SAN DIEGO – With the 2022-23 men's basketball exhibition opener on Tuesday evening at 7 p.m. PT in Viejas Arena against San Diego Christian College, we asked Michael Klitzing to preview what Aztec fans can expect to see as No. 19/20 San Diego State embarks on a campaign for an unprecedented 15th Mountain West title.
Shooting for a Banner Season
SDSU has been an NCAA Tournament regular under head coach Brian Dutcher,
but an experienced roster has the Aztecs primed to take that elusive next step.
By Michael Klitzing
When you scan the ever-expanding row of banners that adorn the rafters on the west end of Viejas Arena, two catch the eye immediately. They commemorate the San Diego State men's basketball team's unforgettable Sweet 16 runs in 2011 and 2014. Even a fleeting glimpse will cause indelible images of Aztec legends like Kawhi Leonard, D.J. Gay, Xavier Thames and Skylar Spencer to flood the memories of longtime fans.
That's the lofty standard this SDSU team is hungry to match or even surpass in 2022-23 — a deep run in the NCAA Tournament; a lasting legacy that will cement their place in Montezuma Mesa lore.
"We want to not only make the NCAA tournament, but to advance in it — that's our goal," said Aztecs head coach Brian Dutcher, who enters his sixth season at the helm. "We've come to the point where we expect to go, and now we have to expect to win in it. That's easy to expect, but it's hard to do."
Dutcher is painfully familiar with the obstacles — both on and off the floor — that can dash big dreams.
All three teams he's taken to March Madness saw early exits with two coming in excruciating fashion. The 2018 squad fell to Houston on a dagger in the closing seconds. The 2022 team lost a 9-point lead with 2:30 to play against Creighton before succumbing in overtime. And that's not even accounting for his best club — a 30-2 squad bound for March glory that was grounded when the COVID-19 pandemic canceled the dance in 2020.
For preseason All-Mountain West honoree Matt Bradley — one of four Aztecs who opted to return using their extra pandemic year of eligibility — last year's bitter, fleeting taste of the Tournament helped fuel a desire to run it back.
"It slipped away from us," Bradley said. "This being my last year, I don't want that to happen again. If we get that opportunity again, we've got to seize it and go all the way. There's a chip on my shoulder to get back there. I definitely want to win some games in the tournament and leave a bigger stamp on this program."
The national media certainly aren't betting against another memorable run. When the Aztecs checked in at No. 19 in the Associated Press' preseason rankings, the fourth time in program history that's happened, and most recently at No. 20 in the USA Today Coaches Poll…no one batted an eye.
Everyone understands what the Aztecs have coming back.
SDSU returns a roster laden with talent and long on experience, led by top-scorer Bradley and reigning Mountain West Defensive Player of Year Nathan Mensah — both fifth year seniors with a combined 192 Division I starts under their belts. The Aztecs also return four other players who played significant roles for last year's squad that went 23-9 (13-4 in the Mountain West) and came within a hair of advancing to the second round of the tourney. Then there are the three transfers with lengthy Division I resumes and two highly-touted freshmen added to the mix.
"We're legitimately 12 deep, and people are asking me, can I play 10?" Dutcher said, flashing a grin. "Now I'm wondering how I'm going to play everybody, and the answer is I'm not going to play everybody. The hardest thing for me to do is going to be managing these expectations and get everybody pulling in the same direction for the Aztecs to win basketball games.
"I've said it before, this is a player's dilemma and a coach's delight."
SDSU's frontcourt, in particular, looks stacked — so much so that Dutcher doesn't hesitate to draw comparisons to the 2011 team that featured Leonard and dominant big men Billy White and Malcolm Thomas.
"That group really rebounded the ball," Dutcher said. "I think we got 39% of our misses at the offensive end. That's incredible. Now, can this team come close to that? I'll say that this team has the potential, with the size and athleticism that we have, to be a very good rebounding team."
That begins with Mensah, the conference's most decorated rim protector, who averaged 6.9 boards and a conference-best 2.2 blocks per game in 2022. The 6-foot-10 senior from Ghana enters his fifth year as starter, and his 171 career blocks rank him third in program history. Dutcher said he wouldn't be surprised to see an added offensive dimension to Mensah's game this season, as well.
"He's playing better than he's ever played in the program," Dutcher said. "Most of it is at the offensive end. He seems more comfortable. He's moving at a greater pace; he's reading other people's penetration and how he can get to the glass and he's rebounding better. That's what you'd expect from a fifth-year senior."
Mensah's strong post play will be complemented by a bevy of talented contributors at the stretch-four position, including one of the league's most highly anticipated newcomers, Jaedon LeDee. The 6-foot-9 senior, who previously played at Ohio State and TCU, started generating buzz last season despite redshirting, regularly balling out against the Aztecs' starters in practice.
Dutcher called LeDee a physically dominant presence with the ability to rebound at a high level and finish at the rim, but he also sees ample skill at the perimeter that might surprise people.
"He can really drive and pass the ball," Dutcher said. "He doesn't just drive to force stuff up there. He drives and he senses people in the paint."
Added Bradley: "He's the best-kept secret in America right now — he's a beast. He's a threat in many ways: offensively, rebounding, scoring, his intensity. And the biggest thing is that he's a great teammate. I think what (fans) are going to see is a guy who's been counted out these last couple of years. He's going to make a big, special moment for himself."
Aguek Arop, another fifth-year senior returnee, will vie for minutes at the position as well, though how many he garners will be determined by health. The 6-foot-7 forward has shown his toughness by playing through various ailments throughout his career and doing so with an intensity of effort that has made him a fan favorite.
Arop entered fall practice at a slimmed-down 220 pounds, which Dutcher hopes will take some strain off his limbs and joints. The coach calls Arop, who earned US citizenship over the summer, his Swiss army knife for his willingness to take a charge, go to the floor after a loose ball or do whatever unglamorous dirty work the moment calls for.
"He's just a winner," Dutcher said. "Whatever it takes to win, he's got that tool in the toolbox. AG is just invaluable to what we do. He might not be a guy who's out there for 40 minutes, but whatever time he's out there, it's going to make a difference in the game. He only knows one speed."
Senior forward Keshad Johnson started all 32 games at forward last year, scoring in double figures eight times during conference play and earning a reputation as one of the team's best all-around defenders. He figures to see increased time at the three with the arrival of LeDee, but Johnson's ability to guard anyone from a shooting guard to a center makes him a valuable, versatile piece. And Dutcher is expecting to see stride on the offensive end, as well.
"He's shooting the ball better," he said. "It rotates better out of his hand, and it looks better leaving his hand. He's also better at attacking off the dribble to the pull-up jump shot. Keshad has rounded his whole game out."
Perhaps the most intense position battle — and that's saying something on a team that can run 12 deep — is being waged at point guard, where incumbent Lamont Butler is being pushed by Seattle University transfer Darrion Trammell.
"Darrion and Lamont are both good point guards and they could be playing out there together," Dutcher said. "You can't have enough playmakers out there."
Last year, Butler appeared to be on his way to a breakout sophomore season, when a broken wrist suffered in late November against Long Beach State cost him more than a month of action. The native of Moreno Valley, Calif., never really found his offensive rhythm after that. But a return to full health as a junior could portend big things for Butler.
"He's in his third year, he's shooting the ball better than he's ever shot it, and he's making better decisions as a point guard." Dutcher said. "That all just comes with growth and development. There's no better teacher than experience."
The 5-foot-10 Trammell, meanwhile, was one of the most dynamic scorers in the Western Athletic Conference for the past two seasons, averaging 18.7 points per game for his career. He can also guard, as his 2.5 steals per game last year were fifth in all of Division I.
"He's really efficient at screen and roll and, losing Trey Pulliam, we felt like that was something that we needed to address," Dutcher said. "We needed to add another point guard to the program to go along with Lamont that would make us dangerous on the offensive end."
Any discussion of how dangerous the Aztecs can be offensively must start with Bradley, the team's undisputed catalyst. He's scored 1,831 points in his four years of college ball — three at California and one at SDSU — and seems a safe bet to crack the 1,000-point mark as an Aztec. But one of his best attributes is his unselfishness and ability to find open teammates for 3-pointers and easy baskets. His 2.7 assists per game last year were second only to Pulliam.
"He led us in scoring and was second in assists, second in rebounding. If he puts those kinds of numbers up again, we're going to have a great year…and I think he will," Dutcher said. "Matt's a good playmaker and he's getting better defensively. He's a great one-on-one defender and now he's improved his ball screen defense."
Bradley, for his part, raved about a running mate at the shooting guard position — Oakland University transfer Micah Parrish.
"He's the person I compete with in practice and he's someone that guards me really well," Bradley said. "He can score, he's a high-level shooter, long, athletic — he has a lot of great qualities. We call him the silent sniper because he can just make shots and he doesn't talk."
A two-year starter in the Horizon League for Oakland, Parrish averaged 12.1 points and 6.0 rebounds per game for a 20-win Golden Grizzlies team. Dutcher added that he was most intrigued by Parrish's versatility and 3-point shooting acumen: the Detroit product buried 47-of-133 attempts last season.
The backcourt is also home to the most experienced Aztec, versatile guard Adam Seiko who enters his sixth season in the program. He was a redshirt during Dutcher's first year as head coach and has played in 117 games over the past four seasons. Seiko gives the Aztec an elite defender and a 40 percent 3-point shooter who can provide valuable minutes off the bench.
"Adam knows how to play, and that's why he's a step ahead of a lot of guys," Dutcher said. "He knows how to play slower and get the same amount of stuff done than a guy who plays 100 miles per hour."
Three youngsters will have the opportunity to work their way into the mix, though the sheer number of experienced players ahead of them will make that a challenge.
Demarshay Johnson Jr., a 6-foot-10, 235-pound redshirt freshman, will provide depth in the paint. The Oakland, Calif., native appears to be ahead of schedule in his development according to Dutcher, who called Johnson his biggest surprise of the fall.
Then there are highly-touted true freshmen in powerfully-built forward Elijah Saunders and lanky guard Miles Byrd, both four-star recruits and McDonald's All-American nominees. Of the two, Saunders appears to have the best inside track at playing immediately because of his 6-foot-8, 240-pound frame.
"They're both good enough to play, but they're going against fifth-year seniors," Dutcher cautioned.
However the division of minutes ultimately shakes out, the Aztecs will face a challenging schedule right from the jump. SDSU hosts Brigham Young on Nov. 11, travels to Stanford on Nov. 15, then heads across the Pacific for the Maui Invitational on Nov. 21-22. Awaiting them in paradise will be Ohio State, followed by either Cincinnati or Arizona.
The early tests will prepare SDSU well for a conference race that will once again see a loaded Wyoming squad and reigning Mountain West champion Boise State as top rivals.
"We're going to get punched in the nose in November and then you'll see what kind of team we have," Dutcher said. "We've done things more urgently early this year because of it, playing at a game pace to be ready. Some teams may have a softer non-conference schedule and can really ease themselves in before conference. We have to hit the ground with both feet running, and we have to find a way to win some of these games."
Added Bradley: "The biggest thing for us is not to think that we're an underdog. These are some major schools (in Maui), but we can compete among the best of them. We're a high-level program. We need to go in there thinking we need to win the whole thing. That's the mindset we're shifting to."
If the 2022-23 addition of the Aztecs do make that shift in mindset and then make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament, they very well may cement their place in Montezuma Mesa lore.
No. 19 Aztec Host San Diego Christian in Tuesday Exhibition
