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“Aztecs Basketball-Alive”

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They are going where no one thought they would be going, the NCAA tournament.

March Madness has arrived and San Diego State is going to play next week, against the Houston Cougars.

Who could have imagined this just a month ago, when blowout losses on the road, a (5-7) conference record, and injuries and poor play, plus empty seats, were all part of what the program had become.

Trey Kell, the veteran guard, a rock solid player, though not a superstar, saved his best for last, in the game they had to win, the huge Aztecs come from behind win against New Mexico in the title game.

Beset by 4-injuries this year, on a team that was underachieving, Kell stepped up in the biggest moment of the season.

Kell…3-point jumper out of the corner…short step back jumper in the lane…2-point basket from the foul line….a long distance 3-pointer….and a driving layup…all in a 7-minute span, turning a 6-point deficit into an (82-75) win over a stunned Lobos teams.

Brian Dutcher made a move out of desperation, sitting foul troubled Jalen McDaniels and erratic Malik Pope, going to a 3-guard concept with Kelly, Jeremey Hensley and Devon Watson, plus bench warmers Max Montana and utility big body Cam Rooks.

For 8-minutes it worked, and Kell, the slick guard, took over the game.

New Mexico knew he was coming, and still couldn’t stop him. Rooks clogged up the middle changing the Lobos ability to penetrate. Montana hit a couple of key baskets and played tough on the baseline, and Kell became Mr-Outside-Inside, going (6-for-6) at one point.

End result, a gritty win over the Lobos, this coming after the Aztecs out-athleted a (27-6) Nevada team, and had beaten down Fresno State. 3-wins in a 3-nites against the best teams in the league, and this after a sprint to the finish line beating some of those teams down the stretch of the conference schedule.

Don’t confuse this team with the 30-win teams of Kawhi Leonard or Jamaal Russell, for this team would not stand a chance against those teams. This coach is not that coach, Steve Fisher, at least not yet. But what we have seen in the last 3-weeks is special.

Dutcher has them playing their best basketball at the best time, and Trey Kelly, a quality kid, giving them quality minutes at the most important time of his final season. They earned this trip to face Houston. They do it again, they then get a shot at Michigan. Roll that ball on the floor.

San Diego State basketball. Send their mail in-care-of March Madness. It won’t be marked ‘return to sender’ thanks to Trey Kell.

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“Cleaning out a Busy notebook”

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While I was gone this week…the world spun out of control in Southern California sports.
Here’s what happened..here’s what I think.

USD Basketball…Lamont Smith is gone as head coach after turning around a struggling program, but self-destructing personally. You never know about a person’s private life, tut the domestic abuse, the probe, the dropped charges, doesn’t change what he got himself involved in with a woman, who was not his wife. And at a faith-based school like USD, there was probably no other decision to be made. Re-sign or get fired. He will resurface as a coach somewhere. Whether he resurfaces as a father-husband remains to be seen.

AZTECS basketball….They are suddenly a very dangerous college basketball team….SDSU plays Nevada on Friday in the semi finals of the Mountain West tourney a team Brian Dutcher’s squad beat last week….This late season 7-game win streak come-on the return of injured G-Trey Kell….a fierce re-commit to play defense, and sudden production from the bench….With Boise losing and the Fresno defeat by SDSU…suddenly winning the MWC and getting tourney berth seems in real…SDSU has lots more depth and pretty good athletes…though the Wolfpack have Jordan Caroline, their tough inside player….Friday night fireworks for sure.

CHARGERS…They’re not ours, and they are LA’s problem, though really, they are a problem for the Spanos family. They have unveiled their Seat Licensing Plan for the new stadium they will start with the Rams. Do you think LA will shell out 75,000 for the seat licenses on the best seats in the house? Their VIP seats will carry a 50,000-fee…and the club seats a 15,000-price tag. Good luck with that. And the response from LA fans? The legendary Lakers and Dodgers don’t tax the fans, and we will have to pay seat license tax to the Spanos family?

PADRES PITCHING…So far so good. Tyson Ross has had 3-good outings…Robbie Erlin and Chris Young two solid outings each, as they try to pitch their way into the rotation coming off all types of surgeries. Tough setback for Colin Rea, shutdown now with shoulder issues after forearm surgery last summer.

PADRES BLACK CLOUD…Alex Dickerson now has 3-major injuries in less that 3-seasons. Now possible elbow surgery coming. This after last year’s back surgery, and his rookie season woes with a heel injury.

PADRES KID….He keeps hitting, and yes it is just spring training, but if Franchy Cordero keeps this up, I don’t see how they can keep him off the roster at least at the start of the season. Now when they start throwing real bullets come opening day, we will see if the strikeouts return, bug so far so good.

PADRES RUMORS….They always seem interested in this guy, that guy, but aside from Eric Hosmer, it never gets done. They did not sign Tim Lincecum, who wound up with 1M base and 5M bonus incentives to try this comeback in Texas. Now reports they have expressed interest in Jake Arrieta, the still unsigned Cubs free agent, but that seems far-fetched, especially since he his seeking a 5-year deal worth 110 million. The only way this could be happening would be if this was a carriage deal that allowed the Scott Boras client, Heismer, to come, with Arrieta as a return favor lower price signing. But I doubt this.

PADRES NO DOE…..The next wave of Cuban signings has begun, but the Padres are no longer a player on th island. They overspent their International budget a year ago with the Adrian Morejon class, and now can not offer more than 300,000 to any international free agent, a far cry from what the top Cuban, Jose Martinez got, 2.8M from Texas.,

DODGERS DISGRACE….Yes you can love all things Clayton Kershaw, Dave Roberts and team chemistry, but you cannot respect ownership across the board. The Stan Kasten regime with a steep ticket price increase. The Kasten group, for the fourth year in a row, refuses to solve,, or cannot solve the blackout of Dodgers games to over 66% of Los Angeles.

HALO HERO….He can pitch, as witnessed by a 100mph-8-striekout outing in his last spring training start, but Shohei Ohtani is a bit overwhelmed as a DH. Hitting just (.091) in the Cactus League. Going to be a fun start to the season.

MOUNTAIN WEST MAYHEM…What are they going to do, this Mountain West malaise? Trying to make themselves relevant on the national stage, it is almost a mandate they get both Gonzaga basketball and bogy BYU football and basketball into the league. You add more team for the RPI rankings in hoops, and BYU football is an upgrade from some of the schools still in the bottom haft of the league. Do it.

CLASSY COREY…He may not be ours anymore, but how about Chargers De-Corey Luiget going to Florida to meet with families of victims in the terrible high school shootings two weeks ago. Hats off to him.

LAKERS FOR REAL….The misery seems over with the growth of all these young draft picks. LA is playing really good team ball, (18-7) since mid January and trying to pull themselves up to the .500-mark. That doesn’t sound sexy, but when you consider the three year record they compiled, this is exceptional growth. And they do have cap space to get at least one big time veteran to come join the kids this summer.

CLIPPERS OVERHAUL….Two of the three starts are gone, and no one knows what DeAndre Jordan with his big money option decision coming this summer. They have some young talent, not enough quality veteran help, and if the center leaves, then it is a complete rebuild. They never got to the finals with the group they had, and no one sees them coming back to elite form shortly. It’s not the Donald Sterline era, but it’s not a championship Steve Ballmer era either.

BAD DUDE….Esteban Loaiza is now facing federal charges for being involved in the dealing of 44-pounds cf cocaine, including delivery across the Mexican border. Popular guy, long career, now facing a long prison term. Shocking fall from grade for a longtime major league pitcher.

SDSU-ON OFF RADAR….Division 1-program, no spring football game at a school that seems to struggle how to build momentum on the idea ‘1 City-1 Team” No spring game, this about that? Don’t care about conflicts, rearrange your schedule to hold it a week later than normal. This is the same group of decision makers, who did next to nothing to promote Heisman Trophy candidate Rashaad Penny, but spent money to buy ads for a sub-500 women’s basketball program in the paper, and a team that moved its radio signal off a 50,000-watt radio station to go to an AM-station you cannot hear and an FM station that blares music.

GULLS GO GET IT…..Superb coaching job for a their third season in a row by Coach Dallas Easkins, holding the team together despite, injuries, callus, and even trades of players. They don’t have a sniper, have some guys who are a bit overwhelmed, but play the Eakins system. They are going to be ‘hell at home’ where they average just under 13,000 for weekend games, come playoff time.

SPRINGTIME SCCRAMBLE…..The Kings and Ducks are in a bitter 5-team fight for the final two playoff spots in the Western Conference of the NHL. Both struggle to score goals, both have had health issues in goal, and both are in jeopardy of missing the postseason despite hefty payrolls. Tough times for GMs Bob Murray and Rob Blake.

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“Chargers-NFL Combine-What They Need-Do You Care”

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I wonder if the emotional divorce is final, between San Diego and the Chargers?

The NFL combine wraps up on Monday…and in San Diego….it seems to have been met with disinterest.

The talkshows have not done much on radio to cover it. The newspaper buried a combine story on the Chargers on page 5 in the UT..page 4-in the LA Times.

There are a ton of storylines involving the Chargers.

They do draft 17th in the first round and have lots of needs despite their (9-7) non-playoff finish.

A big debate that would be raging, if anyone cared in town, would be the quarterback of the future, and the fact this year’s draft board is loaded.

Coach Anthony Lynn says he’d take a QB at #17, if the right guy was available. That right guy might be Lousville’s Lamar Jackson, coming a (13,000 APY-119TD) career with the Cardinals.

Great athlete, might be a better receiver than quarterback, but he was unwilling to workout at wideout at the combine. But you wonder is he the next Robert Griffin III, who lasted less than two years because of injuries as a scrambler.

There’s also a small college phenom, Kyle Lauletta, a big gun thrower from Richmond, who shined in the Senior Bowl and did okay at the combine. And highly productive Mason Rudolph of Oklahoma State,who could be there at the second round.

Of course, this team needs more help in the defense, either at tackle or at inside linebacker.

A name they liked, but who might have jumped up off the board, and might not be there at 17, is Washington Huskie Vita Vera. All he did in Indianapolis was run a (5.1) in the 40…and then blow the competition away when he bench pressed 225-pounds “41” times. The next in line is likely Da’Ron Payne of Alabama maybe with that first round pick

They talk talk offensive line depth after getting two good players last year in Forrest Lamp and Dan Feeney, but this could be a thinner crop upfront in the draft. Keep an eye on Kolton Miller of UCLA in the 2nd round, or brute strength UTEP guard Willy Hernandez..

They have also discussed another power running back, and in that second round, it surely seems the record setting Aztecs Rashaad Penny will be there at pick #48.

In the secondary, Florida State’s Derwin James and Alabama’s safety Ronnie Harrison seem to be key guys to look at in rounds one and two.

Oh it was some weekend with what Saquon Barkley did with all his metric workouts, moving the Ohio State star to possibly the number one pick.

And Wyoming QB-Josh Allen, maybe the next Carson Wentz, lit it up also, adding his name to the debate who should be at the top of quarterback list.

The fascinating story of Washington corner Shaq Griffin, who has just 1-hand, bench pressing 20-times, was heartwarming too.

So many interesting storylines, but it was a strange weekend in our city, which no longer has an NFL team. The buzz seemed to fade away about the combine.

Wondering if the buzz around following the Chargers franchise has died here too?

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“NFL-Combine-Information Overload”

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What’s wrong with this player?

What about that deficiency?

We must find out what he cannot do well?

Is there a character flaw?

Shat is the injury history?

It’s what they are all searching for at Lucas Oil Field between now and Monday.

They’re all here in Indianapolis….General Managers, every coach-every scout-team doctors.

It is 5-day;meat market as NFL teams evaluate some 362-potential draft candidates, leading into the April draft.

It’s about information to the minute detail. It’s more than just a workout. It’s probing questions about their backgournd. A look at what they did on the field, off the field, sometimes even in the classroom.

It’s about family, friends, background.too.

Organizations have to find out how players are ‘wired’.

They get to watch them do bench presses…..run 40-yard dashes….shuttle and cone drills….take part in actual workouts and passing and running drills….grade the Wunderlic test, conduct short sit down interviews.

It is step one of face-to-face evaluations. Then come the on-campus Pro Days workouts with select draft prospects. And maybe even visits, though no workouts, at an NFL facility.

You understand the amount of money that goes to top draft picks. You understand the critical needs teams have that must be filled, with the best possible talent.

But sometimes you wonder if teams get paralysis by analysis, putting more emphasis on the NFL combine and a single Pro day workout, than the 3-years of record setting passing from USC’s Sam Darnold.

You wonder if they watch all the video, and know what Saquon Barkley went thru as Penn State came out of the horrors of the Joe Paderno-Jerry Sandusky scandal.

You guess whether they value the individual talent that Rashaad Penny is, even if he played in the off-the-radar Mountain West Conference with the Aztecs.

There are a lot of ‘can’tt miss’ prospects at the top of the draft board,the JJ Watt’s of the world.

But it is not a perfect science either, as witnessed by the fact Tom Brady was a 6th round draft pick out of Michigan, and Jerry Rice took his first steps towards stardom at tiny Mississippi Valley State.

And you remain stunned, after all the video they can watch, and then the combine and the workouts, how a club could make a mistake that sets them back forever..

The highway of failed very high first round draft picks litter the roads everywhere.

When these NFL clubs are done with the data they have access too, we watched them take people like J’Marcus Russell…..running back Trent Richardson….Robert Griffin III and Ryan Leaf and so many more.

The NFL Combine….information overload…the need to know….and yet mistakes still get made every year.

The NFL wants you to believe this is a perfect science in scouting and evaluating. Sometimes it seems ‘paralysis by analysis’.

Perfect talents on the board? You bet. Plenty of mistake picks too. Guaranteed.

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“AFC-West-So It Begins”

It starts on the field today in Indianapolis, the NFL combine, and the challenge ahead, what do each of these teams do to improve or change from what they were before?

CHARGES….An awful lot of false information out there about how good the Chargers were last year. Yes they won 9-of-12 at the end of the season, but truth be told, most of that was against a very easy schedule. They were just (2-5) vs playoff teams.

Philip Rivers had a strong season. The offensive front pass blocked better than most expected. Melvin Gordon didn’t dominate but did well, run and catch. Keenan Allen had superb bounce back season. The defense got collectively better and better as the season went on, but then again, it was against the 3rd easiest schedule in the league.

They draft 17-48-75 in the first three rounds. The needs are a young nose tackle, a more physical inside linebacker, possibly a safety, and the ever present question, is there a quarterback they can draft to develop, a future Rivers?

There is not a history of of big free agent movement but they did get quality in Russell Okung and Tre Boston, and they do have some cap space. GM Tom Telesco and President of Football Operations are just (36-44) since they started calling the shots on player decisions.

Rivers is still looking for help. He, his team, have just 1-playoff win in 10-years.

BRONCOS….John Elway will have to work some magic to fix all that ails this team. Four quarterbacks on the roster, none of whom ready to win, in fact Elway may be the best quarterbacking the building. A bad offensive line, a lackluster run game, and not as good a pass game as you would expect.

They wasted a strong year on defense and have age and injury issues to deal with there.

The Broncos have cap space, and the 5th pick in the draft. Things would change quickly if they wind up with Redskins free agent QB-Kirk Cousins. They could use the 5th pick for a linesman, for a big time running back, or even trade down.

What they do with Cousins impacts everything else.

RAIDERS….Bring on the Jon Gruden era, take two, after a year of underachievement.

Which was the real offensive line, the one so dominant in 2016, or so horrid in 2017? They were terrible on defense most of the year, force feeding a lot of kids.. It took them half a year to find a run game. Now they are changing leadership and philosophy, and definitely culture.

Gruden says he is going to coach Derek Carr ‘hard’, so he can become a star and not the next Jeff George. They need to get more out of Marshawn Lynch, get more receivers, and get more productivity on defense.

They could be active in free agency, to plug in the right veterans to a very young roster.

This will be a fascinating off season.

CHIEFS….A truly wasted season, and now you almost get the sense they have decided to rebuild. They think life after Alex Smith, dealt to Washington, will be okay. There’s a lot of faith and a lot of pressure on the shoulders of the young QB-Pat Mahomes.

They have purged the defense, dealing the volatile Marcus Peters, releasing Derrick Johnson, Ron Parker and more.

The needs are at wide receiver, more help in the offensive front, and probably more pass rush help.

Andy Reid has done wonders i KC, but has not taken them deep into postseason, and now they have ripped up the blueprint and appear to be starting over.

They don’t have a first round pick either, so this process may be longer than they expect.

The AFC-West is up for grabs.

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