San Diego State Basketball: 2018-19 season preview for the Aztecs

Projected starters

San Diego State will miss the contributions of Malik Pope and Trey Kell from 2017-18. Pope led the team in scoring last season with 12.8 points per game while Kell put up 10.5 points per game. On the flip side, the Aztecs return three double-figure scorers and one player with starting experience already this upcoming season.

The San Diego State Aztecs will be fine in the backcourt with Devin Watson leading the way. He put up 12.2 points, 3.8 assists and 2.6 rebounds last season while starting in all 33 games. 6-foot-3 guard Jeremy Hemsley is likely to man the other guard position. He’s started a combined 63 games for the Aztecs as he approaches his senior season, including 31 starts during the 2016-17 season. Hemsley produced 7.3 points and 2.1 assists per game last year.

Jalen McDaniels will be on the interior while Matt Mitchell will man the other forward position. The final spot in the rotation could go to 6-foot-10 forward Noal Narain or any of the four freshmen forwards they have coming in (Ed Chang, Joel Mensah, Nathan Mensah and Aguek Arop). Narain averaged 4.7 points and 2.0 rebounds in 23 appearances last season.  Their freshmen may not start right away but there will still be opportunities to contribute off the bench.