Tough stretch could be a teacher for ASU

The 2011-12 season hasn’t gone so well for Arizona State
basketball, and that’s an understatement.

The Sun Devils are 4-7, their worst start in 26 years.

Their prized freshman recruit, point guard Jahii Carson,
has been ruled academically ineligible for the entire
season by the NCAA.

They’ve lost two straight games on last-second three-
pointers. Saturday, NAU’s Stallon Saldivar knocked down a
contested three with 0.6 seconds left to give the
Lumberjacks a 69-68 win over the Sun Devils. Monday
night, Darnell Dodson, playing in his first game of the
season, added a new layer of pain to ASU’s non-conference
struggles by hitting a three-pointer at the buzzer in
Southern Mississippi’s 64-61 win.

All this losing doesn’t sit well with junior guard Trent
Lockett. “I’ve never had seasons like this ever, except
for last year and this year,” he said. Lockett came to
Arizona State after a very successful prep career at
Hopkins High School in Minnetonka, Minnesota. The Royals
went 31-0 and won the state title in Lockett’s senior
year.

So the current stretch of 7 wins in their last 26 games
dating back to last season has got to be a new, unwelcome
feeling for Lockett and everybody else in maroon and gold.

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