Haven't seen ASU's Harden? Pay attention
Posted: Monday, December 08, 2008 12:43 AM
Filed Under:
Pac-10, Player of the Year
Old school refrain: The best thing about freshmen is they become sophomores. And sometimes, they become really good sophomores.
Example A: Arizona State’s James Harden.
The 6-foot-5 guard was already one of the nation’s top freshmen last season, averaging 17.8 points per game, which was 8th best in Pac-10 history. But he was just one of several fabulous freshmen. Even the Pac-10 featured two freshmen in O.J. Mayo and Jerryd Bayless who bested Harden’s scoring average, and another in Kevin love who was the conference’s player of the year.
This season, forget all of that. Harden’s taken his game to another level.
In a season where Steph Curry’s already dropped 44 on two different teams, Blake Griffin is going for nearly 20-20 a game and vying with Luke Harangody and DeJuan Blair as the dominant big men and where Tyler Hansbrough hasn’t even become fully healthy, Harden’s making his own case in the player of the year race.
The raw numbers alone are impressive: 25.5 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 4.3 apg and nearly 2 steals an outing.
But when you consider that Harden’s Points Per Weighted Shot (1.44) tops beats an efficient low-post beast like Griffin (1.37) and perhaps the nation’s best shooter in Curry (1.3), it’s a tribute to just how much better Harden’s filling it up this season.
Nevermind that Harden’s 67.3 eFG% percentage boggles the mind. Dude scores and few people can stop him. Witness the 40-point night he turned in earlier this season against UTEP.
“Yeah, it’s crazy, because it doesn’t really seem like he’s doing that,” senior Jeff Pendergraph told the East Valley Tribune.
“You’ll just watch and he’ll get a couple buckets, and you’ll be like, 'All right, he has 10. Cool, cool.’ And then he’ll mellow out for a bit, (but) then the next thing I know, I’m looking up at the (scoreboard) and I’m like, 'Yo, is that like 30-something? Are you kidding me? Where the heck did he get 30 points from?’ It’s insane.”
Take Sunday, for instance. Harden didn’t have a field goal for more than 19 minutes, but he still turned in a fine all-around effort of 20 points, nine boards and six assists in an easy win vs. Nebraska. This doesn’t even get into Harden’s defense – which star scorers usually forget to play.
"So many of the good things that happen to us are a function of James,'' ASU coach Herb Sendek said. "Whether he scores or sets the table for one of his teammates, he's really special.''
It makes sense. Harden’s not a brash player and mostly wants to ensure the Sun Devils end their NCAA tournament drought. It shouldn’t be a problem.
They’re off to their second 7-1 start since 1990, but unlike last season’s 14-2 start that resulted in a stumbling finish and a spot in the NIT, ASU should be in the Pac-10 title hunt. UCLA is struggling, while Oregon, Washington State and Arizona don’t have the same firepower from previous seasons.
And if Harden can lead ASU – Arizona State!—to a Pac-10 title, he might just snag some of the national hardware from those guys in Chapel Hill, Davidson, Norman and South Bend.
