This weekend the 20-7 Aztecs begin the final stretch of the 2024-2025 regular season. Now entering into the madness of March, this is where the rubber meets the road. Freshman are no longer considered freshman—youth is no longer considered an excuse.
It is in this time of year of college ball that the men are separated from the boys and a few select players make a name for their programs and themselves.
San Diego State will visit the altitude on Saturday, March 1 at Wyoming, get familiar with the Mountain West tournament facility on Tuesday, March 4 at UNLV, and then wrap things up back home on Saturday, March 8 for Senior Night vs Nevada.
Not exactly a gauntlet, but not exactly a cakewalk either.
The possibilities of playing basketball well into the month of March are up in the air for the Aztecs. Currently they sit at 12-5 in conference and 4th in the standings. Their NET ranking has been pretty idle at 49 and their KENPOM ranks just at 43.
For those of you who may not care a whole lot about these systems and metrics—to put it in layman’s terms—the Aztecs still got some work to do.
That fact hasn’t stopped any of the Aztecs from publicly announcing their intentions for next year.
Last week Reese Waters, who was largely considered to be SDSU’s top returner coming into the year, announced his decision to redshirt this season and return to the Aztecs in 2025-2026.
It was a move not unexpected, but exciting to get the ball rolling.
With already public sentiment from Nick Boyd also returning to SDSU in 2025-2026, the makings of an electric and experienced backcourt appear to be locked in.
Then on Thursday morning during SDSU’s basketball presser, Miles Byrd declared his future intentions and for now put all Aztec Nation on notice.
“If I’m coming back, no portal for me. If I’m coming back to college I’m coming back to SDSU.“
‘IF’ is the word to prioritize here. If he’s coming back to college. Byrd, the Julius Erving award watch list player has been rumored for months being a potential NBA draft pick. Though his conference season has not gone without a few hiccups.
Admittedly Byrd’s dip in his shooting consistency from deep has stemmed from various injuries plaguing him all season. A hip injury that he recently received an injection for to help with the pain has been coupled by a swollen thumb. The thumb injury so crucial that it has made getting the right rotation on his shot something he has had to adjust to.
Nevertheless, Byrd’s potential and athleticism of being a long, rangy, two way player just may be enough to beckon pro franchises into locking up his talents for more development.
“Last year I didn’t’ entertain anything” said Byrd recounting his redshirt freshman season. “I was set coming back to SDSU. And that’s the same thing I’m doing right now. We have bigger things to focus on than what you’re thinking about next year.”
Welcome news to SDSU who has been making a focused effort on not only preparing for a deep run in March, but solidifying their future roster to alleviate the stresses and uncertainty of the transfer portal.
Make no mistake, Byrd will certainly go through the process of pre draft formalities just as Lamont Butler and Nathan Mensah most recently did in their time. But only time will tell whether Miles verbal commitment will stick in his return to the Mesa when the big dollars really come funneling through.
Perhaps keeping a close eye on good friend and former teammate Elijah Saunders’ late in the transfer portal calendar window decision to take his scholarship to Virginia made an impact on Byrd’s situation. We can only speculate that witnessing the disapproval of that move among Aztec Nation played a part in a more wiser approach.
Each player is their own man with different goals and responsibilities they are beholden to. For Byrd he is laser focused on the task at hand.
“All I care about is how we finish out this year and where we seed ourselves come March.”
And so that brings us back to the task at hand. This Saturday will be the sixth trip to elevation for SDSU this year. Beet juice and getting really good sleep has been the focus for Jared Coleman-Jones as he prepares for Laramie.
“I know you get a little light headed up and down the court a few times. It’s just pushing through it. Playing hard and picking your spots knowing you have that media coming soon.“
The Mountain West newcomer had a breakout game in SDSU’s victory over 1st place New Mexico Tuesday night. His teammates will be once again counting on his senior leadership with Magoon Gwath out of the starting lineup for likely the rest of the regular season.
In the first meeting the Aztecs found themselves down 18 points in the first half. It was Magoon Gwath who lead SDSU as he finished with 14 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks. It took a San Diego State 20-0 run to slide by with a 63-61 victory.
This time around Gwath won’t be there to supply these big numbers. Have the Aztecs truly decided to not play down to their competition? We’ll find out.
The Aztecs take on the Cowboys in Laramie, Wyoming this Saturday, March 1. Tip-off time is scheduled for 5pm PST and broadcasted on the CBS Sports Network.
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