Rodney Terry, UTEP look to slow uptempo Arizona State
EL PASO, Texas - Arizona coach Sean Miller and UTEP coach Rodney Terry were very cordial in their postgame farewell following UTEP's 69-61 defeat in Tucson on Saturday.
One can hope Miller was helping Terry scout his in-state rival and UTEP's next opponent, Arizona State.
The Miners will return to the Grand Canyon State Wednesday night to go up against Bobby Hurley and the Sun Devils.
Like Arizona, Arizona State is another guard-oriented team that plays with tempo led by All-PAC-12 Guard Remy Martin.
"He's really the guy that makes them," Terry said of Martin, who averages 17 ppg. "In terms of whether he's playing with energy defensively getting steals, or whether he's scoring the ball offensively as well."
Martin is coming off a 31-point performance on Sunday at Grand Canyon, in which he drilled the go-ahead three pointer with 9 seconds left to secure a 71-70 win.
The Sun Devils (3-1) are averaging 79.5 points per game this season, and tout a backcourt of Alonzo Verge Jr. (16.0 ppg) and consensus Top-10 freshman Josh Cristopher (15.7 ppg) to go along with Martin.
"It's going to be a big one-on-one game for us in terms of being able to guard their guys," says Terry of UTEP's plan defensively. "Shooter defense, trying to keep those guys out of the paint. It'll be a great challenge for us."
Hurley, who led the Duke Blue Devils to back-to-back national championships as a point guard in the early 1990's, is in the midst of his sixth season at the helm in Tempe since coming over from Buffalo.
He was on pace to lead ASU to their third consecutive NCAA Tournament berth last season before the Tournament was canceled.
But in addition to scoring at a high rate, the Sun Devils also are vulnerable on the defensive end, allowing 76.7 points per game (231st in NCAA Division-I).
That's good news for UTEP guards Souley Boum, who leads Conference USA with 23.5 points per game, and Jamal Bienemy, the highly-touted transfer from Oklahoma who has seen uptempo styles like Arizona State in the past.
"He doesn't get sped up," says Coach Terry of Bienemy. "He has great poise and great pace. He's a low turnover guy."
Bienemy's ballhandling experience will bode well against a Sun Devils defense that feasts off turnovers, forcing nearly 17 a game.
It's the final contest of a three-game west coast gauntlet for UTEP (2-2), who lost to WCC power St. Mary's last Tuesday before falling to Arizona Saturday.
UTEP did a nice job of slowing down Arizona, slashing their season average of transition points in half. UTEP never trailed by more than 10.
"We've gone into two places that are very established in terms of what they've done over the last ten years in terms of basketball programs," says Terry of the Miners opening road games. "We've gotten better through losses. But at the end of the day, I think we'll be a better ballclub because of it moving forward.
Tipoff for Arizona State is set for 7pm MT Wednesday, televised on the PAC-12 Network.
Catch the ABC-7 UTEP Basketball Coaches Show sponsored by Speaking Rock Mondays on ABC-7 at 4 and available online at kvia.com.
