Magoon Gwath and Wayne McKinney III combined to score 37 points last week at Fresno State.

Three days later against USD, they combined to score … zero.

Win, and win.

But that’s San Diego State basketball this season, democracy more than autocracy, committee more than constant, a sharp departure from last year’s team that, justifiably, was hyper-dependent on Jaedon LeDee, the Karl Malone Award winner as the nation’s best power forward after averaging 21.4 points per game — or 28.9% of the Aztecs’ offensive output.

His possessions-used rate was 30.5%, meaning nearly one-third of the time he was on the floor an offensive possession ended with him. That’s the most by any SDSU player in the last 13 seasons.

The Aztecs have taken a different approach to a 6-2 record and No. 23 national ranking as they host Cal Baptist on Wednesday night (7 p.m., YurView), partly through scheme, partly through circumstance. Reese Waters, SDSU’s top returning scorer and only member of the preseason all-conference team, is still sidelined with a stress fracture.

“Right now, if we had Reese playing,” coach Brian Dutcher said, “people would probably say, ‘Reese is their go-to guy because he’s had 20-point nights in big games, he’s proven himself and he’s in his fifth year.’ He would probably be the guy most likely to fill that role. But he’s not played a game.”

So Nick Boyd has filled that role. And Miles Byrd. And BJ Davis. And Gwath, McKinney, Jared Coleman-Jones, Pharaoh Compton and Taj DeGourville. And even Miles Heide, who scored 11 points in his first seven games before hitting a career-high eight (to go with nine) rebounds in Saturday night’s 74-57 win against USD.

Through eight games, the Aztecs have had five different leading scorers, and five different leading rebounders, and four different assist leaders.

Three players — Boyd, Byrd and Davis — average between 12.3 and 12.6 points per game. Four more average between 7.1 and 7.8.

No one in the regular nine-man rotation averages 30 minutes, and no one less than 17.

“It just shows our versatility,” said Boyd, who played on a similarly balanced team at Florida Atlantic that reached the 2023 Final Four. “We have so many guys who can have a big night, and that’s the special part about this team. You think about teams that make deep runs in March. Every night is not going to be your night, and they have deep teams.

“I feel like we have a deep team here.”

This team has done a lot of things well this season, already climbing 19 spots in the NCAA’s NET metric since opening at 60 when it was released last week. But arguably the Aztecs’ best characteristic is that the same guys don’t have to do things well every night.

Gwath and McKinney aren’t scoring? No problem.

DeGourville scores seven straight to trigger an 11-0 run against USD. Boyd, who shot 1 of 10 for six points against Fresno State, shoots 5 of 10 and has 17. Coleman-Jones, who had two points against Fresno State, has 13. Byrd chips in 13, too. Compton adds 12. Heide has his biggest game of the season.

Gwath had scored 14 combined points in the four games before Fresno State, then erupted for 25.

Boyd had 23 against Gonzaga, then seven against Creighton, then 15 against Oregon.

Byrd had 20 in the opener against UCSD, didn’t score against Gonzaga, then had 16 against Creighton.

Coleman-Jones has gone three, 16, two, 13 in his last four games.

Davis has gone 18, five, 13, two.

“With the freedom we have this year in the offense, there’s no set scoring,” Byrd said. “We’ve got guys averaging 12, 13 points. It’s not like we have a guy out there averaging 22 points who does the majority of the scoring. You come into a game and you hit your first two shots, and the next thing you know we’re like, ‘We’re just going to give you the ball today.’”

It presents a scouting nightmare for the opposition, unable to figure out the one or two guys to neutralize.

Early on, opponents focused on Boyd and Byrd. Then Davis, though five games, was shooting 60% and averaging a team-high 15.6 points.

Then No. 6-ranked Houston shut down Davis, but Coleman-Jones, averaging 5.6 points, drained three 3s and finished with 16 points. Compton, averaging 5.4, had 13.

Asked if he expected that, Houston coach Kelvin Davis shook his head and replied: “Did you?”

Fresno State opted to focus on the Aztecs guards and deter drives by clogging the paint. That left Gwath open on the perimeter and he banged in three 3s to break open the game.

USD tracked Gwath to the perimeter, but that opened driving lanes for Boyd.

“The beauty of this team is it’s super deep,” Dutcher said. “You can take one guy away, but another guy steps up. As long as we embrace that every night may not be your night, as long as the team plays well and we win, then you’ll have another chance the next time. Go out and let that be your night.

“We have pretty good balance, and we’re playing like that. We’re not featuring one player. Everybody is moving through the offense. If we find a hot hand, we’ve got plays we can run for that hot hand for that night.”

The questions now become can it continue, and will it change if Waters returns next month?

“Sometimes in the past we’ve played guys and you just know they’re never going to score because they’re defensive specialists,” Dutcher said. “This group, anybody can put it in the basket. It’s fun as a coach to have that kind of talent on your team, where everybody can be the go-to guy on a given night.

“So far, we’ve gotten away with it. I’m not sure if it’s something you get away with or you’re just good at it. But right now, we’ve been good at it.”

Originally Published: December 10, 2024 at 6:57 PM PST