Abbott trying to shoot his way out of slump

The frowns and quick head-shakings are visible cues Ty Abbott’s shot isn’t working.

He knows it. His teammates know it. The coaches know it. The fans know it. The Pac-10 knows it.

And no one needs the raw numbers — 8-for-29 shooting, 3 of 20 from behind the arc the past four games — to know the Arizona State guard is in a mini-funk.

“We’re trying to keep Ty’s head on straight,” ASU sophomore Derek Glasser said. “He’s struggling, you can see it in his face.”

The Arizona State freshman is of the “gotta keep shooting it” mentality, even though he didn’t go through many slumps like this at Phoenix Desert Vista High. Such is life at the college level, especially the Pac-10.

In the eyes of his peers and coaches, he remains one of the best shooters on the team. The problem isn’t mechanical, fundamental or (for the most part) shot selection, so the Sun Devils feel the best recourse is to stay the course, and save the “couch” psychoanalysis for everyone else.

“I’m not Dr. Phil, I know I look a little like him,” ASU coach Herb Sendek said. “Ty has to keep playing, take good shots, know we believe in him, know the next shot is going in and take shots within the framework of our offense, which he typically does.

“He’s a good shooter and over time good shooters make shots. Whether the first one goes in and the effect it has and all the other things, like what the horoscope says. I don’t know. I don’t know how that factors into what happens.

“Good shooters make shots, especially if they take good ones.”

ALL IN EYE OF BEHOLDER

Speaking of struggles, the offense was a hot topic earlier this week, especially in the wake of winnable games where the Sun Devils couldn’t muster a few more points at critical times.

“We’re in a slump,” freshman James Harden said. “A lot of guys aren’t playing well right now. We’ve come off a couple smackings.”

Sendek, however, noted the team is running the offense as well, if not slightly better, than when the team started 4-0 in conference play.

Making those shots has been the difference, Sendek said, noting the close wins against Oregon and Arizona in mid-January, as opposed to losses against Washington, Washington State and USC the past couple weeks.

“To be honest with you we have a couple guys who’ve shot higher percentages at earlier parts of the season, but I think our offensive execution continues to improve,” he said. “We’re getting just as many high-quality shots.

“I don’t know that they’re pressing. There were times even when we won games we didn’t necessarily do it with prolific shooting. We won in some different ways.”

MORE MINUTES

With point guard Nic Wise likely out the rest of the regular season and forward Bret Brielmaier likely out because of an injured shoulder, Chase Budinger, Jerryd Bayless and Jawann McClellan could see even more minutes for the Arizona Wildcats.

The trio all average more than 35 minutes per game, and though Bayless is a freshman, the hobbled Wildcats have little choice with their already thin bench significantly thinner this week.

Both teams have had this week off, but some still find fatigue overrated.

“I don’t buy into that,” Arizona interim coach Kevin O’Neill said. “I would more in the NBA, but these kids are 18 and 19 years old. We get a timeout every four minutes.“