendale already has an excellent venue in University of Phoenix Stadium, and the surrounding Westgate entertainment complex has been sufficiently built up. Also, this is the only metropolitian area among the 10 finalist cities (the others are Atlanta, Dallas-Ft. Worth, Detroit, Houston, Indianapolis, Minneapolis, New Orleans, San Antonio and St. Louis) that hasn't hosted one before.
Plus, the weather in late March/early April would help the host/tourist/economic cause.
A group led by Arizona State athletic director Lisa Love, Fiesta Bowl president John Junker and former Suns CEO Jerry Colangelo made its final presentation to the NCAA last week.
That's a pretty good threesome to be making a sales pitch.
[1] http://bloggingwiththedevils.freedomblogging.com/files/2008/11/university-phoenix-stadium.jpg
... to be determined within the next 24 hours.
Phoenix St. Mary's coach David Lopez said Demetrius Walker will decide between Arizona State and Southern California, probably before the week-long early signing period expires Wednesday night.
Walker is a 6-foot-4, 200-pound guard from Los Angeles whose family moved to the Valley late this summer, which means he knows all about James Harden, Derek Glasser, and ASU assistant coaches Scott Pera and Lamont Smith, who spent time in southern California.
Walker gave a verbal commitment to coach Tim Floyd at USC, and hasn't de-committed. But he has waffled in recent days and took a visit to ASU over the weekend.
Lopez said Walker needs to improve his ball-handling before being considered a true point guard -- which could occur in college -- as well as his outside shooting.
Still, he's considered an excellent prospect, one Lopez says is as good as former Knight guard Jerryd Bayless at getting to the basket.
Stay tuned. Something should happen either Tuesday or no later than Wednesday, as Walker doesn't want to string this process out and have to wait until April's late-signing period to decide.
Chris Fry created this group on SportProjections.com. 
