Tribute to the Aztecs...Ello, Mar. 24th

"It's not whether you win or lose, but how you play the game."

Well...the above quote was probably written by some guy who lost...but, just the same, every now again there's some truth to the old saying.

Best example I can think of is the San Diego State women's basketball team, which was eliminated last night in the second round the NCAA Tournament by powerhouse Stanford, 77-49.

They surely didn't win...and they certainly did lose...but how they played the game was still something to behold.

No team I've seen in recent memory plays as hard as coach Beth Burns' Aztecs, and few play with as much heart...And though it can be difficult to please the bean counters who look only at results, there should still be room in sports to at least appreciate the effort.

One quick look at San Diego State, and then across the court at mighty Stanford, during the pregame warmups was enough to give away the game's eventual outcome...On the Aztecs side, just two players taller than 6-feet, and both slight of build...On the Stanford side, an entire team of 6-footers, and none slight of build.

How in world could San Diego State possibly win this thing? And the plain truth simply is that they couldn't....Stanford dominated the paint with its power and size so decisively that the Cardinal needed only to make one outside jump shot the entire game.

Time and again, with the ease of Jim Brown running over a high school secondary, Stanford pounded the ball inside for easy baskets...By the time it was over, the nation's No. 2-ranked team has scored 26 baskets -- and 25 of them were scored on layups.

The Cardinal's muscle-bound front line not only scored at will, but it punished San Diego State's smaller defenders so effectively that it seemed as if the entire Aztec team would foul out by halftime.

It was the men against the boys -- or in this case the women against the girls.

Nevertheless, Stanford did not march on to the Sweet 16 with complete ease...and that's because the spirit of San Diego State never waned, and the pressure provided on the perimeter by the Aztecs' athletic guards never wavered.

San Diego State scrapped and fought and battled for the entire 40 minutes...and the Aztecs' hearts never stopped beating even long after the issue had been decided.

Jene Morris, SDSU's brilliant guard who scored an NCAA Tournament-high 35 points in Saturday's dramatic first-round victory over DePaul, was relentless throughout and finished with a game-high six steals to go along with her team-high 14 points.

At just 5-feet-9 against Stanford's lineup of giants, Morris pressed the issue the entire night and drove Stanford's ball-handlers crazy...Sure, Stanford will move on but it's a pretty safe bet that the Cardinal is happy they won't have to deal with Morris any longer.

Jene's running mate in the backcourt, Quenese Davis -- also just 5-feet-9 -- played with undying energy and enthusiasm, working alongside Morris to pressure the ball for 94 feet of hardwood and forty minutes of game as well.

Coco Davis, SDSU's 5-foot-9 foward, time and again went to the hoop against Stanford's massive front line and was one of the reasons the Aztecs were able to foul-out All-American 6-foot-4 center Jayne Appel.

You don't see a lot of teams losing by nearly 30 given a standing ovation by the home crowd as its key players exit the game in the final moments...But that's what happened last night at Cox Arena.

The tribute, of course, was not about the winning and losing...but it was simply about the way they played the game.

San Diego State finished 24-and-8 and accomplished so much this season, that last night's loss could do nothing to take away from it....The Aztecs beat a ranked team (No. 4 Texas) for the first time in 14 years, won the Mountain West Conference title for the first time in 12 years, made the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 12 years, and won an NCAA Tournament game for the first time in 15 years.

Afterward, the Aztecs locker room was hardly somber...that's because one gets the feeling that what was accomplished this season was just the beginning...Both guards, Morris and Davis, will be back next year for their senior seasons...All-Conference center Paris Johnson will only be a junior...and two All-Conference-type front-court power forwards, Allison Duffy and Jessica Bradley, will join them.

For now...there's just no beating a powerhouse like Stanford (unless you're top-ranked UConn, whom the Cardinal will no doubt face this year in the Final Four).

But last night was a reminder that it isn't always just about winning...and the way these Aztecs play the game, next season should be a lot of fun.

The Weekend That Was: SDSU

One of the problems with being a San Diego sports fan is reconciling your heart and desire with the modest results of your city's teams and universities.  Let's face it, our sports history stinks.  No championships outside the San Diego Sockers, some Taylor Cups for the Gulls, and a lone men's volleyball title for SDSU.  Our baseball team has a long-entrenched history of failure, to the point that my cohort Chris Ello called their 2004-2007 period the "Golden Age" for Padres baseball, and I'm pretty sure he was being serious!  Our Chargers have made the NFL's biggest stage only once, and performed such a convincing pratfall that they looked like the junior varsity on the wrong field. 

So, allow me to float this modest thought: this is the Golden Age, right NOW, for SDSU basketball.  Now.  This second.  Before tipoff tonight between the SDSU women and Stanford at Cox Arena.  Before the Aztecs men find out their opponent for Wednesday night's NIT quarterfinal showdown on the Mesa.  While we can still look back at the 25-win season for the men (most in school history) without knowing whether their tourney run will end in New York or San Diego.  While we can still savor 24 wins for the women and a first-round NCAA victory over DePaul, and dream of a much bigger upset tonight.  

OK, it's not much of a Golden Age, I'll give you that.  2 wins in the NIT + 1 win in the NCAA would equal two coaches on the hotseat at programs like UConn, North Carolina or Louisville.  But given where San Diego basketball has been, that our city's only NCAA win came when De'Jon Jackson somehow floated that last-second jumper in for USD last year, that SDSU once won 25 games in a five-year span, not a single season...this is pretty good for us.  There is hope right now.  For two programs at once.  Both still alive in the postseason.  And both with an opportunity on their home court to do something even bigger.

Alas, if you know our sports history in San Diego, then you know this as well: there is a behemoth standing in the way.  There always is.  In 1984, the Plucky Padres ran headlong into one of the greatest Tigers teams in history, a team that started 35-5 and finished by upper-decking the Friars into oblivion.  In 1994 the Chargers collided with one of the great 49er teams in history, and got treated like royal doormats for Steve Young's Hall Of Fame coronation.  In 1998 the Pads returned to the World Series, faced the Yankees, and naturally, it was the 125-win Yankees, the best team (by percentage) in the history of the team with best history in baseball.  

Now, tonight, Beth Burns will try to find a slingshot when her Aztecs take on Stanford.  Yeah, just Stanford, the 2nd ranked team in the country, the only team thought to be able to give UConn a run for the title this year.  That's all.  The paragon of women's college basketball on the West Coast.  Who else would you expect?  I'm just surprised Lisa Leslie and Candace Parker won't be running out on the court tonight against SDSU.  But the way things go for our city, I wouldn't be surprised if each of them discovered an extra day of NCAA eligibility and signed up with the Cardinal this morning.  

Tonight could get ugly.  And there's no guarantee that on Wedneday, the men will be able to get past either Davidson or St. Mary's.  But right NOW, we can dream.  Right NOW, we can hope.  Before the cold reality sets in, there is always the warm glow of hope and the comfort of dreaming big.  And in San Diego, that's usually the most we can expect to have.  So enjoy the Golden Age, while it lasts, whether that be for hours or days to come.  

Stay Classy USD!!!...Chris Ello, Mar. 19

Quick difference between the sports programs at the University of San Diego and San Diego State...Classy move by USD's Athletic Director Ky Snyder (always remembering he is at heart, an Aztec) to allow SDSU to play it's second-round NIT game Friday night on his campus at the Jenny Craig Pavillion.

The Aztecs were stuck because Cox Arena is being used all weekend for the NCAA Women's Tournament (more below)...Without Snyder's good will, Steve Fisher and company would have had to travel to Kansas State, thereby forfeiting their home-court advantage....

Nicely done, Ky...

Oh...and about SDSU...word is that the Aztecs were willing to give away their second-round game....unitl Fisher himself stepped in and demanded that the NIT find a way for the second-round game to be played in San Diego....Never mind that the SDSU Athletic Department apparently felt that it had exhausted all options.

Fisher and the NIT -- working with Snyder -- got the job done, so that SDSU could play in front of its home fans....

A birdie told me that some felt the Aztecs' heirarchy were too quick to give away the game because the second-round opponent was likely to be Kansas State (which it is)...Don't know why that would be...but SDSU Athletic Director Jeff Schemmel is a K-State alum.

(Hmmmmm......)

Anyway....the bottom line is that USD does things right...San Diego State has to start doing things right.

Speaking of USD, everything with its men's basketball program suddenly has gone all wrong...It was just one year ago that I was sitting in a Mexican restaurant in Arizona, munching some chips and guacamole, when De'Jon Jackson hit the shot the toppled UConn in the first round of the NCAA Tournament....The restaurant in Arizona went wild.

Me included....Though like Ky Snyder, I'll always be an Aztec at heart, it was wonderful to finally see a team from San Diego come through on the national stage (quick, tell me the last time that happened).

But this year has been a mess for the Toreros....first guard Brandon Johnson suffers a devastating knee injury that takes him out for the season...then Trumaine Johnson gets kicked off the team...then, with the WCC Tourney no longer in San Diego, they get wiped out quickly by Santa Clara in the quarterfinals...now forward Rob Jones says he wants to transfer so he can be closer to his ailing father (nothing wrong with that).

But unfortunately, that USD win over UConn now seems like it was a long, long time ago...and getting back to that stage for Coach Bill Grier and crew seems like it is a long, long ways away.

So...this college basketball postseason belongs to San Diego State...and especially to Beth Burns' women's team...A bit more than a year ago, SDSU was awarded with hosting the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament at Cox Arena for 2009...It was at that moment, the young Aztecs made it their goal to be there.

And so now they have accomplished that goal....this Saturday at 5 p.m. SDSU (seeded 10th in the Berkely Regional) will meet 7th-seeded DePaul in the women's Big Dance...not bad for a program that went 0-and-16 in conference play just three years ago.

Burns' team went 14-and-0 at Cox this season...and to remind her squad of their home-court dominance, T-Shirts were purchased for the players last week with "OUR HOUSE" printed on the front and "14-AND-0" printed on the back.

Led by super-athletic guards Quenese Davis and Jene' Morris, and 6-foot, 4-inch center Paris Johnson (all underclassmen), the Aztecs are maybe a year ahead of schedule...But they might just be precocious enough to believe they can advance Saturday night.

It wouldn't hurt the cause, of course, if the San Diego fans would come out and represent...tickets are still available, and this club deserves a solid crowd of at least 6,000 for the big event.

And then there was the big event that just finished up in San Diego...the World Baseball Classic at Petco Park...Japan (the defending WBC champs) and Korea (the defending Olympic Gold Medalists) advanced to the finals...I tell you this, because I'm figuring very few of you were paying much attention.

Despite Mexico's inclusion in the field (the U.S. team played its 2nd-round series in Miami), the crowds at Petco looked like a Padres-Nationals game in late August. (Though the fans that were there were far more spirited).

Bottom line: San Diego sports fans don't like it when their teams and their city are overlooked and forgotten about...but when the fans overlook and forget about big events...well, as the old saying goes, you are what you are (thanks, A.J.).

All About the Aztecs...March 17

The question, as far as I'm concerned is, how do Lorrenzo Wade, Richie Williams and Kyle Spain want to be remembed?

Throughout this season, the trio -- along with center Ryan Amoroso and backup guard Matt Thomas -- have been referred to on many occasions as the best Senior class in San Diego State basketball history.

The references, I'm sure, are flattering...but at this point in time, they are far from accurate. I mean, let's take a look at what they've accomplished: as freshmen, they rode the coat tails of Marcus Slaughter and Brandon Heath to a Mountain West Conference title -- then immediately were ridden out of the NCAA Tournament by Indiana....as sophomores, again it was Heath who led them, this time to the NIT where a magical shot by the sharp-shooting guard at least earned them one victory, over Southwest Missouri...as juniors, they again fell short of the big dance and hardly even looked the part of a postseason team, rolling over in favor of Florida. Spain, in fact, wasn't even around for the disasterous conclusion, having been suspended from the team for a second time.

Wade joined Spain on the police blotter prior to the start of this season, and Williams has been in trouble off the court as well during his career....So, back to the beginning: just how do they want to be remembered? What happens in the NIT, which begins tonight when the Aztecs host Weber State (7 p.m., Cox Arena), will go a long way towards defining their legacy.

To me -- as it stands now -- Wade, Williams and Spain are nothing more than an example of great talent frittered away. Sure they've won a bunch of games, and there have been some awards sprinkled in. Sure they've helped elevate SDSU basketball to the level of yearly contender (something that Aztec fans could only have dreamed of a decade ago).

But when the chips have all been on the table...when that one victory was needed to push the program over the top...the trio of stars have simply come up short.

How can this possibly be called the greatest Senior class in Aztec history without a single marquis victory anywhere on its resume'?...What I remember about this group is that it didn't even bother to show up last year against Florida....What I remember is that had it won any of its three important non-conference games this season (all losses to Arizona St., Arizona and St. Mary's), it would have made it to the NCAA Tournament...I remember a 14-point second-half lead blown against BYU, a loss that ultimately cost them a share of the Mountain West title and a No. 1-seed in the conference tournament.

Ultimately I remember Saturday afternoon when -- presented with one last chance at the Big Dance -- they rendered dramatic victories over UNLV and BYU useless by stinking up the joint worse than Utah did and losing the MWC Championship Game.

Honestly I'd rather remember Wade, Williams and Spain differently...The three of them have provided some spectacular moments...and perhaps they can provide a few more.

Yes, the NIT isn't the NCAA's...but once again a chance has been presented...a door has been opened...an opportunity has been offered...Beat Weber State, beat either Kansas State or Illinois State in the second round, and get revenge on (probably) St. Mary's in the quarterfinals.

End your careers in Madison Square Garden playing in the NIT semifinals (or even the finals)...Those are the memories I'd rather have.

Meanwhile, the San Diego State women's team -- to me anyway -- has become the polar opposite of the men's team...Beth Burns' squad has not just met expectations, but they have easily surpassed them.

And their reward was a Monday celebration in their Cox Arena locker room when they watched together on television and received news of their NCAA Tournament berth.

To really understand what this accomplishment meant, one needs only to go back three seasons, when SDSU won only three games total and finished an imperfect 0-and-16 in conference play. Change, of course, was needed...and it started with the signing of point guard Quenese Davis and the transfer from Cal to SDSU of athletic two-guard Jene Morris.

Two-time San Diego County Player of the Year center Paris Johnson (from San Diego High) joined the following year as did All-CIF power forward Allison Duffy (from El Capitan High).

Young and precocious, the kids took their lumps for two seasons, but steadily grew together...They made their first mark in last year's conference tournament, upsetting a pair of NCAA teams, Wyoming and TCU, before losing the MWC final to New Mexico.

This year, they shook off a season-ending suspension to Duffy (who is expected back next year) and became champions. They tied for the conference title with a 13-3 mark, and went 23-7 overall...Morris and Johnson were named first-team all-MWC, and Morris was named the conference's defensive player of the year...Davis earned second-team all-MWC honors and became the school's all-time leader in assists...Burns was named Coach of the Year (tends to happen when your team improves by 19 wins over a short three-year span).

Now they'll face 7th-seeded De Paul in the first round of the NCAA's on Saturday at 5 p.m. at Cox Arena...Can they beat the Blue Demons? They absolutely can, if for no other reason than the fact that they went 14-and-0 at home this season (including a win over No. 4-ranked Texas).

After that...they'd almost assuredly meet Pac-10 champ Stanford in the second round...Stanford was the NCAA runner-up last season (beating UConn in the National Semifinals), and they're ranked No. 2 in the country this season....No chance, you say? Well...just keep in mind that the second-round game would be played at Cox as well.

One last note about the women...regardless of what happens this season, this group is still a year ahead of schedule...Next year, Davis and Morris will both be seniors...Johnson and Duffy will be juniors...and Jessica Bradley, an all-Big 12 conference transfer from Baylor, will join the ranks.

The future is even brighter.

Another fantastic performance by the Aztecs' All-American pitcher Stephen Strasburg last Friday, kicking off a three-game weekend sweep by Tony Gwynn's team of UNLV. (By the way, SDSU owns UNLV in everything this year. Football got one of its two wins over the Rebels, both the men's and women's basketball teams were 3-0 vs. Vegas, and now baseball beats 'em three-straight).

But the best pitching performance of the weekend was not turned in by Strasburg, but rather by UCSD senior right-hander Travis Decker, who pitched a no-hitter on Saturday and defeated top-ranked Cal State Stanislaus, 6-0...Decker walked the first two hitters of the game, then retired 20 batters in a row to complete the seven-inning jem.

Decker's effort was the centerpiece of a four-game UCSD sweep of Division II's top-ranked squad and improved the Tritons to 15-7....Nicely done!