Good thing Herb Sendek signed a two-year extension last month. He’s gonna need that long to get ASU back to .500. But as to when the Sun Devils will actually contend for the Pac-12 title again, who knows?
About a month after freshman point guard Jahii Carson was ruled ineligible, sophomore guard Keala King was dismissed from the team just days after his own suspension for “unacceptable conduct.” Teammates Kyle Cain (also a starter) and Chris Colvin also were suspended, but they’re still with the team for now.
“We have decided that Keala will no longer be with the team,” Sendek said in a statement. “We wish him nothing but the best in his future.”
King was their leading scorer (13.7 ppg tied him with Trent Lockett) and de-facto point guard due to Carson’s status. Without him, expect ASU (5-10) to continue struggling on offense. (Let’s not talk about the defense.) He wasn’t an efficient scorer, but he was one of the team’s most talented players. His dismissal marks the third player top leave from Sendek’s seven-man 2010 recruiting class.
Now they’re using just six scholarship players until Cain and Colvin return. Even in a down-year for the Pac-12, that’s not gonna cut it. But hey, between the close losses and offensive issues stemming from the expectation of having Carson, Arizona State’s probably lucky things haven’t been worse.
That comes next.
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