Preview: Can HC Tim Miles lead SJSU to winning record in Mountain West play?
Can SJSU finish .500 against MW opponents with robust NIL presences in order to notch a postseason appearance?
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“You either adapt or die”
WHO: San Jose State Spartans (7-6) vs. Wyoming (7-6)
WHEN: Tuesday, January 2nd — 7:30 p.m. CST / 5:30 p.m. PST
WHERE: Arena-Auditorium; Laramie, Wyo (8,083)
TV: Mountain West Network (Stream on the Mountain West Network)
ODDS: Wyoming -5
As San Jose State men’s basketball opens conference play tonight against Wyoming, head coach Tim Miles now faces a question that’s loomed large since the preseason: Can SJSU repeat last year’s success without an NIL presence and reigning Mountain West Player of the Year Omari Moore?
“You either adapt or die,” SJSU head coach Tim Miles told The Spear last October.
At 7-6, the definition of “repeating last year’s success” has been slightly tempered to making back-to-back postseason appearances for the first time ever. In order to do that SJSU must win nine of its 18 conference games. 12 of those 18 games come against teams with a higher NET ranking. Just so happens that nearly all of those teams have an NIL presence the Spartans only hope to achieve one day.
According to the SF Chronicle, Colorado State, Wyoming, Nevada, New Mexico, Boise State, San Diego State and UNLV each have collectives that have reported annual NIL budgets for men’s basketball over $400,000. Miles, meanwhile, watched recruits immediately “wig out” on Zoom calls when he mentioned he couldn’t offer NIL money.
Prior to an upset over crosstown rival Santa Clara on Dec. 20, finishing .500 in conference play for the second time since 2000 was daunting. SJSU was fresh off an 86-75 loss to Montana where its defense was reliably unreliable. “We just got hurt inside,” Miles said following the defeat. “But that’s not new news.”
Miles entered the 2023-24 season well-aware of how the Spartans’ inexperienced front court could be detrimental to the team’s success. How could he not? Freshman forward Diogo “DJ” Seixas and sophomore forward William Humer had no prior Division I experience. The team’s prized 2023 recruit in sophomore Washington State transfer Adrame Diongue averaged 1.3 points and 1.8 boards in six minutes per game in Pullman.
This stress was only heightened when Miles announced SJSU forward Robert Vaihola, the Mountain West leader in offensive rebounds a year ago, would be out for the year with a foot injury.
With the departures of Vaihola’s front court counterparts in Sage Tolbert (graduated) and Ibrahima Diallo who “transferred to Central Florida this past June for $160,000 in NIL money,” according to that same SF Chronicle article, SJSU’s new rotation could be a deterrent to winning conference games.
A “deterrent” but not a complete obstruction.
Happy New Year from Wyoming! #AllSpartans pic.twitter.com/sZjPI22Ol2
— San Jose State Men’s Basketball (@SanJoseStateMBB) January 2, 2024
At least senior forward Trey Anderson was rapidly evolving into a trustworthy three-point shooter and defender at the start of the season.
Then he sustained a “significant knee sprain” on Dec. 4 in an overtime loss to North Dakota State – SJSU’s third straight at the time.
The streak ended at three when SJSU used a late-surge to beat New Orleans (then ranked in the bottom 300 of the NET). But the thrill of the win and junior guard MJ Amey’s season-high 29 points was quickly forgotten when SJSU followed it up with that aforementioned loss to Montana at home on Dec. 17.
If SJSU was outrebounded 44-24 and allowed Montana forward Laolu Oke to go for 16 points and 15 rebounds, how could it handle an eight-game stretch in January that features Wyoming’s Sam Griffin (18.3 points per game), San Diego State’s Jaedon Ladee who leads the Mountain West with 21.3 points and is tied for the league lead in rebounds (9.2). Furthermore, the guy Ladee’s tied with – Utah State’s Great Osobor – will be hosting SJSU in Logan to end the month.
By that point, if SJSU ends the month at 3-5 or 2-6, there’s little chance it can make up enough ground to clinch that prized .500 record. In consequence, it’ll reinforce the narrative that SJSU’s paltry financial state isn’t conducive to long term success. No coach since 1966 has finished with a winning record. Even scarier for Miles, since 1938, no SJSU head coach has fulfilled the same duty at a different school for at least two years. Mind you, San Jose is viewed as a stepping stone to a better opportunity for coaches.
As SJSU’s defense struggled, the fear that it would return to its disastrous state was front of mind. Forget the fact SJSU won 20 games for the first time since 1981 last year. The Spartans 10 Mountain West wins eclipsed its conference win total (eight) from the previous five seasons.
But then came that 81-78 upset over Santa Clara – No. 120 NET ranking –to end non-conference play. Yes, it wasn’t perfect, but it was enough to offer hope.
Highlights from yesterday's 81-78 win over Santa Clara ⬇️#AllSpartans pic.twitter.com/qVafOKB90F
— San Jose State Men’s Basketball (@SanJoseStateMBB) December 21, 2023
Amey (team-leading 17 points and nine rebounds) continued his emergence as the team’s leading scorer, SJSU outscored SCU 23-13 in points off turnovers, Humer finished with a +14 and point guard Alvaro Cardenas dished a team-high 10 assists.
When the Spartans upset Santa Clara last year, Miles noticed a growing confidence in each player. Suddenly, they started to believe in themselves a little more and held their chest a little bit higher. That was then parlayed into beating UNLV and Colorado State to start conference play. Until then SJSU had never opened Mountain West play with a win.
Perhaps tonight’s bout with a struggling Wyoming could signal a repeating trend.
