Hello!! Welcome back to our 82 in 72 countdown on The Center Hub! If you are following along with our rankings countdown, we just wrapped up diving into #80 Missouri thanks to Cody and now venture our way out West for our next team up…to a staple in the college basketball world…The Aztecs of San Diego State come into our collective rankings at #79.

I am much higher on the Aztecs’ outlook compared to my colleagues, which makes me inclined to sell you on them. The biggest concern with the Aztecs this season is the changing of the guard…the core of Jaedon LeDee, Lamont Butler, Darrion Trammell and Micah Parrish are now gone, that is 64% of your scoring and 72% of your assists from last season, not to mention the foundational pieces of the defensive scheme. Thankfully for the Aztecs, one of the top all-around college basketball coaches(and winner of seven tournament games in the previous two seasons) resides in San Diego and that is Brian Dutcher.

In the last four seasons under Dutcher, the Aztecs have been top fifty in opponent field goal percentage each season and were top twenty in three of those four seasons. The Steve Fisher-Brian Dutcher man-help scheme is alive and well and could potentially flourish once again with the pieces that Dutcher has at his disposal this season, my favorite being returning senior Reese Waters. Waters made the most free throws in the country last season before missing an attempt and is expected to put up career highs this season in all shot-type attempts(he set career highs in all categories last season as a junior). Waters also brings a defensive prowess that fits perfectly in Dutcher’s scheme, fellow returner Miles Byrd does as well. Byrd redshirted in 2022-2023 and came into last season a bit slow early on, only to find his stride come January for the Aztecs. Byrd only played single digit minutes in two contests last season once the calendar year turned and per Barttorvik, Bydd ranked (for players playing at least 30% of minutes) in the top 100 last season in stl% and top 250 in block% in the entire country. Byrd struggled shooting from the floor last season(38%fg, 31%3fg) but his numbers from the line (22-26, 84.6%) suggest a shooting spike will come, and as Byrd finds more minutes he will continue to find his flow within the game offensively, which was a personal criticism of Byrd last season. 

I would contend that the Aztecs have one of the most underrated transfers as well as one of the best kept secrets in college basketball, those players being Jared Coleman-Jones and Magoon Gwath. 

Coleman-Jones came onto my radar last season when he became a force in C-USA, finishing second in the conference in rebounding per game and sixth in blocks per game at Middle Tennessee State. JCJ is a three level scorer who shot 19-43 behind the arc last season and has an addicting inside-the-arc game. A classic back to the basket scorer, Coleman-Jones can operate out of basically any post look and is effective scoring at the rim and can step out if needed for a mid range jumper. JCJ brings a similar offensive-big man game that Brian Dutcher has always gravitated towards as a head coach with his past Aztec teams.

Magoon Gwath is not only one of the best kept secrets in college basketball but the swing for Dutcher and this Aztecs team. In comments to the San Diego Union Tribune’s Mark Zeigler in January, Dutcher was quite optimistic about Gwath and his potential. Dutcher mentioned Gwath being a shot-blocker the program has desired since the departure of Nathan Mensah and Gwath has that potential when you see his build at 7’0″ with a projected 7’7″ wingspan. Magoon was known in his prep days for his smooth touch, plus length/athleticism and his defensive ability around the rim…it sounds like coach Dutcher expects Magoon Gwath to be known for the same things in the Mountain West this season and beyond.

The Aztecs also brought in Florida Atlantic transfer Nick Boyd this offseason, who will slot in alongside Waters and Byrd in the likely starting backcourt. Backcourt transfers Wayne McKinney (a San Diego transfer who averaged just under 14 points a game last season), Kimo Ferrari (a Brown transfer who shot 44.8% from 3 last season) also seem to be cogs in the upcoming rotation. The starting frontcourt will either likely be JCJ and Pharaoh Compton (a versatile-big forward at 6’8″, 220 lbs who attacks the glass hard, has a growing offensive game and plays with great aggression on defense), the Aztecs first top-100 signee since 2005 according to the school, or JCJ-Magoon Gwath. Add in Demarshay Johnson Jr, who is in his fourth year at SDSU, and also fixes to be in the frontcourt mix for the Aztecs, another player with intriguing physical tools.  

There is plenty of ‘new’ that will be on display at Viejas Arena this season, but new isn’t always bad, and ‘new’ in San Diego State’s case could end up becoming an upgrade if some of their pieces take the steps that are expected…