Jeff Pendergraph Faces Two More “Epic Battles” with Pac-10 Big Men
Jeff Pendergraph’s no munchkin. But a golden age of big men in the Pac-10 the last two seasons has left him looking average of height. How will he fare in two final meetings with Jordan Hill and Jon Brockman this week?
ASU vs. UA III Audio PreviewEcho from the Buttes sat down with our friends at The Greg and Mark Show to discuss today’s ASU-UA showdown.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
The last two seasons have represented a golden age for big men in the Pac-10.
Last season the post was ruled by Robin and Brook Lopez of Stanford and Kevin Love of UCLA—all of whom were first-round NBA picks. And Jeff Pendergraph held his own.
And over the next two days, Pendergraph will face Arizona’s Jordan Hill and (hopefully) Washington’s Jon Brockman – another pair of likely first-rounders – in the Pac-10 Tournament.
The battles have become so epic that when Hill learned his Wildcats would be playing a do-or-die game against the Sun Devils, he sent Pendergraph a text message that read, “There’s about to be another showdown.”
Quoth Pendergraph: “If I fall asleep for one second, I get dunked on. I try not to let that happen, so I just try to keep it even it with him and not fall asleep, because he’ll make you pay for it. … Every time we play each other, it’s kind of an epic battle.”
After entering his senior campaign with a reputation for getting into foul trouble against elite big men, Pendergraph has risen to the challenge in each battle this season.
He’s posted a double-double in each of his four games against Hill and Brockman this year. His average output: 18.0 points and 13.5 rebounds.
(Fortunately Taylor Rohde’s prepared Pendergraph by beating up on him in practice.)
Pendergraph’s face-off with Hill today could go a long way toward determining whether or not ASU advances to a third meeting against Brockman and the Huskies on Friday—and whether or not Arizona gets off the bubble to earn a trip to the NCAA Tournament.
The fact that it’s ASU standing in UA’s way of a 25th consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance isn’t lost on Pendergraph. Quoth the big man: “That seems kind of funny. That’s some fate stuff. You can’t really make that happen.”
What’s Your Take, Sun Devils
We’re DVRing today’s game for later viewing, so we we’ll be off the grid during a long afternoon at the day job. But feel free to discuss the game in the comments below!
Enjoy this article? Buy us a beer for just $4. (Credit Card / Paypal)More Sun Devil News, Less HassleDon’t fool around with bookmarks or the refresh button. We’ve made it easier to subscribe, so you can have Sun Devil news delivered FREE straight to your inbox.
Pendergraph held his own today, although I think it’s pretty clear Hill outplayed him. Which is fine; I’m sure Jeff will take slightly being outplayed if it results in a substantial victory for his team — especially over the U.
I don’t know why Budinger sucks against us (hehe, or maybe I do
), but Wise and Hill (and nobody else) seem to show up during the rivalry games. And the other two aren’t even close to Hill when it comes to being a pro prospect.
I imagine they’ll be meeting in the pro’s someday, and I look forward to it.