Back to the Arizona State Sun Devils Newsfeed

ASU’s 50 Best Professional Athletes No. 4: Basketball’s James Harden

This NBA All-Star needs no further introduction other than: The Beard.

Before he was racking up points and drawing fouls on any NBA player who dared to reach for the ball, James Harden led Arizona State to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, the furthest any Sun Devil team had gone in the Big Dance since 2003.

After averaging 20.1 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 4.2 assists as a sophomore, Harden was named the Pac-10 Player of the Year and a consensus All-American. Following the loss to Syracuse in the second round of the Tournament, Harden declared for the 2009 NBA Draft.