Retrospective: Where Does Jeff Pendergraph Rank Among ASU Hoopsters?
With Jeff Pendergraph’s final home game upon us, we look back at a tumultuous career and wonder where he fits among the greatest Sun Devils of the last two decades.
He stands 6 feet 9 inches tall, weighs 240 pounds and has two pet snakes. So it’ll be a little strange watching him turn on the waterworks this weekend.
Jeff Pendergraph will play his final home game as a Sun Devil on Saturday and he fully expects to cry during a Senior Night ceremony which he’ll have all to himself.
ASU’s lone senior will leave the program as a four-year starter who split his games against Arizona and took a season sweep from UCLA. There aren’t many former Sun Devils who can claim that.
Here’s a quick look back at some lows (mostly early) and highs (mostly late) from Pendergraph’s ASU career:
- Nov. 2005 – Commences his college career late after having a benign tumor surgically removed from his knee.
- March 2006 – Considers transferring out of ASU after learning Rob Evans was fired while watching ESPN.
- Dec.-Feb. 2007 – Emerges as team leader as he fumes through a program record 15-game losing streak.
- Feb. 2008 – Picks up the slack for ailing James Harden to score a career-high 29 points in ASU’s 59-54 overtime road upset of Arizona.
- March 2008 – Whistled for going over the back of a USC player on a put-back dunk that would’ve tied the score late in a first-round Pac-10 Tourney loss.
- April 2008 – Flirts with entering the NBA Draft but ultimately decides to return to ASU after receiving input from Doug Collins among others.
- Feb. 2009 – Completes a second consecutive season sweep of Arizona and his first sweep of UCLA in a memorable 10-day home stand.
Though most observers rightfully point to Harden’s arrival as the turning point for the program, we often look back at that 15-game losing streak in 2007.
With three freshmen in the starting lineup, Pendergraph not only carried the load, but also provided the heart and pride on a very bad team—whether that meant grabbing teammates’ attention in the huddle or beating his chest after a big defensive play.
Now, at Herb Sendek’s insistence, Pendergraph plays with “passion” rather than “emotion”, so the chest-beatings at the stare-downs are a little less common. But there’s no question Pendergraph is the leader of a team that’s about to break a long NCAA Tournament drought.
So we wonder, where does Pendergraph fit among the great Sun Devils of the last 20 years?
What’s Your Take, Sun Devils?
Mario Bennett, James Harden, Eddie House, Ike Diogu, Jeremy Veal. Where does Jeff Pendergraph rank among the ASU greats of the last two decades? Let us know in the comments below!
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The guy’s a warrior, and he deserves a trip to the tourney after some very lean times for ASU early in his career.
As far as I’m concerned, he’s a first-team Sun Devil over the past 20 years, joining Ike, House, Harden and Bennett.
Compare our last 2 big men -
Who is the better college player? Ike of Jeff?
Best of luck to you Jeff….. it was fun watching you play
Hmmm … certainly not as good as Diogu or Bennett or Ike Austin … I’d rate him as #4 at his general position over the last 25 years
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[...] We recapped a tumultuous career for Jeff Pendergraph and wondered about his place in ASU history [...]