Busting Brackets
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San Diego Basketball: 2018-19 season preview for the Toreros

By Jason Burgess

LAS VEGAS, NV - MARCH 03: Isaiah Wright #22 of the San Diego Toreros drives against McKay Cannon #24 of the Brigham Young Cougars during a quarterfinal game of the West Coast Conference basketball tournament at the Orleans Arena on March 3, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Cougars won 85-79. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NV - MARCH 03: Isaiah Wright #22 of the San Diego Toreros drives against McKay Cannon #24 of the Brigham Young Cougars during a quarterfinal game of the West Coast Conference basketball tournament at the Orleans Arena on March 3, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Cougars won 85-79. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /
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LAS VEGAS, NV – MARCH 03: TJ Haws
LAS VEGAS, NV – MARCH 03: TJ Haws /

The starting five

If experience and guard play are important components of March success, Scholl has it in droves. All four returning starters are seniors and three of them are guards. Isaiah Wright transferred to San Diego after two seasons at Utah. The 6-2 Wright was second on the team in scoring and rebounding (13.4 and 4.9 respectively) and was the leading assist man, dishing 5.3 per game in his first year with the team. Olin Carter III has been a mainstay in the Toreros starting line up since his freshmen year.

Last season he started all 34 games, scored double figures in 22 of them, and had five games of 20 points or more. His 2.6 three-pointers per game were the 2nd best number in the conference. Tyler Williams is a 6-5 guard who started 23 games last year despite missing the first five games with a toe injury. He averaged nearly nine points per game and four rebounds per game, he also netted 15 points in the team’s CIT opening-round win over Hartford.

The other returning starter is senior forward Isaiah Pineiro. 2017-18 was Pineiro’s first with the program after transferring from Portland State and did he make an impact. His 15.7 points and 6.2 rebounds per game led the team and earned him First Team All-Conference honors. He scored in double figures in 30 of his 34 games. He recorded three double-doubles and had ten games of 20 points or more.

Finding a replacement for the departed Cameron Neubauer in the line up could be San Diego’s biggest obstacle of the offseason. Of the returning players, the guy likely to get the first chance to fill the spot is redshirt-junior 6-8 forward Alex Floresca. He saw action in all 34 games, with seven starts averaging 2.6 points in 11.7 minutes per game. This summer Floresca was more of an offensive force during the team’s trip to Costa Rica.