Tag: MJ Amey

The Complexities Of SJSU Basketball’s 2022 Recruiting Class

SJSU basketball’s 2022 recruiting class is a mix of misfortune and what-ifs.

The Complexities Of SJSU Basketball’s 2022 Recruiting Class

How SJSU’s 2022 recruiting class has impacted the 2023-24 season

Follow @Mattweiner20 & @MWCwire

A mix of misfortune and what-ifs

Following San Jose State basketball’s 0-2 start in conference play, it’s easy to ponder a reality where it retained 2022-23 Mountain West Player of the Year Omari Moore through NIL deals. Although valid, perhaps those wonderments aren’t pointed in the right direction.

Instead of Moore, maybe fans should wonder how SJSU would be faring right now if it got more production out of its 2022 recruiting class. 

As SJSU (7-8, 0-2 MW) prepares to host No. 19 San Diego State (13-2, 2-0 MW) Tuesday night, only one player from that recruiting class – sophomore guard Garrett Anderson – will be seeing action. 

Which begs the question: How has that recruited class impacted SJSU’s 2023-24 season?

As it relates to the Spartans’ struggling front court, a sizable amount. Starting with power forward Max Allen who was one of five freshman from the 2022 class to depart from SJSU this offseason. 

Now at Marist University, Allen is averaging 12.4 points, 3.2 rebounds and boasts a player efficiency rating of 26.5. His numbers are currently better than SJSU power forwards in sophomore William Humer (4.9 points, 2.5 rebounds and a 12.8 player efficiency rating) and freshman Diogo “DJ” Seixas (3.9 points, 1.2 rebounds and a 11.8  player efficiency rating). 

Though Allen averaged just 1.3 points and 2 rebounds in eight games last year, could his size and scoring have prevented any of SJSU’s four late-game collapses – including the squandered 17-point lead to Wyoming and a nine-point second half lead to Boise State? 

But to say Allen’s situation and the five transfers renders the 2022 class a complete disappointment, is to ignore the gem SJSU found in junior power forward Robert Vaihola and the misfortune of his season-long absence due to a foot injury.

Following his freshman year in 2021-2022, Vaihola entered the transfer portal when Fresno State head coach Justin Hutson suggested he go the junior college route. 

The result? 

Vaihola transferred to SJSU, became the Mountain West leader in offensive rebounds (3 per game) and helped SJSU finish with the sixth-best rebounding margin nationwide. Surely, his presence would have prevented the Spartans from getting outrebounded 43-23 and outscored on second chance opportunities 20-5 against the Broncos last Friday night. For that matter, maybe his presence would’ve prevented SJSU from ranking ninth in points allowed per game (71.8) in the Mountain West this year after it ranked fourth (66.2) last year. 

In essence, Vaihola’s absence is the bad break SJSU just simply couldn’t afford. But unlike Vaihola, SJSU knew grad transfer Sage Tolbert wouldn’t return following the 2022-23 season. 

That’s the yin-and-ying of the transfer portal. SJSU received someone in Tolbert who was well-seasoned and ready to dominate but those virtues were a one-year solution to a year-after-year dilemma. Going the transfer portal route every year isn’t a bad option, but with SJSU’s invisible NIL presence it’s difficult to land someone of Tolbert’s pedigree.

Which leaves SJSU to rely on Humer, Seixas and Washington State sophomore transfer Adrame Diongue who committed to SJSU to be reunited with first-year assistant coach Ed Gipson. Among those three, Diongue is the only one with Division I experience, but that came in the form of 6.3 minutes per game last year. 

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Therein lies the conundrum plaguing SJSU. Diongue, Humer and Seixas are expected to replace production from Vaihola, Tolbert and center Ibrahima Diallo who transferred to Central Florida after two years at SJSU. Which means this year’s front court is experiencing their learning curve two years after junior guards Alvaro Cardenas and MJ Amey and senior wings Trey Anderson and Tibet Gorener experienced theirs. 

After experiencing the historic 2022-23 season, those four were hoping to maintain the momentum and finish in a relatively similar position. The media, meanwhile, thought SJSU wouldn’t crater back toward irrelevance. Hence the Spartans were picked to finish seventh in the 11-team Mountain West preseason poll.

But with timelines that aren’t aligning, that’s growing increasingly more difficult. That said, it’s not impossible. After all, there are16 conference games left – however – half of those games come against opponents in the top-35 of the NET. And that gauntlet for SJSU starts Tuesday night against SDSU (No. 21 in NET). Now, that’s not to say it’s impossible. There’s still time for Diongue, Humer and Seixas to improve. Plus, Anderson, a second rotation guard, can still leave an imprint so the 2022 class doesn’t leave the 2023-24 season without any impact.

Matt’s Monday Mailbag: Dissecting SJSU basketball’s late-game woes

This week’s Matt’s Monday Mailbag takes a deeper look at SJSU basketball’s late-game woes.

Matt’s Monday Mailbag: Dissecting SJSU basketball’s late-game woes

SJSU reporter Matt Weiner answers your questions

Follow @Mattweiner20 & @MWCwire

Let’s talk ball

Hello and welcome to Matt’s Monday Mailbag™ your go-to destination for all pressing SJSU men’s basketball matters.

Enough chit-chat. Let’s get into it.

Ricky Delgado @RickyDe70535587 “We’re blowing leads left and right and a much better team than our record indicates. Just frustrating seeing how we’re in games or dominating them, and then we blow it. It reminds me a lot of the first half of football season actually. Hoping for a similar kind of turnaround.”

I understand the comparison between SJSU men’s basketball and football. Both teams have conceded leads in games it should’ve won. But when football plummeted to 1-5 this year, it had the luxury of knowing an easier schedule lay ahead – SJSU men’s basketball doesn’t. 

For SJSU to clinch a .500 record for CBI eligibility, it must go 9-7 in a slate that features eight games against opponents in the top-35 of the NET. So it’s a case of extremely difficult, but not impossible. Although it could trend toward the latter if Boise State (No. 70 in NET), UNLV (No. 112 in NET) and Wyoming (No.192 in NET) all improve. 

Ricky Delgado @RickyDe70535587 “We might have to run two big lineups (to aid with rebounding). DJ [Diogo Seixas] and Will [William Humer] can shoot a little bit so the floor may not necessarily shrink in doing that. The only issue would with that would be center depth, but if we could make it work somehow I think it could help us out.”

If you’re looking to improve rebounding, I’m not sure a Humer and Seixas combo lineup is the best way to go. Humer’s 2.5 rebounds per game is the sixth-most on SJSU and Seixas’ 1.2 rebounds per game is 11th-most. 

Therefore, when opting in for a two big lineup, I think seven-footer Adrame Diongue must be the constant and its Humer and Seixas ping-ponging in and out. 

Andrew Hartley @AndrewHart1ey “At the end of the Boise game, Miles took out [Adrame] Diongue for Garrett Anderson because of free-throw shooting. But do you think extended versions of such a small ball lineup could help SJSU?”

In times of a rut – yes. 

Take last Friday for example. SJSU was up nine with 10 minutes left and ended up losing by nine. This hard-to-watch final stretch saw SJSU fail to score a single field goal in the final five minutes as Boise State’s O’mar Stanley dominated his way toward a 30-point 11-rebound double-double. 

I understand why Miles chose to keep a tight rotation with at least one big in. Too much tinkering could lead to dastardly high levels of discombobulation.  

But at a certain point, when things are going bad, maybe the best way to reverse fortune is saying, ‘ah, to hell with it’ and see what guards Garret Anderson or Latrell Davis could do alongside guard Alvaro Cardenas, MJ Amey and wings Trey Anderson and Tibet Gorener. 

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Ricky Delgado @RickyDe70535587 “MJ [Amey] balled out and I feel the worst for him. My biggest fear is after this season if it doesn’t go as well as they like, that MJ, Al [Alvaro Cardenas] and some of the other guys jump ship and look elsewhere.”

I’m very curious to see how their situations shake out because right now it seems like they could leave SJSU if a Power Five school were to come knocking. Few could blame either one for wanting to put themselves in the best position possible for their post-NCAA endeavors. 

To maintain optimism, I’d consider reflecting back to Omari Moore. He had opportunities to leave SJSU for a Power Five after the 2021-22 season but he chose to stay because he knew it was the best path for him. Now that he’s suiting up in the G-League I’d say he made the right choice. 

Ricky Delgado @RickyDe70535587 “We can fill it up in the scoring column, but man we have a giant hole in the paint. Losing 3 players who led us in rebounding hurts. Idk how many second chance points Boise had or points in the paint, but it felt like it was over 50 for-sure. Idk if we can fix that during the season, but if they can’t it’s gonna be a long one. 

You weren’t far off. Boise State scored 40 points in the paint compared to SJSU’s 32. 

I’ll also push back on SJSU being able to “fill it up in the scoring column.” In the recent loss to Boise State, SJSU averaged 1.250 points per possession in the first half and .853 in the second half. In the Wyoming loss, the Spartans scored 1.382 points per possession in the first half , but .929 points per possession in the second half. 

Therein lies the problem for SJSU: Its offensive dominance doesn’t carry over from one half to the next. 

 So forget the rebounding, this must improve first. The consequence if it doesn’t is just too costly.

SJSU basketball must find a solution to late-game collapses ASAP

SJSU basketball must find a solution to late-game collapses ASAP.

A sense of urgency must arise

SJSU basketball must find a solution to late-game collapses ASAP

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An improvement must happen


Let’s get it out of the way now: the 2023-24 SJSU men’s basketball squad isn’t bad. 

If it was, there’s little chance it would boast wins over UC Irvine (No. 72 in NET) and Santa Clara (No. 108 in NET). Although for the sake of SJSU fans’ sanity, maybe it would be easier if it was bad. 

By languishing in that frustrating space of promising but unreliable and good but not good enough, fans have been subjected to watching several late-game collapses. 

“More than anything I want them [SJSU players] to know they’re capable of winning these games and they’re this close,” SJSU head coach Tim Miles said, showing an inch wide margin between his index finger and thumb following Friday night’s loss to Boise State. 

Inside of that narrow margin is the ability to not squander a 17-point lead to Wyoming and a nine-point lead to the Broncos. Looking ahead, the Spartans could fall to 0-3 in conference play after Tuesday’s bout against San Diego State (No. 21 in NET) and 2-6 by the end of January. The more SJSU loses (7-8, 0-2) the littler the chances it can clinch that .500 record to be eligible for the CBI.

Identifying a problem and the consequences is easy. Now comes the hard part: What’s the solution? 

Against Boise State, should Miles have yanked SJSU center William Humer out for good when he saw the Broncos O’mar Stanley pulverizing him in the paint in the first half? Maybe a smaller, but quicker lineup could’ve prevented Stanley from scoring 30 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. Whatever that solution may be, SJSU can’t make getting outrebounded 43-23 and outscored 20-5 on second chance opportunities a habit. 

Or, should Miles have sat wings Tibet Gorener or Trey Anderson at any moment down the stretch on Friday? The pair shot a combined 1-for-13 from three and contributed to a brutal offensive lowlight: Zero SJSU field goals in the final five minutes of the game. By inserting freshman Latrell Davis into the game, Miles could’ve gotten an offensive boost to vault SJSU back into contention.

Perhaps the real shame, is that stellar individual performances now linger in an awkward space. 

On Friday night, junior guard MJ Amey delivered SJSU the game-changing pedigree of former Spartan and 2022-23 Mountain West Player of the Year Omari Moore. In the first half he strung together 25 points on a 5-for-7 clip from three, three steals and five rebounds. But after halftime that fire and locomotive intensity came to a screeching halt and he scored just five points.

Is it fair to ask Amey to score 35-40 points and not 30? Probably not. Unfortunately, the door to that conversation crept open as the Broncos polished off a 78-69 victory. 

What about last Tuesday when Cardenas scored 21 points, snatched nine rebounds and dished four assists in the 75-73 loss to Wyoming? Is it incumbent upon him to find a way to do more? This again is a resounding no. But when SJSU plays the kind of defense to allow Wyoming to explode for 40 second half points, these types of questions creep to the surface. 

“Just got to move on and bounce back,” Amey said Friday in a dejected tone.

Conventional wisdom would say the Spartans are just in the “dog days” of a rebuild. Where there’s no such thing as a loss. Just a set of information to learn and grow from for next year. 

NIL and the transfer portal, however, have rearranged rebuild conventional wisdom into myopic truths. 

In this new reality, stellar play from Cardenas (13.6 points and 5.7 assists per game) or Amey (15 points per game) could mean playing for a better school next season – not continuing Miles’ rebuild. 

Their motivation to go from a Mid-Major to a High-Major is the same reason they spurned interest from low-level NCAA schools and waited for a Division I offer: Better competition equates to more exposure and therefore better post-college opportunities. 

By playing against superior talent, Cardenas could very well put himself in position to make the Spanish national team or play for Liga ACB, Spain’s premier basketball league. If his nifty playmaking, grit and intensity works at a Power Five chances are it could work well there, too. 

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Amey, meanwhile, could play for a different professional league overseas. Those scoring outbursts could be alluring to any international team seeking a game-changer. 

Some might feel this is far too forward-looking. After all, it’s been just two conference games. 

There’s 16 games left. Things can change. 

Maybe the situation wouldn’t feel so alarming if the losses to BSU and Wyoming were one-off scenarios. But throughout non-conference play, SJSU hinted it would struggle in this realm.

In a mid-November loss to Abilene Christian, SJSU was up 43-33 at the half and allowed 44 points in the second half. A couple of weeks later, in a loss to Cal Poly, SJSU was up 38-30 at the half and allowed 39 points in the second half and 12 in overtime. And in a December loss against Montana, SJSU was up 40-37 at the half and allowed 49 points in the second half.

This is not the case of a team struggling to replace its previous offensive closer in Moore. 

This is the case of a team that can’t maintain the defensive effort required to close games.  

On the flip side, imagine if SJSU did maintain the defensive effort required to close games.  

That 7-8 could very well be a 12-3. If that happened, SJSU would prove to the Mountain West it can compete without an NIL presence. Furthermore, Miles and co. could take pride in knowing they can recruit and develop overlooked talent at an elite level. 

But now, all fans are left with is Miles showing that inch-wide margin. 

“That close.”

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MJ Amey’s brilliance wasted as SJSU concedes late-lead to Boise State

MJ Amey’s brilliance wasted as SJSU basketball concedes late-lead to Boise State.

MJ Amey’s 30 points not enough for SJSU

MJ Amey’s brilliance wasted as SJSU basketball concedes late-lead to Boise State

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An unforgiving and troubling trend …

Oh no. It happened again. San Jose State conceded another late lead. 

This one – a nine-point second half lead to Boise State – came just three days after SJSU surrendered a 17-point lead to Wyoming. 

SJSU’s 78-69 loss on Friday night is now its fourth late-game collapse of this young season. And now Spartan fans are left wondering if this means SJSU is cratering back toward irrelevance. 

Perhaps the biggest problem with Friday night’s loss is that it wastes a mind-boggling 30-point performance from SJSU (7-8, 0-2) point guard MJ Amey. 

“Just got to move on and bounce back,” Amey said in a dejected tone.

Twenty five of those 30 points came in a first half where Amey was untouchable. When he drilled four-straight shots and three-straight three-pointers to give SJSU a 19-10 lead, it imbued something special was brewing. Then he scored again … and again … and again. By the end of it, he’d totaled 25 points – four shy of his previous season-high – on 9-for-11 shooting, 5-for-7 clip from three and 2-for-2 from the line. Don’t let that distract from his five rebounds and three steals. 

Perhaps the greatest compliment one could give Amey, is that he gave flashbacks to former Spartan and 2022-23 Mountain West Player of the Year Omari Moore. 

But with teammates around Amey struggling, his performance is now remembered as good but not good enough. Rather than it being remarkable and enough for SJSU to upset BSU. 

SJSU wings Trey Anderson (13 points) and Tibet Gorener (three points) combined to shoot 1-for-13 from three. Perhaps the most staggering offensive lowlight is SJSU not scoring a single basket in the final 5:16 of the game as SJSU’s 65-61 lead slipped into a 78-69 defeat.

“At Wyoming I thought it was our perimeter defense that let us down and we lost on a last-second shot and tonight I thought it was our interior defense,” SJSU head coach Tim Miles said. 

BSU (10-4, 1-0 MW) power forward O’mar Stanley obliterated SJSU’s front court for 30 points and 11 rebounds. And Tyson Degenhart trailed Stanley with 21 points for the second-most on the team. 

Throughout the entire game, Miles ping-ponged SJSU center Adrame Diongue (10 points and four rebounds) and William Humer (two points and zero rebounds) in and out of the rotation but couldn’t find a formula that worked. A lack of paint presence contributed to SJSU getting outrebounded 43-23 and outscored 20-5 on second chance opportunities. 

The Broncos amassed 45 second half points a few days after Wyoming amassed 40 second half points against SJSU’s shaky defense. 

Now at 7-8 overall and 0-2 in conference play, the Spartans must win nine of their 16 conference games to become eligible for their second-straight CBI tournament appearance. If they can do it – which now seems less likely – it would be their first time making back-to-back postseason appearances. 

A pivotal piece to SJSU’s unprecedented success from a year ago was its 2-0 start. Until that point, SJSU had never started out 1-0 in conference play. But now staring down an 0-3 start with San Diego State coming to town this Tuesday, SJSU may have to wait until its back-to-back games against Air Force (Jan. 13) and Fresno State (Jan. 16) to build momentum. 

Considering SJSU still has to face New Mexico (No. 36 in NET), UNLV (No. 115 in NET) and Utah State (No. 26 in NET) this month, the Spartans could rack up six losses before February begins. 

“More than anything I want them [SJSU] to know they’re capable of winning these games and they’re this close,” Miles said showing an inch wide margin between his index finger and thumb. 

Perhaps in the gap is what SJSU fans are left wondering what could’ve been.

For the second straight game now.

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