2019-20 Pac-12 preview: Oregon atop a deep conference
By Kim Doss
ASU is always competitive, but can they overcome their losses?
What happened last year?
The Sun Devils were their usual steady selves in 2018-19. They played an extremely challenging non-conference schedule that included the eventual national champions from Baylor. Four of their 11 non-conference opponents were ranked 67 or better in the final RPI of the year. Two of them were in the top three.
Then, they went on to face the rugged Pac-12, which had five teams in the top 35. When the season wrapped up, they had a 22-11 record and a Sweet Sixteen appearance despite having to play two Florida teams in Coral Gables in the NCAA Tournament.
Key losses
Then, came the offseason. ASU lost four of their top five scorers and all of their top four rebounders. Courtney Ekmark and Kiana Ibis led the team in points last season as the only two players in double figures. Sophia Elenga and Charnea Johnson-Chapman were fourth and fifth in scoring with 5.7 and 5.6 ppg, respectively.
On the boards, the Sun Devils face even bigger problems. Johnson-Chapman (6.8 rpg), Ibis (6.3 rpg), Elenga (5.1 rpg), and Ekmark (3.2 rpg) were the top four rebounders last season. Robbi Ryan with 2.5 rpg is the top returner.
On Pac-12 Media Day, head coach Charli Turner Thorne looked on the bright side, saying that the losses just open opportunities for other players to perform.
It’s difficult to completely ignore the effects of such losses, though–especially when no returner scored more than 7.2 ppg. Ryan is that returner.
Key returners
Ryan and Reili Richardson give the Sun Devils an experienced backcourt. They also return reserve guard Kiara Russell.
“Super excited, with Robbi Ryan, with Reili Richardson, really going to lead this team,” Turner Thorne said. “We have a great senior class, nothing they haven’t seen. They’ve beat and played against the top competition in the country their entire career.”
Ryan is not only the top-scoring returner, but she took the second-most 3-point attempts on the team (78) last year. She connected on 37.2 percent of those attempts. The problem is that she doesn’t have a lot of support on the offensive end of the floor.
Richardson averaged just 5.1 ppg last year, but she was exceptional at setting up her teammates. As a junior, she averaged 4.97 apg against 1.36 turnovers.
Key additions
The Sun Devils brought in a solid three-player class led by Eboni Walker, the Gatorade 2019 Nevada Player of the Year out of powerhouse Centennial High in Las Vegas. The forward was ranked No. 8 at her position and No. 44 overall by HoopGurlz.
The No. 28 guard in the country, Sydnei Caldwell, will also make her home in Tempe. The Franklin Lakes, New Jersey native had 14.0 ppg, 7.8 rpg, and 4.1 spg last year at Saddle River Day School.
Perhaps more importantly, ASU also picked up a grad transfer from a conference foe. Once again, it was USC that was on the losing end as Ja’Tavia Tapley left Mark Trakh’s program for the desert. With the attrition at the forward position, an experienced starter like Tapley–a “Godsend” in her coach’s words–provides a bridge while the younger forwards develop.
“We were going to look to probably sign a post player late,” Turner Thorne said. “And just because we did lose our three post players from last year in Charnea and Kiana and Sophia Elenga. So we
were kind of looking into junior colleges, and clearly the transfer situation is an option sometimes. And the grad transfer was really–we didn’t really need anybody to sit a year. It really kind of just happened.
“And I will tell you and the people in this room that know me and know our program know that we don’t just take a kid because they’re going to help us on the basketball court. So we really vet them in terms of who they are as a person, and once we got to know her–because we didn’t at all–and did our reference checks and did our vetting, she’s just a great teammate and a great person that’s been a great addition.
“Obviously we’re very excited because that’s what we needed. We needed a veteran post to go with the rest of our roster.”
Outlook for 2019-20
Turner Thorne and her defensive-minded team are probably better able to withstand the loss of scoring than many teams. Defense doesn’t have off days as long as you put the effort in the thinking goes.
ASU outscored opponents by an average of 65.4 to 58.2 ppg last season. They will probably need to rely on the same narrow margins in low-scoring games this season, but they are more than capable of doing so.
With Ekmark’s 207 3-point attempts now gone, Turner Thorne’s idea that others will get more opportunities to shoot may come to pass. Returners Ryan and Jamie Ruden both shot a higher percentage than Ekmark, but they also took far fewer shots from outside.
Regardless, Turner Thorne is likely to have her team back in the NCAA Tournament this year, as has become expected in Tempe.
ASU will need to figure things out quickly if the coaches are right. The voters see very little difference between the No. 5 Sun Devils and their rivals down I-10 in Tucson.