The Arizona State Sun Devils basketball program took a couple of hits this week. The first was Kyle Cain deciding to transfer from the program. Then it was Trent Lockett, a team leader, who was released from his scholarship so he can transfer, so he can be closer to his sick mother.
It was just on Monday that on this site, we criticized head coach Herb Sendek's recruiting or representation of his program.
We wrote this:
Why do these players leave? There are a lot of reasons why kids change their minds, but it points to some flaw in Sendek's recruiting.
On the topic of playing time, either he is not getting players talented enough to play for him more, or he is promising them more than he can give.
If the kid is just wishy-washy, then the flaw is that Sendek is is recruiting those players. It is either that or he is not building these kids up to want to stay.
If they don't buy into the program, then he is misrepresenting what he is selling.
On Wednesday, Sendek said this, per a release on the Sun Devil Athletics website:
To start, he explained that the transfers have been "a combination of expectations around playing time and holding them accountable for their actions."
This is not surprising. What is next is exactly what we were saying on Monday.
"I have done a deep introspective look at our program under my leadership. I take ownership of the past two seasons. I take ownership of the past two seasons and understand where and who we need to recruit."
This, I hope, truly happens. If Sendek is to create any sort of program, he must keep his recruits. It isn't as if he is recruiting one-and-done phenoms that go to the NBA.
ASU's basketball program needs something to go right. Recruiting right would definitely be a good start.
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