Awvee Storey would do it all over again if he had to. Chances are he won’t have to.
The Arizona State Sun Devils had gathered at center court moments before tipoff at Stanford last month when the Stanford tree, a mascot known for its rude and clever antics, butted into the huddle. As his teammates watched in amazement, Storey turned and kicked the sap out of the tree.
With one well-placed high-top, Storey gave new definition to “power forward.” The Proviso West High School product immediately became the hero of all the players, coaches and referees mocked by mascots through the years in college basketball.
“I mean, he’s in our huddle,” Storey said this week after practice in ASU’s Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe. “That’s disrespectful, so I kicked him.”
Storey paused as a smile tugged at his mouth. “I didn’t mean for him to fly as far as he did,” he said.
ASU coach Rob Evans still chuckles over the incident. “It’s kind of like Chicago,” he said. “If you’re in the wrong neighborhood, you’re going to get whipped. I’ll tell you what: I don’t think that tree will be coming back into our huddle.”
The tree could not be reached for comment.
Whether it’s clearing out mascots or opposing big men, Storey isn’t afraid to use force. Though he’s only 6 feet 6 inches and 215 pounds, he leads the fiercely competitive Pac-10 in rebounding. Going into this week’s trip to Washington State and Washington, Storey is averaging 8.5 boards per game. That’s more than Arizona’s Michael Wright (8.3), another Chicago product who has blossomed in the desert.
“A warrior,” is how Evans describes Storey, ASU’s No. 2 scorer at 11 points per game.
“He’s a real tough guy,” said Wright, a former Farragut star. “He plays physical. Big Ten-style. But maybe it’s really Chicago-style.”
ASU’s sunny, palm-lined campus seems light years from Chicago. Storey’s journey has been even longer. At Proviso West High School, Storey sometimes carried a knife to school for protection. Storey was an indifferent student, but he said his attitude changed with an acceptance of religion and with the realization that he might never be able to pursue his dream of playing college basketball.
Storey signed with Tennessee but backed out when Vols coach Kevin O’Neill left for Northwestern. Storey spent a year improving his grades in a New Hampshire prep school before signing with Illinois. After seeing little action his first year, Storey decided to transfer, settling on Arizona State when it hired Evans, who had intensely recruited him while coaching at Mississippi.
Storey said he still roots for the Fighting Illini, who, like the 12-9 Sun Devils, are languishing this season. He remains in contact with some of his former teammates and was crushed when Illini guard Matt Heldman died in a car accident last autumn. Storey flew to Illinois for the funeral.
Several months later, Storey struggles to discuss his friendship with Heldman. He has remained close to the family; Heldman’s sister, Amy, is a junior at ASU.
“Thinking about it now, it’s still a shock,” Storey said. “Matt will always been an example for me.”
Storey, in turn, has tried to set an example for his ASU teammates. The oldest Sun Devil, the 22-year-old Storey assumed a leadership role even as he sat out last season as a transfer. One night after a home loss to lightly-regarded New Orleans, Storey stormed into the dressing room and aired out his new teammates.
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Among the few printable passages was this: “I didn’t come all the way out here to watch this.”
On a laid-back campus, Evans was thrilled to have a player who cared enough to sound off. But the coach recently had to take Storey aside and warn him about deflating the fragile egos of his young teammates. ASU has six true freshmen on its roster, believed to be the most in the nation, and sometimes harsh words don’t help.
“Awvee doesn’t look at them as being young,” Evans said. “He’s a guy who loves to win. But I can’t afford to have them lose confidence.”
Perhaps that’s why Storey quickly shook his head when asked if winning the Pac-10 rebounding title would soften the blow of missing the NCAA tournament, a likelihood if ASU doesn’t put together a rush in its last nine games. He didn’t come all this way for stats.
“It’s hard to accept it,” Storey said. “If that was my only goal, just to rebound, then I’d be satisfied. But I have other things I want to do on the floor. I truly believe we have the talent on this team. It’s just a matter of putting it together.”
Rough going: Evans got a call from Northwestern coach O’Neill on Monday. O’Neill was calling from Evanston to commiserate with an old friend. Both the Wildcats (4-17, 0-9) and the Sun Devils (12-9, 4-5 in the Pac-10) have been plagued by inexperience this year.
Unlike Northwestern, Arizona State entertained NCAA tournament hopes when it started 11-4. But it has lost five of its last six heading into this week’s trip to Washington State and Washington.
“I started crying to him about how young we are, and he said, `Try playing two sophomores and the rest freshmen,'” Evans said. “He called me to say he’d been watching our ballgames. He said, `Hey, I’ve been through it, too. Hang in there.'”
Free throws: Who says regular-season games don’t matter? Seton Hall’s 69-67 upset of fourth-ranked Syracuse Monday night had tournament-style intensity and emotion. The Orangemen’s first loss of the season came on a rough night for Ryan Blackwell, who transferred from Illinois. The senior power forward hit two free throws to put the Orangemen up with 1:07 to play, but he missed two close-in shots in the final seconds and went 0 for 7 from the floor…
Utah will retire former point guard Andre Miller’s No. 24 before Thursday night’s game against San Diego State in Salt Lake City. With Hanno Mottola’s postseason jeopardized by a sprained arm and wrist, the Utes wish Miller had eligibility remaining. … UCLA’s most recent game program featured head shots of all the players and coaches with upcoming opponents Stanford, Cal and USC. The only omission? Trojans coach Henry Bibby, a former UCLA All-American. Probably just a misprint.
Kansas’ struggles shouldn’t come as a surprise. The Jayhawks have long had a reputation for being soft. This year they’re tissue. The latest proof came in Monday’s 86-53 drubbing at Oklahoma State, the worst loss in Roy Williams’ career. “I think we played over our heads a little bit,” Oklahoma State coach Eddie Sutton said. “We’re surely not that much better than Kansas. If we play like we did tonight, we can beat anybody.”
Arizona’s Lute Olson on last weekend’s road sweep of UCLA and USC by Stanford and Cal: “That was a huge weekend for the Bay Area schools and disastrous for the L.A. schools.” The Bruins and the Trojans will be desperate to break their skids when they meet Wednesday night in Westwood. A loss would leave UCLA 12-9 and 3-7 in the Pac-10. And the Bruins still have to play at Arizona, at Stanford and at Syracuse.
Iowa State coach Larry Eustachy doesn’t want his Cyclones believing all of the rave reviews they’ve drawn as they contend for the Big 12 title. “We’re not nearly a national contender,” Eustachy said. “I’ve talked a lot about winning this conference to our team, but not in the media. I tell the team I have confidence in them and that if we do A, B and C, we can beat anybody. But come on, we’re starting a 6-6 1/2 post guy and a 6-4 (power forward) We’ve got seven guys (who play most of the minutes). We’ve just been very fortunate in some areas and some things have worked out.”