By Austin Turner — Staff Writer
They say that patience is a virtue, and San Jose State basketball fans are likely going to need a lot of it in head coach Jean Prioleau’s second season.
Coming off of a dreadful 4-26 season in which they only managed to win one conference matchup, the Spartans will likely sport almost a completely different starting five than last season’s team.
The team has lost its top-three scorers from a year ago, including All-Mountain West honorable mention forward Ryan Welage, who transferred to Xavier. Keith Fisher and Jaycee Hillsman, the second and third leading scorers from last year’s squad, both left Silicon Valley to play for the Redbirds at Illinois State.
The absence of Welage, Hillsman, and Fisher leave a 38 points per game crater in the Spartan offense, which averaged 65.8 points last season. This means SJSU will need to make up those points from an offense that was already ranked 328th in the nation in scoring.
So where will the Spartans make up those points? Expect some new faces to pick up the slack.
Among the most exciting new additions for San Jose is point guard Brae Ivey, a transfer from Riverside Community College. The junior will be on the ball for most possessions this season, and that might be the best scenario for the Spartans.
Ivey had a clip of 18 points and 4.7 assists per game last season, and shot 45 percent from the field. When he’s off the ball, he can add some much-needed floor spacing with his 37 percent three-point shot.
If he can play consistent defense and keep his turnovers down, expect him to be one of the star players of this team.
Joining Ivey in the backcourt will likely be a rotation of two true-freshmen: Kaison Hammonds and Zach Chappell.
San Jose is in the splash-zone of one of the best shooting duos in the history of basketball over in Oakland, and the Spartans are looking to capture some of that magic with their guard play this season.
Chappell and Ivey have a chance to become one of the conference’s most dynamic backcourt duos this season and in the future. Chappell will add more firepower to SJSU’s arsenal, with his 20 PPG senior year and four assists.
Hammonds stands at 6-foot-4 and averaged over 15 points as a high school senior at Thunderridge in Colorado last year. He will likely be an important spark-plug scorer off the bench for the Spartans to start the year.
Junior forward Craig LeCesne was a three-star recruit coming out of high school, and chose to play at Pepperdine for his freshman year.
In his lone season for the Waves, the 6-foot-9 Swede made the most of the limited action he received. He averaged 11.4 points and 8.8 rebounds per 40 minutes played, very respectable numbers from a freshman bench player.
Last season at San Bernardino Valley College, he put up 11 points and 5.8 rebounds per game off of 42 percent shooting. If LeCesne can improve his shot, he could prove to be an important piece to the Spartan attack, especially in the post.
Along with the several newcomers looking to make contributions, SJSU has some of its only stability at the five this year with the return of the two-headed monster of Oumar Barry and Ashtin Chastain. The duo split time in the starting lineup a year ago and are both 6-foot-11, adding much needed height to the roster.
Rim protection and providing an inside presence is the strong point in both of their games. They aren’t going to score much.
Barry averaged just under six points last season, and Chastain averaged four – but their height makes them a threat in the post and in the paint. Their presence will force teams to keep a defender near the basket at all times, and that’s exactly what coach Prioleau needs from them.
In a conference led by a Final Four contender in AP No. 7 Nevada and a San Diego State team that is a near-annual lock to make the NCAA Tournament, the Spartans likely will not contend for the Mountain West title this season – and that’s okay.
With nine new faces and a young squad, development of skills and chemistry should be enough to satisfy Spartan fans.
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