Brian Dutcher got his first real look at his talented San Diego State roster in a season-opening 77-45 win against Long Beach State at Viejas Arena, and it’s not even at full strength. 

Big man Magoon Gwath won’t be ready for game action until later this month and guard Reese Dixon-Waters was a late scratch with an eye injury. But the Aztecs did what Dutcher wanted them to do. 

“I put on the board today, ‘Energy and Effort.’ Those are the two things players can control: how hard they play and how much effort they play with. Their attitudes have to be good, and I thought they did a good job of that,” Dutcher said.

Five Aztecs scored in double figures, led by veteran Miles Byrd and freshman Elzie Harrington with 13 points apiece. 

Here are the highlights of Dutcher and the players’ news conference:

“Tonight was a good effort from the Aztecs; they didn’t make it easy. It was a good game for us. Long Beach State plays Aztec defense. They were real physical, bodied us, pushed us over screens, and it’s good for us. It was a good learning lesson.

“Obviously, Elzie Harrington is extremely skilled, tall and lengthy, and has an ability to really finish. Tae Simmons doesn’t look like a freshman. He looks like a grown man out there, and he plays like a grown man. As he gains experience, he will continue to improve his game. But they are two very good freshmen.”

“I just felt it in the moment. I love the crowd. It’s my first time playing good minutes back home in a while. I was playing within the game and having a good time.”

💦 from the corner! @_mbyrd21

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“We have to keep working and putting the work in every single day. We can’t be content with the first win of the year. The sky’s the limit for this team, like I’ve been saying all summer long. We can’t get big-headed just because we had one good win at the crib. I think just staying focused, coming in and being everyday guys.”

“I would say my steal definitely gave us a lot of momentum. That helped a lot. For the steal, they threw a lot of those passes up top, so I was waiting for one to be thrown a little lighter.”

“I would say it’s a lot about our culture. Defensive rebounding is what we preach at this school. Being able to put your mind to that, and being able to persevere and play with the intensity of, ‘I’m getting every rebound, I’m being in my gap.’ That mindset is just the culture that we have at the school.”

“I told Latrell to come ready to play today. It had nothing to do with being shorthand. It had something to do with, I think, he’s a really important player. I’m trying to decide in my own mind, is he the difference between an unbelievably special season or just another guard in rotation that causes frustration, because no one gets the minutes that they want? I told him, ‘Be ready. I’m not going to play you in the first half, but if I don’t like what I see from the team and they’re not bringing what I think they need to bring, I may use you in the second half.’ I told him after the game today that ‘If I don’t like what I see next week, be ready to play.’ I know that’s hard on him, but that’s the fine line between using Latrell and not using Latrell. Because of all the guys on the team, he brings it every single day with no lack of effort. …

“I haven’t made up my mind on Latrell yet, about using or not using him. But tonight was a good effort, a good first effort, with forced turnovers and playing all the way to the end. That’s what we didn’t do a year ago. We didn’t put people away. I wanted to make sure they did what I wanted them to do for 40 minutes. We came closer to that.” 

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