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Preseason College Basketball Rankings: #14 San Diego State Aztecs – Yardbarker
San Diego State made a great run to the championship game last March, which included a victory over #1 overall seed Alabama. Make no mistake: that run was not a fluke. The Aztecs have a great program. In the last four seasons, with Brian Dutcher as their head coach, the Aztecs have a 108-23 record. That’s amazing. Multiple key pieces from last year’s team are gone, but four of their top six scorers remain, and they brought in some help. While this team won’t be as deep as last year’s, San Diego State is still one of the teams to beat.
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We have to begin with the two returning starters. Lamont Butler was a hero for the Aztecs in the Final Four, with his clutch shot against FAU sent them to the title game. He has gotten better every year in college. He earned All-MWC honors last season and has earned Mountain West All-Defense honors the last two seasons. Darrion Trammell wasn’t quite as good last year as he was in his first two collegiate seasons at Seattle, but he still played well. He didn’t have to score as much because of the presence of the now-departed Matt Bradley. But now he will be counted on to score for this team, and he should have no trouble doing that.
People around the program were excited about Jaedon LeDee heading into last season, and he did not disappoint. He played a perfect complimentary role for the Aztecs off the bench, averaging 7.9 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. This year, though, the super senior will move into a starting role for the first time in his career. Micah Parrish also played his role off the bench for San Diego State really well last season after transferring in from Oakland. He is an elite defender (just like Dutcher and the Aztecs love and are known for) and a god rebounder.
USC Reese Dixon-Waters won the PAC-12 Sixth Man of the Year award last season. He has been an underrated addition out of the portal. He could start, but he could also fill a sixth-man role for the Aztecs. Jay Pal is an extremely underrated transfer pickup. After transferring to Campbell before last season, he started every game he played in. He had, by far, his best collegiate season. Pal averaged 12.3 points and 6.9 rebounds per game on the season. He was dominant in the Big South Tournament title game and was a key piece of the Fighting Camels’ run to get there. Pal will provide significant depth in an extremely thin frontcourt for the Aztecs.
PF – Jaedon LeDee (7.9 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 0.9 APG, 0.5 SPG, 0.4 BPG)
PF – Jay Pal (12.3 PPG, 6.9 RPG, 1.4 APG, 0.9 SPG, 1.5 BPG)
SF – Micah Parrish (7.4 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 0.6 APG, 0.7 SPG, 0.3 BPG)
SG – Lamont Butler (8.8 PPG, 2.7 RPG, 3.2 APG, 1.5 SPG, 0.1 BPG)
PG – Darrion Trammell (9.8 PPG, 2.4 RPG, 2.9 APG, 1.3 SPG, 0.1 BPG)
This article first appeared on Last Word On Sports and was syndicated with permission.
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