On Friday night San Diego State's basketball team lost to little ol' Grand Canyon University at home, 52-45. The Aztecs are just 7-5 on the season and have already lost twice at Viejas Arena. Their other loss was to Arkansas-Little Rock.
Keep in mind SDSU only lost twice at home all last season and both of those were to NCAA Tournament teams (Arizona and Boise State). The Aztecs have the 310th-worst scoring offense in the nation, better than only 36 Division-I schools.
But there is hope for a turnaround. True freshman point guard Jeremy Hemsley responded exactly the way you hope a competitor will say in trying times.
"We take some steps forward and then we end up taking some steps back and that's what's what I'm getting tired of," said Hemsley, the Aztecs' leading scorer this season. "At this point there's really nothing else to say. We just have to show people what kind of team we are and really just gel."
Aztecs head coach Steve Fisher has said many times he does not want his team to force him to coach effort. That might be the case right now.
"We're not playing hard, we're not starting games off strong and we lose games because of it," said Hemsley. "Unless we change it we're just going to keep losing games to teams we should never lose to."
That kid is pretty darn impressive, isn't he?
The fact a true freshman is the one who is taking the leadership role is admirable but it's not revolutionary for a Steve Fisher-coached team. Remember, back to the early 90's he rolled with five freshmen and went to the National Championship game.
Coach Fisher is not afraid to let youngsters take control and Hemsley's reaction, along with the energy and effort the Aztecs are getting from redshirt freshman Zylan Cheatham, show the future looks pretty good for San Diego State.
If they can get everyone on board with what Hemsley is talking about the present could be pretty darn good, too. It's not out of the question to think they'll figure it out in time to make a run at #2 Kansas on Tuesday night at Viejas Arena.
