The patience and tantalizing potential of SDSU’s 7-foot ‘Goon’

Magoon Gwath's first shot in a San Diego State uniform in front of a crowd, a preseason exhibition against Cal State San Marcos last month, was a deep 3-pointer, really deep, too deep.

It hit nothing.

Twenty-two seconds later, Gwath received a pass in the left corner and launched another 3.

Nothing ... but net.

It provides a snapshot of the captivating potential of SDSU's 7-foot redshirt freshman, and of the patience required.

He barely played as a high school senior after a series of injuries. He did not play at all last season after ankle surgery. And now his lanky, lofty frame is thrust into a starting role for a program that has ascended the heights of college basketball, with all the incumbent pressure and expectation.

"Well," coach Brian Dutcher said with a knowing smile, "I'm a very patient person."

Players with Gwath's unique convergence of size and skill don't come around often, agile enough to play on the perimeter, big enough to protect the rim, handles, 3-point range, mobility, length, timing, coordination, instinct. Dutcher's favorite term for big, wide, heavy, stationary centers is "lummoxes." The guy they call "Goon" is no lummox.

Gwath himself has admitted he'll be a work in progress, especially early in his first college season, especially with a brutal stretch of November games that starts Monday with a showdown against No. 4 Gonzaga at Viejas Arena (7 p.m., CBS Sports Network). There will be ups and downs, airballs and swishes.

"Whatever it is, I'm going to embrace it," he said recently in his quiet, unassuming manner. "I think about these goals in the back on my mind, but no matter what I do, I still have to get better every day to achieve those goals. So I try to focus on the process."

The Oct. 20 scrimmage at UCLA: eight turnovers.

The Nov. 6 opener against UC San Diego: one point, one rebound, two turnovers in 23 largely forgettable minutes.

Six days later against Division III Occidental: 16 points, 5-of-8 shooting (2 of 4 on 3s), 4 of 4 at the line, one steal, no turnovers, four blocks in 18 minutes.

Gwath had a block on SDSU's first defensive possession (for the third straight game). Then he had another on the next possession. Then drained a 3. Then drained another. Then swatted another shot. Three minutes, six points, three blocks.

"I'm just trying to get used to being out there, trying to build my confidence early and do whatever I can," Gwath said afterward. "The coaches told me before the game to use this as a confidence-booster, and it definitely did boost my confidence. The first two shots went in, and it felt good."

The adjustment is not limited to Xs and Os.

"It's still crazy, even after sitting out last year and seeing it," Gwath said of 12,414-seat Viejas Arena. "I still look around, like, 'Dang, there's a lot of people.' It gets really loud in there. It's a really good feeling having that much support from everybody. It helps with momentum, too.

"I'm starting to get a little more used to it. But I still find myself looking into the crowd."

The adjustment is not limited to Gwath, either. Dutcher and his staff are still learning what he can and can't do, when and where.

Against UCSD, he played the No. 4 spot on offense and defense, guarding a smaller player on the perimeter against the Tritons' spread scheme. Against Occidental, Dutcher tweaked the defensive assignments so 6-10 senior Jared Coleman-Jones covered the opposing 4 and Gwath could patrol the paint against the 5.

He also used Gwath in shorter shifts, noticing he got fatigued and was less effective the longer he stayed on the floor.

"We found out if we play him in four- or five-minute stretches, then we probably need to give him a rest," Dutcher said. "He's 7-foot and a freshman. He's not physically what he's going to be when he matures and gets older. But right now, when he's fresh and his legs are fresh, he's outstanding. So we have to find ways to rest him and get the best out of him when he's on the floor."

Gwath grew up in the Dallas metroplex, the son of South Sudanese refugees and the only member of the family born in the United States. His three older brothers were 6-2 or 6-3, so he figured he'd be that tall as well. He idolized NBA guard Kyrie Irving.

Then came a 5-inch growth spurt and he wasn't 6-2 anymore. And another. And another. He grew another inch after arriving at SDSU — a guard trapped in a 7-footer's body.

Gwath transferred to Veritas Prep in Los Angeles for his senior year with a promise to develop his perimeter game instead of being parked in low post at Trinity High School in Euless, Texas. He was injured much of the season, and the plan was to remain at Veritas for a post-grad year to attract more recruiting interest.

Then the Aztecs coaches saw him draining 3s at one end of the floor and swatting shots at the other two Junes ago at a recruiting event in Arizona. They still had an available scholarship that late in the process and immediately offered it to a zero-star prospect.

At the suggestion of Veritas coach George Zedan, who knew the SDSU program well having coached former Aztecs Lamont Butler and Matt Mitchell in AAU ball, Gwath reasoned it was better to spend that year redshirting with a college strength and nutrition program.

Two weeks later, he was on campus.

"Two years from now," Zedan predicted in June 2023, "I think the basketball world is going to say, 'Man, Coach Dutcher and his staff found another diamond in the rough.'"

His teammates didn't experience "Goon" until late December, when he was cleared for full practice following the ankle surgery and rejected one shot after another on the scout team. Another day, he got the ball in the low block, spun into the lane and dunked over 6-10 roommate Miles Heide.

USD transfer Wayne McKinney III didn't experience it until joining the team last summer. Count him among the impressed.

"Magoon is a different kind of player," McKinney said. "He's an all-around threat. He can score inside, outside, mid-range, anything you need. And he's wiping shots off the backboard. His defense is great as well. ... We started to see it in the last few games, and we also know from practice what his potential is."

Which is?

"A level that we don't even know yet," McKinney said. "He doesn't even know it himself. He doesn't know how great he can be."