Sour Apple

Disappointing.  There is no shame in losing in the semifinals of the NIT, and the Aztecs are to be commended for setting the single-season school record with 26 wins (and a final record of 26-10).  But I am sure that for the seniors who played their last game tonight, they are disappointed with a game in which they simply did not play very well at all.

You'd much rather get carried out on your shield than slip on a banana peel, but the Aztecs were left red-faced after 19 turnovers and numerous bad shots in the second half.  You'd rather go down swishing than clanking, but Richie Williams and Lorrenzo Wade combined for 3-16 shooting (Richie 0-7), 9 points (all Wade), and six turnovers.   After a first half in which SDSU turned it over 10 times, often carelessly, UCSD head coach Chris Carlson and I both thought on the halftime show that it was a good sign, as the Aztecs clearly had their best basketball ahead of them.  Then, they came right out and saw the 1-point halftime deficit balloon up to 13.  

At some point, after SDSU had twice rallied within six only to see Baylor re-establish their double-digit lead, the realization that this was it clearly settled into the team.  The last few minutes of the game were quite forgettable.  So I'm going to go ahead and forget them.

The wallpaper on my laptop is a picture of Kyle Spain, beaming, in a sea of fans, holding up one finger as the students stormed the court after the St. Mary's win.  I'm going to keep that photo up for a little while, because that's how I want to remember this team, and this senior class.  Their last home game is a much sweeter memory than their last game.

A Rare Spring Storm

SDSU's men's basketball team is heading to the Final Four of the NIT for the first time in school history.  Last night's thrilling, tense, roller-coaster 70-66 win over St. Mary's at Cox Arena gave this class of seniors every chance possible to exorcise their demons.  They faced a tough team which had beaten them twice before.  They fell into a familiar pattern, building and then squandering a large lead.  With less than two minutes to play, it was all there for the Aztecs.  Take care of business on your home court, rise up for this moment, and you will be rewarded with a trip to New York City.

And they took care of business.  With a clutch basket from Tim Shelton, one of the few returners for next year.  With (finally) a clutch free throw from their senior point guard Richie Williams, after he missed a couple of big ones.  With, as always, tough defense, athleticism, and the ability to contest shots and force turnovers.  

The moment was one of pure release, as the final shot for St. Mary's clanked away, and the final second ticked off the clock.  And then, a scene of pure release, as the student section and fans stormed the court to bounce and celebrate with their players.

Hey, I love this stuff.  In our city, are you kidding me?  What do we ever have to celebrate, especially in college sports?  Double-extra especially in San Diego State sports?!?!?  When I came to this town in 1990, SDSU had a marginal football team with some good offense and a maddening tendency to come close but not win big games.  The basketball team was an embarrasment, and after 1991, the baseball team never sniffed a regional again.  

Not much changed over the next decade, except the football team got worse.  Gateway games, the real wins that could lift a school and a program, all ended up the same way.  Either an embarrassing rout or the ever more painful close-but-no-cigar-loss.  In 1999, Steve Fisher arrived to take over the basketball team, long removed from the Fab Five, now an assistant coach with the NBA Sacramento Kings.  In his first season, the Aztecs went winless in conference play.

This senior class has posted the most wins of any group in school history.  But their legacy was going to be a mixed one, with suspensions and late letdowns marking the path as much as any success.  Honestly, they had never won anything without Brandon Heath, no conference titles, no postseason success.  Now, in addition to a 26-win (and counting) season, the class of Lorrenzo Wade, Kyle Spain, Richie Williams, Ryan Amoroso, Matt Thomas and Kelvin Davis (who may return next year as a medical redshirt) has an indelible moment in Aztecs history, a visceral memory which they will keep for their entire lives.  

You don't hang a banner for a NIT-Final Four appearance, but if you're us, if you're a San Diego State fan, you do storm the court.  It may look silly from the outside, like a bunch of rubes who can't act like they've been there before.  Guilty as charged.  We haven't.  But now, we have this.  And it's pretty good.

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.  

So Disappointing

One more shot made in a 2-point loss.  One more win.  One less underdog winning another conference tournament, putting one less dead spot in the field of 65.  One more iota of exposure nationally for a good team and a good conference.  Any of this would have been enough for the SDSU men to make the NCAA tournament.  They got none of it, a perfect S-storm that managed to send 65 schools dancing while the Aztecs polish up their sandals to shuffle off to the NIT.  

Being the #1 seed in the NIT has to be the most hollow "honor" ever bestowed upon a basketball team.  I'm trying to search for the positives here: at least SDSU fans will get to watch Wade, Spain, Richie, etc at home again.  At least the Aztecs will get another gate or two, which helps the coffers.  At least SDSU will get to play on national TV, and if they do happen to roll off a few wins, they'll get second stage exposure.  On the flip side, you're #1 among the also-rans...so if you win the whole NIT, you're still big fish of the small pond, but if you lose, you were upset and underachieved again.  Awesome.

Do I think they should have made the field?  Yes.  They should have done it by beating St. Mary's at the Wooden Classic.  They should have done it by hanging onto their lead against Arizona State.  Or not blowing a 14-point second half lead against BYU.  Or by winning in Laramie against a defense-challenged Wyoming team.  Or by finding a way to put the ball through the hoop in the MWC final against Utah.  As they stood this afternoon, the Aztecs were probably still one of the best 65 teams in the country.  But if they had done ANY of the things listed above, there wouldn't have been any question.  

I have changed the poll: please vote as to whether you think SDSU got what they deserved, or got robbed of a spot in the NCAA's.