Pre-Season Countdown | #17 San Diego State

2009-10 Result: 25-9 (11-5 in the Mountain West Conference) lost to Tennessee 62-59 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Coach: Steve Fisher 307-228 in 20 years of coaching (198-149 in 11 years with SDSU).

Through the years, six Aztecs have laced them up in the NBA.

The Aztecs have made six appearances in the NCAA Tournament and are still looking for their first win.

Notable Non-Conference Tilts: 11/16 at Gonzaga, 12/1 St. Mary’s, 12/4 Wichita State, 12/8 at California

Stat of Identity: 6.5 rebound margin (10th in D1).

Key Returners:

Kahwi Leonard 31.3 mpg, 12.7 ppg, 9.9 rpg

Billy White 27.6 mpg, 11.1 ppg, 4.3 rpg

Malcolm Thomas 31.3 mpg, 10.9 ppg, 7.6 rpg

D.J. Gay 34.6 mpg, 10.5 ppg, 1.8:1 A/T

Chase Tapley 23.4 mpg, 7.6 ppg, 1.8:1 A/T

Brian Carlwell 14.4 mpg, 4.7 ppg 2.8 rpg

By Paul Casey Gotham

The Aztecs were one of four teams from the Mountain West Conference invited to the NCAA Tournament last year joining New Mexico, BYU and UNLV as the conference took a strides toward becoming one of the strongest in the country. New Mexico, BYU and UNLV all spent more than one week ranked in the top 25.

San Diego State finished 11-5 in the conference with victories over New Mexico and UNLV.

All five starters from that team return prepared to get the Aztecs their first tournament win in school history.

Kahwi Leonard will be the object of attention for all opposing defenses. At 6’7″ creates match-up problems because he gets up the floor quickly. At the same time, the 225 pound sophomore can back a defender down in the post.

D.J Gay and Chase Tapley provide the Aztecs with two ballhandlers capable of breaking down defenses.  Gay led the way with 108 assists, and Tapley followed with 72. Gay’s 61 3-pointers paced the Aztecs lon-range attack. Tapley knocked down 35 from behind the arc.

Brian Carlwell (6’11”), Malcolm Thomas (6’9″), and Billy White (6’8″) add plenty of muscle around the basket. Leonard will draw attention, and the other three will keep opponents honest.

Freshmen Jamaal Franklin and LaBradford Franklin will look for playing time in the senior-laden lineup.