Coach Brian Dutcher tries to fill his vacant assistant job, joining the Final Four club, the dunk contest, Justin Hutson’s discrimination claims at Fresno State, and Matt Mitchell’s injury in Europe San Diego State coach Brian Dutcher is headed to Phoenix this week for the Final Four. He’ll be a popular guy, and not just because of his affable, amenable personality. He has a
Job opening on his staff … in a beautiful city … at a program that has been to two consecutive Sweet 16s … that pays well … and offers excellent opportunities for upward mobility. Dutcher is searching for players in the transfer portal. He’s also looking for an assistant coach to replace Chris Acker, who was hired by Long Beach State on Tuesday. “We’ve got track record of making really good hires,” Dutcher said. “Honestly, there’s no shortage of people who are interested. I’m talking to assistants, I’m talking to former head coaches, I’m even talking to active head coaches. I think it’s intriguing to some. They know you can get a head job from here. You don’t have to be an assistant at a power conference school. “And if you’re in a head job and you feel like you’ve done all that you can do, maybe you think making a lateral move and going back to being an assistant, you might be able to better move from there. There are a lot of options out there.” The first decision is whether to hire from within the SDSU family. Possibilities include former Aztecs player and assistant coach Tony Bland, although he is expected to join Danny Sprinkle’s staff at Washington; current USC assistant Jay Morris, who is expected to follow Andy Enfield to SMU; Justin Hutson, who ended a six-year tenure as Fresno State’s head coach last month; Tim Shelton, the former player and staffer who spent 2023-24 on Niko Medved’s staff at
Colorado State; and Sam Scholl, the former USD head coach who was a special assistant at SDSU in 2022-23 before heading to Montana State as an assistant. Dutcher, however, has gone outside for all four of his assistant hires: Rod Palmer, Jay Morris, Acker and JayDee Luster. Palmer went to UCLA, Morris to USC and now Acker to head coach at Long Beach State. “The one thing I’m always going to hire is a coach,” Dutcher said. “I’ve never been a guy who only hires a recruiter. That’s part of the job, recruiting. But I want a guy who’s going to be a head coach someday, someone who can lead and develop talent and be a voice on the floor. This is not a program where you come and sit. This is a program where you come and actively work.” Acker mostly focused on the offensive side of the ball, although Dutcher generally called plays in games. Dutcher indicated that Luster, a Division I point guard from Hoover High, could assume more responsibility next season, possibly on offense. “I have tremendous confidence that JayDee is ready to step up,” Dutcher said. “Everybody knows, JayDee is as good as there is and he’s capable of more. This might be his opportunity, and he’s just waiting his turn to have a bigger voice.” Final Four luncheon The Masters
golf tournament has its famed champions dinner the night before the first round. Last year’s winner sets the menu, and the only people invited are those with green jackets. College
basketball has its version, a Final Four luncheon before Saturday’s semifinals. Only those head coaches who have reached a Final Four are invited. Dutcher, then, gets to go for the first time this week. “ Jay Wright ,” Dutcher said of the former Villanova coach, “is the one who told me what a big deal this is when he congratulated me for making the Final Four, what a great group this is, how you’ve made the next step in coaching, how you’re really going to like the luncheon.” Dutcher will attend with Steve Fisher , who took Michigan to three Final Fours with Dutcher as his lead assistant. You get a sports coat upon joining the club, and Fisher will present Dutcher with his on Saturday. “I get to share it with my friend Steve Fisher,” Dutcher said. “Now the mentor gets to take the mentee to an exclusive event.” Keshad in dunk contest
Arizona forward Keshad Johnson is part of a nine-man field in the King’s Hawaiian Slam Dunk Contest in Phoenix on Thursday night (6 p.m. PDT, ESPN). The former SDSU star has always been a dunk specialist, winning competitions during his high school days in Oakland with his long arms and springy vertical. The other eight competitors Thursday at Grand Canyon’s GCU Arena: Marlow Gilmore (Francis Marion), Jermaine Hall Jr. (California University of Pennsylvania), Gabe McGlothan (Grand Canyon), Dakota Rivers (Florida Gulf Coast), Josh Pierre-Louis (UC Santa Barbara), John Ukomadu (Eastern Kentucky), Hason Ward (Iowa State) and Langston Wilson (Milwaukee). The event is part of the State Farm College Slam Dunk & 3-point Championships, held annually in the Final Four city. The winners of the men’s and women’s 3-point contests will face off in a champions’ round. Fresno State report A year ago, Hutson filed a complaint against Fresno State citing racial discrimination with the lack of resources for the men’s basketball program. The university commissioned an outside investigation, and the Fresno Bee obtained its report through a public records request. The probe, performed by the Oakland-based Oppenheimer Investigations Group, found the “preponderance of evidence” did not support Hutson’s claims of discrimination, according to the newspaper. The report said some witnesses outlined a lack of support for the program and indicated it might be deliberate, but not for racial reasons. The report also suggested that Fresno State planned to
fire Hutson last year but backed off after the coach’s attorney sent a letter to the university president with allegations of racial discrimination. “Rather than fire Hutson,” the Bee wrote, “the university initiated the investigation.” Hutson’s contract expired after this season, and he announced after losing in the conference tournament that he would not return. The Bulldogs finished 12-21 overall and in ninth place in the 11-school Mountain West. Hutson’s wife, Stacie, is head coach of the SDSU women’s basketball team. Matt Mitchell injured Former Aztec Matt Mitchel l took a nasty fall last weekend with
Turkish club Besiktas in the EuroCup semifinals, jumping to block a shot, then flipping over the shoulder of an opposing player and landing on his head and neck. Mitchell did not initially move while laying on the floor but was helped to his feet and escorted to the bench. Geçmiş Olsun Matt Mitchell 🙌🏽🤍🖤🦅 pic.twitter.com/HjAmcWbPM7 The club has not provided any further details on his condition, other than releasing a statement saying he would not play in Wednesday’s EuroCup game against France’s JL Bourg. “Matt Mitchell, who was unfortunately injured in the second match of the series, will not be in the squad for the third match to be played today,” the statement said. Besiktas lost 89-63 and was eliminated without Mitchell, who was averaging 12.1 points and 4.8 rebounds in the EuroCup – an annual competition featuring 20 top teams from across the continent. Mitchell is in his first season in
Turkey after spending the previous two with SIG Strasbourg in
France.