If Saint Mary’s is going to be considered one of the best teams in the country — and that’s not out of the question — it is going to have to prove it every night. Last year’s NCAA Tournament bracket proved as much.
Saint Mary’s basketball is deep, experienced and your new favorite mid-major
The Gaels are No. 22 in our preseason rankings.
Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports
When the Gaels were handed a No. 7 seed (and Wichita State a 10), the committee made it clear that it would do no favors to quality mid-majors.
So, in order to be set up for a deep tournament run, Saint Mary’s will have to navigate almost flawlessly through a tough non-conference schedule and a West Coast Conference slate that will include home-and-home matchups with Gonzaga and BYU.
Fortunately for coach Randy Bennett, he has the team to do it.
Senior Jock Landale would be a legit national player of the year candidate if he played for a Power 5 school. He should be one of the best returning big men in the country. The 6’11 senior nearly averaged a double-double last year (16.9 points, 9.5 rebounds) on 61 percent shooting from the floor.
Landale is going to be the guy that every team keys in on. He’ll be the guy who fans will associate with the Gaels, and for good reason. But that should not diminish the talent that Landale has around him.
Saint Mary’s appears to be a complete team in every sense of the word.
Emmett Naar, grad transfer Cullen Neal, and swingman Calvin Hermanson will combine to make one of the best backcourts in the country. The trio all shot over 40 percent from three last season, while Naar should be one of the nation’s best distributors. He ranked third in the WCC in assist rate last season, and with Joe Rahon having graduated, he will be relied on to both find shooters and feed the duo of Landale and Evan Fitzner down low.
With so many weapons returning, the balance of power in the WCC has shifted. For now, at least.
Projected Lineup:
G Emmett Naar, Senior
G Cullen Neal, Senior
F Calvin Hermanson, Senior
F Evan Fitzner, Junior
C Jock Landale, Senior
Key Reserves: G Tanner Krebs (sophomore), F Kyle Clark (junior), G Jordan Ford (sophomore), C Jordan Hunter (junior), G Kristers Zoriks (freshman)
What happened last season?
A lot of good things. The Gaels lost five times all season and three of those came against Gonzaga, the national runners-up. They were, to put it nicely, screwed on Selection Sunday when they were given a No. 7 seed and had to face VCU. While they defeated the Rams in a close one, they did not have similar success against Arizona in the Second Round. That should not take away from their 29-5 record, 16-2 regular season conference mark, and some of the most efficient numbers in the country on both ends of the court.
Are the Gaels actually better than Gonzaga?
At least to start the season, yes. Just about everyone on the Bulldogs — including Johnathan Williams — will have to step into a new role. Saint Mary’s, meanwhile, returns everyone except for Rahon and Dane Pineau while adding Neal. And that’s to a team that was already top 15 in KenPom. You can argue that Gonzaga has more potential, especially if Killian Tillie and Rui Hachimura make huge leaps, but that’s not going to happen overnight.
You said Jock Landale would be a Player of the Year candidate at a Power 5 school. Are you just full of it?
Nope. At least, I don’t think so. The rising senior finished last season ranked second in the KenPom Player of the Year rankings and ranked in the top 10 in the conference in nearly every KenPom statistic. He scored in double figures in all but two games last year and was one of the most efficient rebounders in the country. Landale’s efforts got him recognized as an AP Honorable Mention player and he will likely be a first- or second-team preseason All-American.
How can the Bulldogs, or BYU, or someone else stop them?
At first glance, Saint Mary’s doesn’t have many defined weaknesses. The Gaels can, however, run into trouble in the frontcourt if things aren’t going their way. As great as Landale is, he’s prone to foul trouble against teams that can match the Gaels’ physicality. Last year, Pineau could team with Fitzner up front while Landale was out of the game. But Pineau, who did not start a game last year and still ranked fourth on the team in average minutes, has since graduated. Now, if Bennett has to plug in Clark or Hunter for extended periods of time, Saint Mary’s suddenly loses a lot more. A big team unafraid to challenge Landale and Fitzner could probably wear down the Gaels easier than in the past.
Here’s a nifty pass and finish from Naar to Hermanson:
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