Magoon Gwath set to return for Aztecs after long wait

Sometime after 7 p.m. Tuesday, either with the music pumping during pregame introductions or when a 7-foot frame unfurls himself from sitting at the scorer’s table, there will be a roar inside Viejas Arena unlike anything we have heard this season and possibly will.

Goon is back.

San Diego State sophomore forward Magoon Gwath is expected to play Tuesday against the Sun Belt’s Troy Trojans for the first time since April knee surgery and a brief stint in the transfer portal that had him flirting with blueblood programs for seven-figure NIL payouts. Saying “my heart was still here,” the Mountain West freshman and defensive player of the year took considerably less money to return to Montezuma Mesa.

Now the fan base gets to publicly thank him.

SDSU coach Brian Dutcher said Monday he’s still formulating how to use the unicorn talent in only his second game since landing awkwardly on the right knee on Feb. 22, and that was a rusty performance in a blowout loss against North Carolina in the NCAA Tournament on March 18. He had surgery to stabilize the posterior cruciate ligament a month later, and only 10 days ago received medical clearance for full contact.

“It felt great after not playing basketball for six, seven months,” Gwath said. “It feels good to finally get out here with my guys and not sit on the side or pedal (on the exercycle) or do conditioning but be more involved. I just want to go out there and see how I feel.”

The first thing fans will notice is his frame, which has the added bulk of 20 pounds from a vigorous offseason weightlifting regimen and, he sheepishly admits, hearty breakfasts of oatmeal with peanut butter.

“Adding weight will just help my game a lot,” said Gwath, who has refined jump hooks with both hands. “I feel like the things I struggled with last year stemmed from being a little lighter. Gaining weight will help me down low, scoring against bigger defenders, guarding bigger defenders.

“Obviously, I want to get back up to how I was last year but I want to exceed beyond that. I don’t want how I played last year to be my ceiling.”

After averaging 5.3 points and 2.5 rebounds through his first six games, he introduced himself to the nation with 25 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks against Fresno State. During a four-game stretch in late January and early February, he averaged 17 points and 10.3 rebounds — a double-double.

Then he got hurt.

“He’s feeling his way back,” Dutcher said. “He shows glimpses of the player we all know he is, but you’ve got to get in game rhythm and you have to play games to get in game rhythm. He’s practicing full, he looks good in stretches, but until he gets some games under his belt, he won’t be the player he was before he got hurt.

“As good as he thinks he’s going to be and as excited as he is to be out there, there will be a curve to try to get his timing back. He’s going to have to play through some frustration in that process, and I’m going to have to coach through some frustration as we get arguably our best player back on the floor.”

But when he does rediscover his fitness and rhythm?

“He’s a difference maker, he’s an impact player,” Dutcher said. “He just looks different than everybody else. … He’s a special player.”

There are other shot blockers across the country (Gwath ranked seventh in Division I last season at 2.6 per game), but they can’t step onto the perimeter and take smaller players off the dribble, or step back and drain a 3-pointer, or switch onto a point guard on defense. Gwath is all of that, in one player.

“If you asked me when Goon first came in, I would have said Goon’s a pro,” junior guard Miles Byrd said. “It helps any team in the country to have a pro on the court with them. Goon, as much as he brings on the offensive end, his level of shot blocking is unmatched in this country, in my opinion. Obviously, defensively, we’re going to take another step with Goon out there. … It gives me a little more room to roam.”

Added sophomore guard Taj DeGourville: “He’s, like, perfect for us. He’s going to bring everything he was last year but even better, honestly.”

He’ll likely be on a minutes restriction to start, although, as Dutcher points out, his roster is so deep that most guys don’t get much more than 20 minutes per game anyway. And he’ll wear a bulky knee brace for stability, as much mental as physical.

But there are no restrictions on his work ethic. Practice ends, and Gwath gathers a gaggle of managers for a shooting workout afterward. On Monday, the managers lined up and, one after another, closed out on him as he launched corner 3s.

“I don’t think there’s a real timeline,” Gwath said. “I just have to go out there and try to get back up to speed, work every day. … I’ve been waiting for a long time, itching to get back out there.”

San Diego State (2-0) vs. Troy (3-2)

When: 7 p.m. Tuesday

Where: Viejas Arena

TV: Ch. 9/51

Radio: 760 AM