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| Saturday, November 3 Team preview: San Diego State Aztecs ESPN.com |
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A little perspective: In the last 16 years, SDSU has finished no higher than sixth in conference, which it did twice. The average league finish in the WAC and now Mountain West during that time is seventh. This year, the Aztecs are picked fourth. Ahead of UNLV, a program with 18 NCAA appearances and a national championship. Ahead of BYU, the league's lone NCAA Tournament team last year. "(SDSU) in basketball is going to turn out like Kansas State and Northwestern in football," New Mexico coach Fran Fraschilla said. "It is going to be a monster overhaul, one of the greatest turnarounds in college basketball over the next five years." Improved talent is obvious. Tony Bland (via Syracuse) and Brandon Smith (via Michigan) are eligible after sitting out transfer seasons, and junior college All-American forward/center Mike Mackell joins returners like forwards Randy Holcomb and Myron Epps and guards Al Faux and Deandre Moore. SDSU went from five wins in coach Steve Fisher's first season to 14 last year. The ascent only becomes tougher now. "Perception is important for all of us to get out of the starting blocks and convince (recruits) we're doing things right and moving in the right direction," Fisher said. ""Everyone wants to be viewed as good and we have a measure of that now being (picked fourth). "Heck, some of our guys are probably going to be mad we didn't get picked first. But will we be able to finish in the top half? What will reality be? That's what is most important." What We Like: The skill. SDSU has a lot of it for the first time in years. Additions like Bland and Smith and Mackell will force opponents to play SDSU straight-up defensively for the first time in years. The days of guaranteeing victory by simply taking a player or two out of his game appear over. More quality players also means the ability to offer more looks, to go small or big and have a chance to succeed at either. You can't win if you can't adjust and you can't adjust if you can't be versatile. Now, finally, SDSU can do all of the above. What We Don't Like: Unproven depth. As starting lineups go, SDSU can compete with anyone in the conference. But this is a league of brutal road venues, of some serious altitude. There will be nights in places like Salt Lake City and Laramie, Wy., when calls don't go SDSU's way and foul trouble puts more than one starter on the bench. And when that happens, who will step up and contribute? Coaches love the potential of players like sophomore forwards Chris Walton and Aerick Sanders, and freshman guard Tommy Johnson. But potential doesn't always mean points and rebounds down the stretch of a close game. The Bottom Line: The non-conference schedule (at Texas Tech, Fresno State, at Duke) is definitely strong enough to harden the Aztecs into an upper-tier league team. You can't overstate the strides SDSU has made under Fisher, but it is still likely a year or two away from the top two spots. An NIT bid -- more than possible -- would be a major piece to the rebuilding process.
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