By Matt Weiner (@MattWeiner20) – MBB Beat Reporter
The Spartans find themselves taking a trip on the wheel of misfortune losing four straight games in blowout fashion to open up Mountain West play. Each game has been lost by at least 15 points and at the most 36.
Existing at the lowest rung of the Mountain West ladder isn’t foreign territory for San Jose State. Since the 2013-14 season, it has averaged a lowly .135 winning percentage in conference play and has finished with a winning percentage of .300 or below in every season but one.
First-year head coach Tim Miles knew what he was getting himself into when taking command of the ship. This current roster wasn’t likely going to pull a .500 winning percentage out of thin air. 2021-22 would be used to put down a layer of bricks to build a foundation of future success.
The current pieces on the board available for Miles to tinker with is perfect for building a better future product. Trey Smith has been the only Spartan starter that’s listed as a senior, everyone else is either a freshman or sophomore.
Having a young roster is a double-edged sword. There’s hope that the core will stick together and through the help of time and practice become a well-oiled machine. Chemistry isn’t an overnight process.
The other side of that sword is going through the grueling process of massaging out miscues.
Miscues for the Spartans center around not knowing where everybody is on the court. When Wyoming’s Jeremiah Oden drives from the corner to the rim there needs to be backside help. In this scenario Trey Anderson and Omari Moore don’t know who is supposed to provide rim protection and by the team they look at each other to communicate it, Oden is throwing down an easy two handed slam.
And then there are the growing pains of not being fast or strong enough to compete with the rest of the Mountain West.
It’s Alvaro Cardenas-Torre’s civic duty to fight through the screen and put a body on Noah Reynolds to make sure he doesn’t get to the hoop. Cardenas Torre isn’t able to catch up and it results in the easiest two points the Cowboys saw all night.
The frustrating start to conference play hasn’t been all rain and dark clouds.
Following a 15-3 run, the Spartans tied the game up at 52 a piece with 15:13 left in the ball game. Things fell apart afterwards, but it was evidence that the Spartans can stand their ground against the big dogs of the Mountain West.
“We had growth and we are going to keep having growth if we keep the right mentality” said Miles. “The guys are responding, their buy-in is excellent and you are going to see better results.”
Wins won’t be the final dictation of whether or not the Spartans are headed in the right direction. It will be granular improvements on a game by game basis that will pay off in the win column either now or the forthcoming seasons.
