(Photo by Cammeron Neely/WCSN)
Rise and shine, the official start of the Arizona State basketball season is finally upon us. Monday marked the first official day of practice for the Sun Devils, and although it was just the team going through the motions, that doesn’t mean the first day wasn’t exciting.
Jahii Carson has what the team is calling a “stress reaction.” To be honest, any concern is a gross overreaction. The sophomore point guard was sporting the always fashionable long sleeve athletic shirt at practice but unexpected was the absence of Jordan basketball shoes from his feet. Nevertheless, Carson did have some interesting things to say:
“Yeah I got a little stress reaction in my tibia; I’ve been having shin splints ever since last year. So before we start picking it up, coach [Herb Sendek] decided to give me a little rest and only do the ball-handling and the free throw shooting, and the spot-up shooting.”
Carson had some praise to hand out to new players coming into the Sun Devils’ system:
“[Shaquielle McKissic], he can jump. He’s the type of player athletically that Carrick [Felix] was.”
And some shots to take at individuals who have departed from Tempe:
“Honestly, you know, Evan [Gordon] was a little inconsistent a lot of times last year. I was relying on him a lot last year and I don’t think he came through as often as I needed him to.”
He then made it pretty clear that he is more than content with the group of guys he has around him now:
“I think a lot of the guys, the other guards, off guards, some of the freshmen understand and are more serious about it. So I think we’re going to be better at that position.”
Jordan Bachynski was in his usual polite and upbeat spirits after the first official practice, and showed his affection for the film Any Given Sunday while assessing how the team needs to progress.
“We got to take it step by step. One of the famous speeches by Al Pacino is ‘It’s a game of inches.’ You’ve got to take it day by day, step by step,” Bachynski said.
Bachynski, the gracious seven-footer that he is, did not miss a chance to compliment a new teammate.
“The greatest thing about Jermaine [Marshall] is that he’s an older guy, and that he’s smart,” Bachynski said. “He knows what to do because he’s been in basketball for a while and college basketball.”
Speaking of Jermaine Marshall, a lot of people had things to say about the Penn State transfer.
Coach Herb Sendek was asked how Marshall has fit in over the last month and a half, and the always eloquent coach replied with one word:
“Seamlessly.”
One can only hope that is how the rest of the pre-season goes up until opening night on November 8th against UMBC, but Monday was a good start.
Reach this author on twitter @CammeronNeely or via email caneely@asu.edu
