ASU Men’s Basketball: On Diogu’s night, Heath and Graham illuminate bright spots in blowout loss

(Photo: Marlee Smith/WCSN)

An Arizona State men’s basketball legend was honored at halftime of Saturday night’s game against Colorado, and rightfully so.

Ike Diogu’s career as a Sun Devil spanned three seasons in Tempe, the first of which having started nearly two decades ago.

As a freshman, Diogu skimmed just below a 20 points per game average as a starter for all 32 games of the 2002-2003 season. Following such a campaign that earned him Pac-10 Rookie of the Year, the physical 6-foot-8 forward improved by the numbers as a rim protector, rebounder and three-point shooter in each of his next two seasons to go along with consistent scoring averages just under 23 points-per-game.

When his time with the program had come to a head, Diogu had made First-Team All-Pac-12 in each of his three seasons accompanied by nods for Second-Team Consensus All-America and Pac-10 Player of the Year.

The former NBA first-round pick’s no. 5 jersey rose to the rafters in Desert Financial Arena during halftime.

As much as the ceremonial atmosphere may have sufficed for Diogu, paying witness to an Arizona State home victory would have likely made his special evening so much sweeter.

Though sophomore guard Jay Heath, who currently graces the no. 5 uniform, paid homage to the former Sun Devil great with exceptional play in just his second start of the season, ASU was outplayed in the second half to the tune of six 3s and a 24-14 rebound margin, fueling a final score of 75-57.

“I knew they’d be enthusiastic to play and I’m extremely happy for Ike and his family,” Hurley told reporters. “We just didn’t have a lot of gas in the tank in the second half and they hit some shots, they got some confidence, and we couldn’t really cut into the lead again.”

For Heath, Saturday’s performance certainly served as an encouraging rebound from a poor outing in Arizona State’s 24-point loss to California 13 days prior.

Unfamiliar to the starting role, Heath took some time before asserting a notable impact in the second half. On just five shots, two of his three made field goals came from beyond the arc with two more points added at the free-throw stripe. The third-year Boston College transfer would finish out the night with 15 points, four rebounds and a steal in 29 minutes.

But Sun Devil fans have seen this from Heath before – an effective scoring night on efficient shooting from the field. They haven’t seen such production from junior forward Jalen Graham.

After missing the team’s first two games of the season due to COVID-19 protocols, Graham turned in double-digit point totals on just two occasions among his 11 games played.

Off the bench, the lanky 6-foot-9 forward was a major sparkplug for the Sun Devils, especially in the first half.

“Jalen Graham, I thought, was a positive for us, more particularly in the first half. With his production on offense, we need guys that can show signs of scoring the ball, so that was good to see from him off of one day’s practice,” Hurley remarked of Graham’s performance.

In his early minutes, Graham saw success in the low post, executing on several hook shots towards the middle of the key. And rather surprisingly, his activity on the interior led to a handful of wholly successful trips to the free-throw line. Coming into the contest a horrid 7-23 at the line, Graham drained every one of his five free throws through the first twenty minutes of action.

When asked whether he was pleased with his heightened proficiency at the stripe, Graham bluntly acknowledged his satisfaction and later attributed the improvement to sheer focus.

The junior’s final stat line was highlighted by a team-high and career-best 16 points, which possessed additional significance considering the circumstances behind his 20 minutes of playing time.

“He was sick for days. And we were talking with him, I did a Zoom call with him when I got back to the office. We did a lot of testing with him, and everything came back okay,” Hurley explained of Graham’s situation leading into Saturday’s game. “He felt better or well enough yesterday to practice, and he looked pretty good in practice. When I did our Zoom, it was pre-practice, so I didn’t know that he was even gonna go at that point. But, you know, he did. It looked like we could bring him in and get him some minutes.”

“I’m feeling great to be back out there with my teammates,” Graham said. “With all the COVID-stuff going on, there’s a little fatigue. You know, we didn’t get a lot of time to practice. But, we just gotta play through some of that stuff.”