Last Year: 21-14; 5th (10-8) in the Mountain West Conference, lost in the second round of the CBI
Head Coach: Tim Miles (Third Year; 29-37 at San Jose State)
Projected Starting Lineup
| PG Álvaro Cárdenas – 6’1″, 180 – Junior |
| SG Myron ‘MJ’ Amey, Jr – 6’2″, 178 – Junior |
| SF Trey Anderson – 6’7″, 206 – Senior (5th) |
| PF Robert Vaihola – 6’8″, 245 – Junior |
| C Adrame Diongue – 7’0″, 210 – Sophomore |
Projected Starters’ 2022-23 Stats
Álvaro Cárdenas: 10.0 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 3.4 apg, 0.7 spg, 36.2% FG
Myrin ‘MJ’ Amey, Jr: 5.6 ppg, 1.1 rpg, 0.8 apg, 0.3 spg – 37.5% FG (9 games played)
Trey Anderson: 6.2 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 0.9 apg, 0.4 spg – 38.1% 3FG
Robert Vaihola: 7.6 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 0.6 apg, 0.5 bpg – 71.2% FG
Adrame Diongue: 1.3 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 0.2 apg, 0.5 bpg – 52.6% FG @ Washington State
Experienced Reserves
| F Tibet Gorener – 6’9″, 205 – Senior |
| G Garrett Anderson – 6’5″, 185 – Sophomore |
| F/C William Humer – 6’10”, 230 – Sophomore |
Experienced Reserves’ 2022-23 Stats
F Tibet Gorener: 6.3 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 0.6 apg, 0.3 spg – 33.1% 3FG
G Garrett Anderson: 2.8 ppg, 1.0 rpg, 0.2 apg, 0.3 spg – 31.3% FG
F/C William Humer: 7.8 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 1.8 apg, 0.6 bpg – 34.3% 3FG
Freshmen
| G Ricky Mitchell, Jr – 6’4″, 180 – Freshman |
| W Diogo ‘DJ’ Seixas – 6’7″, 190 – Freshman / Portugal |
| G Pasha Goodarzi – 6’3″, 185 – Freshman |
| G Iggy Mitchell – 6’2″, 175 – Freshman / Australia |
| G Latrell Davis – 6’3″, 200 – Freshman / England |
San José State has not, traditionally, been a hoops powerhouse. In fact, the Spartans had won a total of seven Mountain West games over the four seasons prior to the program bringing Tim Miles on as head coach. They even had a winless conference season less than a decade ago. Yep, things were looking absolutely bleak for San José State before Miles arrived and a young player named Omari Moore figured out that he was a superstar.
Some guys know how to build programs. By turning around the Spartans, Tim Miles is proving that he may be one such guy. In short order, the third-year coach has taken a completely dormant program and turned them into real winners. Now comes the even tougher part: sustaining success.
Last season, the Spartans had their first winning season in Mountain West play since the winter of 1993-94. And such a season it was – they picked up a 20th win in the MW tourney – the first time San Jose State hit that threshold since they did it in the 1980-81 season. Not just that; they also won a postseason tournament game, as well, and Moore was named the league’s Player of the Year. With Moore now gone to the NBA, it falls to the solid foundation of young veterans which Miles has assembled to see if the Spartans can keep on contending in one of the nation’s best conferences.
While Moore was an excellent scorer as well as a great playmaker, he had key support on both fronts last year from Álvaro Cárdenas. The Spanish point guard finished second on the team in scoring, assists, made triples and minutes played as a sophomore. Now, he must do even more. Without Omari Moore, there is no obvious go-to scoring option on this roster, and Miles needs Cárdenas to effectively run the show while also becoming a more efficient player. Cárdenas plays mostly a perimeter game, using his great feel for moving the ball and a solid jumper to be his most productive. A crafty ballhandler, Cárdenas can also get to the rim, and instead of an explosive first step relies on change of speed, hesitation, and agility to matriculate through the lane. Cárdenas made 50% of his shots at the rim last year, per Bart Torvik, and he was even more streaky with the jumper. The Spartans will need to be better than the 273rd they ranked nationally last year in three point shooting, and Miles hopes that Cárdenas can help lead the way. Three years ago, Cárdenas didn’t know if he would be able to end up playing American college basketball, after the Covid-19 Pandemic shut down most travel around the time of his recruitment while he was in Czechia. Through tremendous effort and networking, San José State was able to offer Cárdenas a scholarship, and now, after two years of learning on the job, Cárdenas may emerge as the Spartans’ most valuable player.
Rebounding was a huge part of San José State’s success last year. “A big focus of theirs, both sides of the ball, they want to control their glass,” former Utah State coach Ryan Odom said late last season. “They don’t want to get out-hustled for rebounds.” The Spartans ranked 28th in offensive rebounding, 80th overall, and 35th in the country in total rebounds per game last year. Robert Vaihola returns to ensure that things stay that way. The former Fresno State transfer is a force on the glass, so much so that he led the Mountain West in offensive boards despite not starting a single game. This year, Vaihola will be a focal point, and hopes to rack up double-double’s and easy buckets.
Vaihola grabbed 106 offensive boards last year, and ranked sixth in the MW in rebounds per game despite playing just over 20 minutes per contest
A wide-body up front, Vaihola may lack the height of a classic pivot but he’s an immensely successful post player regardless. Vaihola grabbed 106 offensive boards last year, and ranked sixth in the MW in rebounds per game despite playing just over 20 minutes per contest. In what Miles hopes will be a sign of things to come, Vaihola tallied three double-doubles last year, and hit double digit boards without the 10+ points to go along with in three more games. As a sophomore, Vaihola took strides as a shot blocker and smart positional defender, as well. His offensive game remains unrefined, but Vaihola was one of the most efficient players in the country with his touches despite not trying a single triple or attempting any dunks. Despite playing a below-the-rim game, Vaihola made more than 73% of his 134 shot attempts around the rim a year ago, per Bart Torvik, and an excellent 52.2% on all of the other 2FG’s he tried. Vaihola eats up space and establishes great position with his powerful frame and hips, and his nearly seven foot wingspan helps him to get to balls outside of his area. He’s shown a bit more confidence stepping into jumpers this summer in practice, and any additional flavor which Vaihola can bring to his meat-and-potatoes production up front will be welcome. One thing which Miles will need is a better rate than Vaihola’s 56.7% mark at the charity stripe last year. He will be a much more featured part of the offense this year, and with his straight-to-the-cup approach, Vaihola is surely going to be taking plenty of trips to the stripe.
Like Vaihola, Tibet Görener did not start a game in his second season in San José, but he still made a big impact. Görener originally signed with Arizona, but followed former assistant coach and recruiting ace David Miller to California. Now Miller has gone to Xavier, and with the Spartans in need of consistent offense, Görener is looking to have a breakout year. A long, rangy stretch-4 who has hit 54 triples in each one of his Spartan seasons, Görener does have starting experience. He made 23 starts and averaged 7.6 points two years ago, but came off the bench to allow Sage Tolbert to thrive as a rebounder and athletic defender last winter. Now, Görener hopes to provide a scoring punch too valuable to keep off of the floor. While he’s not a tremendously physical player, Görener can make shots and space the floor for the Spartans’ other players to operate. He’s been so reliant on the three ball, in fact, that 334 of Görener’s 431 shot attempts in a Spartans uniform have come from distance. He either must make more than the 32.3% he’s shot so far, or work to score more buckets in close – or, if you ask Miles, maybe both. Without Moore’s 17.4 points per game, Miles needs someone else to be a reliable every-game scorer, and Görener has the talent to break out.
Trey Anderson returns on the wing, having started every game last season. The former South Carolina transfer has proven to be a solid 3-and-D guy, averaging 7.4 points and 3.4 boards while making 86 triples at a 41.3% rate through two years as a Spartan. He’s got good size and length, and his ability to guard up and down opposing lineups should be a big help with Tolbert gone. If Anderson can score more points, too, it would be a big help. He’s been great in a supporting role, but with Moore’s scoring gone, Miles needs Anderson to increase the volume of his outside production. If this team is going to focus on outside shooting, Anderson owns by far the best career percentage from deep, at 40% overall. If Anderson can be one of four – or maybe even five – guys to average double figures, the Spartans will be able to absorb at least most of the impact of losing an extraordinary player like Moore.
Ibrahima Diallo may be gone to Central Florida, but Miles is hopeful that he’s managed to snag an even better player to be his new center. Adrame Diongue is a former Top 100 recruit from Senegal who originally committed to Washington State. After one year on the Palouse, Diongue has decided to head for warmer pastures, and Spartan fans couldn’t be happier. Miles made what has turned out to be a key hire to replace Miller, as Ed Gipson has joined his staff from prep hoops powerhouse AZ Compass Prep in Phoenix, and it just so happens that Gipson was Diongue’s coach there. Who better to unlock the lithe seven footer’s potential than his former coach? “His personality will make him a great teammate. He has a voice and leadership qualities that every team needs,” says Miles, his new head coach, said this summer. “His length, quickness, and athleticism are off the charts. Adrame’s upside is extremely exciting.”
Diongue is still adding strength, as he arrived at Washington State weighing less than 200 pounds. He’s an extremely mobile big, though, and a natural rim protector with his terrific length and quickness around the hoop. “I used to play soccer,” Diongue told 247 Sports during his rookie year. “So I think that helped me a lot with my footwork. I used to play midfield back home, so I used to be pretty quick. Moving to basketball it has just kind of carried over.” While Diongue dealt with a couple of injuries, including one to his hand, and a bout of sickness which limited him to a combined 23 games in his first college season, Diongue proved that he can get from end to end very quickly and has tremendous overall athleticism competed to most bigs. As far as developmental prospects go, Diongue is a very good one, and should be exciting to watch as he develops.
| Five Stats Which Tell The Tale (with national ranks) |
| 54.7% – Team Rebounding Rate (8th) |
| 66.8 – Points Per Game (278th) |
| 48.4% – Opponent Effective FG% (79th) |
| .272 – Free Throw Attempts Per Field Goal Attempt (315th) |
| 8.4 – Opponent Turnovers Per Game (363rd) |
The Spartans may have lost Moore, but Miles hopes that there is another talented wing on the roster who can aim that high. MJ Amey missed all but nine games last season with an ankle injury, but averaged 9.4 points on 38% shooting from deep over just 18 minutes per game as a freshman. Now, in his third year, Amey is hoping to make a healthy and highly impactful return to the court this year. When Amey was healthy as a freshman, Miles needed points anywhere he could get them, and once Amey showed that he could get buckets, the ball found its way into Amey’s hands. He saw the team’s second-highest usage rate, behind Moore, as a freshman, and showed some real flashes. If Amey is good to go, he will get the chance to hoist plenty of shots, and may even resume his place as a budding focal point of San José State’s offense. Garrett Anderson used to rip line drives for a different California team, but San José State’s G.A returns after playing a reserve role as a freshman. With good size and length, Anderson projects as a strong outside shooter. He only made 29% of his three’s a year ago, but his release is clean and as Anderson gains more experience, Miles hopes that he can emerge as a solid deep threat off of the bench.
With Cárdenas, Diongue and Görener already on board, Miles is welcoming an even more international recruiting class this fall. William Humer, from Sweden, debuted in junior college last season and adds more size and shooting ability up front. At 6’10 and fairly mobile, Humer started 25 as a freshman for McCook (NE) Community College. While he didn’t score big, Humer showed that he can rebound, defend the paint and face up to hit jumpers out to the three point arc. Miles had a quality group of four to rotate at the big spots last season, and if Humer can add a counterpoint to Diongue up front, he could earn a nice role right away. Also an import from overseas is Diogo ‘DJ’ Seixas, a wing from Portugal. The lefty has real perimeter scoring talent, and has competed – and scored well – at the international level. “Diogo was one of the leading scorers and shooters in the European B Championships,” says Miles. “He is a savvy, intelligent and versatile player. He is an extremely hard worker.”
Rickey Mitchell is a talented scorer and facilitator out of Colorado with the size and shot-making ability to play right away. He’s a 6’4″ combo guard who can attack off the bounce and score in bunches. “He has the makings of an excellent playmaking guard with strong decision-making skills and a strong basketball IQ,” Miles says of Mitchell. Iggy Mitchell – no relation – is an Australian guard who has two years’ worth of experience in the NBL. Though he’s mostly been a deep reserve on some very good teams, Iggy Mitchell will bring a modicum of experience to the equation and, potentially, will find his niche against younger competitors. Miles hopes to see the competition for minutes between the Mitchells and Pasha Goodarzi turn into some reliable bench scoring. Goodarzi, from nearby Los Gatos, CA, is more of a shooter than Mitchell, and has the length to get off clean looks. Late in August, the international-tour Spartans rounded out the roster with Latrell Davis, a combo guard from England. He played for the Great Britain at this year’s FIBA U-18 European Championships and finished second on the team in scoring with a 14.7 average.
| Five Out-of-Conference Games to Keep an Eye on |
| @ Texas Tech – November 12 |
| vs Santa Clara – December 20 |
| N – Fordham / Norfolk State – November 18 |
| vs Montana – December 17 |
| N – Abilene Christian – November 17 |
San José State has come a long way in the past 12 months. Now that they’ve tasted success, the Spartans don’t want to backslide and return to being an afterthought. Even with Moore a season ago, they struggled mightily to force turnovers and earn trips to the free throw line, and some combination of the newcomers will have to give the team more of a pulse in those areas. If the Spartans can’t get to the foul stripe, the scoring droughts which have plagued them will likely intensify.
This team, without Moore’s dynamism, will have to shoot the ball well as a collective, and hit the boards harder than ever. The margin for error which was slim last year has grown sharper than it was, but now the Spartans have a team of veterans who know how to win. If Amey and the freshmen can provide support scoring and the elder statesmen step forward, San José State can stay competitive – even in an ever-stronger Mountain West.
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