ASU Men’s Basketball: Romello White and De’Quon Lake provide a lethal frontcourt

Just a year removed from Arizona State’s size and depth problems that caused nightly bruises down low, the Band-Aids and temporary fixes seem to have been shed and the wound looks healed.

That treatment for the Sun Devils showed itself for the first time in its entirety Tuesday as forwards Romello White and De’Quon Lake shared the floor for the first time.

For White, it was his first collegiate action. The 6-foot-9, 220-pound Georgia native was ranked 77th in the country by ESPN coming out of high school, but was forced to sit out last year after being ruled academically ineligible.

Nonetheless, his debut in a 90-68 victory over San Diego State reaffirmed the potential that many believe he has. In a starting role that saw him play 32 minutes, White notched 16 points and grabbed 15 boards.

That starting spot came in place of Lake, who quickly became the story of the Devils first game against Idaho State after putting up 24 points. And against the Aztecs, the junior transfer from Iowa Western Community College grabbed seven rebounds and tallied 15 points on 7-7 shooting in 15 minutes.

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“He just came right in and [picked up] right where he left off and against better competition,” ASU head coach Bobby Hurley said. “And showed against really good, big athletes that what he was doing the other night can carry over.”

ASU has quickly assembled a frontcourt that size and skill-wise can compete with just about everyone in the Pac-12.

That was not the case a year ago.

Many fans may remember the UCLA game in Tempe a year ago as a brutal reminder. The Devils played with four guards and their two tallest players – 6-foot-5 Kodi Justice and 6-foot-7 Obinna Oleka – had a tough time grabbing rebounds from any Bruin on the court.

That game is also memorable not because of the 87-75 loss Lonzo Ball and Co. handed ASU, but because of the major depth issues it showed. The ASU starters played 199 of the 200 minutes possible.

This season, however, on both fronts – size and depth – the introductions of White and Lake gives Hurley tremendous flexibility with his lineup and the opportunity for ASU win the rebounding margin night in and night out.

It also gives ASU a balanced offense.

The Sun Devils were primarily a one-dimensional offense last season that played a lot of small-ball, while taking a ton of threes.

Now, they can still do that. But, with the threat of low-post scoring that White and Lake have brought to Tempe, the guards will also reap their benefits.

“They just make the jobs of the guards so much easier because they are such a big presence down there in the post and on the defensive end,” ASU senior guard Tra Holder said. “So this team has to honor them and make sure that they not scoring, because if they not, then we’re going to keep feeding them.

“And if it’s our night, they’re going to have to come to us. So [defenders] are going to have to pick and choose which one they want to stop.”

Those two, together, fighting for rebounds and loose balls would scare any opposition – and on Tuesday that was showcased in spurts, but not not completely throughout the game as Vitaliy Shibel got the other frontcourt start.

But down the line, Hurley didn’t rule out the possibility of starting the two 6-foot-9 big-men:

“They’ve been playing against each other in practice so much and just after [freshman forward] Kimani [Lawrence] got hurt,” Hurley said. “We started experimenting with those two together so as far as our offense functioning the way we want, there’s still more things we have to do on the practice floor to make that happen.”

Hurley also added, “When they were both together, it didn’t seem like there was much hope for anyone to get a rebound other than those two guys.”

Even though it wasn’t for too long, the excitement that White and Lake generated while on the floor together was evident.

Whether it was the three blocks they accounted for, each with seemingly more ferocity then the last or their shifty post-moves – while on the court at the same time, they can pick up where the other leaves off.

“I feel like we’re kind of the same. If he’s doing work, I’m just going to let him do him,” White said. “And if he misses, I’m just going to go get the board. And like same with me. If I’m doing my work, then he’ll just stay down and if I miss, he’ll get the board.”

Next: ASU Men’s Basketball: Dominant second half propels Sun Devils

Their combination has only been on display for one game, but the two seemed to provide promise of a great frontcourt that has eluded Hurley so far in Tempe and light of an early spark on the Devils’ quest for the tournament.