Saint Mary’s Basketball: Saint Mary’s Gaels 2015-16 Season Preview

Saint Mary’s Gaels

2014-2015 Record: 21-10 (13-5, WCC)
Postseason: NIT – First Round

Over the last decade, Saint Mary’s has built itself into the second fiddle behind Gonzaga in the WCC. They have had some really strong years, where they’ve pulled off a few upsets en route to becoming a Cinderella in March.

Even when they weren’t knocking off higher seeds in the tournament, they were cementing their spot in the upper tier of the WCC.

This year, for the first time in a long time, their place in the WCC pecking order is in question.

They were picked to finish fourth in the WCC behind Gonzaga, BYU, and Pepperdine. Considering Saint Mary’s lost all five starters, being picked to finish fourth is really a testament to coach Randy Bennett and his ability to win.

Newcomers

F – Kyle Clark
C– Evan Fitzner
G – Stefan Gonzalez
F – Jordan Hunter
G – Tanner Krebs
G– Franklin Porter
F – Dan Sheets
G – Joe Rahon

Key Non-Conference Games

Nov. 22 vs. Stanford – Any time a WCC team gets to face off against a Pac-12 team, it’s a big deal. Saint Mary’s will have an opportunity to gauge themselves against a Stanford team picked to finish ninth in the Pac-12.

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Saint Mary’s could come into conference play with only one or two losses, so games like these are real measuring sticks on how good this team actually is.

Dec. 12 at California – The only road game in the non-conference schedule sees the Gaels travel a whopping 13 miles out to take on a tough California team in Berkeley. With this young team staying close to home will be nice for Saint Mary’s and how they managed a home focused schedule is a testament to their coaching staff, but traveling outside the shoebox that is McKeon Pavilion will be an eye opening experience for this young team.

March 1. vs Grand Canyon – Throughout his tenure at Saint Mary’s, coach Randy Bennett has made a habit of scheduling these pre-March Madness tournament games. If everything goes right for the Gaels and they end up competing for any of the post season tournaments, this final look at Saint Mary’s could be the difference between playing in a tournament, or jumping into the 2016-2017 season.

Key Players

Emmett Naar – I can’t even remember the last time Saint Mary’s has gone into a season without a proven star on their roster. From Patty Mills to Omar Samham to Mickey McConnell to Matthew Dellavedova to Brad Waldow the Gaels have always leaned heavily on their best players and surrounded them with really solid role players.

After all the starters, and most of the role players graduated the Gaels are looking toward Naar to lead this program through the next chapter.

Jock Landale – During WCC media day, coach Randy Bennett picked Landale as a surprise player on his team. Look at the list of recent Gaels’ Greats and you’ll notice great guards who can shoot and run a team as well as big, bruising, traditional post players. Naar is the former, Landale is the latter.

Season Outlook

It’s tough! Look back at the past decade, and history will say that Saint Mary’s will still compete in the WCC.

Problem is, there are more questions surrounding this Gael team than any of those teams over the past decade.

With Gonzaga sitting at the top, BYU not far behind, and a trending up Pepperdine club picked as the top three teams in the WCC, this is the first time, in a long time the Saint Mary’s is not in the top tier of the WCC.

Next: No Surprises in the Associated Press Preseason Basketball Poll