Like I said in the last write-up on Marcel Davis and Quincy Bair, American Fork's team goes way deeper than just those two. They are indeed, a complete team. On top of Davis and Bair, the Cavemen have two other guys capable of taking over a game in Zac Hunter and Austin Waddoups.
Tuesday was Davis' takeover, but each of the other three were spectacular at times. The biggest thing about all of them though is their defense. West simply could never get into any kind of offensive flow as the Cavemen smothered everything they tried to do. High-flying blocked shots and forced turnovers were almost too high to count. The end result was just 40 points allowed, which is the lowest total given up by the Cavemen all season.
The game started a little bit sloppy, but American Fork didn't take long in putting things together. Behind some vocal leadership from Waddoups and some offensive assertion from Davis, the Cavemen got things going full-throttle in the second quarter.
But let's get into the specifics.
Feb 28, 2012
Breaking down Robert Turbin's combine numbers
Anyway, Robert Turbin impressed a handful of people over the weekend at the combine, and really has probably earned a fairly good reputation among the NFL scouts. His official time in the 40-yard dash was 4.5 seconds, which is neither great, nor terrible. Considering that the best time by a running back at this combine was a 4.4 by Lamar Miller, with the next best checking in at 4.45. So in comparison, Turbin's 4.5 isn't at all bad in comparison.
What really opened some eyes was the 28 bench reps that Turbin busted out, tying Boise State's Doug Martin for the best total by a running back this year. Over the past seven years, there have only been 13 running backs to have reached 28 reps or better, so that's no small feat. He landed in the top 10 among running backs in both the vertical leap and broad jump drills too.
Feb 25, 2012
On senior night, (almost) everything felt right. Aggies win 67-50
The team showed fire, chemistry and execution that we've rarely seen this year. They looked like the team that so many of us believed they could be all this time. As hard as it was to see Brady Jardine in uniform on the bench, still unable to play, the team looked like they were playing with the type of fire that I've felt he would have brought to this team all along had he been healthy this season.
Regardless of the reasoning, it was just fun to watch and to be a part of. Everything about Aggie basketball this senior night felt like the Aggie basketball we all know and love. Really, by the end of the game, the only thing that didn't feel pretty much perfect was the lack of Jardine in the game.
FIRST HALF
After the emotion of honoring the seniors, the rollercoaster ride that this team has repeatedly ridden this season, began. Idaho came out with some serious fire, led by a former one of our own, Deremy Geiger. To top it off, the Vandals' defense was completely smothering the Aggies. The feeling in the crowd seemed to sink from something of excitement to the bracing for possibility of getting blown out at home.
Feb 19, 2012
Taking back The Spectrum
If you were one of the few people who actually came to the game Saturday, you might have noticed something among the student body that we've rarely seen this year... They were having fun!!!
Saturday night, the students basically said, "F*** it" and went back to doing the things that made The Spectrum the national sensation that it is. They tried playing by the rules laid out by Scott Barnes and Stan Albrecht, and the result was the crowd dying to become the shell of its former self that we've seen for most of this year. When the students were constantly worried about what might be "over the line" or "beyond human decency", the fire and hostility that makes it such a tough venue was lost.
Despite the loss, The Spectrum was back tonight, and hopefully back to stay. Apologies to Stan and Scott, but "suck" isn't a bad word. As the student section's ruthlessness increased over the years, so did overall attendance. The locals clearly do not mind the students' behavior, and if anything, it's a selling point for them.
USU might be reporting attendance numbers like 10,048 for Saturday's game, but if you were there, you'd know it was 7,000 at absolute most. That's both a case of students not showing up, and locals who bought tickets but didn't care enough to come. If the show put on by the student section remained a shell of what it was, along with the team's struggles this year, less of the locals are going to care to even purchase tickets in the first place for games they might not attend. And if the students were to continue to cave in to the demands of the administration, they won't much care to come either, like we've already seen this year.
You would hope that Stan and Scott could have recognized that you don't go and mess with a great thing, especially one that routinely gets your university mentioned as the best in the country... you would hope...
Kudos to the students for their "screw it, let's have some fun and make this stadium great" mentality. They've made The Spectrum great, despite Stan and Scott trying to diminish that greatness. Not only that, but the students have stuck their necks (and wallets) out for Barnes since he's been here. Barnes, in return, has tried wringing the students' necks over and over for their stadium behavior.
Oddly enough, The Spectrum's return to glory came on the night of a loss. But if Barnes will just keep out of this all from now on, that return to glory will come in a big way, especially now that the fans are hungry for dominance again after an all-around rough season.
Saturday night, the students basically said, "F*** it" and went back to doing the things that made The Spectrum the national sensation that it is. They tried playing by the rules laid out by Scott Barnes and Stan Albrecht, and the result was the crowd dying to become the shell of its former self that we've seen for most of this year. When the students were constantly worried about what might be "over the line" or "beyond human decency", the fire and hostility that makes it such a tough venue was lost.
Despite the loss, The Spectrum was back tonight, and hopefully back to stay. Apologies to Stan and Scott, but "suck" isn't a bad word. As the student section's ruthlessness increased over the years, so did overall attendance. The locals clearly do not mind the students' behavior, and if anything, it's a selling point for them.
USU might be reporting attendance numbers like 10,048 for Saturday's game, but if you were there, you'd know it was 7,000 at absolute most. That's both a case of students not showing up, and locals who bought tickets but didn't care enough to come. If the show put on by the student section remained a shell of what it was, along with the team's struggles this year, less of the locals are going to care to even purchase tickets in the first place for games they might not attend. And if the students were to continue to cave in to the demands of the administration, they won't much care to come either, like we've already seen this year.
You would hope that Stan and Scott could have recognized that you don't go and mess with a great thing, especially one that routinely gets your university mentioned as the best in the country... you would hope...
Kudos to the students for their "screw it, let's have some fun and make this stadium great" mentality. They've made The Spectrum great, despite Stan and Scott trying to diminish that greatness. Not only that, but the students have stuck their necks (and wallets) out for Barnes since he's been here. Barnes, in return, has tried wringing the students' necks over and over for their stadium behavior.
Oddly enough, The Spectrum's return to glory came on the night of a loss. But if Barnes will just keep out of this all from now on, that return to glory will come in a big way, especially now that the fans are hungry for dominance again after an all-around rough season.
Bracketbusted... Aggies go down at home for a 4th time
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| The FML game-changer |
Not to say that it is everybody either, because I feel my man-crushes on Preston Medlin and Ben Clifford are well-documented at this point. That's because I see the kind of intensity in them that will win over any fan who has their heads on straight and their expectations in order.
Tonight was one of those rare games where Medlin went cold and the team needed somebody else to step up and have a big game. What's not rare is the failure of anyone else to actually step up and do so. UCSB basically employed the same defensive strategy that has dominated USU all year; sell out on stopping Medlin and let the rest of a zone defense shut down everybody else.
Even despite the poor shooting, Medlin still scored team-best 14 points, due largely to the fact that he managed a team-best nine free throw attempts. And even with the shooting slump, Medlin still racked up eight assists, which was more than half of the team's total for the game.
Feb 16, 2012
A missing piece I wish we weren't missing
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| How many smiles that big have we seen from USU guys this year? |
From everything that was ever said to the media, it was a peaceful split, but still sad to see a guy go who had given three quality years to the program. The dude had a great attitude, a leader's mentality and more than anything, he had some serious swagger. All of those things are pretty much non-existent on this year's team, which makes Myaer's departure really sting right about now. Knowing we might have still had Myaer as a part of this team had Stew not bet his chips on James Walker really makes you wonder "what if?"
Just in the way you can't help but wonder what kind of difference Brady Jardine's leadership might have meant to this team, I can't help but wonder if Myaer's experience and swagger might have at least brought up this team's mentality through tough times.
More than ever he looks like the kind of guy who this team needs, especially as a senior this year.
Feb 15, 2012
A note on the student section
Probably will talk much more about this in the coming days, but it seems like ever since Scott Barnes and Stan Albrecht put the muzzle on the student section, a ton of the fun of it has just been sucked out of things.
And for what?? Because they don't like the word "suck?"
Memo to you Scott and Stan: The students don't like being treated like shit by you when it's only been a few years since they voted to double their student athletic fee to balance the budget that you couldn't, only to have you threaten to take away more student seating at games shortly thereafter.
And for what?? Because they don't like the word "suck?"
Memo to you Scott and Stan: The students don't like being treated like shit by you when it's only been a few years since they voted to double their student athletic fee to balance the budget that you couldn't, only to have you threaten to take away more student seating at games shortly thereafter.
Mailing it in... Not just the team... Everybody
That all would be fun, right? I mean, the last time a no-name team from Montana came to town there were a handful of great moments in that game. Last year against Montana-Western we at least got to see Brian Green hit six 3-pointers and Tai Wesley break a backboard. James Walker taught us how to Dougie, Brady Jardine hit a 3-pointer and even Brad Brown scored. It was just an overall fun as hell night at The Spectrum.
Tuesday though, not a whole lot of fun. None of the above things happened. Instead we got a game that was frustrating, sloppy, ugly and uninspired. I could probably dive into a thesaurus and dig up plenty more adjectives for it, but I feel it's best equated to the awkwardness of the love scene on that one South Park episode between Mr. Mackey and Ms. Choksondik. You didn't want to bail on the team if you made the effort to get there Tuesday, just like you didn't want to ditch watching that episode just because of that one really weird part.
Feb 11, 2012
Well I guess this is growing up...
First off... DAMMIT!!!
Second, let's get to the stat of the night...
In the last four minutes of both halves of basketball today (so, eight minutes of basketball), Utah State scored a combined THREE POINTS. Those three points all came in the last four minutes of the second half.
Also in the last four minutes of each half, a combined SEVEN turnovers. They also didn't make a basket in those final chunks of the half, shooting 0-6 from the field. The last field goal attempt by USU came with 2:39 remaining when Preston Medlin was basically tackled by Hernst Laroche, only to get no call. *EDIT*: The angle of my view in the stadium made this look much worse than it actually showed to be on video. Credit to Laroche for sticking with the play.
Speaking of calls, "horse shit" is about the only way to explain the officiating in this game. It was never consistent, there were phantom calls everywhere and god-awful no-calls in crucial situations. The way USU finished each half was the real difference in the game, but the officiating was horrible.
Sadly, as soon as you see Verne Harris walk into The Spectrum, you know it's an uphill battle. The guy is awful at his job, hates Utah State and has a wicked case of small man syndrome. He's the same guy responsible for the Tai Wesley "intentional elbow" call at BYU last year, for those who don't remember. Reports from Section F tonight (because I've got plenty of sources there) are that after one no-call on a traveling by NMSU, during the next media timeout, Harris said to fans, "I don't give a shit about traveling." He also apparently came clean on blowing a few calls throughout the game to the fans behind the basket at the end of the game. That explains plenty if you ask me. Pretty sure he's stoked as hell right about now that he got to ref a USU loss in The Spectrum.
Still, USU has got to execute better to close out halves. It's really too bad because in all the numbers except rebounding, they played a pretty solid game. NMSU is huge, athletic, strong and experienced, but USU hung with them all game, and even went up big in the first half for a bit before shutting down.
NMSU's defensive pressure gave the Aggies fits, and made a huge difference in those late-half shutdowns. The red Aggies pressured USU's guards all the way to mid-court and it really threw the offense out of rhythm. It might have been nice to see a USU big man come and set a high screen for Brockeith Pane once or twice to let Pane drive to the hoop and have some chances to finish around the basket or to draw fouls.
At the end of the day, NMSU came with fire and a purpose. That carried them today. USU got plenty to learn from today, particularly in facing the kind of defensive pressure that NMSU put on them. If they don't learn from this, then this loss becomes that much more brutal to deal with.
NOTES
Second, let's get to the stat of the night...
In the last four minutes of both halves of basketball today (so, eight minutes of basketball), Utah State scored a combined THREE POINTS. Those three points all came in the last four minutes of the second half.
Also in the last four minutes of each half, a combined SEVEN turnovers. They also didn't make a basket in those final chunks of the half, shooting 0-6 from the field. The last field goal attempt by USU came with 2:39 remaining when Preston Medlin was basically tackled by Hernst Laroche, only to get no call. *EDIT*: The angle of my view in the stadium made this look much worse than it actually showed to be on video. Credit to Laroche for sticking with the play.
Speaking of calls, "horse shit" is about the only way to explain the officiating in this game. It was never consistent, there were phantom calls everywhere and god-awful no-calls in crucial situations. The way USU finished each half was the real difference in the game, but the officiating was horrible.
Sadly, as soon as you see Verne Harris walk into The Spectrum, you know it's an uphill battle. The guy is awful at his job, hates Utah State and has a wicked case of small man syndrome. He's the same guy responsible for the Tai Wesley "intentional elbow" call at BYU last year, for those who don't remember. Reports from Section F tonight (because I've got plenty of sources there) are that after one no-call on a traveling by NMSU, during the next media timeout, Harris said to fans, "I don't give a shit about traveling." He also apparently came clean on blowing a few calls throughout the game to the fans behind the basket at the end of the game. That explains plenty if you ask me. Pretty sure he's stoked as hell right about now that he got to ref a USU loss in The Spectrum.
Still, USU has got to execute better to close out halves. It's really too bad because in all the numbers except rebounding, they played a pretty solid game. NMSU is huge, athletic, strong and experienced, but USU hung with them all game, and even went up big in the first half for a bit before shutting down.
NMSU's defensive pressure gave the Aggies fits, and made a huge difference in those late-half shutdowns. The red Aggies pressured USU's guards all the way to mid-court and it really threw the offense out of rhythm. It might have been nice to see a USU big man come and set a high screen for Brockeith Pane once or twice to let Pane drive to the hoop and have some chances to finish around the basket or to draw fouls.
At the end of the day, NMSU came with fire and a purpose. That carried them today. USU got plenty to learn from today, particularly in facing the kind of defensive pressure that NMSU put on them. If they don't learn from this, then this loss becomes that much more brutal to deal with.
NOTES
- How in the hell did Jordan Stone not play at all in the second half?!?! I though the first half of tonight might have been the best basketball he's played all year. He was a strong defensive presence down low and just looked in sync with everything. After Stone went out in the first half, NMSU scored nine unanswered points to finish the half.
- My love-fest for Ben Clifford continues. He shot perfect from the field, scored six points and grabbed three boards to go with a steal and block in only 12 minutes.That block came in the closing seconds, when the game was already over, but he wasn't going to let NMSU get any easy bucket to extend that lead. He played intense until the buzzer. So excited about this kid's future!
- Preston Medlin had guys four inches taller than him guarding him all night and still scored 16 points. He is the one who will bring balance to the Aggies.
Feb 10, 2012
Charting experience over the years
Every once in a while I get feel the need to crunch the hell out of some statistics and share them. Not to mention my obsession with historical comparisons... This is one of those times.
Admittedly, I may have been a little bit harsh on this team after the loss to Fresno State, but I was most definitely furious over that. Since then though, I've taken a little time to think a bit more about this team, where they've been, where they're going... and such as.
Admittedly, I may have been a little bit harsh on this team after the loss to Fresno State, but I was most definitely furious over that. Since then though, I've taken a little time to think a bit more about this team, where they've been, where they're going... and such as.
Kyisean finds his happy thought, does some flying, Aggies win
Before saying anything else, a big "hell yeah" goes out to Brockeith Pane for dishing six assists without a single turnover. Nine points, four rebounds, a block and a steal will widen that smile too.
This win was one of those games where I kept on wondering when we were going to pull ahead and just blow them out already. Then we did, and there was much rejoicing. The way the Aggies were shooting, it really just seemed like a matter of time, but the Bulldogs went through those couple hot streaks from deep that cockblocked USU from pulling away.
Then Kyisean Reed happened...
This win was one of those games where I kept on wondering when we were going to pull ahead and just blow them out already. Then we did, and there was much rejoicing. The way the Aggies were shooting, it really just seemed like a matter of time, but the Bulldogs went through those couple hot streaks from deep that cockblocked USU from pulling away.
Then Kyisean Reed happened...
Feb 7, 2012
Man down... Jardine's road reaches its end
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| Never forget!!! |
As badly as this has been a blow to this year's team and now will affect next year's team as well, the real tragedy is that this kind of thing happened to as quality of a guy like Brady. For three years, Brady was the ultimate team guy. From his freshman year where his redshirt was pulled midseason to give the team some much-needed depth in the post, to the next two seasons where he was an ace off the bench for the team. As ambitious and competitive of a player as Brady is, he was still the ultimate "team first" guy, and the team's record in his three seasons of playing reflects that.
Utah State won an outright WAC championship in each of Jardine's three seasons, dominating the conference with a record of 43-5 over that span. He's also one of only seven Aggie players ever to be a member of three NCAA Tournament teams.
Feb 5, 2012
Frustrated, deflated... Dogs win 60-54
This team feels like the 2011 USU football team early in their season, only it's the later part of the year, and nobody is making big plays to win games.
The fact that USU outrebounded Fresno by 16, shot three percent better from the field and won the points in the paint, you'd think it'd be a layup for them to come out victorious... But they still found a way to lose.
I know that the grass has been pretty green in Logan over the last four years, and a down year was inevitable. But this is so much worse than this season should be... This team just has a defeatist attitude. Inexperience is a big part of it all, but Fresno State isn't exactly experienced either, and USU blew them out in Logan. Every time the Aggies got close to taking the lead Saturday, a bad shot or turnover was what immediately followed, allowing the Bulldogs to extend their lead yet again.
There's seemingly just no killer instinct. This team has managed to squander should-be road wins at Texas A&M-CC, Pacific, Mississippi State, Seattle, Idaho, Nevada and Fresno State. That's the difference between a 19-5 team and a 12-12 team. The Aggies have managed to let every one of those close games on the road slip away, and are 12-12. Even 15-9 would look pretty freaking good right now, but this team seems to always find a way to blow it.
Maybe I'm being tough on them, but I just have a tough time believing that Stew Morrill has done a poor job with the talent he has to work with. He's made winners out of every other team he's had, he's done it with less talent than he has now and he's won against tougher WAC years than this year's.
THE WAC TOURNAMENT
There's only one hope left for this season to be considered a success in any way, shape or form is to win the WAC Tournament and make the NCAA Tournament. As good as Nevada is, I think the team USU should want to avoid the most in the WAC Tournement is New Mexico State. They're big, physical and deep. In a perfect world, NMSU and Nevada would face each other in the second round of the tournament and wear each other out while USU could hopefully land a two or three seed, with NMSU being a No. 4 seed.
After tonight, that scenario doesn't look like it will happen, which makes the battle that much more uphill for USU.
Who knows though... If USU lands that four-seed and manages to beat Nevada in the second round, who knows what could happen in the other second round match-up?
*Fun Fact: Utah State, New Mexico State, Boise State and Nevada are the only four teams to have even appeared in the WAC Tournament championship game since the 2005-06 season.
GAME NOTES
- 13 points and eight rebounds on 6-of-8 shooting by Morgan Grim. Solid... Just freaking solid! More of that please.
- Kyisean Reed went off for 16 and 10 against the Bulldogs in The Spectrum. Five and four kinda sucks compared to that.
- Off night for Pre-Med... It'd be nice if someone else were to step up on those nights.
- If you're wondering why Preston Medlin gets such a long leash on this site, go look at his numbers across the board. He is, by SO FAR, the best player on this team. Putting up his numbers with his shooting percentages will earn you that leeway. Factor in that he clearly is far and away the team-leader in "give a shit", and there you have it.
- Ben Clifford only has two more turnovers on the season than Brockeith Pane has in the last two games.
- The bench shot 1-of-8 Saturday night. Amazingly, it was still better than the 1-of-9 that Fresno's bench shot.
Feb 3, 2012
Blown save with two outs in the ninth... Pack wins 53-52
For the better part of half a decade now, Utah State was the team dominating the WAC and always finding a way to pull out those close games in conference play.
This year, Nevada is that team. They went through their growing pains last year and are reaping the benefits of that experience this year. They're just a really good team.
Still, USU had them beat tonight. Up two, with the ball and 49 seconds to go, you should close out that game. Make even 50 percent of your free throws, and the game at least goes to overtime. Turn the ball over one less time, and the Aggies might have had a victory on their hands.
The 14 assists on the road against a good team is a nice start, and if that team play continues, good things will happen. Also good to see USU churn out a very good rebounding performance against a team that crushed them on the boards a few weeks ago.
I'd be lying if I said I wanted to talk about this game any more, so I'm not going to.
This year, Nevada is that team. They went through their growing pains last year and are reaping the benefits of that experience this year. They're just a really good team.
Still, USU had them beat tonight. Up two, with the ball and 49 seconds to go, you should close out that game. Make even 50 percent of your free throws, and the game at least goes to overtime. Turn the ball over one less time, and the Aggies might have had a victory on their hands.
The 14 assists on the road against a good team is a nice start, and if that team play continues, good things will happen. Also good to see USU churn out a very good rebounding performance against a team that crushed them on the boards a few weeks ago.
I'd be lying if I said I wanted to talk about this game any more, so I'm not going to.
Feb 2, 2012
Signing day thoughts
If there's one thing to keep in mind throughout all of football recruiting, it's patience. We won't know how good this class really was until a few years from now, not to mention that there will still be other guys added into this mix.
Still, it's worth having some conversation about, so let's do just that. We'll talk about what I like about the class, things that have me scratching my head and what I think should happen with some of these guys and others going into next season.
WHAT I LIKE
- Wide receivers: There are four of them total, with three coming out of junior college. The height of Alex Wheat and Dwayne Lorick (both 6'5) should bring a great new dimension to the passing game, while Jordan Jenkins has some serious speed to bring to the table. Bruce Natson, the lone high school recruit of this bunch, is tiny at 5'7, 145 pounds. Not sure what to expect out of that other than speed and route running ability. All in all, the unit should be upgraded going into next year, especially if Stanley Morrison is granted another year. If that happens, I wouldn't be surprised to see two or three of these guys redshirt next season. The biggest thing though is the size upgrade.
Still, it's worth having some conversation about, so let's do just that. We'll talk about what I like about the class, things that have me scratching my head and what I think should happen with some of these guys and others going into next season.
WHAT I LIKE
- Wide receivers: There are four of them total, with three coming out of junior college. The height of Alex Wheat and Dwayne Lorick (both 6'5) should bring a great new dimension to the passing game, while Jordan Jenkins has some serious speed to bring to the table. Bruce Natson, the lone high school recruit of this bunch, is tiny at 5'7, 145 pounds. Not sure what to expect out of that other than speed and route running ability. All in all, the unit should be upgraded going into next year, especially if Stanley Morrison is granted another year. If that happens, I wouldn't be surprised to see two or three of these guys redshirt next season. The biggest thing though is the size upgrade.
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