ASU Women’s Basketball: Writers Roundtable: Previewing Pac-12 play

The Arizona State Sun Devils (10-2) begin conference play Sunday against No. 18 Arizona (11-0) as the Wildcats visit Tempe at 12 p.m. MT. Before the Sun Devils begin Pac-12 play, WCSN’s women’s basketball reporters gathered to share their thoughts on the Sun Devils’ season so far.

Arizona State went 10-2 in nonconference play. What do you expect their record to be in conference play as the level of competition is increased?

Griffin Peters: I expect ASU to finish well above .500 in conference play. The Sun Devils are getting healthy, and the offensive efficiency has picked up in the last three games. I expect ASU to finish 11-6 in Pac 12 play. I think they are capable of taking wins from the elite teams in the conference such as Oregon, Oregon State, and UCLA; but I also believe they are prone to a slip up against a team like Colorado (11-0) on the road. Overall, I think ASU will have a strong Pac-12 regular season, and they will eventually fight their way into the national rankings.

Jack Johnson: It’s tough to gauge how the Devils will do in Pac-12 play only because they have played so few minutes with their ideal lineup. Injuries to senior forward Jamie Ruden and senior guard Robbi Ryan left the offense without a primary scoring option on the perimeter. Make no mistake, Reili Richardson has shown she can put points on the board, but she has always seemed most comfortable setting her teammates up. As it currently stands, the Devils are looking at a potential of five top-ten opponents this season. That’s a tough ask for any team. My guess is ASU finds a way to split the season with Oregon State, UCLA & Stanford, but will drop both against a powerful Oregon team and finish with a record of 10-8 in conference play.

Misha Jones: The Sun Devils are in for a roller coaster ride in conference play. The Pac-12 is full of talented squads that have proven themselves worthy of contending for a Pac-12 title. The Sun Devils have had mixed results against ranked teams during their non-conference slate, and still have yet to face teams as solid as an Oregon, or a UCLA. I predict that they’ll finish with a 11-7 record in conference play.

Chris Fahrendorf: Even though the Arizona State women’s team ended non-conference play on a six-game win streak I think they will have a worse conference record than last year. If I had to predict an exact record, I would go with the Devils finishing 9-9. I think Arizona State is a perfect middle of the pack Pac-12 team, nothing more nothing less. I don’t think the Devils are poised enough to steal a win from either Oregon, Oregon State, UCLA or Stanford. I do believe that the Devils are good enough to split the series with Arizona, upset Colorado and handily defeat the likes of USC, Washington, Washington State, California and Utah.

Where do the Sun Devils biggest weaknesses lie heading into Pac-12 play?

GP: ASU’s weaknesses is their size and their offensive consistency. Getting Ruden back in the lineup is huge for the Devils, but they are still undersized in comparison to the rest of the conference. Also, the consistency on the offensive end is concerning because ASU has looked solid on the offensive end in the last three games. But, earlier in the season the Devils had to rely on their defense because shots just were not falling. If ASU has a bad shooting night, they are prone to dropping a game to any team in the Pac-12.

JJ: ASU’s biggest weakness at the moment is their inexperience. Ja’Tavia Tapley was brought in as a graduate transfer to address this issue. But this team no longer deploys veteran leaders like Kianna Ibis, Charnea Johnson-Chapman and Courtney Ekmark. That trio played a large role in helping ASU reach the Sweet 16 last season. ASU has had multiple games against inferior opponents go down to the last seconds or even overtime largely because this team is still trying to find who needs control of the ball late. Because of the aforementioned injuries, the team has had to rely a lot more on Kiara Russell and Sara Bejedi. Russell is one of the most exciting players to watch on the floor at any given time, Bejedi is coming into her own but still has a ways to go in her development. The good news? Inexperience is typically worked out by playing more. The more minutes these freshman and sophomores see, the slower the game will appear to them come tournament time.

MJ: Most of ASU’s weaknesses are on the offensive side of the ball. The Sun Devils haven’t quite hit their stride from the 3-point line or the free throw line, and against Minnesota and Purdue, they had a tough time taking care of the ball.

CF: The Sun Devils main weakness is their lack of a go-to scorer. The Devils play their best basketball when everybody is knocking down shots, but when the team as a whole goes cold, they don’t have someone who can easily get them a bucket. This was evident in their overtime victory versus Idaho State. The Sun Devils were held to only 13 fourth quarter points and possession after possession they did not have someone who could create their own shot. Another Sun Devil weakness is that at times they can share the ball too much. Arizona State is very good at sharing the ball, but sometimes this works against them. At times they swing the ball so much that they have to force up a low percentage shot late in the shot clock. Although sharing the ball is not a bad thing, it can develop into one if you accidentally run the entire shot clock out.

What needs to be done to address those weaknesses?

GP: Unfortunately, you can’t change the height of your players, so ASU is just going to have to do what they have done all year and that’s be disciplined on boxing out and have an aggressive mindset when attacking the boards. The offensive consistency can be limited by ASU’s defensive efforts and the confidence of the players. The Devils should have some confidence in their offensive play after shooting almost 50 percent from the field against Creighton. Luckily, if ASU is having an off night shooting, this team is very sound defensively and could win games even when they don’t play up to par on offense.

JJ: Simplify the offense late in games. Ryan would be my vote for an isolation play when a bucket is at a premium, but outside of her the situation gets murkier. Richardson, Ruden and Tapley fall under the category of shot-makers as opposed to shot-creators. Perhaps the best example of this was the overtime game against Idaho State. The Devils had the ball with the score tied and a chance to win with ample time to get a good look. Whatever play the Devils were trying to run broke down instantly and Richardson had to force an awkward jumper contested by a double team. In her decades of coaching experience, Charli Turner Thorne has adapted her offense to fit her personnel numerous times. Any good coach does that. But I think the answer for the time being is to master three or four concepts and run those consistently in those spots.

MJ: If they can clean up the turnovers against Pac-12 defenses and get in rhythm shooting the ball, they can have a special season. On the defensive side of the ball, they need to figure out how to stop teams with more size in the paint.

CF: Run more post-ups for forward Ja’Tavia Tapley. In overtime of that same game versus Idaho State Tapley willed the team to victory with eight post-up points. Although I believe Arizona State is at its best when they are spreading the ball around and everyone is contributing, I believe that having plays specifically for Tapley in crunch time be a good idea. This could also help with taking better shots earlier in the shot clock as Tapley could look to post up or pass out if doubled.

Which Sun Devil have you been most impressed by thus far this season?

GP: Ja’Tavia Tapley has established herself as a cornerstone of this team since Ruden went down with a foot injury to start the season. The senior transfer from USC has provided the Sun Devils consistent rebounding and reliable scoring in the paint. With Tapley and Ruden on the court together come Pac-12 play, ASU should be dominant in the post offensively.

JJ: Jamie Ruden. Through her first three years in maroon and gold, Ruden was a role player at best. But late in the season last year, she started to show potential that she could become a consistent contributor. This season has been a breakout year for Ruden, despite her injury. In her time on the court she has consistently been one of ASU’s top scorers. What she does so well is maintaining her form on every shot attempt. No matter what the situation is or where she is on the floor, Ruden gets set into a very balanced shooting form when she releases. She’s a reliable presence for the team both on and off the court.

MJ: I have been very impressed with Ja’Tavia Tapley this season. She stepped into a Sun Devil team that is small and needs help scoring the ball, and she’s fulfilled a lot of those needs. She’s versatile and has accrued impressive scoring and rebounding stats so far. I think she’ll shine in Pac-12 play.

CF: While I would agree that Ja’Tavia Tapley has probably been the Sun Devils most valuable player so far this season, she has not impressed me the most. For that, I’d go to Reili Richardson. While Richardson is only averaging 7.9 points and 3.2 assists, she has consistently stepped up when the Devils needed her most. In their game versus New Mexico, Richardson pushed the pace of the game and made open shots as she scored a season-high 21 points alongside four assists. These four assists moved Richardson up to second place on ASU’s list for career assists. When Richardson is running the offense is when the Devils are at their best. She constantly pushes the pace and her court vision is unparalleled.

When play tips off for the Pac-12 tournament in March, what will ASU’s outlook be?

GP: ASU will be trying to fight for a better NCAA tournament seed come the Pac-12 Tournament in March. This team is talented and should have no problems getting into the big dance, especially if they post 11 or 12 wins in one of the strongest conferences in America.

JJ: Oh, they’ll be fine. I know I said they would go 10-8 in conference play but hear me out. This is a team that will struggle early against a ridiculous level of competition. But as the season progresses and the underclassmen fill their roles and understand the system better, this team will improve exponentially. While they won’t be one of the top seeds in the conference tournament, ASU has the talent and coaching to make a solid run.

MJ: Come NCAA tournament time, I foresee ASU as a 6 or 7 seed. They will have been battle tested against some of the best teams in the country from their Pac-12 slate, and will be confident and prepared to make a deep run.

CF: Come March when the Pac-12 tournament starts it would not surprise me if we saw the Sun Devils anywhere from the five to the seven seed. Even though they will be ranked about the same as recent years, I believe that they could potentially pick up a few surprising March Madness tournament boosting wins. Charli Turner Thorne’s teams tend to peak at the end of the season and I see no reason as to why that could be the case once again.