by Michael Vernetti

As Gael fans digested much excellent news in the off-season — picked to win this season’s WCC championship over Gonzaga by a 61-60 vote of WCC coaches, seeing Saint Mary’s chosen by four-star Riordan forward Zion Sensley over several major programs, even gasping when the Gaels were picked by Stadium Insider analyst Jeff Goodman to make it to the Final Four — they naturally were anxious to see their team for the first time Saturday in the annual Blue-White — first team (Blue) against second team (White) — scrimmage.

And they did see a spirited game in which the first-stringers led at half by 41-39, only to see the White team come back to win the second half by 31-23 (or close to that) after switching forward Luke Barrett and freshman guard Jordan Ross from first to second team. No stats were made public, but it looks as if the White prevailed by a score of 70-64 — noting the lineup changes.

The names on everyone’s lips were the three Gael returners picked to make the WCC all-conference first team — junior Mitchell Saxen, super senior Alex Ducas and sophomore Aidan Mahaney — and new recruits Ross, Andrew McKeever and Jensen Bradtke. Also fans were excited to see the muscular development of sophomore center Harry Wessels, the 7’1″ Aussie who impressed as a backup to Saxen last season.

So, who was everyone talking about as they left the gym? Mason Forbes and Rory Hawke, of course. How’s that, you say — who are they?

Forbes is the Harvard graduate who came to Saint Mary’s last season as a graduate transfer after four years as a sometime starter and consistent rotation player. Since Harvard skipped the Covid-ridden ’20-21 season and Forbes played in only 11 games in his senior year because of injuries, he was rusty when he showed up in Moraga, and it was determined that a redshirt year would be best for him.

Good call.

Forbes and Hawke

The 6’8″, 230-pound Forbes started for the White team opposite sophomore power forward Joshua Jefferson and was a revelation with his scoring, rebounding and defense. No stats were available, but my calculations were that he scored between 18-20 points, battled on the boards and defended ferociously, as befitting the legacy of the player whose shoes he hopes to partially fill — the departed Kyle Bowen.

Hawke also came to the Gaels via a circuitous path. After gaining attention by competing for his hometown of Queensland in the Under-20 Australian Championship, he was grabbed by the Boomers and played for the national team in the FIBA World Cup Qualifying rounds. He followed that up with an excellent 2022 season at the Center of Excellence, agreed to play for the Gaels and showed up on campus last January.

Although placed on the team so he could practice throughout the rest of the ’22-23 season, Hawke was red-shirted to save his eligibility. It would seem he and Forbes enjoyed their practice time, as they both excelled on Saturday. Hawke is a 6’5″ guard who played like a veteran in the White team back court alongside sophomore walk-on Cade Bennett, son of Gaels’ coach Randy Bennett.

I had him with 14 points on the game, but, more importantly, he moved aggressively, ran the court and shot well both on the drive and from deep. His performance underlined the depth of the Gaels’ guard corps, headed by the stellar starting duo of Mahaney and Augustus Marciulionis. Those two were anything but shabby Saturday, as Mahaney topped all scorers with 35 points and Gus added another 11.

Add freshman Ross to the corps, and consider sophomore Chris Howell either as a guard or a wing, and the Gaels have four or five quality guards to lead them in ’23-24. Ross scored 11 points Saturday, and dropped several dimes when he worked himself deep into the paint. Noted as a defensive standout for Compass Prep in Chandler, AZ, Ross seems to have a smooth left-handed stroke that should stand him in good stead. As if to emphasize his accuracy, he nailed five or six straight free throws as the White team held off the Blues in the second half.

What about the bigs?

Another point of interest for fans was the expected battle in the paint between the 6’10” Saxen and heir-apparent Wessels, all 275 pounds of him. Alas, that battle didn’t happen, as Wessels was held out of the scrimmage by an undisclosed injury. No information was available, but he was dressed in his basketball garb and didn’t seem particularly perturbed as he looked on from the sidelines.

Getting a start with Wessels injured was the freshman McKeever, who was an announced 7-footer when playing for Granada High in Livermore last season. Pre-season team photos began circulating a few weeks ago, and McKeever appeared to have grown and inch — or two or three — since graduating. Some observers peg him as tall as 7’3″ now, but I was waiting to see him back-to-back with Wessels before making up my mind.

We’ll have to wait for that to happen, but McKeever more than than held his own against Saxen. He had at least seven rebounds, and got his hands on many other balls to keep possessions alive or send his teammates off on the attack. McKeever has a lot to learn, and, depending on the health of Wessels, might find himself redshirting this year. But he adds another quality recruit to the team’s front court alongside Saxen, Jefferson, Forbes and freshman Bradtke, a 6’10” Aussie forward who also played at the Center of Excellence.

Decisions, decisions

The Blue/White scrimmage underscored how difficult a job Coach Bennett has this season in determining lineups and rotations. With five outstanding guards and at least that many front line players, he will be hard-pressed to come up with the compact, seven-or-eight-deep team he favors. The Gaels fave Hawaii next Friday (Oct. 20) in Manoa, Hawaii, in an exhibition game to raise money for the devastated community of Maui, and have their season opener on Nov. 6 against Stanislaus State in Moraga.

The team has chosen the slogan “Why not us?” this season in recognition that a team they beat last year, San Diego State, competed for the national championship. Depth is a key component of any team with national championship aspirations, and the Blue/White scrimmage showed Saint Mary’s has excellent depth.

As Bennett sorts through his many options, and players develop or regress, that depth will be challenged. Until that happens, “Why not us?” serves as a reasonable question to start the season with.

The ’23-24 Gaels, with Andrew McKeever standing tall out front, get ready for another season. Photo courtesy of Tod Fierner.

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