In the aftermath of perhaps the most disappointing season in program history, San Diego State coach Brian Dutcher said he felt the Aztecs would have been an NCAA Tournament team if guard Latrell Davis hadn't been redshirted.
At the very least, Davis would have been an everyday player, Dutcher said.
That's some high praise, considering that the Aztecs played with a razor-thin margin most of last season, until they were snubbed on Selection Sunday as one of the First Four Out. It ended a run of five straight March Madness appearances.
"Itjust gave me a huge confidence boost," said Davis, a 6-foot-3 junior guard who's eager to get out on the floor for real in SDSU's first season in the rebuilt Pac-12 Conference.
"I felt like, it's just, good to know that your head coach has good faith in you, good trust in you, and he's seen all the hard work that I've been putting in in the offseason and during the season, like out on the floor, and seeing what I'm capable of. So that was good that he noticed my talents."
Davis and the Aztecs begin their first season in the Pac-12 at home against Fullerton State at 7 p.m. Tuesday.
"Yeah, Latrell Davis was hard to redshirt last year because I thought he was one of our best players last year," said Dutcher, who's entering his 10th season as head coach. "He's a dynamic offensive player, he gets to the rim at will, he can drive the ball, he shoots it at a high level.
"So Latrell, we know is a really good player. I'm excited to get him out there with all our new pieces to see how it kind of fits. ... I know we're a better team with him out on the floor."
The Aztecs were the overwhelming favorites to win the Mountain West Conference last season. But their at-large resume took a hit early to the point that they needed to beat Utah State in the conference tournament to earn the at-large bid, but they lost and missed the Big Dance.
"It was difficult because I know everybody worked hard for it. We'd been working hard since the summer, and I felt like we deserved it," Davis said. "We just had certain losses that I felt hurt us. I knew everybody wasn't happy about us not making the March Madness, so, seeing everything that we worked for, all the hours that we put in, and we didn't make the goal that we set at the start of the season, it was heartbreaking. But we'll bounce back."
Dutcher had to largely rebuild his roster after losing several players to the transfer portal and graduation.
As one of the few holdovers, Davis feels the team is coming together well.
"It's great. Our chemistry's good. We all buy in, we're all coachable, we all listen, we all can take constructive criticism," he said. "Off the court, we all jelled well as a team. We hang out as a team off the court, and I felt like that helped us on the court a lot. We're all comfortable with each other, we're all comfortable enough to hold each other accountable. ... I feel like we listen to each other and we all respect each other enough, so I feel like the team's jelling well."
Davis grew up in Leeds, England, and came to the United States for high school. He played two seasons at San Jose State before transferring to SDSU.
"Ever since I had played them my freshman year, it was a school that I had wanted to go to, like, after being here and seeing Viejas and how it was. It was the year after that Final Four year. So that's the year I had played them and it was just a crazy environment. Like all the fans. I was just like, 'Yeah, like, this is a school I want to be at. This is the college basketball experience.' I had my good games against them, they ended up recruiting me when I was in the portal."
Davis missed practice time this fall with a shoulder injury but has bounced back. He came off the bench in the first two exhibition games, losses to Top 25 teams Arizona and USC, before starting against Long Beach State and leading the Aztecs with 14 points.
"This might be the first year we have three point guards on the floor at one time, or four," Dutcher said. "I mean, Elzie (Harrington) is capable of playing the point. Chance (Gladden) is, Latrellis, David (Torresani) is. These guys have all played point guard in their careers. So we'll have a lot of playmaking guards. That's exciting. That's a spread the floor, drive it and move the ball and have guys that can attack and make plays. We have a lot of point guards on the team and on the floor at the same time this year."
This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/san-diego-state as Brian Dutcher believes one player could have changed San Diego State's season .
