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Saint Mary’s Basketball: Malik Fitts most important Gael for 2019-20

By Tristan Freeman

HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT - MARCH 21: Malik Fitts #24 of the Saint Mary's Gaels walks off the court after being defeated by the Villanova Wildcats during the first round of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at XL Center on March 21, 2019 in Hartford, Connecticut. Villanova defeated Saint Mary's 61-57. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT - MARCH 21: Malik Fitts #24 of the Saint Mary's Gaels walks off the court after being defeated by the Villanova Wildcats during the first round of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at XL Center on March 21, 2019 in Hartford, Connecticut. Villanova defeated Saint Mary's 61-57. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) /
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Saint Mary’s Basketball will be relying on senior Jordan Ford to lead them next season. But here’s why forward Malik Fitts is the biggest factor in terms of their NCAA Tournament hopes.

After shocking both Gonzaga and the rest of the world in the WCC title game last year, Saint Mary’s Basketball has expectations of making it back-to-back trips to the NCAA Tournament in 2020. They bring back their top three scorers, including Jordan Ford, Malik Fitts and Tanner Krebs. Most of the attention is on Ford, who led the conference in scoring at 21.1 ppg on 49% shooting in 37 mpg.

He’s been getting most of the preseason accolades, including from NCAA Basketball expert Kevin Sweeney of CBB Central. In a list of the top returning mid-major point guards, Ford was ranked No. 2 overall behind Grant Riller. But another Gael made one of Sweeney’s lists – Fitts in the power forward section. He was No. 4 overall, behind Vermont’s Anthony Lamb, Lamine Diane of Cal State Northridge and Obi Toppin of Dayton. The first two guys are two of the best frontcourt scorers in the nation, while Toppin is a projected future NBA Draft pick.

But Fitts lies relatively unknown outside of the WCC world. After sitting out a season transferring from South Florida (7.4 ppg in 2016-17), he figured to be a solid role player for the Gaels who were replacing All-American and Conference Player of the Year Jock Landale along with Emmitt Naar and sharpshooting wing Calvin Hermanson.

Fitts ended up being more than that, starting out his Gael career with a 19-point, 12 rebound outing against McNeese State. He had other big non-conference performances, including 20 points at New Mexico State and 27 in a win over Harvard. The 6’8 forward turned it up a notch against WCC competition, scoring in double figures in the first 12 conference games. Fitts had a few notable games that kept Saint Mary’s season alive on the bubble, including 19 in a close WCC Tournament win over San Diego to even get them to the finals against GU.

Fitts finished the year averaging 15.2 ppg and 7.6 rpg on an efficient 48% shooting from the field and 41% from three-point range on 143 attempts. The Gael forward was named to the All-WCC team and was a contender for 2019 Conference Newcomer of the Year. His ability to spread the floor and create his own shot was very beneficial for Ford himself. These were the only two double-digit scorers for the Gaels a year ago and based on the returning roster, that could end up being the same in 2019-20.

Coming into his junior season, Fitts still has some things to work on. His overall consistency has to improve, as there were several games he just about disappeared in. In the three games against Gonzaga and their NBA-caliber frontcourt, Fitts scored just 21 total points and struggled mightily on defense. He also had issues against Yoeli Childs and Isaiah Pinero of San Diego, two other All-WCC forwards. And while he’s not Draymond Green of Nikola Jokic, Fitts has to become a better facilitator. He averaged less than one assist a game, with the ball movement stopping at times once it gets to him. That’s the antithesis of a Randy Bennett-coached offense.

Next. 2019-20 breakout candidates for each WCC team. dark

But it certainly wasn’t the worst thing in the world to give Fitts the ball a lot, as most of the time it worked for Saint Mary’s Basketball. With some tweaks and continued improvement, Fitts will have an even better junior campaign and along with Ford, lead the Gaels back to the Big Dance. It’ll be hard with both BYU and Pepperdine improved and Gonzaga as formidable as always but the two-headed monster of Saint Mary’s will be up to the task.