What San Diego State basketball coach Brian Dutcher said ahead of UCLA exhibition

San Diego State opens its highly anticipated men’s hoops season with a home exhibition game against No. 12 UCLA on Friday night.

Thanks to an NCAA rule change, schools can now hold public exhibitions rather than closed-door scrimmages as in past seasons. The game won’t be broadcast, so fans will have to buy tickets to get their first look at the Aztecs, who have big expectations for this season.

“We're excited to get to play somebody else. We've had a couple scrimmages,” coach Brian Dutcher said on Monday. “It's been pretty physical. We're getting beat up by each other, so we're looking forward to our exhibition with UCLA on Friday night.”

Proceeds will go to NIL efforts at both schools.

Dutcher said guard Miles Byrd has been battling an injury and that 7-footer Magoon Gwath won’t play as he continues to rehab after right knee surgery.

Dec 21, 2024; San Jose, California, USA; San Diego State Aztecs guard Miles Byrd. | Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

UCLA was ranked in The Associated Press preseason Top 25 released Monday, while the Aztecs were among those receiving votes.

Here are the highlights of Dutcher’s news conference:

Dutcher on what it will mean to have fans present

“Obviously, from a national perception, when people actually get to see it, they'll try to see how close we are to UCLA. We'll be outside of the rankings to start the season, but people are excited about Aztec basketball. Any time you get to play a team that is perceived to be stronger than you are in a particular season, it's good for you to measure yourself and let the nation see what we're about to start our season with.”

Dutcher on his rotation for the exhibition

“With that being said, we'll play everybody that's available. We’ll play 11 bodies in this game, and even though we'll play to win, we'll play every possession. You’re playing to win the possession, so we'll play to win the possession and win the game. We’ll play everybody on the roster to give them some minutes and see what they're like in that type of situation.”

Dutcher on the starting lineup

“I’m a little bit more comfortable with some of the personnel. You know who's playing well together and who's rising. With that being said, I'm not sure who I'll start against UCLA yet. Byrd has been out with an abdominal strain, so he's missed almost a week of practice. He won't go today. He'll do some shooting and working out, and then maybe get into some contact stuff on Wednesday at the earliest. We're taking tomorrow off, so we'll see where he's at, and whether I'm comfortable throwing him out there right away or just getting him some minutes based on how he comes back from his injury.”

Dutcher on Gwath’s progress after surgery in April

“Obviously, Magoon won't be playing. He heads back to the doctor on the 16th to get re-evaluated one last time. Then, hopefully, his progression to playing will ramp up a little bit. I don't know how soon he's ready to go, but hopefully we'll get him on the floor right away. He's just rehabbing still. He's running. If you were to watch him run and shoot, you would think he would be able to play, but obviously there's a physical component to it, where you start going against other players and getting your timing back. Hopefully, this appointment he has on the 16th will give us a little bit more insight into when we'll have him back.”

Dutcher on Byrd and Gwath returning to the program

“It says we're able to take guys that may not be five-star All-Americans and see something in them that says, ‘This guy can be an NBA player someday if he stays on the right path.’ We work with them, like with Keshad Johnson, who's in the NBA right now with Miami. Keshad, out of high school, wasn't a five-star recruit, but he had five-star talent and motivation, and he was a starter on our national championship runner-up team. We find pieces like that that other people overlook; they don't see their upside. We don't get a lot of five-stars, but the guys we get have five-star talent and five-star upside.”

Dutcher on Byrd taking on a leadership role

“He's trying to be verbal and provide motivation for the team. To do that, the first thing you have to do is manage yourself. You have to be in a good place mentally; you have to manage yourself first. If you can manage yourself now, you can go out and step up and help other people get better. Miles has to lead when things are going well, and more importantly, when things aren't going well for him. That's the key to any leader when things aren't going well. Can you step outside of your state of mind and still lead the team? He's made steps in that direction. Hopefully that will continue.”