We are still a couple of months away from the tip-off of the college basketball season this fall, which means that we have plenty of time to start preparing for the action ahead. We will do so via a series of season previews featuring the best players/coaches in the country. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel continues our coverage with St. Mary’s C Mitchell Saxen, who talked about beating Gonzaga and his expectations for this season.
You were born/raised in Seattle: what made you choose St. Mary’s? I was actually born in Berkeley but grew up in Seattle. I chose St. Mary’s because of its culture of hard work and the chance for me to develop as a big man.
You play for Coach Randy Bennett: what makes him such a good coach, and what is the most important thing that you have learned from him so far? He really understands the process of how players improve. He is really patient but expects nothing but the best out of us.
In 2021 you played in all 24 games and were named to the All-WCC Freshman Team: how were you able to come in and contribute right from the start? 1 thing they preach here is knowing your job and then doing it at a high level. The coaches let us know what we need to do to get onto the court so I worked on my rebounding/defending.
You missed the 1st 5 games of last season due to a back injury: how is your health doing at the moment? It is great right now so I am looking forward to this season.
Last February you had 1 of your best all-around games in a win over top-ranked Gonzaga with 7 PTS/4 REB/3 BLK: how do you explain the rivalry with the Bulldogs to someone who has never seen it in person? It gets overshadowed a bit because Gonzaga is a great program but we expect to compete at a high level. It is amazing how many fans show up: that game is always circled on the calendar.
In the 2022 NCAA tourney you had a win over Indiana and then a loss to UCLA: what did you learn from your postseason run that you think will help you this year? It is a really long season and you need to peak at the end of it. You cannot be content with winning in February: teams who start off great usually finish great but you cannot take your foot off the gas.
Your non-conference schedule includes games against Vandy/Houston/San Diego State and maybe Washington: which of these games do you feel will present your biggest test? Houston jumps out to me based on preseason projections…but I personally hope we play Washington since I grew up there!
You lost several senior stars from last year in Dan Fotu/Tommy Kuhse/Matthias Tass: how will you try to replace all of that offense/experience? During our Australia trip last summer I realized how much talent we have. It is fun to watch guys grow into their roles even though there is a lot of production to replace.
1 of your fellow returners is Augustas Marciulionis, who was regarded as 1 of the top international prospects in D-1 last year but only scored 3.1 PPG: I know he is a great FT shooter but can you tell if he is ready to make a huge leap in his all-around game this year? You can see it happen day by day. This summer he played with the Lithuanian national team and when he joined us you could tell that he was ready to take on a leadership role.
What are your goals for this season, and what are your expectations for this season? As a team we always want to win the regular season title/conference tourney and try to go undefeated at home. Personally I want to be consistent/available for my team every night so I am working on my motor.