When the San Diego State men’s basketball team takes the court at Lawlor Events Center on Friday evening to play the Nevada Wolfpack, the Aztecs will be led in part, by a collection of talented transfers. It’s been a key ingredient behind SDSU’s success spanning over two decades since the beginning of the Steve Fisher/Brian Dutcher era.
Friday’s starting five will likely consist of a mix of Reese Waters (USC), Micah Parrish (Oakland), Jaedon LeDee (TCU), and Darrion Trammell (Seattle). In total they represent four of the six Division I transfers on this year’s Aztecs’ squad.
LeDee (20.9 points per game), Waters (11.7 ppg) and Parrish (10 ppg) rank first, second and third in scoring on SDSU’s team this season. Trammell checks in at fifth on the scoring list, but seems to be rounding into top form after some early season injuries and a recent illness.
Fans can also expect fellow transfer Jay Pal (Campbell) to provide productive minutes off the bench or perhaps making his second start of the season.
Cade Alger, a transfer from Seattle, filled an important role on last season’s National Championship runners-up as part of the scout team. This season he and the program decided to run it back together to fill the same capacity.
Last seasons special team was widely known for it’s toughness down on the blocks in the form of rebounding. As for this year on the boards, transfers LeDee, Waters, Parrish and Pal have had to step in and fill the void after the front-court departures of Nathan Mensah and Aguek Arop. Currently they hold four of the top five averages for the team. That’s quite a bit of production from guys who started their collegiate careers elsewhere.
Beginning with the 2000-01 season, Division I transfers have regularly filled important roles for the Red & Black. That season, Randy Holcomb, a powerful and athletic forward who began his career at Fresno State, gave the Aztecs a legitimate offensive force to build around.
In his first season at SDSU, Holcomb became the first Aztec to win Mountain West Player of the Week honors. He finished the year leading the team in scoring, rebounding, minutes, field goals made, free throws made and defensive rebounds.
The following season, Holcomb, a member of the Aztec Hall of Fame 2012 class, teamed with transfer guards Tony Bland (Syracuse) and Deandre Moore (Vanderbilt) to lead SDSU back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1985.
Since then, it’s been a parade of difference makers transferring into America’s Finest City to continue their college basketball careers.
Names like Mohamed Abukar, Lorenzo Wade, Jerome Habel, Ryan Amoroso, Tyronne Shelley, Malcolm Thomas, Brian Carlwell, James Rahon, Josh Davis, Aqeel Quinn, Dwayne Polee Jr., Angelo Chol, JJ O’Brien, Kameron Rooks, Devin Watson, Joshua Tomaic, and Matt Bradley are familiar to many Aztec fans even if these players performed as few as one year on the Cox/Viejas Arena court.
Each year it seems, Coach Dutcher, and Coach Fisher before him, bring in just the right player—or players—to plug in and fit the Aztec style of play.
Watching how many experienced newcomers are ready to contribute to the team’s success right away, validates that Dutcher and his assistants know what they are looking for. And just as importantly, what they are not looking for.
Rarely does a player come in to the Aztecs program and not quite measure up on and off the court when SDSU hits the transfer market. Chad Baker-Mazara may spring to mind for some San Diego State supporters as a recent exception. But make no mistake about it, CBM can play.
As evidenced by what he did while an Aztec during the 2021-2022 season and the success he is enjoying this year at Auburn, Baker-Mazara certainly had the skills to be a major contributor to the team.
But no Aztecs team in the last two decades may have benefitted more from an influx of talented transfers than the 2019-20 team. Malachi Flynn (Washington St.), KJ Feagin (Santa Clara) and Yanni Wetzel (Vanderbilt) guided SDSU to a 30-2 overall record and a number 4 ranking nationally before the pandemic wiped out the NCAA Tournament.
Having redshirted his first year after transferring from Washington State, Flynn was an instant standout performer in his second season on the Mesa. The combo guard earned recognition as a consensus second-team All-American, Mountain West Player of the Year, first-team All-Mountain West and conference Defensive Player of the Year. A first round pick, #29, by the NBA’s Toronto Raptors, Flynn currently plays for the Detroit Pistons.
In their one season representing SDSU, Feagin and Wetzel also made major contributions to one of the best Aztecs teams in program history. Feagin started all 32 games and combined with Flynn to provide San Diego State with one of the top backcourts anywhere.
His play earned the guard a spot on the All-Mountain West honorable mention team and he was named to the league’s All-Defensive Team.
Wetzel, originally from New Zealand, provided SDSU with a big man who could score on the perimeter and in the paint with a variety of athletic moves. Like Feagin, Wetzel started every game in his one season at San Diego State.
The former Vanderbilt player’s 59.2 field goal percentage is the eighth best for a single-season in program history. Both Feagin and Wetzel are playing professional basketball.
Transfer players bring experience, for sure. But some can also bring some bad habits developed at their earlier stops. What separates Coach Dutcher and his outstanding assistant coaches from others is their ability to bring out the best in those they bring into the program.
The run of success we have seen on the Mesa indicates a willingness on the student-athlete’s part to be coached while also signaling that the vetting process the coaches use to evaluate and determine which players to bring in works.
While next year’s incoming recruiting class of three doesn’t include a confirmed transfer just yet, you can bet the Aztecs coaches are well aware of who might be the next star-in-the-making ready to make a move to one of the west coast’s finest college teams. In Dutch We Trust.
San Diego State’s men’s basketball team will face the Nevada Wolfpack in Reno, Nevada on February 9 at 5:00pm PT. The Aztecs own a 25-7 advantage in the all-time series, but since its opening on Nov. 4, 1983, is just 5-6 at Lawlor Events Center. CBS Sports Network will broadcast the game on television and San Diego Sports 760 will have the coverage on radio.
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