At the start of the of the 2011 season, ASU junior center Jordan Bachynski was having trouble getting off the bench for the Sun Devils. The native of Calgary had come to the program after taking part in his LDS mission in Miami and hadn’t played basketball nor worked out for three years.
“When we recruited Jordan, we knew it was going to be a journey,” said ASU head coach Herb Sendek. “You don’t go from not playing for three years, let alone not even working out, to Pac-12 basketball.”
But something clicked with Bachynski a little less than half way through Pac-12 play last season. He averaged about 10 points and six rebounds in the Sun Devils final 13 games.
In the start of the 2012 season, Bachynski’s improvement continues to point upward. In the first game of the year, he put up 17 points, 12 rebounds and nine blocks. Those nine blocks were a career high for a single game, one block short of a triple double.
“Like many of out front court players historically, he continues to get better,” Sendek mentioned. “You look at the succession of guys with (Jeff) Pendegraph and his continued improvement. Followed by (Eric) Botang and what he was able to accomplish with his development and I think Jordan is on a similar trajectory.”
“We are not there by any stretch of the imagination. I know I keep saying that but in Jordan’s care the arrow is pointed in the right direction,” Sendek added.
The inside-out style offense of working the ball down into the paint and kicking the ball to the outside if there is no shot in the post is what Sendek believe made the Sun Devils offense click. Bachynski’s continued improvement offensively and his great shot blocking defensively will be critical for ASU this season.
Bachynski and ASU (1-0) next host Florida A&M on Sunday.
