Nov. 19, 2009

THREE QUESTIONS WITH COACH WALTERS: Scroll to the bottom of the release for an interview with Coach Walters on the official YouTube page of USF Dons Athletics.

By Stacy Hicklin
USF Beat Writer

SAN FRANCISCO - Say good-bye to the friendly confines of War Memorial Gymnasium.

The University of San Francisco men's basketball team packs up for its first road trip of the season; traveling to Arizona State University on Friday, Nov. 20 at Wells Fargo Arena with a 3:30 p.m. (Pacific) tip-off.

USF (2-0) will play five of its next six games on the road.

"You have to learn how to win on the road," USF head coach Rex Walters said. "Obviously possessions are much more valuable and the negatives are more pronounced and make a bigger impact on you...it will be a totally different environment for our young guys."

USF begins its road campaign against a Pac-10 Conference school that advanced to the Sweet Sixteen in last year's NCAA Tournament before falling to Syracuse. The Sun Devils (3-0) are, however, a changed team after losing leading scorers James Harden and Jeff Pendergraph to the NBA. Harden was selected No. 3 overall, while Pendergraph was drafted with the 31st pick.

"They lost two NBA guys so of course the team will change," Walters said. "They definitely do more by committee. Right now they don't have a go-to perimeter scorer, but they have a lot of guys that can really pass and shoot."

ASU will be playing its third game in five days. The Sun Devils cruised past Texas State 84-62 on Monday and slipped by Texas Christian University 52-49 on Tuesday. Both games were part of the preseason NIT, in which ASU has advanced to the semifinals next week against Duke.

No Sun Devil player has scored in double-digits in all three games this season. Leading the team in scoring is 6-foot-10, 257-pound senior center Eric Boateng with 14.2 points per game.

"Size will be a big factor - across the board from the one through five [positions]," Walters said. "On paper and in real life, this will be the biggest, strongest most talented team we've played so far."

ASU has five players standing 6-foot-7 or taller.

If the Dons win in Tempe, it will be the first time the school has begun 3-0 since the 1992-93 season. The last time these programs faced off was in 1989 with ASU winning a 70-67 thriller in double overtime.