How James Harden foreshadowed his basketball future during his time at ASU

https://www.azcentral.com/story/spo...wed-his-future-during-his-time-asu/602887002/

How James Harden foreshadowed his basketball future during his time at ASU




Doug Haller, azcentral sportsPublished 5:09 p.m. MT May 11, 2018 | Updated 6:50 p.m. MT May 12, 2018
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He wore No. 13, just as he does now. The beard? There was some foreshadowing, but like his game, no one could’ve predicted it would become something so big, so identifiable.

No doubt, James Harden was a national talent during his two years at Arizona State – he was a 2009 consensus All-American, after all – but he wasn’t so much a national brand. Even his college coach, Herb Sendek, didn’t see all this coming.

A perennial All-Star. An Olympic champion. An ascension to the NBA’s highest level, where this season he's the leading candidate for MVP, taking the Houston Rockets into the Western Conference finals, a must-see series against the Golden State Warriors that tips off Monday.

“I certainly expected him to be a first-round draft pick and a really good NBA player who could have a long career,” Sendek said, “but I certainly didn’t see him at that particular point becoming arguably the best player on the planet.”

BACKSTORY: How did James Harden end up at Arizona State?

To be fair, few also saw the college versions of Russell Westbrook or Stephen Curry elevating to such heights. Greatness in anything is difficult to predict, especially sports. In basketball, the college and pro games are so different, and talent is just one part of a complex equation.


In the NBA, Harden has developed those skills (and his body), increasing his shooting range and improving his ball-handling. At times, this has made him nearly unguardable, especially in coach Mike D'Antoni's pace-and-space system.

“Watching him over the years, I think in college he used to use guys’ balance points against them from his jab step,’’ said Rice coach Scott Pera, who coached Harden in high school and in college as an assistant on Sendek's staff.

“He'd get the ball on the wing and he’d just jab, jab, shot fake – and the minute you lifted up one inch, he was gone. Now he does it from his dribble. He just feels and measures your balance and the second you’re off balance – BOOM! – it’s over.”

Building a relationship with Hurley
Nearly a decade after his final college contest, Harden's number – that famous 13 – hangs in Wells Fargo Arena, but much has changed.

Sendek is gone, coaching at Santa Clara. His assistants have scattered across the basketball landscape.


ASU head coach Herb Sendek talks to James Harden during a 2007 game at Wells Fargo Arena. (Photo: Michael Chow/The Republic)


For that reason, coach Bobby Hurley took a cautious approach when first introduced to Harden. He let Harden know that he was welcome. If he wanted to stop by when the Rockets were in town to play the Suns – great. If he wanted to work out in the Weatherup Center over the summer – awesome.

“My whole strategy with James was let’s gradually build it,” Hurley said. “We’re not asking for anything. We just want to have a place here where you’re comfortable coming back. I know from when I was in my hey-day as a player, people are trying to come at you in a million different directions, and his situation is probably 100 times what mine was. But I do remember what that was like.”



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Throughout his NBA career, Harden has visited Tempe over the summer. He works out with strength coach Rich Wenner. He scrimmages with the team, which Hurley conveniently slips in during conversations with recruits.

About those pick-up games: Most of the time, Harden simply tries to get everyone involved, said senior guard Shannon Evans, who just completed his college eligibility. But one day, a team of ASU players took the lead and a few brave souls started talking trash to the six-time All-Star.

Result: “I think he scored every point the rest of the game,” Evans said.

In January, with the Rockets in town, Harden, 28, sat courtside – not far from Gov. Doug Ducey – for ASU's game against Oregon.

“I know how much that meant to our players,” Hurley said. “And he’s so down to Earth with them, they even like him more because of the time he’s been willing to invest in getting to know some of the guys in the program.”


James Harden dunks against Arizona at Wells Fargo Arena on Feb. 22, 2009. (Photo: Michael Chow/The Republic)

As a former teammate and opposing NBA coach, McMillan has seen it up close and from afar, which is why so many approach him during his NBA stops. With Harden marching toward the MVP – an honor McMillan thinks he deserves – they all want to know the same thing.

“It happens ALL THE TIME,” McMillan said. “League-wide, they always ask me: Did you see this coming? Did he have all this in his game in college? And the answer is, 'Yeah, he did have it.' But at the level he’s at now?

“No.”