Team Preview: San Diego

San Diego had their best season of basketball (in recent years) in 2007-2008.  Since then, this squad has struggled.  Last season, they were solidly in the lower to middle of the pack of the WCC.  They swept Portland, Pepperdine, and Santa Clara last season, and pulled out an additional win against Loyola Marymount.  They struggled heavily against Saint Mary’s, BYU, and Gonzaga.

Their bright spot on the team was freshman guard Johnny Dee, who set the USD Freshman scoring record with 426 points.  He was also named to the All-WCC Freshman Team and was named to the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Freshman All-American team. 

Record:

2011-12: 13-18 (7-9 in conference)

Statistical Leaders:

Points: Johnny Dee, 13.7

Rebounds: Chris Manresa, 5.9

Assists: Christopher Anderson, 5.0

Outgoing Players:

Darian Norris

The Toreros lost Darian Norris last season to graduation. Norris was the only senior on the 2011-2012 USD squad.  He started in 15 of the 31 games and played an average of 26.3 minutes per game.  He averaged 8.3ppg, and was the second best shooter from the 3pt line averaging 36.3% from beyond the arc.  He also scored a season-high 20 points against Gonzaga last season, and scored in the double digits in 12 games.

Incoming Players:

Mike Davis: 6’2, 200 lb. Shooting Guard

Davis is a JUCO Transfer from Western Texas College (he did not play basketball last season).  He played two seasons of basketball at Texas Tech from 2009-2011, appearing in 19 games for an average of 11.2 minute per game.   He started two games during this time and averaged 2.8 points per game on 40.9% shooting. 

Duda Sanadze: 6’5, 209 lb. Guard out of Tbilisi, Georgia. 

Sanadze played with the U20 Euro Division A Team, where he was the second highest scorer, averaging 17.2 ppg.  He also proved to be a proficient rebounding with 5.3 rebounds per game. 

Accolades:

-       2012: Best young player in Georgia

-       2012: Most Improved Player

Jordan Bickerstaff: 5’10, 150 lb. Guard out of Denver, Colorado.

There is not much recruiting analysis on this player, but basketball is in his blood:

-       Grandfather: Bernie Bickerstaff played and coached at USD, was also head coach of Seattle SuperSonics, Denver Nuggets, Washington Wizards, and Charlotte Bobcats.  Bernie Bickerstaff is currently the interim head coach for the LA Lakers.

-       Uncle: John-Blair is an assistant with the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Calvin (Trey) Guidry, III: 6’6, 215 lb. Small Forward out of Houston, Texas.  Scout grade of 86 (2 stars).

Also recruited by Cornell, Princeton, and Stanford.

According to an ESPN Analyst – “Guidry has good size, can get to the basket especially going to his right and can hit the open three with time and space and plays with urgency on both ends of the floor.”

Jito Kok: 6’9, 230 lb. Power Forward out of the Netherlands.

Previously played at the Canarias Basketball Academy in Spain (5.75ppg/3.25 blocks per game in 4 games played).  Also played with the U18 Euro Championship Team (averaged 6.3ppg, 5.6rpg, 2.1 blocks per game).

Schedule:

San Diego’s 2013 schedule does include a few tough contests against Pac 12 competition: Arizona, and Oregon State.  They also face San Diego State (Ranked Pre-Season #20) in December.  They kick off WCC Conference play against Portland on January 3 and face Gonzaga for the first time on February 2.

Coaching Situation:
Bill Grier is entering his 6^th year as the USD Head Coach.  His Torero squad in 2011-2012 was youthful, and this years’ squad is no different with 11 players only freshman or sophomores.  He will have his work cut out for him, but we wish this former Zags Coach a successful season.

Expectations:

The Torero’s are still a young squad and lost a valued player in Darian Norris.  Their recruits for 2012-2013 are unknown commodities and I’m not sure if they can have an immediate impact this season.  USD needs to continue to focus on standout Johnny Dee.  With another year under his belt, this Sophomore guard can do some damage against teams in the West Coast Conference.

I would expect San Diego to have a similar season to last year and once again be middle of the pack in the WCC.