Meet The Freshmen: San Diego’s Khalil Bedart-Ghani

Khalil Bedart-Ghani represents a lot to be excited about for the future of the University of San Diego Toreros. From his flashy highlight videos on Youtube to the immense potential he brings to the roster by filling a major need, this is one of the better signings in recent years for Bill Grier. There is a reason Bedart-Ghani is the most notable name in this recruiting class for the Toreros as of right now. He is a legitimate prospect coming from a top-tier high school team who can fill a major role right away. His impact could be the kind of x-factor that pushes the Toreros to the next level.

At Loyola High School

Bedart-Ghani comes to San Diego by way of Loyola High School in Los Angeles, one of the best high school programs in the country. He was a great offensive contributor this past season for a Loyola team that went 27-4 and was ranked as high as #9 in the nation. While playing alongside a number of other major recruits including a McDonald’s All-American, he was able to average 10 points per game while also consistently contributing assists, rebounds, and steals. His highlights reels on Youtube also show a very fluid and athletic player who can consistently throw down dunks despite not having overwhelming size at 6 feet, 3 inches.

Bedart-Ghani verbally committed to Yale in 2013 where he was expected to go and join his brother on the Bulldogs roster. However, he opened up his recruitment again in early 2014 and the Toreros swooped in to land the two-star recruit.

Impact at San Diego

Bedart-Ghani should get Torero fans excited because he fills a major need that USD has not been able to consistently fill in recent years. With stellar guard play and adequate talent in the post, the glaring weakness for the Toreros has been forward/wing play. Combo players who can shoot on the outside and also drive to the hoop and cause chaos inside have been rare for the Toreros. Anyone could see how the emergence of Duda Sanadze last year as a combo player completely revitalized the Toreros and made them significantly better by adding a new level to the offense. A threat like Sanadze is a valuable asset because he opens up room for the guards to work, and the threat of him driving inside makes room for the big men to find space. This impact can be seen as far back as the early days of the Bill Grier era when combo players like De’Jon Jackson were helping the Toreros emerge as a force in the WCC and doing things like shocking the Connecticut Huskies in the 2008 NCAA Tournament.

Besides Sanadze, filling this role has been difficult for the Toreros recently. Losing Mike Davis to injury last season was big, and Brett Bailey was underwhelming after coming in as a highly touted freshman recruit. Thomas Jacobs came on strong, but his strength is driving to the hoop. All three of those players are more suited primarily as forwards, and their talent is working down low more than it is throwing up long jumpers. Sanadze needs help on the outside, and the Toreros need a capable player who can fill his role when he needs a rest. Bedart-Ghani appears to be that player.

Feb 6, 2014; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego Toreros guard Duda Sanadze (10) dribbles the ball during the first half against the San Francisco Dons at Jenny Craig Pavillion. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

Both Sanadze and Bedart-Ghani are similar players in build and playing style. At a similar height, both possess the ability to drain a long jumper or drive aggressively to the hoop with no fear of the larger defenders waiting inside. The outside shooting is what will be key. A number of Toreros can drive inside like Bedart-Ghani, but his ability to create space by becoming a threat on the outside will be a great asset. Sanadze is such a deadly player because he can drain the jumper or take it inside, something many of the guards and forwards on the current roster cannot do. Many are one dimensional whether it’s as an outside shooter like Johnny Dee or someone who slashes inside for layups like Chris Anderson. If Bedart-Ghani fulfills his potential and can do what he did in high school in the West Coast Conference, he immediately becomes the best combo player on the roster behind Sanadze.

The obvious advantage for the Toreros at first is depth. To have another capable player who can relieve Sanadze but also run the offense on occasion to rest Dee and Anderson is a great value. But the real value may come when all these players are on the floor at the same time. Bedart-Ghani will not likely be a starter consistently his freshman year, but there is a lineup in which he plays alongside most of the starters that could be very dangerous and appealing. With Anderson and Dee cemented as the starting guards and Sanadze regularly starting in a forward/combo position, Bedart-Ghani could be a valuable threat starting at the opposite forward position. For Anderson to have three shooters alongside him creates a multitude of options. Add in the fact that most of them can also drive to the hoop and the Toreros could be flying all over the court throwing up shots and creating a nightmare for opposing defenses.

The only downside would be defensively as it creates a small lineup that would have trouble defending against bigger teams that have more depth down low. A team like Gonzaga that will be deploying a center and two large forwards would be tough for the Toreros to stop even if someone like Brandon Perry or Jito Kok takes the next step as an effective center. However playing small is nothing new for the Toreros, and they can easily rotate Sanadze and Bedart-Ghani out for another big make like Kok, Perry, or Simi Fajemisin to add in another bigger player to the rotation for defensive purposes when needed.

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The options for the rotation are very exciting with a talented player like Bedart-Ghani in the mix, and it won’t be a surprise if he finds a role very early with the Toreros. Like most of the incoming guards, Bedart-Ghani will have his greatest impact when some of the current crop graduates starting after this season. However, Bedart-Ghani has the talent and fills a need. He could be making his presence known right away, and if he can be what he has the potential to be he could be a very exciting addition for a veteran team looking to take the next step.