Bruising forward Jaedon LeDee announces his return to SDSU

Jaedon LeDee, all 6-foot-9, 240 pounds of him, announced Tuesday afternoon that he is withdrawing from the NBA Draft and returning to San Diego State for his final college season.

It amounts to a big relief, literally and figuratively.

The Aztecs used a three-out, two-in offensive scheme last season that relied on a four-man rotation of bruising low posts who, CBS analyst Charles Barkley said during the NCAA Tournament, represented “grown men” playing against “college kids.” Three of the four have departed, either through exhausted eligibility or, in the case of Keshad Johnson, the transfer portal to Arizona.

That left LeDee, who came off the bench but increasingly had a larger and larger role as the season progressed. He averaged 7.9 points and 5.3 rebounds in just 18.1 minutes per game, all career bests, and several of his individual performance analytics ranked first on the team. He also made the Mountain West all-tournament team.

But then senior guard Lamont Butler announced his return to SDSU on Monday with no mention of LeDee’s status in the school’s news release, and the anxiety meter instantly cranked up among fans with Wednesday’s deadline to withdraw from the draft rapidly approaching.

“Run it back,” a graphic posted on LeDee’s Instagram page said.

“I got great feedback from the (NBA) people and organizations I met with and know what I need to work on to achieve my goal of playing at the next level,” LeDee was quoted in an SDSU news release. “With that being said, I’m excited to continue my journey at San Diego State and help lead the team to another Mountain West title and back to the postseason in 2023-24.”

The question now turns to whether he’ll get any veteran help inside. The other options: the Aztecs go with youngsters inside or adopt a more perimeter-based, finesse approach next season.

The only other true posts among the 11 scholarship players are a pair of little-used sophomores: 6-8, 240-pound Elijah Saunders and 6-10, 235-pound Demarshay Johnson Jr. As a true freshman, Saunders was the 10^th man in what typically was a nine-man rotation – appearing in 16 games with averages of .9 points and 5.8 minutes. Johnson, who redshirted his first year at SDSU, played in only nine games for a total of 32 minutes.

The Aztecs did land 6-9 grad transfer Jay Pal from Campbell, but with 193 pounds on a long, lean frame, he is more of a perimeter presence than your traditional space-eating post.

With two more scholarships available, Coach Brian Dutcher has expressed interest in adding a veteran, rim-protecting post.

One possibility was 7-0 Ibrahima Diallo, who spent two seasons at Ohio State and the last two at San Jose State, where he led the Mountain West in blocks. There was initial interest from SDSU, but Diallo now appears to be looking elsewhere and the Aztecs are back to scouring the portal.

Whether Dutcher can land a transfer big will likely determine how LeDee is deployed next season. He has expressed a preference for operating on the perimeter more to utilize his ball-handling and shooting skills, a factor in his decision to leave Ohio State and then TCU. But he also is a consummate team player who says he’ll do whatever is necessary to win.

“Everybody wants to do more, everybody wants to expand,” LeDee said in April. “I want to showcase more of what I can do. I feel like my role this year was strong, rugged, doing things in the paint, which is cool. That’s what we needed. We made it to the Natty. Going forward, I want to show more of my skill outside of my physical ability.”

So he’d like an experienced center alongside him?

“It would be nice,” he said. “The coaches know what to do. I don’t need to tell them how to do their job.”