The guy on the end of the bench of a 30-2 team is in the transfer portal.
Walk-on guard Caleb Giordano announced he is transferring in hopes of finding a scholarship and rotation minutes after primarily working on the scout team in two seasons at San Diego State. He played one year at Miramar College, redshirted his first year at SDSU, then appeared in 11 games for 26 total minutes in 2019-20 _ taking all 10 of his shots and scoring all nine of his points from beyond the 3-point arc.
"I have talked with my family and I believe it is my best interest to transfer and play at another school," Giordano said in a message posted on social media. "I want to thank you for everything and hope that you respect my decision. I wish the best of luck to the program and all of my brothers still there."
The 6-foot-3 Giordano, who has two years of eligibility remaining, becomes the fourth walk-on in five years to transfer after coming to SDSU less with the intention of playing than improving.
Parker U'u went to Division II San Francisco State, where he averaged 7.9 points before his senior season was cut short by injury. Ben Perez, who was part of SDSU's rotation as a freshman, detoured to a junior college in Texas before spending his final two seasons at Div. I Iona, averaging 8.2 points as a junior on a team that reached the NCAA Tournament.
Niksha Federico, a 6-7 wing from Cathedral Catholic High, transferred to Hawaii Pacific for his final season and averaged a double-double (21.7 points, 10.4 rebounds), ranking among the nation's Div. II statistical leaders. He now plays professionally in Spain.
"Caleb has been an asset to the Aztec program, we're going to miss him and we wish him well," coach Brian Dutcher said. "He's going to try to get a scholarship and increase his playing time somewhere else. You just have to find the right situation where there's a need for you.
"Niksha went down a division and parlayed it into playing professionally overseas. It was a solid move, and he got better from being in our program. Coaches, players, everybody has their own path. You just have to find what that path is."
Replacing Giordano on the scout team will be Derek Morhar, a 6-5 incoming freshman from Calabasas High. Morhar was a first team all-county selection by the Ventura County Basketball Coaches Association and was named Scorebook Live's Southern California player of the week in February after scoring 37 points against Westlake.
