SAN DIEGO — When Magoon Gwath walked into San Diego State’s basketball offices on March 24 and informed the coaches he was entering the transfer portal, Aztecs fans figured they had lost the 7-foot forward who, despite missing the final five conference games, was named Mountain West Freshman of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year.

One person, however, knew he’d be back:

Magoon Gwath.

“My heart,” he said, “was still here.”

Gwath spoke publicly for the first time since an eventful spring that saw him enter the portal, return to SDSU a week later, opt against provisionally entering the NBA draft and have knee surgery that will sideline him until the fall — clarifying the timeline, process and thinking behind his decisions.

The first thing you should know: He didn’t necessarily want to enter the portal.

The second thing: He didn’t plan on surgery until consulting with a doctor after he had already returned to SDSU in April.

The third thing: Rehab has been going well and he hopes to be cleared for live action by mid-October, or a couple weeks before the start of the 2025-26 season.

“Every situation is different,” coach Brian Dutcher said of his unicorn talent entering his third year in the program. “I don’t get mad that they want to look. That’s the nature of the game now. At the same time, I know his experience here was a good one. I know he may feel he’s one step closer to the NBA by staying here than he is by going somewhere else and starting over in another program.

“I know a lot of people valued him as a player and offered him some pretty good money to leave. But at the end of the day, he felt his best path forward was with us at San Diego State.”

Gwath had expressed that to coaches and teammates back in March but submitted transfer paperwork anyway and immediately received seven-figure offers from some of college basketball’s most storied programs.

“Initially, I didn’t want to enter the portal,” Gwath said, “but my family members wanted me to at least go out and look at my options, so out of respect for them I did. I talked to my (older) sister for two or three hours and we talked it all out, and I said I would go in the portal and look at my options. But I let her know that my heart was still here.

“They weren’t opposed to me coming back, but they wanted me to at least see what was out there.”

Gwath had multiple zoom calls with Michigan and Kentucky. He listened to their vision of utilizing an agile 7-foot shot blocker who can shoot 3s, handle the ball and guard multiple positions. He considered the financial enticements.

“I felt with the other schools, the only thing they could provide that San Diego State couldn’t provide was (more) money,” Gwath said. “Dutch talked to me last year about a two-year plan to get to the NBA and I believe in his plan, so I might as well finish where I started.

“I’ve already been here two years and I’m used to the system. It’s a little unique. I feel like I’m really good in this system. It’s just a better fit for me. … And if my goal is to stay here and make the NBA, I’m going to make way more money in the NBA than I would after one year in the portal. At the end of the day, the money will always be there.”

The U.S.-born son of South Sudanese immigrants with limited means talked to his family again. They agreed: Money isn’t everything.

Gwath announced his return to SDSU on April 1 after the MESA Foundation, the basketball program’s NIL collective, put together a more competitive “revised agreement” that still fell short of what the blue bloods could offer.

It wasn’t an April Fool’s joke.

“I don’t know exactly what his financial options were,” MESA founder Jeff Smith said in April, “but they were significantly, significantly greater than what he agreed to take to stay here. It doesn’t mean he accepted a number where, if people heard it, they’d say, ‘I can’t believe he stayed for that.’ But what Dutch and the other coaches have argued is the guys will take a little bit less than someplace else to be here.

“That’s exactly what happened with Magoon.”

Said Gwath: “It was definitely a little tough to pass up the money, but when I talked to my parents about it, they said, ‘Whatever decision you feel (is best), you should take it.’ I just did what felt best in my heart.”

At that point, he planned to continue rehabbing his right knee that buckled in a Feb. 22 game at Utah State and test NBA draft waters. The rehab had progressed to the point where he started and played 24 minutes a month later in the NCAA tournament loss against North Carolina, finishing with nine points, five rebounds and two blocks while wearing a bulky brace.

But a week after withdrawing from the transfer portal, his agency had him examined by a doctor in Los Angeles who works with NBA players, and the suggestion was that he consider a new type of arthroscopic surgery. Instead of completely reconstructing the patellar cruciate ligament (PCL), surgeons reinforce it with fiber tape that promotes stability and accelerates recovery. The alternative was nonsurgical rehabilitation with less assurance of avoiding future complications.

“I could have done either,” Gwath said. “I could have got surgery or not got surgery. For long term, I chose to get the surgery. It wasn’t required.”

Recovery can last six to nine months, but Gwath has responded well over the first three months and said his doctor expects him to be on the shorter end. He can do spot shooting and some ball-handling drills. The next step is running.

Gwath hopes to return to full practices by mid-October. The season starts Nov. 4.

“That’s so far away,” Dutcher said. “We’re in July, and we’re talking October and November. The rehab will be the rehab. He works at it every day. He stayed here all summer to make sure he didn’t miss anything, so I think he’s right on schedule, if not ahead of schedule.

“I would anticipate he’d be ready for the start of the season. That’s part of the beauty of not leaving. He’s been in the program two years. He knows what it is in his third year. He’s used to what we do. He knows the system, he knows how we play.”

In the meantime, Gwath has put his time away from the court to good use. He’s noticeably more muscular in the upper body, and what used to be max lifts in the weight room are now multiple reps. He arrived at SDSU two summers ago just over 180 pounds; he’s now 215.

“Actually, getting the surgery helped me gain weight because I’m not doing that much running or anything,” Gwath said. “I’ve just been eating and lifting.”

It’s not his first major injury setback, and that helps, too. He redshirted his first year at SDSU after summer ankle surgery, returning to practice in late December and spending the rest of the season on the scout team. He understands the patience and process required. He knows you can’t skip steps.

“The ankle surgery was a little harder, because I couldn’t put any pressure on it for a couple months,” Gwath said. “This time I was walking on crutches right after the surgery. I’ve already been through it, so I know how to keep myself mentally not getting too down and staying ready. I just tell myself it could be worse.

“It’s just getting back up to speed and getting the feel back for the game. I don’t think it will take that long.”

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