The Rise of San Diego State Basketball

[@rhombusted2798]

This video aged great

[@austintrummel8229]

I'll be bitter for the rest of my life that we never got to see Malachi Flynn and that SDSU team in the national tournament

[@chodak.black14]

Frrrr that was the biggest pain I ever felt in my life I know that team would’ve dominated in the tournament they were ridiculously good

[@Carsoncooktalks]

Great video

[@josephr9930]

good video!

[@leekato2722]

I was there at the introductory press conference when I was a student intern for the Sports Information Department when Fisher was announced as head coach SDSU had such a losing tradition, one of the players scoffed at the moment Fisher said he was looking to turn around the losing. Fisher cleared house. Only one player who was on the roster finished their college eligibility at SDSU.

[@GeoAce777]

THAT is my kind of story. YOU were actually there from the VERY beginning. Steve Fisher started it ALL. ❤🖤 I was a Wolverines fan first 🐾plus SDSU because of him.

[@leekato2722]

@@GeoAce777 it's a mystery & highway robbery that Steve Fisher isn't in the Basketball Hall of Fame

[@ryansuter4424]

Nice video man and thank you

[@sdsuman1]

I attended SDSU ‘96 to ‘98 .. back then we had one of the worst basketball programs in the country. Plans were announced to build a new 12,000 seat basketball arena .. the big debate on campus was that the arena was way too big, they’d struggle to attract more than a few thousand fans per game. I told everyone around me “no bring in the right coaches and build a successful program and this arena won’t be big enough” .. then came the announcement that SDSU hired Steve Fisher, and I remember the first thought in my mind upon hearing that .. ‘ We’re on our way .. ‘

[@jmcd2053]

Anyone here after a SDSU final four appearance?

[@brentdotts7565]

Lol, Kawhi’s laugh dubbed in the background! AZTECS FIGHT!

[@szcollective]

Glad someone noticed 😂

[@GeoAce777]

it ALL started with Steve Fisher 😌

[@robz.3225]

As an Aztec fan since 1979 all I can say is THANK YOU!!

[@bradleyschwartz3935]

Awesome video......thank you so much.....go Aztecs!!!!!!!!

[@jodifeltonwrites]

Great Content...I would have kept watching if you made it longer. GO AZTECS!!

[@KingBueno619]

Aztec fan here, thank you! Sharing this video to the basketball group

[@cf22productions57]

You gained a sub with this one 🔥

[@szcollective]

Thank you man

[@justingolden21]

Flynn was an absolute monster in every way. Offense, defense, ball control, threes, getting in layups, assists, everything. He's just great all around. Same as Mitchell and Bradley. We could have a team THIS YEAR starting Flynn, Mitchell, Schakel, Bradley, and Mensah

[@richardkuroda1601]

DJ Gay was a monster at Poly High in Sun Valley.

[@purple9110]

Inspirational vid

[@szcollective]

Thank you

[@tonysu8860]

An almost critically important factor you missed in this video are the contributions of assistant coach Justin Hutson who is the current coach at Fresno State (Yeah, the Mountain West has great college BB coaches).. "OMG Defense" is the signature of the Aztecs, something not seen anywhere else in the country which is the unquestionable reason why Creighton and Kansas both has stupidly long winning streaks ended on their home courts by a visiting SDSU squad. But trace the team defensive stats through the 2010's... You'll find a direct relationship between the team's best D when Justin Hutson was on staff, and a dropoff the two times he left to work at other schools. Thankfully, he returned to SDSU each time. And it seems that the Aztecs learned its lesson, when Hutson left a third time for the head coaching job at Fresno State, the Aztecs seem to have been better prepped for his absence and have been able to sustain its D the past 2 years. I don't know how the school support is going at Fresno State, but they should know that they have a really unique talent based on what he accomplished at SDSU, and practically all coaches need at least a couple years to teach and acquire the talent that fits their program and with some patience I expect Fresno State to become an annual contender soon. One thing you might've mentioned is that as a "Mid major" and not a Power conference team, the Aztecs built its program in the face of strong regional competition for talent like Pac12 conference teams UCLA, USC and others with annual budgets well over $100 million more than the Aztecs despite their success. This meant that practically all of SDSU's success was based on players who generally weren't particularly good shooters, SDSU couldn't go toe to toe with big schools and out-score them. That's what makes Aztecs D so special, it was born of necessity the only way to win was to prevent the other side from scoring if you can't out-score them. Since the attention Kwahi brought to SDSU, we've had much better shooting talent, and they seem to be able to learn Aztecs D just as well as teams before them. The players who choose to come to SDSU come to play basketball, enjoy winning and have fun while doing it.

[@GeoAce777]

Amen to that. 'don't come to San Diego State if you don't want to play D'

[@mattmeador616]

In the last 10 years there have been so many memorable games and moments that it is almost impossible to summarize. The rivalries, "The Show," the unbelievable comebacks and upsets, and how a great defense will always compensate for a terrible offense lol

[@randalllundgren6035]

UNLV will be back the next two years hopefully a couple other Mountain West teams will catch on and get back to that level so we have 5 teams every year in the tournament mountwest has some exciting teams unlv's coming back San Diego State is the pride of the Mountain West need two or three more teams at that level

[@MetaVita]

Really cool how the NCAA robbed the best SDSU basketball team in history of a shot at the championship.

[@GeoAce777]

Dayton Flyers 🛩️too😏🤯

[@TheSkyline5467]

And evidence is mounting that Brian Dutcher is one hell of a basketball coach.

[@chilitorrescano8524]

GO AZTECS!!

[@lisacateyes53]

As an Aztec fan since the 60s it is awesome to see the growth in quality and national recognition of the program. Smokey Gaines through Fisher and now Ditched have all had a positive impact but it was the Fisher hiring that changed everything just as the hiring of Don Coryell advanced the football program along with Coaches Hoke and Long. Dutch is a great person, coach and recruiter who most important asset is his ability to obtain and retain quality people as coaches and players and help them be the best they can be. With our returnees plus transfers this team (2022-2023) could be one of the best ever with quality, depth, strong work ethic and experience plus Dutcher's and staff magic touch. I look forward to the future knowing this program is in the NOW far into the future with the blueprint Coach Fisher and Coach Dutcher have installed. Blessings to you all, Aztec fans for Life!!

[@stevenguevara2184]

SDSU!!!

[@justingolden21]

There were a LOT of good players during the Leonard years, he was awesome, but probably about average with everyone else at the time. It was just a stacked team. Also, don't gloss over Mitchell and Schakel recently, who have been among the best players in SDSU basketball history imo.

[@plutobaby9996]

Hopefully they can do some damage in the tourney this year

[@muddywaters92]

I will say the SDSU student section definitely crosses the line whenever they play BYU. When everyone wore devil horns, bicycle helmets, and missionary outfits. So happy BYU won at SDSU in 2010.

[@clea14]

It's Azteces'es not Aztec'es

[@Carsoncooktalks]

Great video