San Diego State’s offense is changing with the Tide

Writing a preview of SDSU Men’s basketball’s offense is challenging because head coach Brian Dutcher does not run a strict system. 

Every coach adjusts his approach to fit the skills of his athletes. Dutcher creates the Aztecs’ offense almost from scratch each year and develops his tactics throughout the season. If history is any indication, what SDSU employs for the opener on November 6 against UC San Diego won’t be what they use in March. 

Among the more intriguing aspects of the 2024-2025 roster is the amount of turnover. Only one returner, Reese Waters, figured prominently into Dutcher’s schematic considerations last year.

With so many new pieces, the Aztecs could be unrecognizable. This roster volatility is why SDSU was picked to finish fourth in the Mountain West’s preseason poll. 

“Dutch does a great job of adjusting and not being a prisoner of the moment,” SDSU assistant Jaydee Luster told EVT the day before official practices began. “He’s always trying to evolve as the game evolves. And this past year, Alabama was the number one offense in the country, and a lot of things they did, it was spread, five-out.”  

“Even in the NBA, it’s going more towards a spread offense. (Having) five out to where you open up driving lanes, where guards get there and are able to make plays without a big man down there to contest shots. Dutch is incredibly supportive and incredibly open to changing and evolving with the times and with his personnel.”  

The Crimson Tide’s offense extends all five players beyond the three-point line. Aptly named a “Five-Out” offense, it emphasizes spacing, ball movement, and creating predictable decisions for the offense. While SDSU will still play inside-out at times, the offense should be more open compared to years past.  

Dutcher’s phrase to describe his overall philosophy is “freedom within framework.” To marry SDSU’s foundation with the Crimson Tide’s structure, weaknesses from previous seasons must be strengths this year. It all starts with elite offensive ball handlers. 

Primary Ball Handler

Lamont Butler will always be remembered for his game-winning shot in the Final Four, but if he were still on The Mesa, there would be questions about whether the five-out system best suits his skill set. Kentucky is expected to run a version of the offense, allowing Butler to prove he can consistently finish at the rim, shoot off the bounce, and approach a three-to-one turnover-to-assist ratio.

These are the requisite qualities that SDSU’s primary ball handler must have to run this system. Without someone in the mold of Malachi Flynn or Xavier Thames, SDSU will not be able to capitalize on all the opportunities that playing five-out can bring. Heading into the season, no one on the roster projects to be an all-time great Aztec point guard, but few predicted Flynn and Thames’ excellence in their final years on The Mesa.

Dutcher, one of the creators of position-less basketball, continues to emphasize its virtues. Multiple Aztecs could be the trigger-man for a five-out approach. 

Miles Byrd has flashed potential with the ball in his hands. His ability to pass and finish at the rim could make him an ideal candidate for initiating the offense, even if he is technically not the point guard. The small forward guarding Byrd will not have the experience defending the pick-and-roll that an opposing point guard would. 

Other Aztecs who could thrive in this role are Nick Boyd, Wayne McKinney III, BJ Davis, and Reese Waters. Each, though, like Butler, has a lot to prove. Boyd has averaged only 2.1 assists in his career, and most of his scoring has come from shooting the three. Davis has yet to play significant minutes in college. Waters is a terrific scorer but may need to play more quickly to be a facilitator. Judging from past results, McKinney III fits the profile best but needs to turn the ball over less. 

“We do a lot of watching film (of transfers at their other schools) and it’s like, ‘okay, how was this individual successful at their last spot? Nick Boyd was a guy who was very good off ball screens,” Luster explained. “(FAU) ran a lot of ball screens for him. So, opening the floor and putting him in ball screen situations, we know is critical to his success.” 

“Wayne McKinney is a guy that can get downhill and finish at the rim. So, if we take a big away from the basket, that would give him more opportunities to be able to go down there and finish with an open floor.”

Floor-Spreading Shooters 

The weakness of the five-out system is the inability to hide weak offensive players. SDSU exploited this deficiency when it defeated Alabama in the 2023 Sweet Sixteen. 

The Aztecs’ game plan was to force someone other than Brandon Miller or Jahvon Quinerly to beat them. Their teammates shot a combined 1-13 from three in that game, making it easy for SDSU to double Alabama’s stars. 

Defenses always scheme to take away an offense’s best players. The effectiveness of the five-out system relies on forcing defenders to stay on three-point shooters and exploiting the space that creates. 

Luster mentioned that Magoon Gwath, Jared Coleman-Jones, and Miles Heide can knock down threes. SDSU’s opposition will make them prove it.

If the bigs are proficient from deep, the five-out will be run throughout the year. If not, Dutcher will need to adjust by playing a small lineup or moving to a four-out, one-in approach.

On paper, three-point shooting appears to be a strength for the Aztecs. Coleman-Jones (career 45.8%), Boyd (37.8%), Waters (34.7%), McKinney III (31.2%), and Byrd (30.9%) have shown, to varying degrees, their ability to shoot from behind the arc. A five-out system should also provide them with cleaner attempts to improve their numbers. The rest of the rotation will need to prove capable in this capacity. 

One final feature is whether Dutcher can play two bigs together and still stretch the floor. Video of Gwath’s three-point shooting and Heide’s form in warm-ups tease the possibility that the Aztecs could play extended minutes with a pair of inside athletes on the court. The bigs must also be adept at keeping the offense flowing. 

Coleman-Jones’s assist rate rivaled Butler and Darrion Trammell’s last season, showing he can create shots for others. Getting him the ball at the top of the key and allowing him to find freed-up players for cuts to an unguarded basket could be an effective strategy. 

“Defensively, we have a ‘fix it’ mentality,” Luster said. “Where when things go wrong, we fix it. We fly around, and we fix it. Offensively, we’ve got to have the same kind of mindset.” 

“If the initial play breaks down, you’ve got to get to the next action. So, if I’m a big and I’m going into a (dribble handoff) and they blow up the handoff, I’ve got to be able to get to the next guy. Follow, spring into a ball screen, just keep playing. Constant movement, great spacing, and then, keep playing and get to the next action.” 

SDSU has a long history of playing undersized players at the four. Byrd has the length and tenacity to be a candidate for this role. Waters also profiles as physically capable of the task. If playing multiple bigs stymies the offense, expect Dutcher to return to what he has had so much success with.  

Bigs who excel in the Pick-and-Roll 

The pick-and-roll is universal in basketball, especially at the end of the shot clock. In Alabama’s system, the tactic often started their actions. A big trailed the ball-handler and moved straight into a drag screen, a pick-and-roll used before the defense is fully set. Dropping a shot blocker in the key is the easiest way to combat this initial tactic. 

To properly utilize drag screens, the screening big must be a threat to score in the pick-and-roll. After the first pick, the two primary options are cutting to the basket for a layup or drifting to the perimeter for an open shot. Other options include moving into a secondary screen to create space for a teammate. 

Forcing the defense to cover the big in the pick-and-roll is important for the five-out because it creates a mismatch, which makes the opposition pick its poison.  

Mountain West Preseason Freshman of the Year Pharaoh Compton could excel in this role. His long arms and athleticism could make him an ideal partner for whoever runs the point. 

Deficiencies in Nathan Mensah’s game might have been the source of SDSU’s struggles in the pick-and-roll during his tenure, but the issues remained with Jaedon LeDee at center. It is possible that the point guards could not throw lobs effectively. Whatever the cause, the Aztecs need their bigs to be significant threats on the action for the five-out to be effective. 

“The last two years, we’ve had some similar personnel to where we had bigs that were probably better around the basket, so we adjusted to that,” Luster explained. “A lot of times, we had two bigs ducking in or we had a ball screen with an opposite big either in the dunker spot or on the block ducking in. It changes year-to-year.”   

“This year, we don’t feel like we have guys- like Magoon (Gwath) or Jared (Colemen-Jones)- that it best suits them to duck in all game. They’re better on the perimeter, at times, so we’re trying to adjust to that.”

Overarching Philosophy    

Dutcher’s eventual framework for his offense will aid the Aztecs in executing at a high level. This summer, SDSU’s staff gathered and defined what constitutes a good possession. They landed on four keys. 

The first was making sure “the ball has energy.” That means there should be constant player and ball movement. The downside of depending on Matt Bradley or LeDee the past three seasons was that SDSU sometimes stood around on offense. This season, they aim to change that. 

Next, the staff wanted to instill a “good to great” mentality. The best shots, they found, were often created when defenses were off-balanced, trying to contest good attempts. If the Aztecs successfully pass up decent looks in favor of excellent ones this season, they will meet the staff’s second focus. 

SDSU also emphasized swinging the ball from one side of the court to the other. Studying basketball trends, they learned that shooting percentages increase when the offense utilizes the entire half-court. Great shots often come from the passes that force the defense to rotate to the weak side of the scheme.

Finally, Dutcher will weigh the effectiveness of the five-out if it can create touches in the paint. While having everyone extended opens up shots from the perimeter, its main advantage is allowing penetration to the rim. 

The staff has used these four keys as a rubric to judge possessions. As they watch tape, they count how many focuses they see. If they have three of the four, that is evaluated as a successful trip down the court. Should the staff only see one, it becomes a teaching point. 

“All of it is like a big puzzle, and we put it all together,” Luster said. “I think that’s a lot of what the summer was about, ‘Okay, this is what we see on film. How can we put it all together where everybody can be successful, and it all meshes?’” 

With the season only weeks away, the Aztecs are taking a page from Alabama’s playbook. As basketball becomes more perimeter-oriented, San Diego State is changing with the (Crimson) Tide.

Paul Garrison

My earliest sport’s memory involve tailgating at the Murph, running down the circular exit ramps, and seeing the Padres, Chargers and Aztecs play. As a second generation Aztec, I am passionate about all things SDSU. Other interests include raising my four children, being a great husband and teaching high school.