San Diego Toreros
2014-2015 Overall Rank: #114
Conference Rank: #5 West Coast
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San Diego snuck into the CIT last season with a 7-11 record in West Coast Conference play, but the young team played well against Portland State and Sam Houston State before running into familiar foe Pacific in the quarterfinals. And taking a closer at the series against Pacific shows how inconsistent the Toreros were in 2013-2014. When they first met on February 1st, San Diego lost at home by 17 points. Up the coast in Stockton two weeks later, San Diego beat Pacific by 15. And back on the road in the CIT, the Toreros lost by 15. With just about everybody back, the consistency for Coach Bill Grier’s team should be better. And with Johnny Dee leading the way, this is a team that can beat the best the WCC has to offer on any given day. Dee averaged 16.6 points per game and shot 41.8 percent from beyond the arc and 94.5 percent from the charity stripe as a junior and 6-0 guard will be in for a big senior season.
2013-14 Record: 18-17, 7-11
2013-14 Postseason: CIT
Coach: Bill Grier
Coach Record: 102-127 at San Diego, 102-127 overall
Who’s Out:
One reason Dee was so successful in 2013-2014 was because San Diego finally found a relatively consistent interior scorer to free up space on the perimeter. Dennis Kramer, a 6-11 center, stepped up during his senior season and averaged 11.5 points and 6.6 rebounds. Those numbers may not seem all that difficult to replace, but it is important for San Diego to establish an interior scorer.
Who’s In:
Brandon Perry, a transfer from Cal State Northridge, will help replace Kramer. As a freshman with the Matadors he averaged 6.3 points and 3.5 rebounds. He will not likely be a double digit scorer, but he can eat up some minutes and hit the glass. Incoming freshman Cameron Neubauer is a versatile forward who will be a good fit in this offense even if he is not scoring himself due to his passing ability. Khalil Bedart-Ghani, Vasa Pusica and Marcus Harris will add depth on the perimeter. Harris, a 5-11 point guard, is the one to watch. He can get to the basket and has enough of an outside shot to back it up.
Who to Watch:
Christopher Anderson and Duda Sanadze will rejoin Dee in the backcourt. Anderson is a pesky point guard who dished out 6.2 assists per game as a junior. Already a solid defender and a speedy penetrator, Anderson started making his outside shots last season. That opened up space for Dee to knock down three-pointers and boosted Anderson’s scoring average to 10.3 points per game. Sanadze is another shooting threat, yet he does most of his damage by driving to the basket. Therone Tillett, Chris Sarbaugh and Nick Kerr will provide depth on the perimeter. Sarbaugh has the most experience and his versatility will come in handy.
Final Projection:
Jito Kok is a superb defender and blocked 1.8 shots per game last season, but the 6-9 center needs to pick up his scoring to help replace Kramer. He averaged just 4.7 points per game, which is just a small boost from his 3.5 from 2012-2013. Brett Bailey, a part-time starter as a freshman, should step into a full-time starting job now. The 6-6 forward is a tough player and his experience from a year ago could lead to bigger and better things. Thomas Jacobs and Simi Fajemisin will battle with the newcomers for minutes. Overall, the frontcourt does have weapons, but it remains to be seen if anybody can turn into a scoring threat. Without a scorer in the paint, this team will be all about Anderson, Dee and Sanadze. Those are three good players to rely on, but it will not be enough to provide some much needed consistency and have San Diego seriously competing for a WCC title.
Projected Postseason Tournament: CBI/CIT
Projected Starting Five:
Christopher Anderson, Senior, Guard, 10.3 points per game
Johnny Dee, Senior, Guard, 16.6 points per game
Duda Sanadze, Junior, Guard, 12.9 points per game
Brett Bailey, Sophomore, Forward, 3.3 points per game
Jito Kok, Junior, Center, 4.7 points per game
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 67.5 (263rd in nation, 10th in conference)
Scoring Defense: 65.2 (56, 1)
Field-Goal Percentage: 45.0 (135, 7)
Field-Goal Defense: 42.7 (122, 7)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 6.4 (141, 5)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 37.5 (56, 4)
Free-Throw Percentage: 69.6 (180, 8)
Rebound Margin: 0.5 (175, 7)
Assists Per Game: 11.7 (245, 10)
Turnovers Per Game: 11.9 (126, 7)
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