The San Diego Toreros limped through another difficult season in the West Coast Conference.  Even though San Diego may be one of the most beautiful places in the country to live, Coach Hank Egan has not been able to recruit the kind of athletes that will keep up with the players of this fine conference. Three wins in 14 games in the conference means it is time to start looking at different ways of doing things or looking for new people to fill the positions you have here.  Or probably both!  That has not worked before so why should it work now?  Egan is not the problem as this program has had more than it’s fair share of talented coaches, none of whom have been able to get this program to be able to compete with the Big Dogs in this conference.  There have been the occasional season where the Toreros did compete and even a mighty upset or two (ask the Zags about that) but for the most part the Toreros have battles to stay relevant in a city filled with so many other great activities as their fingertips.  Even the likes of Phil Woolpert (now of San Francisco fame) handling the reins of this program the Toreros just have not been able to get to that next level in the WCC.  It does not help when your ‘mid-major’ conference is loaded with programs who have become nationally recognized for their supreme talent!  Before the year started most prognosticators knew the Dons of USF would be a power (after all they were ranked nationally in the preseason poles) but nobody could have guessed that Santa Clara would pull off the season they would out of the blue up in NoCal.  

The closest team to the Toreros in surroundings might be the Pepperdine Waves who also have the advantage (or disadvantage as some might say) if residing in the beautiful seaside Camelot of Malibu!  This does not seem to hurt their recruiting as they brought in the likes of Dennis Johnson and Bird Averitt to help the Waves become a national player, not to the level of some of the others but no one is complaining in Malibu. The Toreros are getting no players near that tandem and talented stud like Russell, Stockton and Awtrey are staying away from San Diego like this city has the Plague!  Even their sister San Diegans and primary rivals at San Diego State have the Shaft Like big man Michael Cage banging through this city and taking names later!  Sure, this small little pristine college by the bay might have a inferiority complex but in reality they don’t seem to care and the attendance at the ‘Slim Gym’ shows this.  The 5000 seat State of the Art Pavilion was half-filled most of the season but one thing Egan did was rotate in a bunch of new guys trying to find some players for the future. In the WCC these players better develop quickly because this league is one of the best and progressive mid-majors in the country and with the depth of talent here the Toreros are still lagging far behind.  There is hope however though this ‘rebuilding’ (you would have had to have something to rebuild) season might be looked back as the start of something special if Egan can mold a few of the many players he trotted out on Craig Court into a legitimate team?  But that is a Big IF!

 Junior wing Stan Washington is the best and most reliable Torero.  This DC native (fellow Torero Bernie Bickerstaff recruited him as Bernie has distinct connections in the DC area) came West and instantly became the best player this program has ever had!  A six four guard who can play either the point or the shooting guard Washington has a complete game.  He easily led the Toreros in scoring and assists and was the one guy other team’s knew they had to contain on this roster.  Washington is a gifted outside shooter who loves going above the defender with his feathery jumper which with his height and athleticism is almost impossible to defend.  He is a bit inconsistent behind the arc but he is getting there and Stan is also athletic enough to hang with most of the studs of the West coast.  Egan made a decision early on that Washington would be better suited having a quicker guard next to him in the back court as Stan had a difficult time guarding the likes of Nash and Stockton.  Washington had been the point guard since he got to San Diego and had developed quite a rapport with his two sidekicks the Ken Dolls.  Senior Ken Leslie and Junior Ken Smith saw their minutes evaporate before their eyes as Egan went smaller with his incoming freshmen.  Washington adjusted well but he is the type of guy that likes having the ball in his hand and creating offense for both himself and his teammates.  His assists dropped off a little this year but he still averaged over 5 a game.  His scoring improved as this quiet and unassuming stud averaged almost 15 a game for the Toreros.  Sure the San Diegans might have won only 9 games but it was not because of the play of Stan the Man!  He definitely was the team leader and was by far the most respected basketball player on the team.  Washington has one more year to impress and will be going back to Washington for the summer to work on his game on those crazy playgrounds. He has a shot to play at the next level and at this point is the only Torero with any aspirations of moving on up!  Still, Washington is in a difficult situation as this team gets almost no recognition and playing on the West Coast he gets little attention from the media or the scouts.  Still there is hope as the attention that the likes of Stockton and Nash got this year could spread to a kid like Washington if the Toreros somehow make themselves contenders in the WCC.  And to do that Washington will have to have a senior season that not only fills up the box score with crazy numbers but he makes his rotating group of teammates better.  He has shown he can do that if there is some consistency on the roster.  After all he made the two Kens viable offensive weapons for two years.  Now he has to get a little more selfish, play a little better defense and lead the Toreros into at least the upper half of the WCC.  If anybody can do this it is Stan the Man!   He was the only Torero to achieve any kind of post season mentions he garnished 3rd team All West Coast honors.  Washington would be a solid contributor on a decent team but he is not equipped to be the main option.  He is not physical enough.  Give him his due, Washington put all he had into this role.

Sophomore John Jerome did give Washington another offensive weapon when he was on the court.  Jerome got the role of supersub or 6th man and it fit him well.  A very inconsistent performer when Jerome is on he can score.  He virtually disappeared at other times.  He can play and the Toreros definitely need talent so he got his fair share of minutes and in the games they did win he was a positive influence.

Sophomore Scott Thompson and Senior Gus Magee are the main muscle guys up front at least to start the year.  Thompson has the size (he is a true seven footer) to hang down low with just about anyone and is arguably the most important piece of the pie Egan is trying to bake.  This skinny sophomore is a solid shot blocker who has a little moxy and the fans love him for his willingness to mix it up.  This California kid (he is from Citrus Heights in the Sacramento area) loves the sun and the fun and kind of reminds the locals of another free spirit who went to high school in San Diego, Bill Walton.  Thompson does not have near the talent or the game as the Big Redhead but he is reminiscent of him as he can set a mean screen and is a terrific passer for a big man.  Thompson though is just adequate on the boards but has a decent post game but no way can they defend the stronger, quicker players in this league. Thompson does work hard and is bulking up and will only improve as he gets more experience on the court.  He was the only Torero to start every game this season and Egan is building his program around this kid who works hard and seemingly never comes off the court for a big man.  He must improve his board work and should average more blocks though his presence alone keeps teams from going to the hoop.  But at least the Toreros had two positons filled with solid talent that can compete at this level.  Now to fill the other three!  The inside game for the Toreros was in no way able to compete with the players they competed against.  This must be upgraded.  In an effort to do this Coach Egan started rotating in players primarily in lieu of MaGee.  Gus has been a mainstay since he arrived here four years ago after a stint in the Air Force (Bickerstaff recruited him seeing the intangibles he could bring to his program) and is one terrific board man.  He is much older than his teammates and was voted team captain unanimously and epitomized the role of team leader.  He is a beast down low not afraid to do the dirty work and mix it up with much bigger men.  MaGee, however, brings nothing to the offensive end and at six foot six is not suited for this level of competition (he was the last carryover from the great NAIA days when the Toreros were a dominant program that got any considerable playing time beyond the first month of this season).  MaGee still played in 26 games this year but by the end of the season his average minutes was down to under ten for the entire year.  That shows you how little he played the second half as he started the first 12 games of the year but as you might expect MaGee took the demotion in stride and became a huge mentor to the kids playing in front of him and a quasi-assistant coach (he was always a coaches player and that did not change once his mentor Bickerstaff left for Washington). MaGee has no chance of playing pro ball but was the anchor for this program for years and will always have a huge place in the hearts of Torero fans. There are rumors however that Gus will be staying around these parts as an assistant to Egan which would suit him nicely and most definitely help this program as you cannot have enough good men on your staff and MaGee is a good man! 

Junior Robert ‘Pinky’ Smith is the first choice off the bench and is a true four.  Pinky did a nice job down low in the trenches as he has done since he got to San Diego three years ago.  Smith has been a mainstay on this roster for three seasons and was having another fine season off the bench for the Toreros when a knee injury ended his season.  This undersized post player is probably the best rebounder on the team and will be in the mix again next year if he can come back from the injury.  Seniors Cliff Ashford, Russ Cravens and Jim Fleming are also in the mix for minutes on the wing and up front.  None of these guys are big enough to play large minutes in the post and are really not athletic enough for the wings but know the game.  They harken back to not so long ago when the Toreros were a D-2 power.  Coach Jim Brovelli has it going and helped transition to D-1 with the same type players and that just didn’t work.  These guys might still be in the mix depending on whether or not the next guy comes back next year.

So that was the three positions with mixed success but some stability.  The other two positions were very hard to fill.  No one stepped up and took over these positions though many tried.  Mike Whitmarsh started a majority of the games at the three. He got the majority of the PT and showed some upside but had some issues that kept them from completing the season. Whitmarsh is a great athlete and has some great basketball skills but his mind is somewhere else (volleyball perhaps) at times.  A terrific all-around athlete Whitmarsh is a six seven stud who can flat jump out of the gym.  He put up some terrific numbers when he was on the court and finished second to Washington in both scoring and assists.  Mike has a good basketball IQ and is one of the best passing wings in the country.  He can finish on the break with the best of them and his over the top tomahawk dunks are becoming quite famous in the San Diego Area.  The problem with Whitmarsh was not on the court but interestingly enough it was on the beach.  Whitmarsh is a world class Beach Volleyball player who though he loves basketball first knows his future is in the sand. He missed several games when the spring hit due to tournament commitments.  This kid has to make a choice and the conflict definitely had an affect on his game as the second half of the year he seemed to be a walking zombie and his minutes and productivity dropped off considerably. Whitmarsh might be leaving the team to go play volleyball full time especially with the Olympics coming up.  If that is true Coach Egan is going to have to start over here next season and the last ten games he shuffled in as many kids as he could trying to see what he has for the future.  This is not a good place to be for the program or for Whitmarsh but you got to do what you got to do and the one thing this program has is depth at the forward sport.  None of these kids are near the athlete Whitmarsh is but they can play and Egan will find somebody to replace his stud IF he joins his buddy Mike Dodd on the beach.  After all Karch Kiraly has to have somebody to compete against for the King of the beach!  The number one choice to replace Whitmarsh would probably be Junior Bob Bartholomew.  Bartholomew (no relation to Simpson) had a solid season and is expected to be the top option on the wings for the Toreros.  Not really an inside player, Bartholomew had to play way too many minutes at the 2 spot even though he is more suited for the 3 or even the four.  Still, he did have some good games and is definitely in the plans of the future of this program especially with the Whitmarsh situation.  Bartholomew is only six four however and is better suited in the sixth man role he did so well this year and Egan has some choices of some bigger forwards to perhaps take that role. An entire crew of freshman forwards fought it out for most of the year for playing time and one of them will probably be manning the three next year.  

The San Diego Toreros are in a precarious position. They have been the doormat of the West Coast conference for years now even though they play in one of the most beautiful locations on the planet.  You would think Coach Egan would find a way of keeping a few San Diego players at home for instance Mr. Walton of UCLA. Or at least to convincing a few cold weather state players that this really is Camelot.  If something doesn’t change soon, Coach Egan will be convincing no one of anything because he will not be around either.  With the pipeline to the pros that the coaches have here maybe winning isn’t everything in San Diego which of course was discovered in 1904 by Germans and means Whale’s Vagina!  Keep it Classy, San Diego!