Oct. 8, 2015
SAN DIEGO -
SDSU Men's Basketball Preseason Accolades
Lindy's Sports College Basketball Magazine has San Diego State advancing to the 2016 NCAA Tournament, which would extend its school-record streak to seven consecutive years. The Aztecs also picked up a number of other accolades from the magazine.
Senior Winston Shepard, who is on the cover of the publication, was tabbed as the eighth-best small forward in the nation and the Mountain West preseason player of the year. SDSU's returning leader in scoring, rebounding and assists also landed on the MW preseason first team.
Senior Skylar Spencer, the reigning Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year, was named the league's top defender and earned a spot on the preseason third team, while sophomore Malik Pope was listed as the MW's top NBA prospect.
True freshman Jeremy Hemsley, meanwhile, was considered the one player in the conference that "will take you by surprise," just months after being named the Los Angeles Times Player of the Year. The 6-3 guard, who is regarded as Lindy's Sports' 34th-best player in the class of 2015, was also named the Aztecs' top newcomer by the publication.
As a team, Lindy's has San Diego State finishing in second place in the Mountain West in 2015-16. The magazine also has the two-time defending regular-season champions at No. 40 in its top-40 rankings.
The back-to-back Mountain West regular-season champions, who return three starters, will enter the upcoming campaign fresh off their sixth straight NCAA tournament berth. SDSU is one of eight schools nationally to have reached the NCAAs six years in a row and one of nine programs in America to reach the Round of 32 three straight seasons. Overall, San Diego State finished 2014-15 with a 27-9 record (14-4 Mountain West), its 10th consecutive 20-win campaign and seventh straight with at least 23 victories.