By Aaron Johnson (@voz_aaron1) – Managing Editor | Freshman guard Jermaine Washington (13), junior forward Sadraque NgaNga (24) and junior center Robert Vaihola (22) get ready during a stoppage of play during SJSU’s 69-66 loss to San Diego State on Feb. 11. (Photo by Denim Bragg – Freelance Photographer)
The biggest challenge San Jose State men’s basketball has faced this season has not been an opposing team.
It has been injuries.
The Spartans are currently sitting at 13-16, 6-11 MW which is already better than their 9-23, 2-16 MW finish in the 23-24 season. Even with the improvement, SJSU could have been in a better position this season if not for injuries.
Senior guard Josh Uduje missed two games with an elbow and back injury, junior guard Will McClendon has not played since Feb. 2 with a knee injury and now junior center Robert Vaihola is dealing with a knee injury which knocked him out of the most recent Utah State game and caused him to miss the Wyoming game.
This makes three key starters that have missed time.
“You have to deal with the circumstances of injuries, illness and foul trouble,” head coach Tim Miles said. “That’s what sometimes really gets to you because it can overwhelm the team.”
Vaihola is the most dominant physical presence on the inside the Spartans have to offer. He is the best glass cleaner on the team as he averages 6.9 rebounds per game and leads the team with 38 blocks.
“A lot of people don’t realize how smart of a player Vaihola is,” Miles said in the press conference after SJSU’s 75-64 win over Air Force on Feb. 1. “We run a lot of the offense through him, he makes a lot of really good decisions and makes it difficult for the defense.”
Despite missing the last five games McClendon is still the Spartans second leading scorer averaging 12 points per game. Uduje also described him as “one of the best passers he’s ever played with.”
During SJSU’s 77-71 loss to UNLV on Feb. 25, graduate student guard Donovan Yap Jr. went down with a foot injury and was seen on the bench in crutches. Yap has started all 30 games so far for the Spartans.
Yap also leads the team with 87 assists and is one of the best perimeter defenders on the team.
The biggest win of the season so far for the Spartans came on Jan. 14 in a 71-70 upset over the New Mexico Lobos (22-6,14-3 MW), who at the time were undefeated in conference play.
The Spartans had their full starting five available for this game.
This came after SJSU lost to them 83-77 on Dec. 4 after holding a 13-point lead.
Spartans sophomore guard Latrell Davis (5) goes up for a rebound against Aztecs freshman forward Magoon Gwath (0) during SJSU’s 69-66 loss to San Diego State on Feb. 11. (Photo by Denim Bragg – Freelance Photographer)
When SJSU played San Diego State (19-7, 12-5 MW) on the road, it ended in a 71-68 defeat after the Spartans held a 21-point lead. With SJSU playing better at home, the signs pointed to SJSU getting an upset when the two teams would rematch at Provident Credit Union Event Center.
But the day of the game news broke that Uduje would be out and McClendon would be questionable. McClendon would not end up playing and just like that SJSU would be without its top two scorers.
Despite that, SJSU was able to get out to a 17-point halftime lead but would fall 69-66 after a second half collapse. If Uduje and McClendon were available, it’s not hard to imagine SJSU coming on top and also winning its next game against Nevada where SJSU lost 73-58.
You really can’t play the hypothetical game but, looking at it this way helps frame the positives of this season. SJSU’s 13 wins.
Historically SJSU men’s basketball has not been great. This season marks only the third time in the last 14 seasons that SJSU has reached double-digit wins.
Two of those seasons have come under Miles.
So far this season SJSU has six conference wins. In that same 14 season timeframe there has only been two other seasons where SJSU has topped that total (7-11 MW in 2016-2017 coached by Dave Wojcik and 10-8 MW in 2022-2023 coached by Tim Miles).
Throughout Miles’ career he has always found himself coaching the underdog and he turned programs around whether that be at Nebraska, Colorado State or North Dakota State.
SJSU has accomplished milestones this season, whether that be completing a season sweep of Wyoming for the first time in school history or ending the 14-year streak of losing at Fresno with a 94-91 double-overtime victory on Feb. 4.
In that Fresno State game Uduje and sophomore guard Latrell Davis became the first pair of SJSU players to both score 30-points in a game in school history.
“Those are the things you hope for in a season,” Uduje said. “I was on a (Utah State) team that broke a lot of records last season but, coming to a program like this and continuing in that is something I take pride in.”
SJSU has had a lack of bench depth that has made the season more difficult. Freshman guards Ben Roseborough and Cameron Patterson have both taken redshirt seasons. Roseborough was dealing with a foot injury before the season started.
“I thought we’d be able to play 10 guys on a regular basis even with some injuries,” Miles said. “To be in the spot we are in is tough but the guys really responded.”
Sophomore forward Christian Wise was dealing with an injury and took a redshirt season. Junior center Adrame Diongue is not expected to return to the court this season and has not played at all.
Not to mention junior forward Sadraque NgaNga missed five games with an injury. Without him there were only two active players above 6-foot-5 during that entire stretch (Vaihola at 6-foot-8 and graduate student center Chol Marial at 7-foot-2).
“We’ve been undermanned from the very first whistle,” Uduje said. “That’s the type of team we are. We’re always going to be the underdogs.”
Even with all of the injuries the Spartans have played the majority of their games close with only four of their 12 conference losses being by more than 10 points.
While this season has been a building block for the Spartans, lots of key players are either graduate students or seniors. That includes the teams leading scorer Uduje, Yap and forward Sadaidriene Hall.
Had the Spartans been fully healthy this could have been one of the best seasons for the program in terms of regular season games won.
Now if the team can get some players back for the Mountain West Tournament which begins on March 12, a run in the tournament would be a huge building block for next season and the future of the program.
“We have nothing to lose as a team,” Davis said during the UNLV post game press conference on Feb. 25. “We’ve played well against the top teams. We know what we’re capable of and it’s just another chance for somebody to step up.”
