ASU Basketball: Who will emerge as the team’s leaders?

De’Quon Lake

With how little De’Quon Lake speaks, it’s easy to forget that he’ll be the lone senior on next year’s roster.

The former Iowa Western Community College transfer had an efficient season in his first year as a Sun Devil, shooting a staggering 71 percent from the field while blocking 1.3 shots per game.

Lake showed a proficiency to fit in with several lineups last season, most notably his front-court pairing with freshman Romello White. In cases where he was a true five-man, Lake was the perfect big to receive dump passes from the three senior guards for inside finishes.

Barring a huge shift of personality, it’s unlikely that Lake will speak at a higher rate than he did last season. But with the arrivals of Plavsic, Cherry, Dort and Elias Valtonen, expect Lake’s experience to only help the arriving freshmen.

However, with these additions, it’s unknown how often Lake could be on the floor. There’s a ton of frontcourt talent that Hurley could be looking to use in multiple lineups

But if Lake works on his post game and moves his way into the starting lineup, it could be one of the most beneficial ways to upgrade the team’s need for rim protection.

Taeshon Cherry

Why not stick a freshman on this list?

Cherry is by far the most exciting prospect to commit to ASU since James Harden. The five-star forward excelled in his senior season at Foothills Christian High School (the same school as former UCLA forward T.J. Leaf), averaging 22.2 points, 11.6 rebounds, 2.8 blocks and 1.8 steals per game for a team that went 26-7 on the year.

Despite the excitement behind Cherry’s commitment, controversy rose shortly after his Jan. 16 pledge. Cherry posted a tweet that announced his final game of high school basketball, citing family threats behind his reasoning.

However, there may have been more to the story. On March 1, The San Diego Union Tribune reported that Cherry had been expelled from Foothills Christian. The school’s Athletic Director Tim Griggs read the following statement before one of the team’s postseason games:

"“Taeshon had serious violations of the team and school behavior policies and was expelled.”"

The crisis was later avoided, as Cherry completed his high school course work and officially signed with the team on April 14.

Without a doubt, behavior concerns could create skepticism for Cherry during his first year with the team. Thankfully, he seems focused and committed to his college career, a step that could allow him to branch his talents and fulfill his recruiting hype.

Cherry will be in line to learn as a freshman, but like Martin showed last year, it’s never too early to make your presence felt with the upperclassmen.

If Cherry can show some of the same traits his new teammate did last season, he’ll be on his way to becoming the outright leader in future seasons.