Pendergraph’s time on court dilemma for Sun Devils

While his teammates hoisted 3-pointers last weekend against Coppin State — missing most of them for long stretches — Jeff Pendergraph grew frustrated.

Against a team noticeably short on size, Pendergraph said he felt he could have had his way.

Finally, the ball starting coming his way, and he finished with 13 points, seven rebounds and three blocked shots in the win.

A season ago, such a stat line from Arizona State’s best basketball player often wasn’t nearly enough to win.

Except for a 25-point, 10-rebound game against LSU in the Maui Invitational, Pendergraph hasn’t stuffed the box scores this season. His 10.8 points and 5.8 rebounds are well below last year’s season-ending totals, though he’s also averaged nine fewer minutes.

On one side it’s viewed as a good thing, since the quick emergence of freshmen James Harden, Ty Abbott and sophomores Christian Polk and Jerren Shipp have given the Sun Devils more options than ever.

“It doesn’t mean he doesn’t have to be the guy because we have other guys,” Sun Devils coach Herb Sendek said. “The more of these guys you have, the more difficult time it is to defend. It’s interplay.”

On the other side, teammates know getting their future all-Pac-10 forward going again will be critical. The double-teams have come quickly whenever he touches the ball in the paint. That’s not likely to change, even if the surrounding young talent continues to provide consistent offense.

Getting the big man’s offense going today against No. 17 Xavier is a high priority.

“Really, the only game we’ve gotten him off is the LSU game and you saw what happened when he did,” sophomore guard Derek Glasser said. “We all get open, they collapse on him, so we get open. I think it’s a huge game for us and to get him going with the Pac-10 coming up.”

As is his style, Pendergraph downplayed his lack of gaudy nonconference numbers. Wins are his ultimate barometer, and with 11 blocked shots on defense, he’s already halfway to last year’s season total.

Additionally, the excitement of forming a nice two-man scoring weave with Harden and a few more alternatives to scoring have allowed him to be in better scoring position when he does see the ball.

“As long as we keep winning, that’s the main thing,” he said. “It’s not a major problem. Coach says if I want to get the ball I have to go get it. It’s not like, 'Man they’re not getting me the ball.’ If they want to shoot, let them shoot and I’ll go get the offensive rebound.

“It’s not a big deal.”

Eventually he will be the focal point on offense. Whether the double-team comes quickly or not, when games start coming down to the wire, the team knows where it’s going.

“It takes the pressure off having to do everything yourself, or thinking you have to do everything yourself,” Glasser said. “Everybody wants to shoot, but there are only so many in a game. I think Jeff, when it comes to crunch time, he’s our man. He’s showed he can put the ball in the hole against the best players.”

Xavier at Arizona State

When: 2 p.m., today

Where: Wells Fargo Arena

TV/Radio: FSNAZ/KTAR (620 AM)

Outlook:

Arizona State: Three weeks ago, the Sun Devils blew out Florida Gulf Coast, then got blown out of the Midwest at Nebraska. Will history repeat itself? And having played teams nowhere near the caliber of today, can the Sun Devils rise to the occasion? At least six NBA scouts are expected to be in attendance watching players from both schools.

Xavier: This may be the game of the (non-conference) season for ASU, but it’s another day at the office for the Musketeers, currently No. 8 in the latest RPI rankings. Given its win against Cincinnati earlier in the week, they might move up again with a win today. Drew Lavender was last week’s Atlantic 10 player of the week, and the senior point guard forms a terrific backcourt trio with senior Stanley Burrell and junior B.J. Raymond. All told, six players average double-figures in scoring.