James Harden Proves He's Not NBA-Ready in Sun Devils' Elimination

One week ago, I began writing an article that I never finished. I was going to craft a piece about the Arizona State Sun Devils' first ever Pac-10 Tournament title and how James Harden appeared calm, poised under pressure, mature, and ready to make his move to the NBA.

Then, in the waning moments of the Devils’ 66-63 loss to USC this past weekend, my faith in Harden's ability to play at the next level started to waiver.

Aside from his low-scoring total (just 10 points), Harden looked cool and collected. At the time, I remember admiring his maturity, but now, I fear this perceived strength might, in fact, be a weakness. It might be a lack of urgency.

Harden tends to let the game come to him, opting to get his teammates involved before himself. The problem is, as shown in the USC loss, he is often too passive for too long and is therefore unable to turn it in crunch time.

Harden missed a three-point shot with 6:38 remaining in the game. His next shot attempt came in the form of a free-throw over five minutes later. He made his first and missed his second.

After a three-pointer from Dwight Lewis pulled USC within one point, with just over a minute to play, Harden turned the ball over on the next possession.

James had the opportunity to redeem himself twice after the Trojans took the lead, but he had his layup blocked and missed a three-pointer that would’ve given ASU the win.

I stopped writing my article praising the young man. Now was not the time to celebrate Harden.

Harden had possibly his worst game of the year in Friday’s victory over Temple, scoring just nine points on 1-of-8 shooting from the field. He was lucky that his team was bailed out by 22-point performances from both Jeff Pendergraph and Derek Glasser.

The nightmare continued on Sunday, as he shot just 2-of-10 from the field and scored a measly 10 points in the Devils’ 78-67 eliminating loss to Syracuse.

Perhaps most frustrating was the complacency displayed by the squad in maroon and gold. They helplessly passed the ball around the perimeter, while wasting precious clock time. Even the broadcasters commented on ASU’s noncommittal attitude, saying the team was playing like had several minutes left to go in the game.

The Devils were shut down by the zone defense of the Orange and were unable to penetrate the into the lane, settling instead for 30-foot three-pointers.

It was, to say the least, an inopportune time for the Devils' leader to go missing. Especially when they needed his point production so badly.

A clearly shocked Harden was immediately questioned about his next career move after the game, and said "I haven’t thought about it, but why wouldn’t I come back?

We have something here at Arizona State that’s great. We have great culture, great players. Obviously, we lose a key point with Jeff (Pendergraph) leaving, but there’s some great pieces here."

Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim chimed in as well with some brutally honest comments, when asked about Harden’s performance in the tournament. He said Harden "did nothing" and was "really passive" in the Devils’ first-round victory over Temple.

Boeheim went on to say "...and (today), when he was on the perimeter, we weren’t concerned. If anything, we were going to let him shoot the three over the other three guys."

Harden cannot afford to be passive in the NBA. At 6'5", he’s not a particularly tall player, good outside shooter, or skilled ball handler. To be successful in the pros, Harden has to be aggressive and drive to the rim with reckless abandonment in order to draw fouls or hand the ball off to a cutting teammate.

If Harden opts to enter the NBA Draft this year, he likely would still be a lottery pick. At one point, he was considered a top-five prospect but has seen his value decline significantly over the past week. If Harden opts to stay for his senior year, he could increase both his value and the minutes he is likely to see in his rookie season.

If there’s one thing you can say about Harden, it’s that he’s smart.

Let’s just hope he’s smart enough to stay in Tempe for one more year.