Skip navigation
Favorites
Sign up to follow your favorites on all your devices.
Sign up

Jordan Bachynski’s progression a key factor in Arizona State’s success

bachynski

TEMPE, Ariz. -- In his first two seasons at Arizona State, senior center Jordan Bachynski had a hard time staying on the floor. While he certainly wasn’t foul-prone by any means, committing less than two fouls per game, Bachynski’s physical strength and fitness resulted in his minutes not being at a level many players would prefer. But over the last season-plus Bachynski’s become a difference maker for the Sun Devils, and that was especially evident in Arizona State’s 79-77 win over No. 25 Marquette on Monday night.

Bachynski posted his sixth-double-double in as many games this season, finishing with 14 points and 11 rebounds, and his seventh block of the night was the game-clinching play. With Derrick Wilson on his way to the basket during the game’s final sequence, the 7-foot-2 Bachynski slid over from his defender and blocked Wilson’s shot attempt. And after time expired, Bachynski’s teammates mobbed him on that end of the floor.

Sophomore point guard Jahii Carson (23 points, five assists against Marquette) may receive the majority of the headlines and rightfully so, but to overlook Bachynski’s contributions would be a major mistake. Monday night Bachynski played a career-high 39 minutes against Marquette, and that’s something that would not have been possible earlier in his career.

“I’ve been saying it all year, and at some point maybe the national media will pick up on it as well,” Arizona State head coach Herb Sendek said after the game. “If there’s a more improved player over these last four years, I don’t know who it is but I know Jordan has to be in that conversation.

“Just take it from a conditioning standpoint,” continued Sendek. “At no point previously in his career could he have ever played in a game this physical and combative for 39 minutes; he would need to come out every few minutes. But he has so improved himself physically through the great help of our world-class sports performance coach Rich Wenner, that he’s able to play at a high level for much longer periods of time. I thought Jordan was just terrific today and the numbers he’s posting, they’re hard to beat.”

One key stretch in which Bachynski figured prominently was over the final 6:55 of the first half, when Carson was forced to sit with two fouls. Leading by 11 (33-22), Arizona State lost just one point off the lead due to the contributions of Bachynski, Penn State transfer Jermaine Marshall (21 points) and senior transfer Shaquielle McKissic.

After Marquette cut the deficit to six (35-29), Bachynski would score six straight points for the Sun Devils to help them re-establish the cushion they enjoyed prior to Carson’s departure. While that stretch may not be the one that sticks out to many, it was one reason why Arizona State was in position to win the game on the defensive end in the final seconds. And having a greater impact on the floor is something Bachynski’s been working towards for the last four years.

“It’s not one thing,” Bachynski said when asked of what the difference has been for him. “Persistence, consistency and just working every day and being patient because when I arrived here I barely saw the floor as a freshman. That’s discouraging for a lot of guys. But I just kept working hard with my coaches and working hard with the strength coaches to put the right weight on.

“It’s not one thing, it’s just continuing to fight and working hard every day. And now it’s paying off.”

Follow @raphiellej