3 thoughts: SDSU 77, Long Beach State 45 … Latrell Davis, the fast break and the Mountain Worst

Three thoughts on San Diego State’s 77-45 season-opening win against Long Beach State at Viejas Arena on Tuesday night:

1. Latrell

When starting guard Reese Dixon-Waters is a late scratch (literally, with a scratched cornea in his eye), then two more guards get in early foul trouble, then two more hobble off with assorted rolled ankles and cramps, and you have a 6-foot-2 guard on your bench who scored 23 and 21 points against you last season, and he doesn’t so much as take off his warm-up top, you know something’s going on.

And there is. The plan is to redshirt San Jose State transfer Latrell Davis and preserve his remaining two years of eligibility.

Or it is, at least, until the next game.

Coach Brian Dutcher didn’t wait for questions about Davis, addressing his status in the opening remarks of his post-game news conference.

“I told Latrell, ‘Come ready to play today,’” said Dutcher, who could and did play Davis in the exhibitions because they don’t count. “It had nothing to do with being short-handed. It had something to do with, I think he is a really important player. I’m trying to decide in my own mind: Is he the difference between an unbelievably special season or just another guard in the rotation who causes frustration because no one gets the minutes that they want?

“I told him, ‘Be ready. I’m not going to play you in the first half, but if I don’t like what I see from the team and they’re not bringing what I think they need to bring, I may use you in the second half.’ I told him after the game today, ‘If I don’t like what I see (against Idaho State on Sunday), be ready to play.’ … I haven’t made my mind up on Latrell.”

When Davis committed to the Aztecs last April, Miles Byrd had provisionally entered the NBA Draft. Davis came with an asterisk that he quietly understood and endorsed: If Byrd stayed in the draft, he would play this season. If Byrd returned to the Aztecs, he would entertain a redshirt season given their unprecedented roster depth, particularly in the backcourt.

And NCAA rules dictate that if you play one second of one game, you can’t redshirt.

“I know that’s hard on him, but that’s the fine line on using Latrell and not using Latrell,” Dutcher said. “Because of all the guys on the team, he brings it every single day with no lack of effort. He’s there every day. I’m trying to judge whether I need an everyday guy, or these (other) guys are going to evolve their skill sets into everyday guys.”

Byrd echoed that sentiment in describing the guard who grew up in England and played high school ball in Florida before migrating farther west for two seasons at San Jose State.

“My favorite thing about Latrell is he’s an everyday guy,” Byrd said. “He comes to practice every day ready to work, ready to push people, ready to lead. We know how good of a player he is. We know the skill he’s got. … He can come in and make an impact at any point this year.”

And he still might. Stay tuned.

2. The break

Dutcher jokes each fall that 360 head coaches say they’re going to get out and run this season, and then only about 10 actually do.

The Aztecs have regularly been one of the other 350.

But Tuesday looked and felt different, a more organized, more purposeful, more effective transition offense that the stat sheet said produced a 13-3 advantage in fast-break points but our eyes said was much more. The intent was there. The execution was there, too.

The Aztecs averaged 66 possessions per game last season and have hovered in the mid-60s for the past decade. Their high in the 27-year Dutcher and Steve Fisher era is an even 70.0 in 2021-22.

Tuesday night: 71 possessions, including 38 in the first half.

“We’re a pretty good running team,” Dutcher said. “We have a plan when we run. We’re doing a better job. You have to steal baskets, whether it’s offensive rebounds or fast-break points. Because to beat anybody just in the halfcourt is really hard to do. I don’t care who you’re playing, if you have to win in the halfcourt, it’s difficult to produce enough points to win.”

The next progression is running off makes, the Holy Grail for transition teams because taking the ball out of the net gives the defense more time to retreat. But this was a good start, no doubt. And they have the bench depth to keep fresh, eager legs on the court – another element of efficient running teams.

Said Dutcher: “We’ve done a better job showing them what we want on the break, showing them what their job is, where they’re supposed to be, who’s supposed to be getting the ball. It’s not always on the players when things don’t go right. Sometimes it’s on the coaches, and I think we’ve done a better job preparing them this year to be a running team.”

3. Ouch

Two days into the season, two beyond brutal losses for the Mountain West.

It’s not exactly what the conference had in mind for the final season before five members — four of which reached the NCAA Tournament last spring — defect to the reformed Pac-12.

On Monday, Boise State lost 79-78 at home against Hawaii Pacific, a Division II school with its campus in a former strip mall.

“A painful lesson and a painful pill to swallow on the first night,” Broncos coach Leon Rice said.

On Tuesday, UNLV lost 86-81 at home against Tennessee-Martin, which entered the night No. 328 in the Kenpom metric.

“I want to apologize to the fan base for that opener,” said new coach Josh Pastner, who been relentlessly promoting the program all summer. “I feel sick to my stomach.”

It’s hard to say which is worse.

Non-Division I opponents don’t count in the computer metrics, but they are included in the team sheets that the NCAA Tournament selection committee views. Not good.

Tennessee-Martin is a step up from Hawaii Pacific, certainly, but Division I opponents count in the metrics. UNLV’s Quad 4 home loss will be an absolute anvil on its resume. The Runnin’ Rebels opened at No. 110 in the Kenpom metric — and dropped 19 spots in one night.

“Everybody’s good,” Dutcher said, relaxed and smiling after a comfortable 32-point win. “They play good basketball everywhere. If we were to play Point Loma (Nazarene) across town, I’m sure it would be a good game, because they’ve got a good Division II program.

“The opponent doesn’t matter. It’s the style of play and how they play. You could run into a night like that any time you take the floor.”