The excitement returned to Wells Fargo Arena for the 2008-2009 season as both the women’s and men’s basketball teams had a successful regular season and made their ways into the NCAA tournament – the first time both teams made the tournament in the same season.

ASU coach Charli Turner-Thorne led the lady Sun Devils to the sweet 16 of the Women’s NCAA Tournament for the third time in five seasons. The season also brought Turner Thorne’s 250th win with the Sun Devils. The Devils are still alive and will battle Texas A&M for a spot in the regional finals.

Undoubtedly one of the integral components of ASU's success in recent years has been the play of senior guard Briann January. She earned honors as the Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year for the second straight year and was named first-team All-Pac-10.

One of the many local favorites on the team was sophomore forward Beca Tobin, who came to ASU from Glendale’s Cactus High. She was successful on 55 percent of her shot attempts (62-112) and connected on 62 percent (31-50) of her field goal attempts during ASU’s earlier 15-game winning streak.

Kate Engelbrecht came to ASU from Tucson and has made an impact for the team in the postseason. She has made 57 percent of her shots (12-21) in 10 career NCAA Tournament contests.

Center Sybil Dosty distinguished herself on and off the court. She was named the 2009 Toyo Tires Pac-10 Women's Basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year, and ranked sixth in the conference in rebounds, third in field goal percentage and started in all of ASU’s games.

Senior Lauren Lacey plays tough defense in the middle against the Wildcats. She has averaged 10.8 points and made 55 percent of her field goal attempts (17-31) in her four NCAA Tournament games as a Sun Devil.

Dymond Simon, another local player from Phoenix St. Mary’s, was ASU’s leading scorer before her season was cut short in March by a severe knee injury.

The continually improving play on the men's side drew a full student section with loud, enthusiastic fans. Sun Devils finished 25-10 and made the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2003.

Herb Sendek and his staff turned around the underachieving Sun Devils and brought them from an 8-win to the NCAAs in just two seasons. The team posted back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time since 1979-81 and the first back-to-back winning seasons since 1993-95. Sendek also earned his 300th career win during the season.

Sophomore guard James Harden rose to the occasion all season long, earning the Pac-10 Conference Player of the Year. He was named a first-team All-American by Sporting News, the USBWA, CBSSports.com and FOXSports.com and finished the year averaging 20.1 points per game.

Senior forward Jeff Pendergraph provided the team strong leadership and a consistent presence. Pendergraph led the nation in field goal percentage (66.0 percent) and was even better in Pac-10 play (67.3 percent).

Junior guard Derek Glasser had a strong season keeping the team running from the point guard spot. Glasser averaged 8.8 points on the year and played 98 games in his ASU career. He earned 2009 Pac-10 All-Tournament honors by averaging 13.7 points in the three games and 12 assists and just four turnovers while averaging 37.3 minutes per game.

Rihards Kuksiks from Latvia, better known for his three-point shooting can also defend with the best of them. On the offensive end, he was among the nation’s leaders in 3-point shooting percentage, hitting 93-of-210 for 44.3 percent.

Junior Ty Abbott finished the season strong, averaging 10.8 points per contest in his final six games. He was 24-of-39 (.615) from the field, 16-of-28 (.571) from the three-point stripe and had just five turnovers in that time. He posted 20 in the final game of the season against Syracuse in the NCAA Tournament.

Junior Eric Boateng, a McDonald’s All American and transfer from Duke, played a key role as a reserve for the Sun Devils. He will be a key component in replacing Pendergraph next season.

With the success of both squads, it was a great time to be a Sun Devil basketball fan. Go Devils!