TRAMMELL ‘JUST WANTS TO WIN’
Dutcher says point guard will fit in well with Aztecs
San Diego State coach Brian Dutcher watched film of Seattle point guard Darrion Trammell, watched him twisting and splitting ball screens with ridiculous ease, watched him step back and drain 3s when defenders went under the screen, watched him attack the rim if they didn’t, watched him fire passes to open teammates spread across the floor, watched him strip opposing ballhandlers at midcourt as he recorded one of the highest steal ratios in Division I, watched him battle with post players a foot taller after defensive switches.
What sold him on the 5-foot-10 junior was something else, though. It was after Dutcher and his staff flew to Seattle and had lunch with Trammell, and listened to him talk.
“It was clear he just wants to win,” Dutcher said, speaking for the first time publicly about Trammell now that his transfer to SDSU became official this week with a signed scholarship agreement. “All the guys we’ve had the best success with don’t come here and say, ‘I want to put up points,’
even though they can. They’re not looking to boost their numbers, they’re looking to boost their wins.
“He’s a classic example of that.”
Don’t get Dutcher wrong. All that other stuff is nice, too.
With Trey Pulliam out of eligibility and the Aztecs out of sorts on offense (averaging a mere 65.4 points while ranking 167th nationally in the Kenpom metric in offensive efficiency), the offseason priority was finding a point guard who distributes as well as scores without sacrificing defensive prowess. It was a big ask, and the search quickly focused on Trammell. He entered the transfer portal six days after the Aztecs lost in the NCAA Tournament, and assistant coach JayDee Luster contacted him a few hours later.
He committed April 5, picking the Aztecs over USC and Texas Tech.
“Darrion’s a dynamic player,” Dutcher said. “He’s an elite level point guard. He averaged five assists per game, passes with either hand, always on time, on target. He also has the ability to score, and that’s what some of the best guards in our program have an ability to do — make plays for others but, when they’re called upon to score, they’re more than capable of putting points up. He checks both those boxes.”
Trammell (pronounced tra-MEL) was an All-Western Athletic Conference selection in both his seasons at Seattle, averaging 18.7 points, 3.8 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 2.3 steals while shooting 34.6 percent behind the arc and 84.0 percent at the line. Last season, he was one of only seven players in Division I who averaged at least 17 points and five assists.
A deeper dive into his numbers shows a three-level scorer, with his 301 baskets at Seattle almost evenly split between at the rim, midrange 2s and 3s. He also ranked 21st and 28th nationally in fouls drawn per 40 minutes at 6.5 and 6.3, and was in the top 20 in free throws made.
His specialty is scoring off the pick and roll, ranking fifth nationally in 2021-22 according to Synergy Sports. That’s a dimension missing from the Aztecs offense, with defenders routinely ducking under screens against Pulliam and Lamont Butler to deter drives at the expense of open 3s. (They ranked 57th and 58th in the Mountain West in Kenpom offensive efficiency among 64 rated players.)
It also gives the Aztecs another weapon on the floor alongside Matt Bradley (16.9 points), who did most of the heavy lifting in isolation sets — either shooting himself or creating for others if he drew a second defender. That should increase offensive flow, with Bradley becoming more of a catch-and-shoot player instead of pounding the ball trying to manufacture a shot.
“We’ve always been at our best when we have multiple playmakers on the floor,” Dutcher said. “You have Matt back, Lamont continues to grow his game, and now you put Darrion in the mix.”
It’s hard to imagine the Aztecs being any better on defense (No. 2 in Kenpom last season), but now they’ll have arguably the two best on-ball perimeter defenders in the Mountain West. Butler ranked 27th nationally last season in the ratio of steals per possession at 4.2 percent; Trammell ranked 26th at 4.3 percent. Both were all-defensive selections in their conferences.
“We were one of the top one or two defenses in the country, and Darrion’s a really good defender,” Dutcher said. “He does everything well. He’s going to be a great addition.”
Mensah update
The update on senior center Nathan Mensah is there is none. He has until June 1 to withdraw from the NBA Draft and claim an extra “COVID” season of eligibility. The plan is for Mensah to solicit feedback from NBA teams about his readiness for the league, and that process remains ongoing.
A record 283 players requested early entry into the June 23 draft — 247 from U.S. colleges and 36 foreigners. Forty-four were invited to the NBA G League Elite Camp and another 65 or so to the main draft combine, both in Chicago from May 16-22. Mensah is not believed to be on either list.
He has received written evaluations from NBA general managers, which players with college eligibility remaining can request. Now he’s waiting to see if he’s invited to any individual workouts after the combine.
“Nate is a methodical thinker,” Dutcher said. “He continues to evaluate not only coming back but opportunities out there. I’m not surprised by Nate’s timeline. It’s the same timeline as when we recruited him. It wasn’t a rushed decision. It was thought out, and he made it for the right reasons and it worked out for him.”
If Mensah returns and no one else leaves, the Aztecs would be at the 13-scholarship limit with the addition of Trammell and last week’s commitment from 6-6 Oakland University transfer Micah-Immanuel Parrish. If Mensah stays in the draft, the Aztecs would have an extra scholarship for next season.
SDSU basketball camp
The Aztecs will host youth basketball camps for the first time since the pandemic for boys in third through eighth grades. There are two sessions: June 20-23 and Aug. 1-4. Camps run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day and include skill development as well as 3-on-3 and 5-on-5 games. They are instructed by SDSU basketball staff and current players as well as local high school coaches.
The cost is $300 per session. For registration and more information, go to aztecmensbasketballcamps.com.