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Post by missiontrails on Jun 17, 2024 10:38:44 GMT -8
I had similar thoughts, and I really considered dropping my tickets after decades. I blame Tex for keeping me in the fight and renewing. I will say this, I talked to Dutch a bit a couple weeks back at the SDSU tournament. Only for a brief moment, but he looked right at me and said we have some players, and the new guys are really good. I didn't get the sense it was Coach talk or being positive. I got the sense he was genuinely excited about this team and what they are capable of. He said we will surprise some people this year. I actually walked away thinking we may have an opportunity to be really good again if the team is healthy. I had this same doubtful feeling last year and we had a Sweet 16 run! I would take a repeat of last year with a Sweet 16 appearance. Also, last year we had a "5" playing out of position taking the college basketball by storm and a 7' pogo stick weight 120 lbs. I just feel like this coaching staff can figure out how to be successful. They figure out how to put players in positions to be successful. Last year, we couldn't rebound, shoot 3's, bring the ball up court under pressure at times, players out of position, etc. Yet, we still had one of the most dominant basketball players in all of the NCAA and made it to the Sweet 16. I considered that a down year after our play in the MGC! I feel like offense will be better this year. Honestly, I am actually looking forward to this season. I am not as excited about a March Madness run as much as I am in seeing how this team comes together and how far they can get. Thanks for sharing your encounter with Dutch - sounds promising. I'm trying to figure out what "SDSU tournament" you're referring to from a couple weeks back??? The MW baseball tournament? |
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Post by aztecm on Jun 17, 2024 11:23:20 GMT -8
In my view this will be our weakest team on paper since 2019. Although we have a couple of unknowns (Gwath in particular) that could elevate the team beyond that trajectory. I think it's entirely possible that the combo of Nick Boyd & Wayne McKinney3 could be better than Butler & Trammell (esp. their 2023-2024 season performances). Rounding out the perimeter rotation... we'll have Waters with one more season and hopefully we see more of him from the first ~third of last season, and for me Byrd > Parrish, and Davis as a backup with another year of experience. Degourville could see some backup minutes like Davis, and Compton & Gwath are BIG upside talents but make for a couple very young PFs unless we get an experienced transfer, which is the main TBD. Heide with another year of experience and JCJ down low... obviously there's no replacing LeDee's presence but JCJ has good size and a very intriguing offensive skillset. Honestly, even without an experienced transfer PF there's an argument to be made that *if everyone comes together as a team* this could be an even better squad than last season -- esp. being far more balanced on offense vs. relying so much on a single scorer. At the very least I think we can expect more consistent scoring from Mckinney/Boyd than the prior guard duo. Reese was one of the most efficient shooting guards in the nation pre-injury, he's my candidate for making a big Aztec second year leap like Ledee/Flynn as long as he's healthy for a full season. Byrd has all the attributes to impact a game every which way if he can stay healthy and focused. You're relying heavily on young big guys developing quickly... hoping Heide's mins he got last season translates and Magoon can find in-game rhythm quickly. I'd like if there was a veteran PF to help bridge Magoon/Compton mins especially early in the season, but to your point if the young guys can get up to speed quick it's a more balanced and traditional team then one all american guy with guys trying to step up around him. |
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Post by jdaztec on Jun 17, 2024 12:09:22 GMT -8
Totally agree. I think we will be very good by years end. The challenge will be winning early in the year with a young team. We may not get enough signature wins early and may need to win the conference tournament next year to get in March Madness then do our damage.
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Post by docmm on Jun 17, 2024 12:31:16 GMT -8
I'd like to believe we have the NIL$ and the time still to get an experienced 4 who has an upside. That would help considerably, especially if it's just a one-year rental.
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Post by aztecsiggy on Jun 17, 2024 12:46:37 GMT -8
IMO the biggest gains will be in the offensive production from Byrd and Waters. The Aztecs have plenty of experience and returning talent on the defensive side. The defense will continue to be rock solid and continue to be their calling card.
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Post by PAC12 Aztec on Jun 17, 2024 13:43:29 GMT -8
In my view this will be our weakest team on paper since 2019. Although we have a couple of unknowns (Gwath in particular) that could elevate the team beyond that trajectory. Keep in mind that the new coach (Badrtalei) will either tweak or radically change our offense. So it may not make any difference whether a player is a frosh or a returnee, if they have to learn a new system. Who knows, some may flourish or some may spend time on the bench. I think the talent is there to make it work. Possible, but I think defense is still the key to get on the floor. It may impact minutes, but I think the best defenders are getting the most court time. Hopefully, we just see the offense make small improvements. We don't even need to improve that much. We just need to hit some damn open jumpers and stop the 4-6 minute droughts. We minimize those two things and the new hire is a huge success. |
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Post by PAC12 Aztec on Jun 17, 2024 13:45:04 GMT -8
I had similar thoughts, and I really considered dropping my tickets after decades. I blame Tex for keeping me in the fight and renewing. I will say this, I talked to Dutch a bit a couple weeks back at the SDSU tournament. Only for a brief moment, but he looked right at me and said we have some players, and the new guys are really good. I didn't get the sense it was Coach talk or being positive. I got the sense he was genuinely excited about this team and what they are capable of. He said we will surprise some people this year. I actually walked away thinking we may have an opportunity to be really good again if the team is healthy. I had this same doubtful feeling last year and we had a Sweet 16 run! I would take a repeat of last year with a Sweet 16 appearance. Also, last year we had a "5" playing out of position taking the college basketball by storm and a 7' pogo stick weight 120 lbs. I just feel like this coaching staff can figure out how to be successful. They figure out how to put players in positions to be successful. Last year, we couldn't rebound, shoot 3's, bring the ball up court under pressure at times, players out of position, etc. Yet, we still had one of the most dominant basketball players in all of the NCAA and made it to the Sweet 16. I considered that a down year after our play in the MGC! I feel like offense will be better this year. Honestly, I am actually looking forward to this season. I am not as excited about a March Madness run as much as I am in seeing how this team comes together and how far they can get. Thanks for sharing your encounter with Dutch - sounds promising. I'm trying to figure out what "SDSU tournament" you're referring to from a couple weeks back??? The MW baseball tournament? Good question. SDSU hosted the high school team basketball tournament a couple weeks back. It was same time as the SDSU passing tournament. Coach was there watching the teams and interacting with annoying fans like me. |
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Post by missiontrails on Jun 17, 2024 14:49:06 GMT -8
Thanks for sharing your encounter with Dutch - sounds promising. I'm trying to figure out what "SDSU tournament" you're referring to from a couple weeks back??? The MW baseball tournament? Good question. SDSU hosted the high school team basketball tournament a couple weeks back. It was same time as the SDSU passing tournament. Coach was there watching the teams and interacting with annoying fans like me. Ah, got it - thanks. |
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Post by standiego on Jun 17, 2024 15:40:33 GMT -8
IMO some of the best transfers into the program have come from P6 schools - Ledee - Flynn - X - Josh Davis - Yanni - Matt B and with the NIL situations SDSU has not been able to get them any more - will Waters be able to reach that level who knows ? the team lost key starters to graduation and also expected starters to NIL / P6 teams so this season is a reload or retool of the team .
How good will the returning players be ? transfers are all from non P6 schools - how much of a learning curve will there be ?
A major Q might also be how good will the Freshmen be ? Believe SDSU is supposed to have with the red shirt freshman one of the best classes in the MW
One of the problems with the offense last season was the inability to hit open threes - as most opponents left the guys open so they could double or triple on Ledee
Is the new coach a guru on offense or have some tips for some guys to hit threes or play better team basketball we shall see
translation numerous unknowns
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Post by aztecanthony on Jun 17, 2024 16:36:22 GMT -8
IMO some of the best transfers into the program have come from P6 schools - Ledee - Flynn - X - Josh Davis - Yanni - Matt B and with the NIL situations SDSU has not been able to get them any more - will Waters be able to reach that level who knows ? the team lost key starters to graduation and also expected starters to NIL / P6 teams so this season is a reload or retool of the team . How good will the returning players be ? transfers are all from non P6 schools - how much of a learning curve will there be ? A major Q might also be how good will the Freshmen be ? Believe SDSU is supposed to have with the red shirt freshman one of the best classes in the MW One of the problems with the offense last season was the inability to hit open threes - as most opponents left the guys open so they could double or triple on Ledee Is the new coach a guru on offense or have some tips for some guys to hit threes or play better team basketball we shall see translation numerous unknowns I see things a little differently, I expect next year’s team to be improved over last year. I like the new players coming in better than the players that left cumulatively. The obvious big loss is Ladee, that said last years team relied much to heavily on one player making us easier to defend and way too 1 dimentional. Boyd will be a better overall guard, player than Butler, McKinney will be much better than expected, Byrd will take a big step up, Waters will be healthy and will provide a lot of outside shooting. Jones will anchor the middle and Compton will be freshman of the year in the MW. Magoon will also surprise with needed rim protection, rebounding, defense and outside stroke. I believe that this combination of players will replace the Ladee loss making us much harder to defend. I expect DeGourville (not sure of spelling) to also get good minutes for a freshman. Lastly, nothing personal but I think the Aztec system, defense, winning program does sque a players value in the eyes of other programs, they were simply pieces of a puzzle that Dutcher masterly combines together to weave a winning program. I’m excited about next year and not concerned about the unknowns. |
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Post by aztecanthony on Jun 17, 2024 16:39:37 GMT -8
IMO some of the best transfers into the program have come from P6 schools - Ledee - Flynn - X - Josh Davis - Yanni - Matt B and with the NIL situations SDSU has not been able to get them any more - will Waters be able to reach that level who knows ? the team lost key starters to graduation and also expected starters to NIL / P6 teams so this season is a reload or retool of the team . How good will the returning players be ? transfers are all from non P6 schools - how much of a learning curve will there be ? A major Q might also be how good will the Freshmen be ? Believe SDSU is supposed to have with the red shirt freshman one of the best classes in the MW One of the problems with the offense last season was the inability to hit open threes - as most opponents left the guys open so they could double or triple on Ledee Is the new coach a guru on offense or have some tips for some guys to hit threes or play better team basketball we shall see translation numerous unknowns I see things a little differently, I expect next year’s team to be improved over last year. I like the new players coming in better than the players that left cumulatively. The obvious big loss is Ladee, that said last years team relied much to heavily on one player making us easier to defend and way too 1 dimentional. Boyd will be a better overall guard, player than Butler, McKinney will be much better than expected, Byrd will take a big step up, Waters will be healthy and will provide a lot of outside shooting. Jones will anchor the middle and Compton will be freshman of the year in the MW. Magoon will also surprise with needed rim protection, rebounding, defense and outside stroke. I believe that this combination of players will replace the Ladee loss making us much harder to defend. I expect DeGourville (not sure of spelling) to also get good minutes for a freshman. Lastly, nothing personal but I think the Aztec system, defense, winning program does sque a players value in the eyes of other programs, they were simply pieces of a puzzle that Dutcher masterly combines together to weave a winning program. I’m excited about next year and not concerned about the unknowns. Forgot to mention, I think Dutcher should be coach of the year every year for what he’s able to do with the talent available, lack of NIL money, etc. I was against the coach in waiting philosophy and happy to eat crow on this one! |
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Post by aztecmusician on Jun 17, 2024 17:26:20 GMT -8
The Aztecs are going to kick@$$ next season. Run the offense through Byrd and play Aztec defense. At least 25 wins with a NCAA bid.
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Post by heuschele on Jun 17, 2024 20:38:46 GMT -8
I dunno, I don’t feel all that excited about the prospects of the ‘24/‘25 Aztecs’ men’s basketball team. For the last few (or several) years, over the course of the months prior to the season beginning, I usually feel a degree of excitement about the season coming up. I usually have confidence — before even seeing the next iteration of the team play their first game — that they will make the NCAA tournament. The Aztecs this next season are going to be a relatively young team and we did not kill it in the portal. I think this could be more of rebuilding season than any other in recent history. Are others feeling the same? I had the same high expectations for last season but the season did not play out like I thought. I thought our guard play would lead us to S16. Butler struggled on offense, especially early in the season. Trammel never performed up to what I had hoped. Waters lost his mojo. Ledee came from no where to be perhaps the best power forward in the country. The defense was Aztec defense. My point is while the result matched my hopes, it was not as I envisioned. The X team was similar. I never saw X having that year. Davis was also better than I expected. The Flynn team similar. Flynn, Wetzel, kj were each better than I expected. The only Aztec great team that did not really have a big surprise for me was the Kawhi team. I expected a great team. I expected great play from multiple players that lived up to my hopes. I have guarded hopes for this team. I think Dutch is an incredible coach. I think the guards can overall match last year and be better offensively. My issue is someone is going to have to surprise me to make up for the loss of production from ledee. It has happen enough times in the past that I almost expect it (because Dutch I trust). Go Aztecs |
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Post by AzTex on Jun 17, 2024 21:14:06 GMT -8
I see things a little differently, I expect next year’s team to be improved over last year. I like the new players coming in better than the players that left cumulatively. The obvious big loss is Ladee, that said last years team relied much to heavily on one player making us easier to defend and way too 1 dimentional. Boyd will be a better overall guard, player than Butler, McKinney will be much better than expected, Byrd will take a big step up, Waters will be healthy and will provide a lot of outside shooting. Jones will anchor the middle and Compton will be freshman of the year in the MW. Magoon will also surprise with needed rim protection, rebounding, defense and outside stroke. I believe that this combination of players will replace the Ladee loss making us much harder to defend. I expect DeGourville (not sure of spelling) to also get good minutes for a freshman. Lastly, nothing personal but I think the Aztec system, defense, winning program does sque a players value in the eyes of other programs, they were simply pieces of a puzzle that Dutcher masterly combines together to weave a winning program. I’m excited about next year and not concerned about the unknowns. Forgot to mention, I think Dutcher should be coach of the year every year for what he’s able to do with the talent available, lack of NIL money, etc. I was against the coach in waiting philosophy and happy to eat crow on this one! I complement you on owning up to that. Not everyone is willing to admit their mistakes. |
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Post by sdsustoner on Jun 18, 2024 4:03:00 GMT -8
Y'all undervaluing Heide
The dude had the 2nd best rebounding rate on the team last year.
An off-season of building strength should help tremendously. If he gets starter minutes, he could average 10 boards a game while he scores mainly on put backs from offensive rebounding and defensive break downs.
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Post by docmm on Jun 18, 2024 4:47:35 GMT -8
I dunno, I don’t feel all that excited about the prospects of the ‘24/‘25 Aztecs’ men’s basketball team. For the last few (or several) years, over the course of the months prior to the season beginning, I usually feel a degree of excitement about the season coming up. I usually have confidence — before even seeing the next iteration of the team play their first game — that they will make the NCAA tournament. The Aztecs this next season are going to be a relatively young team and we did not kill it in the portal. I think this could be more of rebuilding season than any other in recent history. Are others feeling the same? I had the same high expectations for last season but the season did not play out like I thought. I thought our guard play would lead us to S16. Butler struggled on offense, especially early in the season. Trammel never performed up to what I had hoped. Waters lost his mojo. Ledee came from no where to be perhaps the best power forward in the country. The defense was Aztec defense. My point is while the result matched my hopes, it was not as I envisioned. The X team was similar. I never saw X having that year. Davis was also better than I expected. The Flynn team similar. Flynn, Wetzel, kj were each better than I expected. The only Aztec great team that did not really have a big surprise for me was the Kawhi team. I expected a great team. I expected great play from multiple players that lived up to my hopes. I have guarded hopes for this team. I think Dutch is an incredible coach. I think the guards can overall match last year and be better offensively. My issue is someone is going to have to surprise me to make up for the loss of production from ledee. It has happen enough times in the past that I almost expect it (because Dutch I trust). Go Aztecs Thanks for so accurately articulating what so many of us probably felt about those teams ahead of their seasons. I know highlight videos don't always reflect how good someone is or isn't but J-C-J looked awfully good in his. His moves on offense were smooth and quick, especially around the basket. I know his level of competition wasn't that great but I fully expect him to take up some of LeDee's points. |
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Post by I Enjoy Aztecs Basketball on Jun 18, 2024 5:44:19 GMT -8
My prediction would be that we're a much better conference team and the primary variables are how quickly things come together, how strong our conference is this year (to boost our rankings) and how well our big dance matchups align.
LeDee was obviously a monster all season but in conference, on the road, teams were allowed to foul the crap out of him with impunity. It's going to be more difficult to do that with a (hopefully) more spaced team. Confidence is a hell of a drug, and there's going to be at least one player who feels like he can be the leader and take off.
But most importantly, a ton of flaws are covered up when you're a top 30 defensive team and I don't see why we can't be that.
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Post by docmm on Jun 18, 2024 6:51:26 GMT -8
I think a lot will depend on just how much J-C-J really wants to improve his defense. He has said all the right things about why he wants to come here but when he sees how that will affect his offensive output, we'll see if he really means it. Gwath and Byrd can be deadly defensive guys in the front and back.McKinney is supposed to be good defensively although, I'm really tired watching small (6') guards get taken to the glass by bigger, stronger ones. I haven't seen a lot of 24-25 rosters yet but there should be a lot of big backcourts in our OOC schedule. But if we get concerted efforts from everyone else, we should be at least a Top 50 defense.
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Post by sdsuball on Jun 18, 2024 7:48:39 GMT -8
My prediction would be that we're a much better conference team and the primary variables are how quickly things come together, how strong our conference is this year (to boost our rankings) and how well our big dance matchups align. LeDee was obviously a monster all season but in conference, on the road, teams were allowed to foul the crap out of him with impunity. It's going to be more difficult to do that with a (hopefully) more spaced team. Confidence is a hell of a drug, and there's going to be at least one player who feels like he can be the leader and take off. But most importantly, a ton of flaws are covered up when you're a top 30 defensive team and I don't see why we can't be that. It was criminal how many times he got hacked without a call on the road. |
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Post by azdick on Jun 18, 2024 8:36:10 GMT -8
Y'all undervaluing Heide The dude had the 2nd best rebounding rate on the team last year. An off-season of building strength should help tremendously. If he gets starter minutes, he could average 10 boards a game while he scores mainly on put backs from offensive rebounding and defensive break downs. Heide Heide Heide High… |
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