J.J. O'Brien, Aztecs Hoping For Late Season Run
By Dave Thomas
Name: J.J. O'Brien
University: San Diego State
Year: Senior
Height: 6' 7"
Weight: 215 lbs.
Hometown: Rancho Cucamonga, CA.
Position: Forward
While it seems it is almost a given that fans and basketball writers turn their attention to a team's leading scorer year in and year out, teams are oftentimes chock full of leaders.
For the San Diego State Aztecs, one of their key components to another winning campaign in 2014-15 has been the play of senior forward JJ O'Brien. Even though you won't find the California native leading the team in points per game, his contributions have shown up in a number of other key stats and displays on the hardwood.
Heading into the Mountain West Conference Tournament this week with a record of 24-7 and the second seed (SDSU tied Boise State for the regular season title, Broncos get the top tourney seed by sweeping SDSU during the regular season), the Aztecs under veteran head coach Steve Fisher are hoping to make a long run in both the conference tourney and March Madness itself.
The Aztecs, who have been a perennial power under Fisher's guidance for a number of years now (SDSU has won more than 300 games with Fisher on the bench, including a pair of 30-plus win seasons), have seen success before when it comes to the month of March.
Just a season ago, SDSU went 31-5 and made it to the Western Regional semifinals, losing to Arizona by six points. During the 2010-11 campaign, SDSU rolled to a 34-5 mark, losing again in the Western Regional semifinals, this time to Connecticut.
Can Aztecs Sink More Post-Season Success?
If SDSU is to be playing well through March this time around (Aztecs open tournament play March 12), O'Brien will be counted on to provide senior leadership.
Going into MWC post-season play, O'Brien leads the Aztecs with 5.3 rebounds per game and 2.5 assists per contest. He is second on the team in points per game at 9.9.
O'Brien, who played one year at Utah before transferring to SDSU, has seen his game grow year-by-year.
While he has never averaged double figures in points per game (this season is his highest average), he has seen his minutes on the floor increase each season, with a career-high of 32.2 minutes per game in his senior campaign.
Among his highlights this season, he tallied 22 points in a 60-58 win earlier this month at UNLV, pulled down 11 rebounds in a November win over Utah, and dished out a half-dozen assists in an early-season victory over BYU.
O'Brien, who was an All-Mountain West Honorable Mention performer last season and a 2,200 point scorer by the time he left high school, may not get the publicity that some others in the MWC get, but you can be sure opposing coaches know who he is.
As the Aztecs head into the MWC Tournament this week in Las Vegas, the sky is the limit; the unflappable Fisher at the helm and guys like JJ O'Brien steering the ship.
Dave Thomas has been covering the sports world since his first job as a sports editor for a weekly newspaper in Pennsylvania back in 1989. He has covered a Super Bowl, college bowl games, MLB, NBA and more. His work can be found on Examiner.com.
