Since 2004, the Knights have won eight conference championships and 11 postseason tournament berths. They’ve appeared in two state finals and won one of them in 2017. Dozens of alumni have been awarded scholarships to Division I and II programs, and several have played professionally around the world.

Along with SDSU, USD, UCSD, and PLNU, the SDCC Knights are one of a handful of local basketball teams worth watching right now.

Sure, San Diego’s Big 5 will never be considered as big as teams from cities like LA or Cincinnati, not with Division II and community college teams in the mix, but they have done something recently that programs in other, more acclaimed basketball cities haven’t: they’ve won.

SDCC’s run started two decades ago when head coach Mitch Charlens took over a program that the previous year won seven games playing in a high school gym. (No offense, San Diego High.) 

“We were crazy enough and arrogant enough to think we could win right away,” Charlens said. “And we did.” With nine regular season games left this year, Charlens’ average of 20.5 wins-per-season doesn’t seem likely to decrease. 

As the Knights were wrapping up their game at Miramar College, the San Diego State University men’s squad was warming up for its own conference showdown. Jaedon LeDee would go on to pace the team’s victory over Nevada with an overstuffed stat sheet—22 points, 12 rebounds, three steals, and a block. Fellow senior Lamont Butler did yeoman’s work, chipping in four rebounds, three assists, and two steals to go along with his 10 points.

“Our defense and rebounding were the difference in the game, and that’s Aztec basketball,” head coach Brian Dutcher told the media after the game. 

The win also brought SDSU to 15-3 on the season, which feels like déjà vu. The Aztecs were 14-4 at this time last year, after Butler’s 19 points and two assists, steals, and rebounds fueled a conference win over Colorado State. 

“We hit a rhythm in the second half, got going, and our defensive pressure keyed it,” Dutcher said after that game. The Aztecs would go on to win 17 of their next 19, then Butler sent SDSU to the national championship with the shot of his life. By this point, you can set your watch to it—after a few early season losses, the Aztecs’ upperclassmen and the coach’s cliches are in top form come January. 

SDSU’s own run of excellence started under Dutcher’s predecessor, the legendary Steve Fisher, who in 2002 led the Aztecs to their first Mountain West Conference title and their first NCAA tournament appearance in 17 years. Six more conference championships and 11 tournament appearances would follow. Before last season’s NCAA final, Sports Illustrated anointed SDSU a “West Coast college basketball powerhouse,” as if Aztecs fans needed to be informed. 

But the same can be said for the city itself, which may be less apparent. 

In 2020, the UCSD men’s basketball team elevated to Division I. In all its wisdom, the NCAA prohibited the school from being eligible for the national championship tournament during a four-year “reclassification” period, but the Tritons decided to be good anyway. They are second in the Big West Conference with a 11-7 record, and only a LeDee buzzer-beater earlier this season prevented UCSD from upsetting its crosstown rival. 

In 2022, the University of San Diego hired Steve Lavin as its head men’s basketball coach. Lavin previously led blue blood programs in UCLA and St. Johns, and has eight NCAA tournament appearances to his name. Before a recent four-game skid, the Toreros were 10-5 and competitive in a West Coast Conference that regularly sends powerhouse Gonzaga to the NCAA tournament.

And last year, the Point Loma Nazarene men’s team went to the regional finals in the Division II championship tournament after winning the Pacwest Conference.

Truly, SD’s Big 5 are on a roll.

When asked what’s changed in the last twenty years to turn San Diego into a premier college basketball destination, Charlens thought for a moment, then told the story of Malcolm Thomas. 

Thomas starred at San Diego’s Crawford High, and after a year at Pepperdine returned home and played for City College in the 2008-09 season. After a standout season, he transferred to SDSU, where he played alongside program icon Kawhi Leonard and became one of the top shot blockers in school history. 

Thomas now plays professionally overseas, but to Charlens he was the first top recruit to “believe in City College,” a school that built itself a new gym and whose administration realized that winning matters. In effect, Thomas was the first local star to commit to a new era of San Diego basketball.

“We changed the narrative,” Charlens said

The post San Diego is Basketball City USA appeared first on San Diego Magazine.

Friday, December 1 | 7:00 p.m. | LionTree Arena, UCSD

Watch: ESPN+ | Listen: San Diego Sports 760

Move over, New York Yankees and Mets. There’s a new transit-oriented sports rivalry on the map. With the opening of MTS’s Blue Line trolley extension in 2021, the SDSU and UCSD campuses became linked by transit. A year later, the schools’ baseball teams inaugurated the so-called Trolley Series. The SDSU and UCSD men’s basketball programs pick up the lightrail rivalry on December 1 and, unlike the Subway Series, features teams that aren’t wholly disappointing.

SDSU is 6-1 following its run to the Final Four last season, and UCSD just hosted the nationally televised Rady Children’s Invitational basketball tournament. The game is sold out—don’t forget your PRONTO cards—but fans can catch it on ESPN+ or San Diego Sports 760.

San Diego Sockers vs Tacoma Stars

Sunday, December 3 | 5:05 p.m. | Pechanga Arena San Diego

The most decorated sports team in San Diego isn’t the beloved Padres, the ascendent Wave, or the departed Chargers. It’s the Sockers, the 16-time champions of professional indoor soccer. They may not be as familiar as the other teams, but the Sockers winning tradition at Pechanga Arena stretches back to 1982.

Sadly, their December 3 home opener represents something of a farewell at what the team affectionately calls “the grand old arena.” They’re relocating to Oceanside’s brand-new Frontwave Arena after this season. Catch their electrifying brand of soccer before they head up the coast.

San Diego Gulls vs Henderson Silver Knights

Saturday, December 16 | 6:00 p.m. | Pechanga Arena San Diego

Watch: KUSI-TV | Listen: San Diego Gulls Audio Network

For my money, hockey is the best live sport, Hawaiian shirts are the best garment, and Christmas is the best holiday. Those three things joyously collide at the Gulls next home game on December 16, as the team gives away Gulls Hawaiian shirts as part of their Winter Wonderland/Teddy Bear Toss Night. There’s even a pregame tailgate in the parking lot. Just don’t mind the standings.

The Gulls are mired in last place in the American Hockey League’s Pacific Division and face the minor-league affiliate of the Stanley Cup-winning Las Vegas Golden Knights. If there’s ever a time for a miracle on ice, it’s during the holiday season. 

DIRECTV Holiday Bowl

Wednesday, December 27 | 5:00 p.m. | Petco Park

Watch: TBD | Listen: TBD

The festivities around the college football Holiday Bowl offer something for everyone. There’s America’s Largest Balloon Parade and the Snapdragon Bowl Bash downtown. For those wanting to relive the glory days, there’s a tailgate party, and for those who like to wake up at 5 a.m. there’s a 5K walk/run. If the expected USC-Clemson matchup comes to fruition, there will be visiting Angelenos saying San Diego is “really nice” (as if we needed their confirmation). 

And of course there’s the Holiday Bowl game itself, which is typically one of college football’s best matchups of the year and one of San Diego’s great sports traditions. It has been played in the city since 1978 and Petco Park was recently modified to host it. Teams will be announced on December 3, but get your tickets now before a bunch of Trojans run up the prices.

SDSU vs No. 11 Gonzaga men’s basketball

Friday, December 29 | 6:00 p.m. | Spokane, Washington

Watch: TBD | Listen: San Diego Sports 760

It’s that time between Christmas and New Year’s Day. Everyone’s faking work so they don’t burn vacation days. You’re full and drowsy from six weeks of holiday eating and you’re staring into the winter abyss. That is, unless you’re an SDSU fan.

It seems the men’s basketball team always figures it out in December, dive-bombs into the AP Top 25 rankings, and reminds everyone that San Diego has more than just beaches and sunshine. It has one of the best, most-consistent basketball programs in the country. After starting last season 7-3, SDSU’s win against Kennesaw State in December propelled them to win 25 of their next 28 games on the way to the NCAA championship game. Their matchup at No. 11 Gonzaga will indicate whether SDSU has yet another postseason run in them.

The post The 5 Best Lineups in San Diego Sports: December 2023 appeared first on San Diego Magazine.