{"id":159536,"date":"2025-07-10T00:51:11","date_gmt":"2025-07-10T00:51:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/159536\/"},"modified":"2025-07-10T00:51:11","modified_gmt":"2025-07-10T00:51:11","slug":"sdsu-begins-summer-basketball-workouts-with-high-energy-and-expectations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/159536\/","title":{"rendered":"SDSU begins summer basketball workouts with high energy, and expectations"},"content":{"rendered":"

San Diego State began summer basketball workouts this week with a different look and feel, and not just because junior guard BJ Davis is almost unrecognizable after cutting his shoulder-length braids in favor of a more minimalist (and aerodynamic) haircut.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s palpable energy, effervescence and expectation inside the JAM Center, four full months before the start of the season.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want high expectations, we\u2019ve always had high expectations,\u201d coach Brian Dutcher said. \u201cYou can\u2019t basically be an NCAA Tournament team seven of the last eight years and not have high expectations. That\u2019s what the expectations are.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow we have to see what reality is. I tell people, \u2018We look good on paper, but we don\u2019t play on paper. We play on the court.\u2019 The work between now and the start of the season will dictate what we look like on the court.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dutcher typically lets his players have the first session of summer school to themselves, then gathers the roster for the second session in early July for individual workouts and a limited number of hourlong practices with the full team. Everyone is here, and everyone is practicing except 7-foot forward Magoon Gwath, still rehabbing after knee surgery in late April<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Aztecs',Aztecs\u2019, Magoon Gwath (0) during Saturday\u2019s basketball game played against Boise State at Viejas Arena in San Diego, CA. (Xavier Hernandez for the UT)<\/p>\n

That includes eight returnees and 60% of their scoring, impressive figures in an era of unlimited player movement<\/a> and regular roster overhaul. To that, Dutcher added three veteran transfers that addressed specific needs and a pair of highly touted incoming freshmen.<\/p>\n

The Aztecs went from a team that had six freshmen or sophomores in the rotation to one that could field a lineup with a junior, a fourth-year junior, a fifth-year senior and two sixth-year seniors, returning to SDSU\u2019s tried and true formula of getting old and staying old.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a team where we returned a lot of our points and minutes from last year,\u201d said guard Miles Byrd, who showed well at the NBA Draft Combine before opting to return for his redshirt junior season. \u201cWe still have a youthful side to us, which is that young energy, it\u2019s fun in here, it\u2019s loud, there\u2019s a lot of excitement.<\/p>\n

\u201cI also think we\u2019re taking the next step in our level of maturity. All of us have more time on the court under our belt, and I think it\u2019s going to lead to a great season. We need Goon back, obviously. But just off the first practice, the energy, the athleticism, the length, the versatility 1 through 5, might be the best I\u2019ve seen since I\u2019ve been here.\u201d<\/p>\n

(And remember, he was a freshman on a team that played in the national championship game.)<\/p>\n

The most notable change from this time a year ago is practice humming along at a furious pace without the constant need to stop and correct.<\/p>\n

Some other differences besides Davis\u2019 hair (or lack thereof):<\/p>\n

\u2022 Senior guard Reese Waters, after missing all of last season with a broken bone in his foot, is back on the floor (and making a ridiculously high percentage of shots), although only as a partial participant while recovering from a sprained ankle.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Crowd favorite Kimo Ferrari has stayed on as a graduate assistant to finish his master\u2019s degree and provides a sage presence on the scout team.<\/p>\n

\"LouisianaLouisiana Tech guard Sean Newman Jr., left, runs to the basket past Memphis guard Tyrese Hunter (11) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo\/George Walker IV)<\/p>\n

\u2022 The impact of Louisiana Tech transfer Sean Newman Jr. is immediately apparent as the kind of pass-first point guard the Aztecs haven\u2019t had recently. Byrd called him \u201cone of the people I\u2019m most excited to play with,\u201d adding: \u201cHe\u2019s like a technician. You can tell he lived in the gym growing up, because he\u2019s so tight with handles. I like how he carries himself on the court.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2022 Gwath, unable to practice, has been spending his time in the weight room and has noticeably wider chest and shoulders after adding a good 15 pounds of muscle.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Sophomores Pharaoh Compton and Taj DeGourville both transformed their diets and their bodies<\/a> over the offseason, and both seem improved. \u201cThey are living their life right off the court,\u201d Byrd said, \u201cwhich is helping their success on the court.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"TheThe Press-Telegram\u2019s boys basketball Player of the Year is Elzie Harrington, shown here on Wednesday, Apr. 9, 2025, at St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)<\/p>\n

\u2022 True freshmen Elzie Harrington and Tae Simmons don\u2019t look out of place athletically, and Byrd predicted \u201cboth have a chance where they can play this year, where they can earn minutes and be a big part of the team.\u201d<\/p>\n

That, of course, would require them to beat out several veterans. The Aztecs are that deep, and the anticipated competition for minutes might be the reason everyone showed up in shape. No one was huffing and puffing.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe went at a pretty good pace,\u201d Dutcher said after Monday\u2019s first practice, \u201cand everybody looked like they were engaged and had gotten better. That\u2019s the key. I told them all, \u2018I\u2019m going to be a better coach this year because I have better players. You\u2019ve worked hard in the offseason, and I can see you\u2019ve gotten better, all of you.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was exciting to see.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"SanSan Diego State\u2019s Miles Byrd celebrates after making a three pointer against Boise State during the quarterfinal of the Mountain West Conference Tournament in Las Vegas on Thursday, March 13, 2025. (K.C. Alfred \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)<\/p>\n

With the departure of point guard Nick Boyd to Wisconsin, the clear leader of this team is Byrd.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m the most tenured player here, so it feels like I have to step up as leader,\u201d said Byrd, in his fourth year in the program. \u201cI also feel like I needed to earn it, and with the season I had last year and the continued development of my game and my continued maturity on and off the court, it allows me to feel like I earned my respect and earned my leadership. I feel like guys listen to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Byrd was the final ingredient in the pot, waiting until a few hours before the deadline<\/a> in late May to withdraw from the draft and reclaim his collegiate eligibility. He played well enough in scrimmages at the combine and was moving up draft boards that some speculated he would stay in.<\/p>\n

Several mock drafts had him going in the early second round, but Byrd was seeking a promise of a guaranteed rookie contract instead of settling for a two-way deal that allows players to bounce between the senior team and its G League affiliate but isn\u2019t guaranteed.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s frustrating, because I feel like obviously I could have been selected, like I would have been selected,\u201d Byrd said. \u201cBut at the same time, I want to put myself in the best position moving forward. Entering the NBA through the back door isn\u2019t something I want to do. I think with another year of continued success here, I think I can walk into the NBA through the front door.\u201d<\/p>\n

Originally Published: July 9, 2025 at 5:37 PM PDT<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"San Diego State began summer basketball workouts this week with a different look and feel, and not just…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":159537,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3723],"tags":[7,217,325,165,231,772,1544,3765,66],"class_list":{"0":"post-159536","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ncaa-basketball","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-college-basketball","10":"tag-college-sports","11":"tag-latest-headlines","12":"tag-ncaa","13":"tag-ncaa-basketball","14":"tag-ncaab","15":"tag-sdsu-aztecs","16":"tag-sports"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/114826201537017039","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159536","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=159536"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159536\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/159537"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=159536"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=159536"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=159536"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}