Sept. 23, 2008
SAN DIEGO - San Diego State men's basketball forward Tim Shelton has been granted a medical hardship waiver by the NCAA and will be a freshman for the 2008-09 season. With the decision, Shelton will now have four years remaining to complete four seasons of eligibility and immediately becomes the favorite to win freshman of the year honors in the Mountain West Conference.
The Fresno, Calif., native played in four games as a freshman last season and made three starts, helping the Aztecs to victories in all four games. Shelton underwent knee surgery on Nov. 20 and was declared out for the season by head coach Steve Fisher prior to SDSU's game at Loyola Marymount on Nov. 28.
Shelton was one of four Aztecs to average in double figures by averaging 10.0 points, while shooting 55.2 percent from the field and 77.8 percent from the free-throw line. Shelton also averaged 4.8 rebounds and 1.3 steals per contest.
Shelton's injury led to Billy White being inserted into the starting lineup where he made 28 starts and averaged 8.5 points, 5.9 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 1.4 steals and shot 61.5 percent from the field. At season's end, the Las Vegas, Nev., product was named the MWC freshman of the year and earned a spot on the all-conference third team.
This season San Diego State is expected to return all five starters and its top seven scorers from a year ago, including all-conference performers Lorrenzo Wade (first team), Ryan Amoroso (third team) and White. When returning at least four starters off of a team he coached the season before, Fisher-led clubs have advanced to the postseason and won at least 21 games the previous eight times.
SDSU will make its first appearance of the season in an exhibition game against Point Loma Nazarene on Tuesday, Nov. 11, at 7 p.m. PT and will get its regular season underway on Saturday, Nov. 15, vs. UC San Diego at 1 p.m. PT. Both games will be held at Cox Arena.
Season tickets for the 2008-09 men's basketball season start as low as $99 for limited chair-back reserve seats. Tickets can be purchased by calling the Aztec Ticket Office at (619) 283-SDSU (7378) or by visiting Window E at Qualcomm Stadium. For more information on all season tickets, contact the Aztec Ticket Office.