The hiring of longtime UC Irvine associate head coach Ryan Badrtalei to the SDSU Basketball staff immediately gave us an opportunity to take a closer look at what Aztecs fans might expect. After many successful years within the Anteaters program and all the experiences Coach B has in the game, this is a really intriguing hire.
Head coach Brian Dutcher is known to truly take his assistants input seriously by delegating many responsibilities to them. It is not fully known whether the role Chris Acker provided the Aztecs will immediately translate to Badrtalei’s own functions within the staff. However, it should provide space enough for Badrtalei to make his mark and that’s what we are hoping to look at today.
While at UC Irvine they had been consistently among the top offensive teams in the Big West conference. Their points scored and overall efficiency stats are comparable to SDSU in 2024.Where they differ is in how they got their points. Let’s take a look.
Attack the Paint
The Anteaters’ offensive game plan is to get into the paint to score. As the graphic below shows, UC Irvine took 57% of their shots at the rim or in the paint last season— ranking among the highest in college basketball.
They achieve this by setting high ball screens, which attempts to free their guards and get downhill toward the hoop. They may run several high ball screens on the same possession.
UC Irvine also swings the ball quickly around the perimeter with passes. But instead of taking a lot of 3 point shots like most other teams, they use their opponents being out of position to drive into the paint.
The trade off to this strategy is less 3 point shots. In the 23-24 season, the Anteaters only shot sixteen 3’s per game—among the lowest in college basketball. By comparison, the Aztecs who are not known as a high volume 3 point shooting team took six more per game than UC Irvine.
Will this attribute manifest its way to the Aztecs? Interesting thought.
Bench Points
UC Irvine played most of last season with an 11 or 12 man rotation. The Aztecs went 9 deep last season. No player on UC Irvine averaged more than 27 minutes per game. SDSU’s Jaedon LeDee alone averaged 32 minutes a night, while 5 Aztecs hovered around 25 minutes or better. UC Irvine’s team could only boast 3 players around that mark.
One reason for UC Irvine’s need of such a deep bench is because of their aggressive play on both ends of the floor. They crash the boards hard on offense & defense, and everyone —including big men—are expected to sprint—not run—down the floor in transition.
Fatigue comes faster if you are exercising maximum effort on the floor at all times. With more players contributing, bench points increase as well. Check out the video below of Coach Badrtalei describing how the Anteaters offensive rebound and move into their transition defense.
How It All Might Fit
So what does this mean for the Aztecs? No one can say for sure because Coach Dutcher will have the final say on how much of the UC Irvine offensive philosophy is carried over to SDSU. Assuming Coach Badrtalei has freedom to implement a similar style at SDSU, this is what it could look like.
Guards in Heaven
This is a guard driven offense. It’s unfortunate Lamont Butler’s departure from the program in this regard, because he could’ve thrived in this offensive philosophy. Lamont is a downhill guard who can get to the rim and Coach B’s offense puts guards in a position to do that. However, that may not be what NBA scouts want to see from Butler as he desperately needs to work on improving his outside shot—an opportunity he might have less of in this system.
That being said, Aztec players Nick Boyd, Wayne McKinney III, BJ Davis, Miles Byrd and Reese Waters must be salivating at the opportunity an offense like this offers. All of these guards are capable of putting the ball on the floor and getting shots at the rim or in the paint.
No Sharpshooters, No Problem
The Aztecs were one of the worst 3 point shooting teams in Division 1 in the 2023-2024 season. Without the addition of a knock down perimeter shooter in the transfer portal and the subtraction of Jaedon LeDee who hit above 40%, it makes sense for the Aztecs to take less 3 point shots in 2024-2025.
Instead of settling for 3s, more drives to the paint should result in higher field goal percentages and trips to the free throw line where the aforementioned guards shoot very well.
Deep Rotation
Expect a lot of guys to get playing time in this offense including the incoming freshmen Pharoah Compton and Taj DeGourville. There will be no All-American Jaedon LeDee to carry the offensive load next year. Greater shot distribution among the Aztec player rotation should create more balanced scoring where multiple players can do damage.
Only time will tell if this is the approach taken by Coach Dutcher moving forward. But needless to say, we are all here for it.
