Brian Dutcher and His SDST/SDSU Connection
Florida Atlantic, San Diego State, Connecticut and Miami (Florida) — what a weird Final Four. If you had even two of these teams in your Eight Eight, massive tip of the cap. If you had two of these teams in your Final Four, I hope you came away with some serious $$$ in the office bracket pool. In the age of NIL and the transfer portal, I suspect this flavor of “random” programs and upsets will become the norm.
Most casual fans have no connections to any of the remaining teams. So, if you’re looking for a team to get behind this weekend, may I suggest one: San Diego State University.
The knee-jerk reaction for most is to never cheer for a program that “stole” our beloved S-D-S-U acronym. However, SDST’s head coach, Brian Dutcher, is actually a former Jackrabbit himself, having spent three years in the ‘80s as an assistant coach under Jim Thorson.
Dutcher, a Michigan native, is the son of Minnesota’s longtime head coach Jim Dutcher. After attending Jefferson High School in Bloomington, Minnesota, he got started coaching, working underneath his father at the “U” as a student assistant.
Thorson was hired prior to the 1985-86 season, replacing South Dakota State University Hall of Famer Gene Zulk. In his first full-time coaching job, Dutcher arrived in Brookings shortly before the start of the season as the only full-time assistant coach. The ‘85-’86 season was rough for the Jacks, as a group of underclassman were forced to carry the load from a depleted roster. They finished the season 8-20 but were still able to beat that school down south in the final home game of the year in front of more than 5,000 fans.
Things turned around the following year for Thorson and Dutcher. With a more experienced group of student-athletes—primarily from South Dakota and Minnesota—they were able to climb over the .500 mark and finish the season with a 16-12 record, culminating with a season-ending victory over North Dakota State University.
One of the primary reasons for the ‘86-’87 turnaround was the NCAA’s implementation of the 3-point line. Various conferences experimented with the rule before the NCAA officially adopted it in April 1986 following that year’s Final Four. * Apparently, the North Central Conference was not one of those conferences as SDSU’s first official year with the rule was the ‘86-’87 season.
*When the NCAA universally implemented the 3-point line, coaches around the country were disgusted. Mike Krzyewski, according to Sports Illustrated, considered the 3-point line a “monster” and a threat to the purity of the game. “You should have to work hard to get a basket,” Coach K said. Dayton’s Don Donoher said the 3-point line is similar to a game show. “In this world we live in now, we’re into wild thrills,” Donoher said. TCU head coach Jim Killingsworth was ready to end it all after the rule change. “If you pick up a paper someday and read that they can’t find me, I’ll be over on the Trinity University Bridge with a rock tied around my neck.” I can’t wait to write a think piece about how the NCAA’s implementation of the 3-pointer in 1986 is directly correlated to our society’s moral decline and eventual collapse. Long live the three.
Three-point shooting at SDSU got off to an interesting start. In the ‘86 opener vs. Sioux Falls College, Craig Jenkins drained a three from the left corner and was fouled, resulting in the rare—and first-ever (at least for SDSU) 4-point play. The following possession, Jenkins went down and drained another three. While many schools were slow to adjust to the new rule, SDSU went bombs away from deep. In the ‘86-’87 season, SDSU led the NCC in 3-pointers “by a large margin” and was ninth in Division II for made threes.
This may also explain why SDSU struggled during the ‘85-’86 season. According to the ‘87-’88 media guide, a guard by the name of Tom McDonald “rarely” took shots inside 25-feet. I’m no analytical genius, but regardless of how good of a shot McDonald was, I doubt consistent 25-footers worth only two points would lead to a whole lot of wins. Now, if you traded some of those long McDonald “2s” for “3s,” SDSU’s 8-20 record might look a little different.
With a consistent roster, coaching staff and another year with the 3-point line, SDSU made huge strides, finishing with a 21-9 record in the ‘87-’88 season. After going 13-5 in the NCC, the Jacks made the NCAA Division II playoffs for the first time since the ‘84-’85 season when they made the Division II Final Four. In the South Central Regional, they upended Missouri-St. Louis before falling to Angelo State, 87-84.
Following the season, Dutcher left for the University of Michigan, which was unfortunate as Thorson had to replace his only assistant coach and Harry Forsyth, SDSU’s athletic director, had to replace the golf coach. Similar to Aaron Johnston in the early 2000s, Dutcher pulled double duty and headed SDSU’s golf team.
At Michigan, Dutcher was a longtime assistant under Steve Fisher and played an instrumental role in “recruiting” the Fab Five. He was later a central figure in ESPN’s documentary (“The Fab Five”) on the team.
Fisher was fired for cause from Michigan in 1997 following allegations surrounding a ticket scandal that turned out to be more or less a gambling ring. After a year out of coaching, Fisher headed west to San Diego St. to rehabilitate his image and brought Dutcher along with him. The two quickly built a strong mid-major program, and unearthed talents like Kawhi Leonard and Xavier Thames.
When Fisher retired in 2017, Dutcher finally got his chance at a head position and has only elevated the program. While this has been SDST’s first big tournament run since 2014, prior to the 2020 COVID-induced tournament cancellation, SDST was a projected two seed and likely would have made at least a Sweet Sixteen.
While I’m hesitant to cheer for a rival Mountain West program (I’m a Boise State grad) that uses my employer’s acronym, I will make an exception this weekend and cheer on the Aztecs.
I just have one question for Dutcher (that I wish a reporter down in Houston would ask him)—who does he think the “real” SDSU is?
In all seriousness, Dutcher—judging by this profile—seems like a stand-up guy and it would be awesome to see a former Jackrabbit pull off one of the most improbable NCAA Tournament runs of all-time.
For more on Dutcher: A great story from the San Diego Union-Tribune.
Enjoyed reading the article & reminiscing. Brian Dutcher & wife Jan are great people. He was a great recruiter & knowledgable coach. No surprise he’s where he is today.
Thanks
Jim Thorson