San Diego State Falls Short of St. John’s : Gaines’ Crew Departs NCAA Early, Despite a Valiant Struggle

“We want,” and then the hesitation, “ . . . St. John’s.”

It was reach-for-the-moon time at the University of Utah’s Special Events Center.

The boisterous little knot of San Diego State fans was ready for the biggest of the big time. They looked like they had just left a fraternity party, and probably some of them had.

Mike Royko would have loved them, attired in their outlandish shorts, sweat shirts and sunglasses. The latter undoubtedly covered eyes reddened by a scarcity of sleep and an abundance of refreshment.

St. John’s, of course, was not the chore at hand. The NCAA’s annual postseason party is a rather orderly affair at which the coaches’ dearest cliche is both ominous and appropriate.

Play ‘em one at a time.

Coach Smokey Gaines and his Aztecs would loved to have the chance to play St. John’s. For that matter, they would have loved to be playing Kentucky today.

However, Nevada Las Vegas was the task Thursday night. The winner would get two more nights of lodging and another game, and the loser would go home and watch.

This was a party the Aztecs crashed with that 87-81 win over Texas-El Paso last week for the Western Athletic Conference Tournament championship. Truthfully, they could not have been expected to be among the last on the dance floor, but they hardly wanted to be among the first out the door.

However, the Aztecs were not exactly matched with the most agreeable of partners. Most folks from hereabouts thought UNLV would step all over the Aztecs’ toes and pick their pockets before showing them the exit.

After all, the Rebels were 27-3 and ranked ninth in the nation. The Aztecs were a respectable 23-7 but drew only a 13th seed among the 16 teams in the West Regional.

It was like they were being told: “OK, you’ve got a ticket. It gets you in, but it doesn’t say anything about staying for very long.”

As it turned out, the Aztecs did not stay very long. UNLV was an 85-80 winner, but the Rebels were breathing hard and looking over their shoulders when it ended.

There had to be times--many, in fact--when the Rebels were wondering if maybe they might have more luck trying to shake their shadows.

Who are those guys?

San Diego State acted as if it thought it belonged at the party. It filled its plates and went back for seconds. It mingled quite nicely.

And it did belong.

UNLV won the game with waves of talent. Its best player spent much of the evening on the bench with foul trouble, and I couldn’t tell he wasn’t in the game. For all I knew, they could have been 10 of the same guy.

But the Rebels certainly did not run away and hide, even though there were times it looked like they might. The Aztecs stayed with them and played with them.

When it was over, Aztec guard Anthony Watson was asked about gaining respect through defeat. However, he was not interested in such reflection, be it rationalizing or philosophizing.

“I really didn’t want to show we can play with anybody,” he said. “I wanted to show we could beat ‘em.”

The Aztecs did not play their best--and lost by only five points. That will be a source of frustration when they look back, because they will be wondering what they might have done and how far they might have gone.

After watching Kentucky beat Washington in the second game Thursday night, I thought UNLV or San Diego State would beat either one of them. Had the Aztecs gotten past UNLV, maybe they would have gotten that shot at St. John’s.

However, “maybe” can be a rather worthless word. The Aztecs could have erased it if they could have made a few free throws or played a bit more under control against UNLV’s swarming defense. Obviously, “could have” is also an expression fit for fruitless ponderings.

The Aztecs hope to continue their pursuit of the big game they hunted in the 1984-85 post-season--and they don’t have to wait until the 1985-86 post-season.

San Diego State should go after some of the monsters in the regular season. Get rid of the junk food schedule and go after some meat and potatoes. Think in terms of gaining strength rather than fat.

Gaines has always thought 20 wins is a key to the door to the NCAA Tournament. Any one of a number of universities would advise him to the contrary. It is now as much a matter of who you play than merely who you beat.

I suspect the NCAA’s computers will more highly regard a 12-point loss to North Carolina than a 60-point win over Morgan State.

Smokey Gaines has two chores in the coming weeks. He has to recruit replacements for Leonard Allen, Michael Kennedy, Jeff Konek and Andre Ross and he has to put together next year’s schedule. I submit that a better schedule will attract better recruits.

Gaines said this week he has talked with Georgetown, Maryland, Michigan, Ohio State, Arizona, Memphis State, Tulsa and Michigan State about playing the Aztecs next year. The Aztecs are also negotiating a three-year deal with North Carolina, one game here and two there.

The Aztecs may have lost Thursday night, but they gained some attention both in the community and across the country. They may have made only a cameo appearance in the NCAA Tournament, but they should use it as a beginning rather than an end.

After all, they do want St. John’s--or someone just like them.

Someday.