Magoon Gwath during pregame introductions. (Don De Mars/EVT)
Magoon Gwath will return to the floor for the Aztecs against Troy after missing the first two games of the season
San Diego State Aztecs star forward Magoon Gwath will make his return to the floor on Tuesday night against Troy, according to the San Diego Union Tribune’s Mark Zeigler. Seven months after knee surgery, Gwath is healed up and ready to go after missing the first two games of the season.
In the first two exhibition games and against Long Beach State and Idaho State, Gwath would warm up with the team and do his normal routine. The only difference was that he did not play in the games.
Against Troy, it’s believed that he will be inserted back into the starting five. However, Jeremiah Oden could start for the third time at the four if that is the direction Dutcher goes. Considering that Dutcher and the Aztecs’ training staff would not play Gwath until he was 100%, it makes sense to start him.
“He’s played one game since last February,” Dutcher told the media on Monday. “So, as good as he thinks he is going to be (and he’s excited to be out there), there will be a curve to try and get his timing back. He’s going to have to play through some frustrations in that process, and I’m going to have to coach through some frustrations, as we arguably get our best player back on the floor and find his way back into game rhythm.”
Dutcher followed up by talking about what the conversations were like with the doctors on if there will be any restrictions for Gwath on Tuesday night.
“We talked today, was he on a time restriction. Sergio was going to talk to the doctors to check that. The thought might be 15-20 minutes, well, 20 minutes is almost playing a full rotation anyway. So, if you are rolling along, you might get 25-26-27 minutes, but in a normal rotation, both guys would get around 20 minutes, it appears.”
It seems Dutcher indicated the 20 minutes would be split between him and Oden for the game against Troy. Moving forward, Gwath will be playing north of 20 minutes per game.
“He adds a different element out there on both sides of the ball,” Assistant coach Ryan Badrtalei said about Gwath on San Diego Sports 760 with Jon Schaeffer. “The one thing people don’t realize about Magoon is how smart a basketball player he is. I think that is why he improved at the rate he did last year is because he took all of those experiences, and it was like a software update every time. He took those experiences, and he was able to turn them into opportunities for him.”
Gwath will have his moments against Troy. He is capable of putting on a show and contributing in all areas of the game. As Dutcher noted, there could be some frustrations. It’s not expected that he will dominate the game; however, with him on the floor, he should help the Aztecs control the game from start to finish against the Trojans.
Chris is a graduate of the University of San Diego. He is the former Sports Editor for the USDVista newspaper. Chris has covered the San Diego Loyal, and now covers San Diego State Men’s Basketball. He also contributes regularly about the Padres. Chris is an athlete and is a huge fan of San Diego sports.
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