Remembering Ryan Torain

Former ASU RB Ryan Torain was released by the Broncos on Wednesday. Torain has had one of the hardest luck careers I can remember for someone who has a lot of talent. It is unclear what is going to become ofTorain , hopefully he gets another chance in the NFL but the fact that he is an unproven commodity that is coming off a serious knee injury hurts his chances.

When Torain first came to Arizona State he was a JuCo transfer that no one really knew about. ASU’s running back situation was up in the air in 2006. Torain ended up winning the job and ran for 1,229 yards with a 5.5 ypc and scored seven touchdowns. I remember him bursting on the scene against California with 24 carries for 191 yards. How good wasTorain? ASU led the Pac-10 in rushing that year, even with pass happy Dirk Koetter coaching the team. He was the first ASU RB since 2001 to go over 1,000 yards. He was a hard, downhill runner who always fought for extra yards. His nickname was the “Train” for the way he ran over people. He wasn’t totally elusive, but he had good speed and movement for someone who had the power he did. While watching Torain in 2006 I thought I was seeing a first day NFL draft pick. Under Dennis Erickson in 2007 Torain got off to a good start, running for 553 yards in the first six games. His season was derailed by a serious knee injury, a similar one he experienced in Denver last year.

It is sad to see what has happened to Torain but we wish him all the best in his future career. He was one of our favorites here at Desert Ball.

Checking Out the ASU vs UA Alumni game

From the “why did it take so long to come up with this” file, on August 30^th there will be an ASU vs UA alumni basketball game. I think this is a fantastic idea, who doesn’t want to see past greats (greats is stretching it) of each university relive their rivalry glory again? This event is sure to stir passion because ASU-UA always does. Sure it is just an exhibition game but you can be damn sure I want ASU to win. It is probably a pretty safe bet that many other Sun Devils and Wildcats a like feel the same way. Who is going to win? Let’s check the rosters:

ASU	U of A
Eddie House – One of the most explosive scorers and best shooters in ASU history. Currently a role player for the Boston Celtics.	Sean Rooks – A veteran of 13 NBA seasons and was a member of Lute Olson’s first final four team at U of A.
Ryneldi Becenti – Center for the woman’s team in the early 90s, made All-Pac 10 first team twice. Currently in the American Indian Athletic Hall of Fame.	Kenny Lofton – An All-Star baseball player that also excelled in basketball at UofA. Lofton was a point guard and played with Rooks.
Dwayne Fontana – Attended from 1990-1994, a member of the San Francisco Prep Hall of Fame. High school nickname was DAW (Dunk at Will). Not to be confused with Brian Fantana.	Joseph Blair – A power forward in the early 90s. Missed out on the 1997 championship year by one season. Darn you graduation.
Rodger Farrington – Former defensive standout for ASU. Read more here.	Trung Canidate – One of the most electric tailbacks in U of A history. He is probably better known for being a draft bust.
Bobby Lazor – One of the coolest names for a basketball player ever. He was one of ASU’s best players when they were pretty bad.	Glenn Howell – A former football player. That’s all I got for ya.
Ike Diogu – We Like Ike! One of the best forwards in ASU history currently plays for the New Orleans Hornets.	Reshea Bristol – All Pac-10 first team in 2001 for the Lady Cats.
Ron Riley – Played for ASU in the mid 90s and scored a lot of points.	Corey Williams – This former forward has been playing a lot of overseas basketball since his graduation in 1996.
Awvee Storey – One of the toughest players in ASU history. Thrived in Rob Evans defensive schemes. No real offensive game. Will fight anyone.	Gilbert Areans – A NBA All-Star who is known for his blogging as well as his scoring ability. Also known for injuries and yelling “hibachi!”
Leonard Russell – Former ASU running back played six NLF seasons.
Bill Kennedy – Currently an Associate AD in Administration for ASU. Graduated in 72 . . yup 1972.
Eli Lopez – I can’t find any information about him, he must have been good.
Donnell Knight – A big time ASU recruit that never lived up to the billing. Is now his chance at redemption? Probably not.
Carlos Artis – Say it with me in a Homer Simpson voice, “I have no idea who that is”.

Who will win this game? As of now ASU has a lot more depth. Does depth ever come into to play in these type of games? Are we going to consider guys like Carlos Artis, Eli Lopez and Bill Kennedy depth? This game will come down to Eddie House and Ike Diogu against Gilbert Arenas, Sean Rooks and Kenny Lofton.

I am excited because I’ve always wanted to see House and Diogu play together, now they will get the chance in a effort to take down the hated Wildcats.

Shouldn’t Jason Braxton be in this game? It sounds like something he would do. It is probably a good thing he isn’t.

Sullivan or Szakacsy

Danny Sullivan looks to win the QB job

We have a camp quarterback battle in Tempe again. Sure, this QB battle won’t be anywhere near as big as Keller versus Carpenter, but the Devils still have to figure out who is going to be their main QB next year. The frontrunners are senior Danny Sullivan and Sophomore Samson Szakacsy. Dennis Erickson has hinted me might play both these guys this year, but for arguments sake we are going to narrow it down to one guy. It is always good to have a QB be the guy and not platoon that position. Not much is known about either of these guys, so let’s get to know them.

Danny Sullivan

Sullivan is a senior, so he has experience even though he hasn’t taken a whole lot of snaps. This is the reason he is the front runner for the job. He surely isn’t the front runner because of his on field production. Sullivan hasn’t really been placed in a good situation when he has come into game but hasn’t impressed while in them. Sullivan is big (6-5, 230) and has a strong arm. I have never been overly impressed by the accuracy he has shown in-game, especially on his deep throws.

Sullivan has been a silent warrior for ASU in his career. He came to ASU as a lightly regarded recruit, only receiving interest from ASU, Nevada and San Jose State (no wonder he jumped on ASU’s offer, eh?). He was thrust into the backup job in 2006 after Sam Keller transferred and he has seen only spot duty in his career. Rudy Carpenter was pretty durable and when he was hurt he usually played, leaving little playing time for Sullivan. I am sure Dennis Erickson wants to reward the senior who has spent three years doing whatever the coaches told him and working with sub par second and third units in practice. Remember, however, that Sullivan wasn’t Erickson’s recruit. I am unsure if Dirk Koetter ever envisioned Sullivan to be anything more than QB depth for the program when he recruited him.

Samson Szakacsy

Szakacsy is a redshirt sophomore and an intriguing prospect for ASU this season. Not that Danny Sullivan has a ton of regular season reps, but I don’t recall Szakacsy having any. As a redshirt freshman he spent the year as the third string QB, which equates to no playing time. We have to go by what Szakacsy potential might be, because we have nothing else to measure him on.

Szakacsy was one of Dennis Erickson’s first recruits. He switched his commitment from USC to ASU. Considering he also got a scholarship offer from Florida it is clear that some big time programs though highly of Szakacsy. He is a very athletic quarterback, performing very well in agility and speed drills. During a Pac 10 media day interview Dennis Erickson said Szakacsy was one of the fastest guys on his team. If this is true then that gives the Devils a dual threat at the position that they rarely ever have. Szakacsy was lauded as a very accurate passer in his high school career in California. With this athletic ability and apparent accuracy, it seems like Szakacsy is an ideal candidate to play in the spread offense that Dennis Erickson wants to implement this year.

The Verdict

ASU is already in a rebuilding mode, might as well go with the sophomore. Szakacsy has much more upside than the senior Sullivan. He is also Dennis Erickson’s recruit, which gives him a built in advantage. I think Szakacsy is going to win this job, but training camp could change everything.

It is times like this a program wishes they had John Elway’s kid.

Link Me

Just popping in real quick to share a few links with y’all.

From ESPN.com, they have a pretty cool College Football Mock Draft going. They basically pick the top 40 football teams in the nation and assign them to ten different conferences. Pat Forde explains it a lot better than I do. I like it because ASU gets picked with the very last pick, 40th overall. Overall, five Pac-10 teams got drafted. That makes me feel good too.

IGN.com also did their NFL season preview using Madden’s engine. How did the Cardinals do? They finished in first place in the NFC West with a 12-4 record, which was the fourth best record in the league. The Steelers went 15-1 and the Packers win the NFC North with a 7-9 record.

The Cardinals host the Falcons again in the first round of the playoffs but lose on an overtime FG. The Patriots end up defeating the Saints in the Super Bowl, 21-14.

New Gear for a New Season

With the new ASU football season coming up it is time to invest in some new clothing. Sure you can keep wearing that 1997 Sun Bowl t-shirt or the generic ASU t-shirt you got with your season tickets back in 2002, but it is always fun to break out a new shirt for the upcoming season. For those looking for a unique t-shirt I suggest heading over to http://www.sundevillaws.com/ where you can get your favorite Sun Devil Law printed on a t-shirt. It is the perfect way to show some spirit. The shirt pictured is the t-shirt I will be wearing this year, mainly because the defense will be the only chance this football team has this season.

What Sun Devil Law will you wear?

Rating the Ratings (NCAA Style)

ASU WR #13 . . . don't sue me Sam Keller!

If you are a true football connoisseur then you play NCAA Football as well as Madden. If this is true then today is your day because NCAA Football 2010 arrived in stores. I figured I’d take a look at ASU’s ratings this year, just in case you plan to use them in a dynasty. I am hesitant to use real names for the virtual players, I don’t want to strengthen Sam Keller’s court case against the game. Oh, what the hell:

Quaterbacks: Danny Sullivan 85 (sr), Samson Szackacsy 83 (so-rs), Brock Osweiler 79 (fr)

Sullivan is probably rated an 85 just because he is a senior, he hasn’t done much in his career to warrant that rating. If there was a category for “touch passing” his rating would be in the low teens. Szackacsy has a 76 speed rating and is only a sophomore, probably making him a better choice at QB than Sullivan. Osweiler has the strongest arm on the team and will probably be the QB in future years of your dynasty.

Running Backs: Dimitri Nance 89 (sr), Shaun DeWitty 87 (sr-rs), Ryan Bass 86 (so), Jarrel Woods 82 (sr-rs)

How is Nance an 89? What has he done in his career that warrants a rating above 80? If there was a stat category for “three yards and a cloud of dust” his rating would be 99. All he does is run up the middle and fall down. DeWitty is probably rated on the high side too. Ryan Bass is the real star of this class. An 86 rating as a sophomore with 91 speed makes him the play maker your dynasty needs in the backfield.

Wide Receivers: Kyle Williams 90 (sr), Chris McGaha 88 (sr-rs), Kerry Taylor 87 (jr), Gerell Robinson 85 (so), AJ Pickens 84 (fr-rs)

ASU is loaded at WR in 2009 and the future. Williams, McGaha and Taylor give you three talented receivers to throw at. Robinson and Pickens give you hope for the future. McGaha would have a 99 rating in “third down catches” if that was an actual stat category.

Tight Ends: Jovon Williams 84 (sr-rs)

There are two tight ends on the roster, but I can’t tell who the other one is supposed to be. Jovon Williams gives you a solid option at TE but make sure you recruit that area hardcore in your dynasty.

Offensive Line: Shawn Lauvao 90 (sr-rs), Mike Marcisz 79 (soph), Jon Hargis 83 (jr-rs), Garth Gehart 78 (soph-rs), Zach Schlink 86 (sr-rs), Andrew Sampson 86 (sr-rs)

Not the best offensive line but they are collectively rated much higher than their recent performance has warranted. There are a few young guys on the roster in the mid 80s but I couldn’t figure out who they were supposed to be.

Defensive Ends: James Brooks 70 (soph-rs), Jamaar Jarrett 68 (soph), Dexter Davis 93 (sr-rs), Jamarr Robinson 72 (jr-rs)

Outside of Dexter Davis this position is a disaster. He is the lone play maker so you better hope he doesn’t get injured in your dynasty.

Defensive Tackles: Lawrence Guy 89 (soph), Saia Falahola 88 (jr-rs), Johnathan English 82 (jr), Corey Adams 81 (fr)

The defensive tackles on this team are deep, young and talented. There is not a senior on this group. By the second year in your dynasty Guy and Falahola should be rated over 90 and Corey Adams will get there eventually. The depth at this position almost makes up for lack of defensive ends . . . almost. By the end of his career in your dynasty Guy will probably be close to a 99 overall.

Linebackers: Shelly Lyons 80 (soph), Colin Parker 77 (soph-rs), Anthony Jones 73 (fr), Travis Goethel 84 (sr), Vontaze Burfict 82 (fr), Mike Nixon 90 (sr), Brandon Magee 78 (soph)

This group of linebackers is very young and could be very deadly after your first year. There isn’t much point in starting Goethel over Burfict, unless you are a sucker for seniors. Nixon is overrated. Lyons, Parker and Magee are basically the same player. Burfict is going to be your stud for years to come in your dynasty.

Defensive Backs: Omar Boldin 91 (jr), Terell Carr 87 (sr), Josh Jordan 83 (soph), Pierre Springfield 81 (jr), Clint Floyd 80 (fr-rs), Ryan McFoy 81 (sr), Keelan Johnson 76 (fr-rs)

Omar Boldin and Terell Carr give you a solid 1-2 punch at cornerback, that will come in handy when matching up with the top receivers in the Pac-10. Clint Floyd is rated a little lower than I thought he would be, and he is a sophomore in real life. I think he will reach the mid 90s by the time his virtual career is over. McFoy is an underwhelming 81 at senior, I’d rather give promising freshman Johnson his playing time at SS.

Specialists: K/P Thomas Weber 90 (jr), KR/PR Kyle Williams 99

Williams is a solid 99 at returning kicks, but almost every fast receiver is a 99 at returning kicks. Thomas Weber went down in rating form 2009 and I am unsure why, he is still one of the best kickers in the game.

Overall:

ASU is a little below average on offense and a little above average on defense. They have a ton of talented underclassmen that gives them a bright future. In your dynasty you may have to wait a year before you start making an impact on a national level, unless you play on an easy mode of course.

ASU+CWS = Disappointment

Another Tough One for ASU

I descended onto Omaha for two reasons: 1) For a family vacation I attend ever year 2) To see ASU in the College World Series (which I will refer to as the CWS). You see, ASU needs all the help they can get in the CWS. They have made it to Omaha numerous times this decade and more than once have had teams that have been favored to win it all. What has happened every year? They find ways to lose. This happened in heart breaking fashion this week against Texas, in which ASU blew leads in two games that would have led them to the CWS title game.

ASU beat North Carolina last Sunday to set up a game with Texas, the winner wouldn’t have to play another game until Friday and would have to lose twice in two days in order to be knocked out of the tournament. All looked good for ASU as they raced to a 6-0 lead and had Mike Leake, the best pitcher in the country not named Stephen Strasburg, on the mound. Leak, however, had his worst game as a Sun Devil and Texas scored 10 unanswered runs to defeat ASU 10-6. Entering the game Leake had a 16-1 record with an ERA under 1.30, spotting him a 6-0 lead was virtually guarantying ASU a victory. This would have been like Randy Johnson blowing a 6-0 lead in the 2001 Word Series, stuff like that just doesn’t happen.

Since they lost to Texas, ASU had to play North Carolina again on Thursday. After falling down 4-0 ASU rallied back to win 12-4, thanks to North Carolina’s complete inability to find the strike zone. They walked 10 guys and threw five wild pitches, it was like Ricky Vaughn in Major League before he got his glasses. ASU’s reward for defeating North Carolina for the second time in a week was to play Texas again, only this time ASU was going to have to beat Texas twice in a row to make it to the title game against LSU. It looked like it could possibly happen as ASU held a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the ninth before Texas hit two solo home runs to win the game. It was another crushing defeat for ASU in the CWS, which they have made a habit of this decade.

I thought this ASU team was going to be the one to net ASU its first National Title since 1978. Unlike ASU teams of the past that were full of great hitting, this team had great pitching. Mike Leake and Josh Spence were two of the top five starters in the country. ASU lead the Nation in team ERA. They had good enough hitters to exploit their huge advantage in pitching. It just wasn’t meant to be this year. If Mike Leake can hold a 6-0 lead against Texas and ASU can hold a one run lead in the ninth last night, ASU is in the CWS final and all of this changes. Instead, this is another disappointing year. Just like when ASU lost to Cinderella UC Irvine in 2007.

This has to hurt for Pat Murphy, who is the best coach in the Pac 10 and always pulling in top 10 recruiting classes. He has yet to win the big one, however, and this could start to become an issue. He is a lot like Mack Brown was for Texas football before he won a title, good records andrecruits every year but no title to show for it. The people of Texas wanted to run Mack Brown out of town before he finally won. No one wants to run Pat Murphy out of town, except maybe ASU AD Lisa Love (who doesn’t like him for some reason), but the lack of winning a title has to be getting to him. Murhpy should be commended for his work this year. He took a team loaded with freshmen and led them to the CWS. ASU will return a lot of players next  year, so their future is bright.

Let’s just hope these freshman don’t choke in 2010.

Who Am I?

I play NCAA Baseball

My team made the NCAA Regionals

I am 14-1 with a 1.24 ERA on the season

I will be a high draft pick in the 2009 MLB Draft

I am not Steven Strasburg

We are talking about Mike Leake, ASU’s Pac 10 pitcher of the year. Leake may be one of the best pitcher to ever don

I Don't Know Who Steven Strasburg is and I Don't Care

ASU’s uniform. In his ASU career Mike Leake sports a 34-6 record with a sub 3 ERA. Leake has four plus pitches, including a fastball in the low 90s. He throws all these pitches with great command.

Leake combines with fellow ASU pitcher Josh Spence (who had injury troubles in 2009 but entered the year with a career 27-7 record with a sub 2 ERA) to give the Devils a Randy Johnson/Curt Schilling like duo at the top of their rotation.

Watch Mike Leake this College World Series and pray he falls to the D-Backs at 16 (he wont).

What’s the Deal with Russ Pennell?

Russ Pennell’s journey as one year coach of the University of Arizona men’s basketball team has been well documented. It didn’t take long for him to become known not only as the head coach, but as the “only for one year” head coach of UofA. Within the past week Pennell was named the new men’s head basketball coach at Grand Canyon University, which is a Division II school located in Phoenix. You might ask how the man who coached UofA to a Sweet 16 appearance, in a presumed dead season, settled for a DII job, while a man who destroyed the New York Knicks and was in the middle of an $11 million harassment lawsuit could find his way to a DI head coaching job (see Thomas, Isiah). Well, I do not have the answer, but let’s see if we can figure it out together. Come on, it will be fun.

My best guess is that Russ Pennell just loves to coach. Sure, Jim Calhoun loves to coach too, but he coaches for the wins and the titles. I’m not saying that Pennell would turn down a chance to coach a Kentucky, or a Duke, but I think it is very apparent that he just wants to be on the basketball court. He has spent about 2 decades at four major colleges (Oklahoma St, Ole Miss, ASU and UofA) already. Grand Canyon University offered him not only a chance to coach, but a chance to build a program the Russ Pennell way. Pennell will have a full allotment of 10 scholarships to work with.

Family is another reason. Pennell has 2 children, and a chance to keep them in one spot, while being able to actually be there for them, is huge. GCU offers that. The prospect of having to move a growing family might not have been something he cared to do.

Pennell has been very involved in AAU basketball. He coached an Arizona Premier team during the summer for 2 years, which gives him deep ties. Remember, this is Division II, so deep AAU ties can be very valuable. Pennell has already gotten a few kids to transfer back to Arizona and join him at GCU. Yes, they could be considered DI rejects, but they could do well with DII programs. At least one of them had played for Pennell during his AAU stint, so he receives instant familiarity.

I’ll end by saying that I am a Russ Pennell fan. I really liked the way he handled the whole UofA saga. He knew he had no chance of being there over one year so he made the most of it. He went in and told those kids that they all expected to be learning from Lute Olsen, but that wasn’t going to happen so they might as well make the most out of it. The one year stint showed that he can really coach basketball and he has the ability to reach kids on a level they can understand. He probably could have gotten another DI job had he wanted, but I think Grand Canyon University made a great hire. It could turn out to be the best thing for both parties involved. GCU gets a coach who can successfully march them through the Division II season, and Pennell gets a chance to prove he really can coach. That might lead him to another Division I program in the future. Best of luck Coach Pennell, I’m pulling for you.

Desert Baller: Gavin Edwards

Sometimes, ex-Arizona high school and college sports stars get lost. We lose track of where these kids have gone, or might not be familiar with some of them in the first place. The ladder is something you might say about today’s Desert Baller Gavin Edwards.

Where is He Now?: Gavin Edwards is currently a Junior on the University of Connecticut basketball team. He is a main bench role player, mainly subbing in for Hasheem Thabeet whenever the big man needs a breather. You can see him in the Final Four against Michigan State.

Where Did He Come From?: Edwards kind of slipped through the cracks here in Arizona. He went to high school at Mesquite High School in Gilbert. Edwards is a prime example of why many people believe high school teams are becoming less relevant and AAU teams are what it is all about. After limited playing time in his junior year at Mesquite, Edwards thought he was headed for prep school after his high school career was over. This all changed during the Spring of his senior year in 2006. Edwards played on the traveling team, Arizona Magic Blue, and helped them to a 23-3 record. Edwards was credited for leading them with his inside presence. Combine that with the 17.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 3.3 blocks from his senior year, and that is enough to get Coach Jim Calhoun to come calling. Edwards also had over 100 blocks his senior year, which not only set the single season record, but was enough to set his high school’s career shot block record at the same time.

What Can We Expect From Him: If you look at his numbers, then you would probably not think that he is very valuable. Numbers do not tell the whole story with Edwards though. He adds a toughness that any bench could use, especially if you have to replace a 7’3″ All American. He averaged just under 12 minutes this season, and his best game came against the Gonzaga Bulldogs in Seattle. He had 14 points and 12 rebounds in 30 minutes. Next year, Edwards will be looked at once again for his toughness and his veteran leadership, especially if Thabeet opts for the NBA Draft.

Gavin Edwards may not have the star power and stats of other recent Arizona high schoolers such as Jerryd Bayless and Lee Cummard, but his work for the UConn Huskies has not gone unnoticed. Keep an eye on this Desert Baller next season.