Brian Dutcher Quotes
I ran out of plays, so I decided not to take the timeout. I said if we get the rebound, let us get downhill, send all three bigs to the rim. Lamont Butler got downhill, he made the play. I am proud of him.Share Image
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Biography of Brian Dutcher:Brian Dutcher enters his sixth season as head coach after five years in which he led the Aztecs to five Mountain West title games, their conference-record 11th, 12th, 13th, and 14th Mountain West crowns and back to the NCAA tournament three times. He is the only coach in the 101-year history of San Diego State men's basketball to win at least 20 games in each of his first five seasons at the helm of the program and his 119 victories are the most of any first-time Division I head coach who began at their current institution since the start of the 2017-18 season.
His .748-win percentage (119-40) entering the 2022-23 season is the best in program history, as is his .600-win percentage (9-6) against top-25 opposition.
The 2021-22 campaign demonstrated that despite losing its top three scorers from the previous season, the Aztecs reload while other programs in the Mountain West rebuild. SDSU saw the graduation of two homegrown 1,000-point scorers in Matt Mitchell (1,471 points) and Jordan Schakel (1,034 points) as well as Terrell Gomez (1,877 points), who transferred to SDSU prior to the season, but Dutcher kept things rolling on The Mesa.
For the fifth consecutive year, he guided the Aztecs to 20-plus wins (23-9), and a bid to the NCAA tournament for the second straight campaign, the third since taking the helm of the program prior to the start of the 2017-18 season. If not for the cancellation of the 2020 NCAA tournament, SDSU, which was projected to be a No. 1 or No. 2 seed with a 30-2 record, the 2021-22 season would have marked the third straight, and fourth overall, NCAA appearance.
San Diego State posted a 2-2 record against top-25 opponents, including a 79-49 dismantling of the No. 20 Colorado State at Viejas Arena on Jan. 8, the worst beating SDSU has ever handed to ranked opponent, and a 63-58 win over the No. 23 Rams in the semifinal of the Mountain West Championship. Entering 2022-23, Dutcher is 5-0 against top-25 opponents in Viejas Arena and as previously noted, 9-6 overall against ranked teams.
Senior forward Nathan Mensah, who had been one of the best back line defenders in the Mountain West for three years, emerged as the most dominant force on that end of the floor, earning the league's Defensive Player of the Year after leading the conference in blocks (71) and blocks per game (2.2). In addition, Mensah earned inclusion on the MW All-Defensive Team and was a third-team all-league performer.
Matt Bradley, a transfer from California, slipped seamlessly into the Aztecs offense, led the team in scoring, 16.9 points per game, and was named the Mountain West Newcomer of the Year, first-team All-Mountain West, second team NABC All-District 17 and earned both ESPN and NCAA March Madness National Player of the Week honors. In addition, sophomore guard Lamont Butler was a Mountain West All-Defensive Team designee and Chad Baker was the league's sixth man of the year.
For the 17th consecutive season, finishing with a 14-1 mark, the Aztecs posted a winning record on its home floor. The 2021-22 campaign also marked the 17th straight year, SDSU was in double digits as far as wins and it topped all Division I institutions in the state of California in total attendance.
The key to the Aztecs success continues to be its defense. SDSU finished the year No. 2 nationally in defensive efficiency, according to KenPom. It also had San Diego State in the top-10 nationally in effective field goal defense (No. 5) and two-point percentage defense (No. 6). In addition, the Scarlet and Black ranked No. 16 in block percentage, No. 29 in turnovers percentage, No. 33 in three-point defense and No. 42 in steal percentage.
In the COVID-affected season of 2020-21, the Aztecs were once again the cream of the Mountain West crop posting a 23-5 overall record, including a 14-3 mark in league play. San Diego State earned the league's regular season crown and then swept through the conference tournament to take the program's 14th Mountain West title and earn its automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, where the team was a 6-seed. For the second consecutive campaign, Dutcher was named Coach of the Year of both the Mountain West and National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division I District 17.
The Aztecs opened the season with a 73-58 win over No. 22 UCLA and followed that, just over two weeks later, with an 80-68 win at No. 23 Arizona State. The team reached the Mountain West title game for the fourth straight season and earned a measure of revenge in the championship game, defeating Utah State, 68-57, the team that had knocked them off in the previous two league title games.
The team was led by seniors Matt Mitchell and Jordan Schakel, who became the 34th and 35th players in program history, respectively, to score 1,000 points in their careers. During the season, Mitchell became just the third Aztec in program history to compile at least 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, 200 assists and 100 steals. He was named an honorable-mention AP All-American honors, Mountain West Player of the Year, first-team All-Mountain West, Mountain West All-Defensive Team, NABC first-team All-District 17, USBWA first-team All-District IX, Basketball Times West Coast All-District Team, Mountain West Tournament Most Valuable Player, Mountain West All-Tournament Team and was the sixth player, and first Aztec, in Mountain West history to earn Player of the Year & Tournament MVP in the same year.
Schakel hit 83 3-pointers, No. 6 on the program's single-season list, finished his career No. 3 on the program's all-time 3-point list, with 225 treys, and his .4269 3-point field goal percentage is the second best by an Aztec in program history. In addition, Schakel is the most prolific free throw shooter in San Diego State history with an .8698 free throw percentage. Following the season, he was named second-team All-Mountain West, NABC second-team All-District 17 and a Mountain West All-Tournament Team honoree.
In addition to Mitchell and Schakel, Nathan Mensah was named an honorable mention All-Mountain West performer and member of the league's All-Defensive Team. Trey Pulliam also received honorable mention All-Mountain West designation.
In 2019-20 his squad ripped off a program-record 26 straight wins to open the season and peaked, for eight weeks, at a No. 4 ranking in both the Associated Press and USA Today Coaches top-25 polls, before finishing the regular season at No. 6. The Aztecs went 30-2 on the year, including 17-1 in Mountain West play and Dutcher earned USA Today National Coach of the Year, Mountain West Coach of the Year (in both the coaches and media polls), NABC Division I District 17 Coach of the Year and United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) District IX Coach of the Year. In addition, he was one of five finalists for the 2020 Werner Ladder Naismith Men's College Coach of the Year Award.
His team's 30 wins in 2019-20 are the third most and its two defeats are the fewest in program history. SDSU's 17 wins in conference play are the most in program history. Its one loss is the fewest in the Aztecs' Division I era and equals the fewest since 1926-27, when it moved from junior college competition to the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). San Diego State opened the 2019-20 league slate with a 15-game winning streak which set a new Mountain West record.
Led by junior guard and consensus All-American Malachi Flynn, the team won the Continental Tires Las Vegas Invitational with a blowout victory over Creighton and a 16-point comeback win against Iowa in the championship game. In addition, the Aztecs handed Utah a 28-point loss in the Basketball Hall of Fame Classic three days after the Utes defeated then No. 6 Kentucky.
In addition to Flynn, junior forward Matt Mitchell, and seniors KJ Feagin, a guard, and forward Yanni Wetzell, were recognized by the MW in its postseason awards as well as numerous other national outlets.
With the expected return for the postseason of forward Nathan Mensah, who had been sidelined for the final 19 games of the year, San Diego State was poised for a deep run in the NCAA Tournament. The Aztecs were projected to be either a No. 1 or No. 2 seed and some felt were a Final Four team, but the coronavirus pandemic put an end to the postseason and fans were left to wonder what could have been.
In 2017-18, his inaugural season as Aztecs head coach, Dutcher was the only Division I head coach to guide his team to the NCAA Tournament after going 22-10 in the regular season, including winning the 2018 Mountain West Tournament championship.
Dutcher, who took the helm of the program following Steve Fisher's retirement announcement on April 11, 2017, was on The Mesa for all 18 of Fisher's seasons. He held the title of associate head coach/head coach in waiting for the six years prior to his ascension to the top job and is the 15th head coach in the program's history.
Over the course of his 21 years at San Diego State, Dutcher has helped the Aztecs reach the postseason 14 times, including nine trips to the NCAA tournament, win a conference-best 12 Mountain West titles and record 15 seasons of at least 20 victories..
Since 2008-09, Dutcher and SDSU twice advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 (2011, 2014) and NIT semifinal round (2009, 2016), won at least 25 games eight times and captured nine MW championships (six regular season, three tournament).
Dutcher arrived at San Diego State shortly after Fisher was hired on March 26, 1999. In his first year in "America's Finest City," the Aztecs won only five games, but improved upon their win total from the season before. After that, San Diego State posted a 14-14 record in 2000-01, before winning the 2002 MW Championship, earning an NCAA tournament bid, and finishing with a 21-12 record. The 2002-03 campaign saw SDSU receive an NIT invitation, which culminated in the program's first Division I postseason victory.
After helping attract the program's first McDonald's All-American to the 2002-03 squad, Dutcher assisted in securing the signatures of future starters and all-league performers Brandon Heath and Marcus Slaughter. The duo started their first two seasons on The Mesa, leading to the 2005-06 campaign that produced the school's first MW regular-season and tournament title sweep.
The Aztecs advanced to the NCAA tournament and ultimately won a then-school-record 24 games. That appearance led to a string of 10 consecutive postseason berths.
From the 2006-07 campaign through 2008-09, San Diego State registered 20 or more wins and went to three straight NITs. In 2009, the Aztecs advanced to the NIT semifinals and broke the previous school record with 26 victories.
That run to the 2009 NIT semifinals was a springboard to the most successful run in SDSU basketball history. Led by future NBA first-round draft pick and two-time NBA champion Kawhi Leonard, the 2009-10 Aztecs won the MW Championship, advanced to the NCAA tournament and fell four points shy of moving on to the second round before finishing with a 25-9 record.
The NCAA experience from the 2009-10 squad proved fruitful in 2010-11, when it returned all five starters, including Leonard, and a freshman named Jamaal Franklin, who would turn out to be a future MW Player of the Year and NBA draft selection. With Dutcher on staff, SDSU won its first 20 games of the year, shared the MW regular-season title, and captured the MW tournament crown. The Aztecs moved on to the NCAA tournament as a No. 2 seed and won the program's first Division I NCAA tournament game. San Diego State, which was ranked as high as No. 4 and received first-place votes at one point in the season, advanced to the Sweet 16 and fell to the eventual national champion, finishing with a school-record 34 wins, a mark that still stands today. The Aztecs' also found themselves in the final top-25 polls, ranking sixth in the AP and 11th in the USA Today Coaches Poll.
Five months after SDSU's record-setting 2010-11 campaign, the University elevated Dutcher from associate head coach to associate head coach/head coach in waiting.
In his first season with his new title, Dutcher and the Aztecs advanced to the 2012 NCAA tournament as an at-large team and recorded 26 wins. The next season, San Diego State was again an at-large selection to the NCAA tournament, moved on to the round of 32 for the second time in three years and finished with 23 victories.
Another NCAA Sweet 16 run was in the cards in Dutcher's third season as the head coach in waiting. The Aztecs opened the campaign by winning 21 of their first 22 games, including 20 in a row at one point, and were led by seniors Xavier Thames, who would become an NBA draft pick, and Josh Davis. SDSU won the program's second outright Mountain West regular-season title and later swept through two games in Spokane, Washington, to secure its second Sweet 16 appearance in four seasons. San Diego State compiled 31 wins and finished the season ranked 13th in the AP and 12th in the Coaches after rising to as high as fifth nationally in both polls.
The 2014-15 campaign saw the Aztecs spend their fifth straight season in the top 25. In the process of winning 27 games, San Diego State grabbed its second straight MW regular-season crown and earned an at-large invitation to the NCAA tournament where they defeated St. John's in the round of 64. One season later, the Aztecs found themselves in the NIT after winning the MW by three games with a 16-2 record. Nevertheless, San Diego State won three games and qualified for the NIT national semifinals, eventually logging 28 victories.
SDSU completed the 2016-17 slate with a 19-14 record despite experiencing a rash of injuries. The 2016 Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic champions entered 2017-18 as one of 12 teams to have won at least 19 games in 12 consecutive seasons, which was a sign of things to come in Dutcher's first year.
Dutcher's first roster as head coach featured a pair of seniors that had won multiple Mountain West titles and had NCAA tournament experience in Trey Kell and Malik Pope.
The Aztecs went through their ups and downs with multiple players, including Kell (5 games), getting bit by the injury bug all the way into the thick of conference play. Dutcher and SDSU, however, righted the ship, winning six consecutive games to end the regular season and all three in the MW tournament to capture the program's 11th league crown to return to the NCAA tournament. Dutcher, additionally, was the only first-year head coach to guide his team to the NCAA tourney and one of six to have won at least 20 games. Despite the NCAA first-round exit, SDSU finished the campaign with a 22-11 record, with the 22 wins representing the most by a first-year Aztec men's basketball head coach and the second-most among first-year coaches last season.
In 2018-19, Dutcher brought in four high-school signees, including a trio of four-star athletes, and an electric point guard from a Division I school who must sit out the campaign. The quintet joined the reigning Mountain West champions that boasted a roster which included a senior backcourt in Jeremy Hemsley and Devin Watson, a fourth-year junior in Nolan Narain, a trio of rising sophomores in Jalen McDaniels, Matt Mitchell and Jordan Schakel, and a talented redshirt freshman in Adam Seiko. The team ultimately posted a 21-13 record and reached the championship game of the MW Tournament.
Before Dutcher arrived at San Diego State, he served as assistant coach and later associate head coach at Michigan under Fisher. He spent 10 seasons on the Wolverine staff, establishing himself as one of the nation's top assistant coaches. His first year in Ann Arbor was 1989 and resulted in a national title for Michigan as he assisted then-interim head coach Fisher on the bench.
The Bloomington, Minn., native led UM's recruiting efforts in 1990-91 when the Wolverines inked Juwan Howard, Ray Jackson, Jimmy King, Jalen Rose and Chris Webber. The "Fab Five" is considered perhaps the best recruiting class in NCAA history. Dutcher helped lead that group to nearly 100 wins, two berths in the NCAA championship game and a regional final over a four-year period. He was also on the Michigan staff for an NIT championship (1997).
Dutcher's recruiting prowess, however, was demonstrated by more than just the "Fab Five" haul. Michigan had the nation's top-ranked recruiting class in 1993-94 and in 1994-95, with a group that included Maurice Taylor and Jerod Ward. The accomplishment marked the first time that a university had the nation's top class in consecutive years, according to recruiting analyst Bob Gibbons.
Dutcher was born Oct. 30, 1959, in Alpena, Mich. He attended Jefferson High School in Bloomington, Minn., and went on to earn a bachelor's degree in physical education from Minnesota in 1982. While an undergraduate, he worked for his father, then-Gopher head coach Jim Dutcher. He then spent one season in the prep ranks at Apple Valley (Minn.) High School before becoming a graduate assistant at Illinois, where he earned his master's degree in physical education and athletic administration.
While in Champaign, Dutcher helped Lou Henson lead the Illini to a Big Ten championship, two appearances in the Sweet 16 and one regional final.
Dutcher's first full-time coaching job came at South Dakota State, where he spent three seasons helping turn around the Division II program before departing in 1988 for Michigan.
His final season in Ann Arbor ended with the Wolverines claiming the first-ever Big Ten Tournament championship.
Dutcher and his wife Jan have two daughters, Erin and Liza.
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