The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
NO. 5 SAN DIEGO STATE VS. NO. 1 UCONN
When: 7:39 p.m.
Where: TD Garden, Boston
Records: San Diego State 26-10, UConn 34-3
TV: TBS
Radio: UConn Sports Network, WAVZ-New Haven (1300 AM), WGCH- Greenwich (1490 AM), WATR-Waterbury (1320 AM), WICH-Norwich (1310 AM, 94.5 FM), WILI-Willimantic (1400 AM, 95.3 FM), Fox Sports 97.9 FM Hartford, SiriusXM-983, SXM App 973
KEEP AN EYE ON
Remember Jaedon LeDee from last year’s national championship game? You can be forgiven if you didn’t.
LeDee, a junior at the time, scored just seven harmless points in 18 minutes off the bench in San Diego State’s 76-59 loss to the UConn men’s basketball team. He’s grown a bit as a player since then.
LeDee, a 6-foot-9, 240-pound forward, was far and away the Aztecs’ leading scorer this season at 21.5 points per game. In fact, he was the No. 10 scorer in the nation ... and the only San Diego State player to average in double figures.
He is a tough, strong player who can step out and hit the 15footer, despite a somewhat awkward looking shot. In his last 12 games, he’s averaged 24.5 points and shot 63.6% from 3.
“I mean, he’s physical, can score at all three levels, puts the ball on the floor,” Donovan Clingan said. “He can get to the rim off the dribble. He attacks the offensive and defensive glass at another level. He’s a great player. Much respect for him. I just have to lock into his matchup.”
“He is probably the most improved player in the country so
far this year,” Alex Karaban added. “Just the jump that he made from last year to this year, it’s really remarkable.
According to San Diego State coach Brian Dutcher, LeDee was capable of doing this last season, as well. But the Aztecs had Matt Bradley dominating the ball.
“He waited his turn,” Dutcher said of LeDee. “He was patient. He kept putting his work in. It’s not as big a surprise to the coaching staff as it is to maybe the country as a whole that Jaedon is this good. We knew he was this good. He was just waiting for his opportunity, and that’s a credit to him to be willing to do that.”
Of course, while LeDee’s role has changed drastically from a year ago, several UConn players are in much bigger roles heading
into Thursday night’s Sweet 16 battle with the Aztecs. Clingan is now a dominating starter, not Adama Sanogo’s 13-minute-pergame backup. Cam Spencer, the Huskies’ second-leading scorer, was home not even watching the tournament, after his Rutgers team was left out.
And UConn’s own top scorer, Tristen Newton, was a lot further down the scouting chart last year, certainly behind Sanogo and Jordan Hawkins.
“I feel like last year I was like one of the fourth options, they weren’t really, like, worrying about me last year,” Newton noted. “I have a different role this year. I don’t really think about that game (last year), but just going to go out there and do whatever I can do to help the team win.”
All season, the Huskies have typically done an excellent job containing an opponents’ top player. In the NCAA Tournament alone, Stetson leading scorer Jalon Blackmon was held to 4for-17 shooting (1-for-9 from 3) and Boo Buie, the all-time leading scorer in Northwestern history, shot just 2-for-15 against UConn on Sunday night in Brooklyn.
But those were guards. San Diego State’s guards are defensive stalwarts (Lamont Butler was the Mountain West’s Defensive Player of the Year), but don’t boast much offensive firepower. LeDee is the lynchpin offensively. Like just about anyone, he’d have a tough time shooting over 7-2 Donovan Clingan and 6-10 Samson Johnson. But he can also take those big away from the basket.
LeDee is the type of player who has been a matchup nightmare for the Huskies, as Providence’s Bryce Hopkins was last season and guys like Villanova’s Eric Dixon, Creighton’s Baylor Scheierman and Marquette’s Oso Ighodaro have been in the past.
Do the Huskies stick the 6-8 Karaban on him? Karaban is no lockdown defender like his guard counterparts Stephon Castle or Hassan Diarra. But he’s improved quite a bit since getting burned by Hopkins in January, 2023 in Providence. Or do they let Clingan handle him, knowing he can take his game out on the perimeter.
There are other familiar names and faces on the Aztecs. Butler and Darrion Trammell both started in last year’s championship game. Butler hit a gamewinning shot in last year’s Final Four against Florida Atlantic. Trammell was the Most Outstanding Player of the South Regional.
“They’re not going to be afraid of the spotlight,” Dutcher noted. “They’re not going to be afraid of their moment. Hopefully they have that kind of one shining moment that will allow us to get a victory (Thursday).”
Ultimately, UConn’s biggest concern in this rematch from last year’s title game may be solving the Aztecs’ defense. San Diego State ranks tied for eighth in the nation in KenPom’s adjusted defensive efficiency at 93.5 points allowed per 100 possessions. Who are the Aztecs tied with? Arizona and ... UConn.
“Well, hopefully there will be some familiarity with them from last year,” Dutcher said. “A lot of the same players back. A lot of the same system. They play a lot the same way. Danny has done an incredible job, so we kind of know what it looks like. We know how hard it is. As much as they ran through the tournament last year, dominated pretty much everybody, we felt with five minutes to go it was a five-point game, we put ourselves in a chance to win. So hopefully (Thursday), we’ll do the same thing. Hopefully with five minutes to go in the game we’ll have an opportunity to win.