So, first of all, thanks to kAzE for taking care of the primary effort on the Phase I report, and doing a great job of it. The original plan was for kAzE to prepare the key questions (which he did) and for me to break down the opponents' squads for the phase (which I have not done until now).
Secondly, I apologize for the delay in my contributions. Between work travel and me trying frantically to wrap up the final steps in becoming Dr. CDu (of the Ph variety, not the M or J variety), I've just not had a break long enough to do my part.
With that said, here is a breakdown of the three most likely opponents in the Maui Invitational. Starting with the only of the three that we are guaranteed to play (San Diego State).
San Diego State (2-0, KenPom #57)
The Aztecs are a defensive-minded team that is just okay offensively. They are a relatively (for a mid-major type of school) young team, though they are talented. Their backcourt is experienced, which helps, and they have a lot of bigs to rotate. But it isn't a terribly deep team by any means.
Center: The Aztecs don't start a true center, favoring a guard/heavy lineup with two forwards. They do bring three centers off the bench though. Freshman Nathan Mensah (6'10", 225lb from Ghana) gets the most minutes of their 3-headed backup center monster. Mensah is tall, lanky, and athletic. He is a very good shotblocker but rebounds just okay (as is common for shotblockers). Mensah is a freshman, and as such he may prove to be foul prone against better competition (the Aztecs have played a couple of bad teams so far). Behind Mensah is Nolan Narain (6'10", 230lb redshirt junior from Canada). Narain was a 3-star recruit out of high school, so he had some expectations. But injuries and bad luck have limited his career to this point, with just over 300 minutes played coming into this year. He is a good athlete and has range out to the 3pt line. He's quite foul prone though, as evidenced by his 5 fouls in just 24 minutes this year. The third center coming off the bench is Joel Mensah (6'10", 215lb freshman from Ghana). Ironically, the two are not related (at least not closely related). The lesser Mensah is a rawer, skinnier, less talented version of Nathan Mensah. He plays sparingly, and will be overmatched if he sees the floor against us.
Forwards: The Aztecs are quite talented and diverse at forward. The starters exemplify this by themselves. Jalen McDaniels (6'10", 195lb sophomore) is the headliner, a long, lanky combo forward somewhat reminiscent of Jonathan Isaac from FSU. McDaniels uses his length to score and rebound inside, but he's not a bad shooter from the perimeter (50% on 4 3s so far and shot 78.8% from the FT line last year). McDaniels flirted with the NBA last year, and may very well go pro next summer. He is certainly on NBA scouts' radars. Paired with McDaniels long and lean is the short (relatively) and stout Matt Mitchell (6'6", 240lb soph). Despite the differences in their frames, Mitchell's production is actually really comparable to McDaniels' other than rebounding. Both are extremely active and athletic (in different ways), and both are highly productive players. I'd guess that Mitchell will get the dubious honor of guarding Williamson given his size and athleticism. This will be one of the few times where Williamson will be matched up on a guy who isn't totally overwhelmed by either his size or athleticism. Don't get me wrong: Williamson is still notably better in all aspects (skills, strength, athleticism), but it's not as big of a mismatch as most of his matchups will be. Both McDaniels and Mitchell are also capable passers, second and third on the team in assists. Behind these two (aside from the triad of centers) is freshman Aguek Arop (6'6", 220lb). Arop is a low-skilled, high energy/effort guy who rebounds and fouls well but provides little else.
Wings: Jordan Schakel (6'6", 200lb soph) leads the wing group for the Aztecs. Schakel is a shooter first and foremost. He's not very skilled at putting the ball on the floor or passing, but he can certainly hit the 3. If SDSU gives us trouble, his 3pt shot may have a fair amount to do with it. Alongside Schakel is Jeremy Helmsley (6'3", 175lb senior). Helmsley is a good shooter and a very experienced player, having passed the 1,000 point career mark last year for the Aztecs. He's another guy who can hit the open 3, and isn't terrible with the ball in his hands either. Helmsley will give some assistance in running the offense in the rare moments when their PG needs a break.
Guards: The guy that runs the show is Devin Watson (6'1", 185lb senior transfer from San Fran). Watson is a score-first PG who is capable of scoring at all 3 levels. He's not the most careful with the ball, but he's capable of wowing with passes when he is is dialed in. The danger for him is trying to do too much, especially in a matchup against a much more talented opponent. But Watson is a terrific player and capable of punishing a young defense. Behind Watson is Adam Seiko (6'3", 195lb frosh). Seiko doesn't play much (Watson rarely exits), but he's a tenacious defender and really strong and athletic. He's pretty much a nonfactor as a scorer, but can impact the game in other ways when he's in there.
I'll add the profiles for Auburn (our likely second-round opponent), Gonzaga (a potential championship game opponent if we're fortunate), and Arizona (if we wind up in the 3rd-place game) shortly.