For a very veteran team there are a lot of questions going into this season for the Jackrabbit men’s basketball team. Who will be the main scorer? Who will fill in down low with the departure of Doug Wilson? Who will break out this season as a freshman? With an exhibition game win of 123-61 over Concordia-St. Paul , we may have a glimpse at answers to these questions.
Zeke Mayo was the leader scorer with 26 points in the game and it is safe to assume the Jacks will be looking forward to Zeke growing in that role as the lead scorer for the team. A surprise to me and potentially to others was that Matt Dentlinger and William Kyle III started the game in the front court. Luke Appel did not play due to a perceived injury. We will see if that means we will see that duo for a while. The exhibition game showed us that the Jacks are looking to play a bigger lineup than in the past. Expect roles from Mors and the other freshman to fill in the shoes of the guys that departed this offseason, along with two veteran guards in Alex Arians and Charlie Easley.
The Jacks come into the campaign second in the preseason summit league polls with Luke Appel and Zeke Mayo voted as first teamers in the conference. Following a 2021-22 undefeated conference season, look for the Jackrabbits to have a different style of play with their new team this season.
There likely will be growing pains throughout the season with many young guys expecting to get quality minutes. . I am looking forward to seeing who shows up in games where shots don’t fall for Zeke, and what freshman step up and compete for the freshman of the year. There is potential that this is the deepest team we’ve seen at SDSU since Nagy’s departure. Barring any major injuries, come Summit League tournament time, the men’s team should be firing on all cylinders.
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