In the final weeks of a turbulent season, Arizona State coach Herb Sendek is focused more on his team's own progress than preparing for its next opponent, with skill development earning significantly more of his focus than game-planning.

"For us, it's not about Washington or Washington State; it's about Arizona State," Sendek said. "It's always about us, and we're going to invest everything we have.

"Right now I think it's really good if we're out of balance. And what I mean by that is we need to be way out of balance in favor of fundamentals. Right now we have to be out of balance in favor of teaching. There's a profound difference between teaching and coaching."

This season hasn't gone the way anyone in the program would have hoped. Players have been ineligible, suspended, injured, dismissed -- you name it. The team hasn't won consecutive games all season, is 3-8 on the road and has consistently taken itself out of games with turnovers.

"In some instances we're making plays that we shouldn't make," Sendek said. "We're trying to thread the needle; we're trying to make too difficult a play."

Coaches have been dialed in on teaching players to make the easier play, as well as to play within their abilities. Sendek used Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow as an example for how he wants his team to play.

"(Tebow) didn't try to make a lot of plays that were outside of his box," he said. "In other words, he didn't try to play like Brett Favre. It's ok to not be able to do certain things as long as you know that and don't try to do them anyway. Sometimes your success is a function of the plays you don't make."

It's been a learning experience for a team without a senior on its roster. Players have had problems with the mental aspect of the game, an aspect that is often overlooked. A key example of this has been the struggle for players to translate great practices into great games. According to Sendek, the best way to fix this aspect is to come prepared everyday to improve on a consistent basis.

"The best way to be confident for the test is to prepare well, not to cram the night before," he said. "I think our psyche will continue to improve as our work ethic, and preparation and due diligence to get better each and every day continues."

Getting consistently better has been Sendek's gospel all season. In keeping with that, Sendek's more focused on improvement than on outcome down the stretch given the team's current standing.

"To teach the game, to learn the game, to get every bit of juice out of the peach that we can," Sendek said. "To enjoy the process, to be consumed in the process, to instinctively and desperately find every which way we can get better. To have fun in the process and give everything that we have."

And maybe to develop something else according to his top player.

"You can call it a killer instinct or handling adversity, whatever you want to call it, there's something that we need to find as a team and when we do I think we'll have a better season and different outcomes in a lot of games that we play," junior Trent Lockett said.

Lockett pleased with ankle

Lockett said he was reasonably pleased with how his ankle held up last week against Utah and Colorado, though it's still swollen and sore. This week, Lockett has participated in most of the half court segments of practice, however he isn't involved in full court drills quite yet.

Lockett said his ankle hindered his performance last week, especially when he tried to attack the hoop under duress.

"If I catch the ball late in the shot clock I have a hard time getting past people," he said. "Still got to learn how to play without a good first step and explosiveness because, at the end of the day, I'm not always going to have that, so it's a good learning process."

Sendek said he is unsure if Lockett will regain his normal explosiveness before the season's conclusion.