Arizona State Team Report (Yahoo! Sports)

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 08:06:04 PDT

With James Harden and Jeff Pendergraph as cornerstones of his team a year ago, coach Herb Sendek pretty much knew what to expect, not only on game nights but in practice.

Both are gone now, and Sendek is taking a different tact in preparation.

"A big key for me is to see what is there every day, and try not to have all the questions answered before you can answer them," Sendek told the Arizona Republic.

"I used to think that was preparation. You know what I'm saying? Like right now, if I were really prepared I'd have everything mapped out. 'Here's what we're going to run. Here's what we're going to do in this situation.'

"I'd have this perfectly laid out plan, and I used to think that was preparation.

ASU adjusts to life without Harden, Pendergraph (AP)

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 16:33:39 PDT

Arizona State went 8-22 and lost a school-record 15 straight games in point guard Derek Glasser's freshman year. Then gifted guard James Harden arrived and led the Sun Devils out of the college hoops desert. Last March, Arizona State won an NCAA tournament game for only the second time since 1995.