Sacramento State Hornets (7-21, 4-12)
Projected starting five:
Sr. G/F Walter Jackson
So. G Jackson Carbajal
Jr. F Anthony Cosentino
Jr. F John Dickson
Sr. C Josh McCarver
Important departures:
Sultan Toles-Bey: 12.2 ppg, 4.8 apg, 1.5 steals per game, 58 3-pointers per game
Duro Bejegovic: 9.2 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 38 3-pointers per game
Alpha N’Diaye: 6 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 1 block per game
Top returnees:
Dickson: 10.9 ppg, 4.2 rpg
Carbajal: 6.5 ppg, 29 3-pointers per game
Jackson: 6 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 0.8 blocks per game
Additions:
Cosentino: transfer from Southwestern College (18.7 ppg, 6.9 rpg, 2.8 apg, 1.7 steals per game, 1.4 blocks per game)
Jordan Estrada: transfer from Diablo Valley College (13.2 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 1.8 apg, 1.6 steals per game)
Schedule highlights:
Toughest nonconference match up: at Washington State.
Hardest conference stretch: 10-day stretch at Montana State, at Montana, home to Weber State, home to Northern Colorado.
Outlook:
Brian Katz’s team went 3-9 in games that were decided by six points or less or that went into overtime. Making things even more grueling is the Hornets had late leads in five of those nine losses. The team’s four overtime losses were a single-season program record. In his three years, they’ve increased the conference win total from one to three to four. The Hornets also have four transfers and two redshirts within the program ready to come play this season and some size with three centers 6’8’’ or taller. Dickson, an all-conference honorable mention, will shoulder the scoring load and get help from a plethora of teammates, but the team will be fortunate to equal or surpass last year’s four-win total in conference play.
