Deuce Turner – San Diego
Being selected as the WCC Sixth Man of the Year and to the All-Conference Second Team in 2023/24, Turner’s development over the past season was evident going from averaging just 6.5 PPG as a sophomore to 15.5 PPG.
Turner is a proven scorer and already looks to be the perfect off-ball counterpart to Swenson’s crafty passing game. Along with leading the Toreros in scoring this past season, the 6-foot-2 Malvern, PA native is a deadly sharpshooter who shot 41% from the floor and a career-high 37% from three during the 2023/24 campaign.Â
It’s on the defensive end where we’ll need to see Turner make some improvements after finishing top-50 nationally in fouls committed per 40 minutes despite averaging almost a STLPG.Â
If Turner can show some more consistency on that end of the floor, the Gauchos are looking at one of the best starting backcourt duos in all of mid-major men’s basketball heading into next season.
Kenny Pohto – Wichita State
The 6-foot-11 Wichita State transfer will fill a similar role to Traore within Pasternack’s scheme as a solid offense piece on the interior who can rebound and defend at a high level. While he certainly doesn’t have the same acclaim as Traore; coming out of Auburn as a former top-100 prospect, Pohto has shown consistent improvement over three seasons with the Shockers.
Despite playing less minutes as a junior than he did as a sophomore, Pohto still managed career-high contributions during the 2023/24 campaign averaging 8.8 PPG and 5.9 RPG.
His talent is raw, but Pohto can do a little bit of everything you’d expect from a 6-foot-11 center and is a proven mid-major level contributor while Pasternack evidently has a knack for developing European front court prospects.
