Arizona State fires Herb Sendek

ByJEFF GOODMAN
March 24, 2015, 1:21 PM

— -- Arizona State has fired coach Herb Sendek after nine seasons.

Sendek had a short meeting with Arizona State athletic director Ray Anderson on Tuesday morning before the decision was made.

"I have informed Herb Sendek that he will not be retained as the head men's basketball coach at Arizona State University," Anderson said in a statement released by the school. "This has not been an easy decision for me. Herb has been a tremendous asset to this university and a pillar of our community, and his tenure over the past nine years has helped shift the direction of this program."

Arizona State already has contacted Duke assistant Jeff Capel about the coaching vacancy, sources told ESPN.

"They have interest," a source said. "They've told [Capel] it's his if he wants it."

Capel was the head coach at VCU and Oklahoma before returning to Duke, where he played in the early 1990s, as an assistant in 2006.

Sendek, 51, came to Tempe in 2006 after spending a decade at North Carolina State, where he guided the Wolfpack to the NCAA tournament in each of his final five seasons. He led Arizona State to a pair of NCAA tournament appearances -- in 2009 with James Harden and in 2014. He also took the Sun Devils to the NIT four times.

Arizona State finished 18-16 overall this past season and 9-9 in the Pac-12, beating UConn in the first round of the NIT before falling to Richmond.

Sendek received a one-year extension after last season through 2017.

Sendek went 159-137 at Arizona State with two NCAA tournament appearances. Before NC State, he coached at Miami (Ohio).

ESPN.com's Andy Katz and Myron Medcalf and The Associated Press contributed to this report.