Sep. 29, 2000 SportsLine.com Reports

Pac-10 report

A Glance at 2001

After reaching the second round of the NIT, Rob Evans' reconstruction job at ASU might hit the skids this season, possibly dropping back to where the Sun Devils were picked to finish last year: near the bottom of the league.

There is no able scorer to replace House. Evans is desperate for Donnell Knight and Tommy Smith to become diligent off-season workers, in the weight room and in the gym. Neither has the reputation as a gym rat, which will need to change if they are going to make a serious impact in the league.

Evans inherited House from Bill Frieder's program. Now he needs to show the ability to recruit a big-time player or two.

Who's Back

Almost everybody but Eddie. There will be intense competition for starting spots from those returning. Alton Mason and Kyle Dodd will battle at the point. Knight and Tanner Shell will fight for the shooting guard spot. Smith and Shawn Redhage will contest the power forward spot.

Only Awvee Storey and Chad Prewitt seem assured of retaining their starting spots, although the Sun Devils are hopeful 6-11 Tyson Johnston, a transfer from Utah who redshirted this year, can step up and take minutes from Prewitt.

Who's Gone

House was selected in the second round by the Miami Heat. The Sun Devils will also be without sophomore 6-6 wing player Justin Allen, who has Hodgkin's disease. Allen was used in some critical situations late in the year, and was expected to be a factor off the bench, but now he will miss the season to undergo six months of chemotherapy and radiation treatments. The prognosis is good.

Key Newcomers

Tyson Johnston, once a Rick Majerus project at Utah, spent the season practicing with the Sun Devils and impressed ASU coaches with his potential. At 235 pounds, he's not much different than Prewitt, but has more athleticism.

Jon Howard, a 6-4 guard from Phoenix Brophy Prep, was perhaps the state's top recruit entering the 1999-2000 prep season. But Howard had a disappointing year and isn't considered a Top 100 prospect. He'll be a wing player who might benefit from the change of scenery.

Darryl Isaac, a 6-11 pivot man from Phoenix, also had a strange senior season. He left his high school team in a dispute with the coaching staff and missed most of the season. He's raw, a long-range prospect, who doesn't figure to be of immediate help.

Charles Osborne, an athletic, 6-7 wing recruit from Los Angeles, would have been a freshman this season, but didn't meet academic requirements and sat out. The problem was that he left his junior-college team at Mesa, Ariz., and returned to Los Angeles and did not play competitively. He said he intends to return to ASU and honor his commitment, but his status is uncertain.