Bittersweet 16 for SDSU

You can't choose your exit when it comes to the NCAA Tournament. It just happens that at some point, you run into a better team or a buzzsaw. In the Sweet 16 in Anaheim, San Diego State ran into a little bit of both in a UConn squad that put together two runs to end the Aztecs' brilliant season 74-67. SDSU maybe deserved a better fate, a longer stay, but they weren't allowed to pick when they'd meet up such an opponent.

I will say that losing to a hot UConn team was far better than what a setback to Temple would have been like. Not only would that have been a round earlier, but also a throw-away. In this contest, UConn made the plays that win games and have a marvelous talent in G Kemba Walker. That said, Walker is no man. I won't say that foul by Jamaal Franklin sparked UConn's final run, but Walker took a flop when they collided heading into a timeout. Doing it in a game, like trying to take a charge, is one thing. Doing it while walking to your bench is something else. For the referee to call it was pathetic. Franklin should have known better than to ever give an official a chance to make a call. Even with that, the game was close at the end and the Huskies made the winning plays -- the Aztecs did not.

So it's over, and I will terribly miss DJ Gay. I suspect the Aztecs will be physically more talented at the point next season with LaBradford Franklin and Xavier Thames, but the void of experience, leadership and killer instinct will be hard to fill. I will miss Malcolm Thomas' shot-blocking and sunny personality but not his hook shot. I will miss Billy White's ability to make us all stand up and shout "Wow!" and Viejas Arena announcer Brian Main's call of his name, but not his disappearing act.

We will probably miss Kawhi Leonard's strength but his offensive game really could stand another year of honing in college. I hope to see Brian Carlwell for one more season, but leaving anything in the hands of the NCAA is dangerous, so I'll expect the worst and be pleasantly surprised if his return for an extra season is approved.

The future, however, is bright. The backcourt of Franklin, Thames, Chase Tapley and James Rahon will be the best in the Mountain West Conference, and it will be fun to see what Jamaal Franklin can do when given more playing time. Maybe Leonard and/or Carlwell are back to help him out. There are front-court recruits coming in to help who are well-regarded.

This is by no means a one-and-done year for great basketball at SDSU. More are ahead. First, let's step back and take a deep breath and reflect on just how fun this one was. It wasn't magical, there was nothing mystical about it at all. It was just good, really, really good.