NEW YORK – Herb Sendek said before the season that this Arizona State team would have to be different. The Sun Devils saw James Harden leave school early to be a lottery pick in the NBA Draft, while Jeff Pendergraph graduated and became a second round pick, leaving them without the two guys who had the biggest role in putting them back on the basketball map. So while it was a given that they had to be different, there has been an unlikely constant that has kept them afloat in senior point guard Derek Glasser.
Not many people would have figured Glasser to be a key to a Pac-10 team in the hunt for an NCAA Tournament bid. He’s not the most physically gifted player, although he has a terrific I.Q. for the game that shows up all the time. He hasn’t put up big numbers for his career, although he has a couple of noteworthy ones. Although he was a solid player for Artesia High School, becoming the first player ever to score 1,000 points and hand out 500 assists at the school, he was a late pickup for USC and was going to walk on there.
Glasser got largely mid-major looks, opting to walk on at USC with the idea that he would get a scholarship. But when Kevin Kruger transferred to UNLV to play his final season of eligibility with his father, the Sun Devils acted quickly and offered Glasser the scholarship that had just opened, while USC had a scholarship open that they did not offer him. Sendek, then the new head coach at the school, had already hired Glasser’s high school coach, Scott Pera, as director of basketball operations.
Now a senior, Glasser is well on his way to becoming the school’s all-time leader in career assists and has been Sendek’s quarterback from the outset. The six he handed out in Friday’s win over LSU give him 420 for his career, 34 behind Bobby Thompson for the all-time record. In his 104 games, he has had 18 turnover-free outings. And now more than ever, they need him, and he’s delivering.
“He’s very important. He’s experienced a lot,” said senior forward Eric Boateng. “He is one of our big leaders on this team because of what he’s been through. He really carried us today and really gave us that spark.”
Glasser had a career-high 24 points on Friday and seemed to come up with big shots on several occasions. Every other possession, it seemed like he was right in the middle of things. In the first half, when it looked like LSU was in control, he kept them afloat by hitting all three of his shots en route to 10 points. He hit a three-pointer to cut an 11-point lead back into single digits, then keyed a late 7-0 run with a couple of baskets.
But the best was yet to come. With the Sun Devils trailing 38-31, Glasser keyed a 9-0 run that gave them the lead for good, scoring twice and assisting on another. Then a 19-2 run that broke the game open was aided by seven of his points and two more assists.
Glasser’s primary help came from Boateng, who Sendek said had a good off-season. Boateng’s 17 points on 7-9 shooting along with eight rebounds continue a solid start that sees him averaging 11.2 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. Friday’s game came after a tough outing against his former team on Wednesday, as he had just four points and nine turnovers in 31 minutes in the loss to Duke.
“He put us on his back in the post and rebounded and finished with 17 and 8, three assists,” said Sendek.
As important as the play of Glasser and Boateng was, it was the team defense that made the big difference. While LSU was without starting point guard Bo Spencer, his presence alone likely wouldn’t have changed everything and Chris Bass did a credible job in his place. In the second half, the Tigers made just five field goals and shot 20 percent from the field, with one of those field goals coming in the closing seconds.
Sun Devil opponents came into the game shooting 35.5 percent from the field, and LSU’s 37.8 percent showing won’t move that up much. With less proven scoring punch on the roster, that’s a big key to this team.
“A lot of people doubted us because we lost James and Jeff,” said Glasser. “But I still think we have a lot of talent on the team and we’re a very competitive team. Our thing is we play defense. As long as we play defense like we did in the second half of this game and the first half of the Duke game, we’re going to be able to compete with anybody.”
Boateng has stepped up, as have other holdovers like Jamelle McMillan and Rihards Kuksiks. Freshman Trent Lockett has made an impact right away as well. But along with the defense, the big constant that holds the Sun Devils together is the point guard, the unlikely key to a team that feels like they can win the Pac-10 this year. Derek Glasser has run the show since Herb Sendek arrived in Tempe, and he’s ensuring that this team isn’t missing a beat.
