Three thoughts after San Diego State’s 71-57 win against Nevada on Saturday night at Viejas Arena:
1. Magoon’s return
As the final seconds drained off SDSU’s victory, Nevada coach Steve Alford turned to his assistants and began talking about Magoon Gwath.
“If he plays like that,” Alford told his staff, “they’re at a whole ‘nother level.”
Gwath returned against Nevada after missing six games with a hip injury. The 7-foot sophomore forward looked like he’d never been away, scoring 13 points — including 3-for-3 shooting on 3-pointers — with five blocks and three rebounds in just 13 1/2 minutes on the floor.
“He rebounds, he blocks shots, he might be shooting 55% from 3. That’s phenomenal for a 4-man or a 5-man, whatever you want to call him,” Alford said postgame. “They’re already at a really high level; if they can keep him healthy, that’s a whole ‘nother level.”
Gwath said he felt particularly good after shedding the bulky brace he has been wearing to protect his surgically-repaired right knee. He sported a neoprene sleeve against the Wolf Pack.
“It felt great,” Gwath said. “Lost two pounds on my leg with that brace. It was much easier to move. It was just easier to play out there. I’m moving a lot better. … I feel like I got my timing back with getting that brace off.”
It was about this time last year that Gwath injured his knee and missed the remainder of the regular season and the Mountain West tournament. Postseason surgery was followed by six months of rehab.
Gwath has shown flashes of his potential this year, but his progress was slowed coming off the injury — particularly because of that darn brace.
“You would say that this is the first time since then where he looked like the Magoon we know he’s capable of being,” SDSU coach Brian Dutcher said. “Not limping with the knee brace, playing really fluid, and so it’s great having him back. Hopefully, he continues to enjoy good health and plays himself back into game shape where he can play a lot of minutes for us.”
Gwath’s 3-point shooting adds one more thing for opponents to consider.
“He starts stretching the floor as a 5-man and he creates problems for the other team,” Dutcher said. “We can play him at the power forward and we can play him at center, and he’s a hard matchup at either position.”
Dutcher said Gwath’s minutes are being limited, but he will be extended as he returns to game shape.
“I’m just so proud of how he came back,” Dutcher said. “It’s as easy as putting a smile on your face. You know, it’s so hard for him that he wasn’t having any joy playing basketball because he’s playing hurt (before 3 1/2 weeks off). And he’s not the player he knows he can be because he’s hurt.
“And so to see him out there, seeing him in practice, where he’s finally feeling in good health, feeling like he’s himself and playing with a smile on his face, is important to everybody on the team, and, most importantly, Magoon.”
San Diego State coach Brian Dutcher and former coach Steve Fisher have been the school’s only two men’s basketball coaches in the Mountain West. (K.C. Alfred / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
2. Continuity
Former SDSU coach Steve Fisher was sitting Saturday night where he usually does, a couple rows above the SDSU bench, as Dutcher guided the Aztecs.
Do Aztecs fans realize how uncommon it is to have just two head coaches since 2000?
In the Mountain West, Boise State is the only program that comes close to matching that. The Broncos have had three coaches: Leon Rice, Greg Graham and Rod Jensen.
Since 2000, there have been five head coaches at Air Force and Nevada, six at Fresno State, Grand Canyon, San Jose State, Utah State and Wyoming and seven at Colorado State and New Mexico.
There have been 10 at UNLV, where the casinos don’t change a deck of cards as frequently as the Rebels do coaches.
In the 25 years before Fisher and Dutcher arrived, SDSU had six head coaches — Tim Vezie, Smokey Gaines, Jim Brandenburg, Jim Harrick Jr., Tony Fuller and Fred Trenkle.
Since the Mountain West’s inception in the 1999-2000 season, SDSU has the best overall record (602-283, .680) and conference record (286-154, .650).
How much does continuity play in SDSU’s success?
“Well, it’s everything,” Dutcher said. “We have a culture. There’s other guys that start a program, they’re there one or two years and they’re raving about their culture. Culture is 26 years. That’s what culture is. We have a good culture here, and we have great support from our university, we have great fan support and all that goes into having a really good program.
“So, I’m just proud of everything we’ve done here. All of us. The City of San Diego should take great pride in Aztec basketball.”
A San Diego State-branded car promoting upcoming local NASCAR event featured the No. 45 of Daytona 500 winner Tyler Reddick. (SDSU Athletics)
3. Making a believer
NASCAR driver Tyler Reddick won the Daytona 500 on Sunday afternoon, a day after leading the “I Believe” chant — remotely via the Viejas video board — with teammates Bubba Wallace and Riley Herbst from the Michael Jordan-owned 23XI racing team.
Coincidence? We think not.
Reddick may want to incorporate the chant into his pre-race ritual going forward. He likely gained some local followers after his No. 45 car was SDSU-branded and parked on the Viejas Arena concourse over the weekend as part of a promotion for this summer’s race in Coronado.
Reddick did not lead a single lap of the Daytona race, surging to the front to take the checkered flag while cars crashed behind him.
SDSU guard BJ Davis said on Friday that he enjoyed playing a NASCAR game on his PlayStation. The Daytona finish was appropriate for the way Davis drives in the game.
“It’s kind of messed up, but I used to start crashes because I thought that was pretty cool,” said Davis, before emphasizing, “Only on the game, though. Not in real life. I don’t want to see that. I love NASCAR. I’ve got a pretty cool car (Dodge Charger) myself now. I love racing. I love driving.”
Davis said he drove the cars of Dale Earnhardt or Kyle Busch in the NASCAR game. Maybe Davis can give that Reddick car a spin before it’s removed from campus.