Aztecs Have a Mystery on Their Hands

The mystery surrounding the San Diego State basketball team is about to clear. The Aztecs, a team with eight new faces and twice as many question marks, are about to open their third season under Coach Jim Brandenburg.

What the answers will be is anybody’s guess. Even Brandenburg is not sure. But one thing is certain: Three years after he left a Wyoming program he had molded into a Western Athletic Conference power, Brandenburg finds himself still rebuilding the last-place Aztecs.

Asked to name the team’s biggest weaknesses at this point, Brandenburg replied shooting and rebounding, two rather fundamental basketball skills. It could have been worse--he might have said dribbling.

Only one starter--senior guard Michael Best--and four reserves return from a team that started 8-4, then lost 13 of its final 17 games to finish 12-17 (4-12 in the WAC) in a season marked by suspensions and internal bickering.

Gone are center Mitch McMullen, the Aztecs’ leading scorer and rebounder and the last cut by the Atlanta Hawks; guard Tony Ross, the team’s leading scorer for the previous two seasons who quit the team, and forwards Shawn Bell and Sam Johnson. They will be replaced, at first, by senior guard Rodney Jones and three community-college transfers--center Marty Dow and forwards Shawn Jamison and Vern Thompson.

“I thought we’d be further ahead than we are right now,” Brandenburg said.

This kind of uncertainty, after consecutive 12-17 seasons--his first losing records in 13 seasons as a major-college coach--is not the position Brandenburg expected to find himself in when he took the job and set out to make the Aztecs contenders.

His efforts to get back on that track likely will depend on how he and his eight new players adjust to being assembled for the first time. But even that has been set back. Nagging injuries have complicated the process.

Best missed the first two weeks of practice recovering from knee surgery and still is trying to lose the extra 20 pounds he gained during his inactivity. Dow, Brandenburg’s projected starting center, missed two weeks with a back injury. And two community-college transfers Brandenburg said were expected to contend for starting jobs--point guard Arthur Massey and power forward Nelson Stewart--were slowed by injuries that cost them both considerable practice time.

“What it is going to take to improve is some patience on my part and games,” Brandenburg said. “And I hope it is sooner rather than later.”

Considering that the Aztecs open Friday against Villanova in a three-day tournament in Lahaina, Hawaii, sooner would be preferred. The eight-team tournament is one of the strongest early-season fields in the country, with Louisville, Missouri and North Carolina also included. The Aztecs then return home to the San Diego Sports Arena for four games, starting Nov. 30 against UC Riverside and including a Dec. 6 renewal of their series with the University of San Diego after a one-year lapse.

CENTERS

Replacing McMullen, who averaged 14.6 points and 7.9 rebounds last season, might be Brandenburg’s toughest task. He has two choices: play a big lineup with Dow, a 7-1 junior transfer from Northeastern Oklahoma A&M;, or a smaller, quicker group with Jamison, a 6-8 junior transfer from Pratt (Kan.) Community College. Chances are, he will do both.

Brandenburg said he plans to start Dow against teams that feature big, physical centers--such as Villanova’s Tom Greis (7-3). But he said he will turn to Jamison when either Dow gets into foul trouble or the Aztecs face a team with a smaller center.

Bradenburg does not yet sound excited about either prospect. Preparing his team to play with two different types of centers has been a chore, especially with so many new players.

“That is not a real easy thing to do,” Brandenburg said. “We have offense that would accommodate a small, quick team, and we have some offense that will accommodate a bigger power team. So right now with as many new faces as we have, we have too much offense.”

FORWARDS

This might be the area of Brandenburg’s greatest uncertainty, which is saying a lot considering the unsettled nature of the entire team.

The small forward position, although Thompson’s to start, is wide open. The power forward spot belongs to Jamison--when he is not playing center. But when he is, the Aztecs could be left without another true power forward. Because of Stewart’s knee injury, a red-shirt year is being considered, and Brandenburg said he has been trying, with mixed success, to groom 6-6 sophomore Eeric White for the position.

“It’s very important that we get Eeric White to the point where he can be a positive contribution,” Brandenburg said. “He is not taking the responsibility that we need him to carry. One time he will play physical inside, the next time soft.”

Those lining up to challenge Thompson include junior Michael Hudson, a teammate of Jamison’s at Pratt; Courtie Miller, a freshman from Torrey Pines High School, and White and Best, who might get a look here because of his strong rebounding ability.

“There are times when rebounding is so critical for us that there are occasions that Best may end up playing there,” Brandenburg said. “We are sorely lacking someone with a rebounding mentality.”

GUARDS

Best (6-4) is the choice at off guard for several reasons. He gives Brandenburg a player who can match up defensively either with the other team’s small forward or off guard. He can handle the ball and make plays as well as anyone on the team, although his high dribbling style and flashy passes make for some nervous moments. And he could be the Aztecs’ best, but most erratic, outside shooter.

The situation at point guard is more uncertain. Jones will get the early look, but Massey, if he recovers more fully from a foot sprain, could give Jones competition. Jones is the only other returning player with starting experience (final three games last season) but has yet to demonstrate an ability to run the team the way Brandenburg would prefer. “Rodney sees the total picture of a lead guard a lot better than he did last year,” Brandenburg said. “But sometimes he gets out of sync and loses direction of where we are headed.”

After two struggling years, Brandenburg hopes that direction is up.