NCAA Basketball: Preseason top-25 mid-major power rankings for 2021-22 season
6. San Diego State Aztecs
The loss of the Aztecs’ top three scorers (Matt Mitchell, Jordan Schakel, and Terrell Gomez) hurts them in the backcourt more than anything else but they may have gotten the greatest transfer this offseason of any mid-major program in Cal star Matt Bradley.
While the Bears have been completely off of the radar nationally, Bradley has been one of the best players in the Pac-12 in the last two years as a starter, averaging 17.8 ppg and 4.8 rpg on 44% shooting as the clear No. 1 option. The 6’4 guard also is a career 40% three-point shooter as well. San Diego State had massive success with its last Pac-12 transfer (Malachi Flynn) and will be leaning on Bradley to be its leading scorer this season as well.
Related Story. Top 10 returning Mountain West players for 2021-22. light
Bradley will be with returning starting point guard Trey Pulliam, as well as Adam Seiko and Lamont Butler Jr. None of them were big-time offensive players but considering how much usage both Mitchell and Schakel had in the backcourt last season, there’s a chance at least one of them breaks out to provide that balance needed in the offense.
The frontcourt may not have a clear-cut star at the moment but there’s plenty of depth, thanks to multiple transfer newcomers. Jaedon LeDee comes over from TCU and was an effective contributor off the bench, while Chad Baker has high offensive potential as a 6’7 combo forward from Duquense. He had several double-digit games as a freshman and shot 42% from three-point range. And Portland transfer Tahirou Diabete adds frontcourt depth after missing last season but is a solid post player overall.
Big man Nathan Mensah is back and could be the best big man in the Mountain West. Already a quality defender and near double-digit scorer, the 6’10 senior will anchor an Aztecs defense that’ll have to be at a high level if the scoring isn’t as good as it’s been in the past couple of years. But while Colorado State and Nevada “could” have big years, we know that San Diego State is more than capable of doing it based on past history with head coach Brian Dutcher.