ASU’s Boateng has nowhere to go but up

It’s coming. Little by little, the hesitation is evaporating, the confidence growing, the knowledge expanding. Witness the running hook shots across the lane, the blocked shots, the developing low-post moves and enhanced agility.

Coaches and teammates say the same things about Eric Boateng, about how his potential is unlimited, and about how it’s going to take time — a month, three months, or two years, no one knows — for the 6-foot-10 soccer enthusiast from London to fill in his college resume.

After he and his teammates absorbed eyestrain watching game film from a weekend loss to Nebraska, Wednesday’s 5-for-5, 10-point, two-block outing against Delaware State was the center’s best night of competition since a November game at Seton Hall when he was a Duke freshman.

“I don’t think he’ll having a problem adjusting,” said forward Jeff Pendergraph, who goes against Boateng each practice. “Playing in the ACC is no joke. He’ll be ready. He has to get used to the competition but he’ll have no problem adjusting.“

Given the ball in easy positions to score against Delaware State and unchallenged by the smaller Hornets, Boateng needed only to go up quickly with the ball.

Equally important in the minds of his coaches, his footwork, defense and understanding of coach Herb Sendek’s system have improved in his second season.

Asked to compare himself to this time a year ago, Boateng needed a long pause.

“It’s been a journey, and going to continue to be a journey,” he said.

So far, he’s seen 10 to 20 minutes per game off the bench; minutes he’s grown into through well-documented, grueling workouts with assistant coach Mark Phelps while sitting out last season as a transfer.

Though he wasn’t in good basketball condition upon arrival, weight itself wasn’t an issue. Transforming those pounds into increased strength and agility were.

With a focus on toughness, Phelps and Boateng worked during and after practice and after home-game shootarounds. They drilled low-post moves, shooting and ball-handling skills while trying to simulate game minutes as close as possible.

That meant fatigue wasn’t an option, only a state of mind while doing more drills. If Boateng missed a free throw, he’d have to dunk 10 times with a weighted ball.

“Those were really tough,” he said. “Now looking back on it we were pushing the envelope.”

Instant dominance — especially in the Pac-10 season — isn’t likely to come quickly. He hasn’t played in two years, nor did he acquire a consistent understanding of what works against major conference competition.

He does, however, have three seasons’ worth of development remaining.

Beyond the polite demeanor, expansive vocabulary and worldly knowledge, Boateng has shown the Sun Devils a work ethic and competitive streak from his soccer days which suggests more days like Wednesday are coming.

“He wants to win, he wants to dominate,” Phelps said. “That’s his mind-set. His best basketball is clearly ahead of him. You don’t want to put a ceiling on how good he can be. Who knows?”

A changed man

Following a year’s worth of workouts under assistant coach Mark Phelps, here’s a quick glimpse of Eric Boateng then (2006) and now (2007)...

• Dropped body fat from 14 percent to 10 percent without changing his weight (245 pounds).

• Vertical leap increased by three inches.

• Bench press increased by 40 pounds.

• Squats 365 pounds and power clean lifts of 265 pounds, both team-highs.

• Completed 22 full-court conditioning runs, up from eight.

Coppin State at Arizona State

When: 2 p.m. today

Where: Wells Fargo Arena

TV/Radio: None/KTAR (620 AM)

Outlook:

Arizona State — In the midst of final exams, the Sun Devils (5-2) get a week off after this game before hosting No. 21 Xavier next Saturday afternoon. It’s taken a while since he doesn’t play much, but junior Steve Jones has gone 148 consecutive minutes without a turnover, dating back through most of last season.

Coppin State — A projected middle-of-the-pack team in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, the Eagles (3-5) are similar to Delaware State. They boast a top scorer in Tywain McKee (18.2 points per game) and complementary players in Robert Pressey and A’Daeron Duncan. It’s the 22nd season for coach Ron “Fang” Mitchell. Coppin State made multiple NCAA tournament appearances in the 1990s, but has taken its lumps this decade, and this season against Xavier, Kent State, UNC-Wilmington and Hawaii.