Arizona State A.D. Anderson: Basketball team is making progress
Feb 17, 2015, 8:31 PM | Updated: 8:31 pm
When it comes to Arizona State’s men’s basketball team, the “Curtain of Distraction” is getting most of the publicity and praise.
And why shouldn’t it? It’s a fun tactic performed by the “942 Crew” that is meant to distract opponents when shooting free throws, and it works.
“What it has done in its two years in getting the attention and exposure for ASU basketball and ASU generally has just been phenomenal,” Arizona State A.D. Ray Anderson told Bickley and Marotta on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM Tuesday. “You can’t buy that kind of promotion and ad time, can you?”
But in a way, the curtain is overshadowing — nay — the curtain is, in a way, keeping the team itself from being seen.
Yet, since falling to 8-9 overall after a 76-59 setback to Utah on Jan. 15, the Devils have won five of eight, including a home victory over then-No. 6 Arizona.
NCAA Tournament-bound? Probably not, but Herb Sendek’s team does appear to be improving, even after splitting a weekend series against the Washington schools.
“We would have loved to have had both games up in Washington, but certainly to come back on Sunday and play like we did against Washington after losing to Washington State,” Anderson said. “I have said I believe that this team will continue to gel.
“We are playing better basketball, and we have to just continue to support Herb. And the club, let them continue to transition. We’re hoping for a big victory [Wednesday] night against Oregon.”
The Sun Devils are 13-12, with a 5-7 record in the Pac-12. Four of their last six games are at Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe, and from there they’ll head to Vegas for the Pac-12 Tournament.
And if nothing else, the the next handful of weeks allow for the program to finish the season with positive momentum going forward.
“Just play it out,” Anderson said of the plan. “We’ll have confidence that we’ll continue to make progress, and I believe that we will.”
