San José State men’s basketball preview
SAN JOSE, Calif. — Regime changes in sports usually fix what’s been broke, or at the very least, offer some optimism for the future.
The born-again San José State Men’s Basketball program hopes for redemption from first-year head men’s basketball coach Tim Miles and a host of new faces.
“When I look at this, I think it’s a great opportunity,” said Miles. “I look at San José State as unshaped clay so to speak. We don’t have a historic past of NCAA tournaments or championships, and so we have a chance to put ourselves on the map.”
The Spartans look to improve on last season’s 5-16 record and ninth-place finish in the Mountain West Conference. And whatever happened last year stays in last year. Miles has a plan, a vision for his new team: Focusing on taking good shots, reducing turnovers, playing sound defense and rebounding.
“Like anything, you have to creep, crawl, walk, run,” he said. “I want to see us eliminate losing. I want to make us a tough out. I want to make us, ‘You’re going to have to play your tail off to beat us.’”
Miles spent five years in the Mountain West coaching Colorado State’s men’s team to an NCAA Tournament birth in 2012. His most recent stop was at Nebraska (2012-2019), where he brought legitimacy to the Cornhusker program guiding the team to the 2014 NCAA Tournament and two top-25 rankings.
“San José State’s relatively new to the Mountain West Conference in the bigger picture of things,” he said. “And I’ve been in the Mountain West before…for five years at Colorado State when the league was even bigger.”
The primary goal is to take the program to the NCAA Tournament, Miles said. “But first, the proverbial ducks need to be placed in a congruent row.
“I’m looking forward to this opportunity…it just takes a lot of time to get a lot of things in place off the court, and certainly you get the players on the court and then get them acting accordingly, playing like champions,” he said.
And it’s going to take a dynamic roster to make the big dance in March. Miles feels he has the personnel to make it happen. Especially the transfer players, adding they just needed a new environment to develop and flourish.
“I think you start with the big guys,” he said. “Ohio State transfer Ibrahima Diallo (7-foot center from Saly, Senegal), Shon Robinson, Ole Miss transfer (6-foot-9 forward from Chicago, Illinois), Trey Anderson (6-foot-7 forward transfer from the University of South Carolina), Tibet Gorener (6-foot-9 forward transfer from the University of Arizona). All high-major transfers. Guys that maybe couldn’t crack the lineup at the school they were at before but certainly high-level athletes, Mountain West type of talent.”
But some returning hoopsters could also have a tremendous impact on the season’s outcome.
It starts with Omari Moore, a versatile 6-foot-6 guard from Pasadena, California, who is capable of playing multiple positions, Miles said. Several NBA scouts have inquired about Moore. “I think that says a lot about his potential and his future.”
Other key returners include Trey Smith (6-foot-3 guard from Cypress, California), Sebastian Mendoza (6-foot-3 guard from Riverside, California) and Caleb Simmons (6-foot-6 guard from Vallejo, California).
And there’s Richard Washington Jr. Washington hired a non-certified agent during the off-season and participated in a 3-on-3 event where he reportedly earned money. He was suspended for the season by the NCAA but has appealed to the NCAA for full reinstatement. Washington averaged 19.5 points per game.
“He could be a big shot in the arm,” Miles said. “He could be a real lift to this team with his perimeter scoring.”
The San José State Men’s Basketball community hopes Miles will be a shot in the arm for a struggling program.
“I’m looking forward to strengthening the Mountain West, being part of San José State…I think we can be…a multiple-bid league in terms of three or four teams that’s where we need to get back to,” Miles said. “That’s where we were when we left in 2012, and that’s what I want to help the Mountain West get back to, and that means San Jose State needs to play high-level winning basketball.”
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