San Diego State off-season roundup: Wooden Legacy matchups, Trey Kell signing, early bracketology
SDSU Athletics
Wooden Legacy Matchups Have Been Set
After speculating this offseason, San Diego State hoops will take on Georgetown in their opening matchup in the later game on Thanksgiving night at the Wooden Legacy.
It's official! We take on the Hoyas on Thanksgving Day in our 2021 Paycom Wooden Legacy opener. #GoAztecshttps://t.co/pel12OSb6i
— San Diego State Men's Basketball (@Aztec_MBB) July 15, 2021
This marks only the second meeting in the last 40-plus years between the Aztecs and Hoyas. The Big East team has been led by New York Knick legend Patrick Ewing since 2017 and reached March Madness by securing the automatic bid with a 73-48 defeat of Creighton. Georgetown has two 7-footers on their projected roster that might create matchup issues for San Diego State when the time comes.
For the Aztecs, despite some mismatches with length, their projected roster looks solid. There is not much roster turnover, and the transfers like Matt Bradley, Chad Baker-Mazara, and Jaedon LeDee will be great additions to Brian Dutcher’s roster. Based on the type of guys the coaching staff recruited to play at The Mesa, these guys will learn to play system defense and score from the wing to negate the length of the Georgetown squad. LeDee, who will be eligible in 2022, will provide invaluable help in practice.
Depending on the Aztecs’ result, San Diego State will take on either USC or St Joe’s. The USC Trojans were the highest-ranked opponent in the final 2020 polls of the four opponents in the field, and the St. Joseph’s Hawks of the Atlantic-10 finished near the bottom last season. Since the inception of the Wooden Legacy tournament in 2013, San Diego State has won at least two games in Anaheim.
Aztec Alumni Trey Kell Signs With Italian Team
Trey Kell signed with Pallacanestro Varese in the Italian pro league for their upcoming season. The 6’3″ guard San Diego native played internationally after graduating in 2018, even finding his way with Aztec great Billy White in the Canadian NBL with the Moncton Magic. Before signing in Italy, Kell last played in the Polish Basketball League for Stal Ostrów.
The former Aztec last played in the red and black in a nail-biter against the up-and-coming Houston Cougars with a line of 12 points, eight rebounds, and four assists.
Way Too Early 2022 Bracketology
Jerry Palm of ESPN currently has San Diego State as a 9-seed in the 2022 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. Despite jumping the gun here, it’s endearing for the Aztecs as they continue to earn the respect of national bracketologists. SDSU has not gotten out of the first round of the NCAA tournament in the Brian Dutcher era. When you combine the NCAA appearances since 1999, the Aztecs have punched their ticket 10 times but have lost in the first round in five of those invites. There is plenty of hoops to play until Selection Sunday. It looks like a 9-seed is this year’s floor.
Erwin Mendoza grew up a SoCal kid, but now is raising a family in the Pacific Northwest. Besides covering San Diego State basketball, he loves lamenting the lack of sports championships from San Diego — minor league teams don’t count— while drinking the local stout on nitro.