Stew's top 20: No. 8 - Shawn Daniels

Picture quality has apparently come
a very long way in the past decade...

Now things are getting bigger, and what better ways to kick things off with the first real dominant big man that Stew Morrill brought on board to USU? Fact is, the majority of the best players to come through Utah State in the past 14 years have been big men, and (Spoiler alert!) the rest of this top 20 is loaded with bigs.

At first glance, it's almost impossible to not undersell Shawn Daniels' athleticism. He stood at only 6'6, was a thick 250 pounds and really just looked more like the big guy you'd normally find playing ball at a local park. But then you see him play and you see a guy who excellently skilled, used every pound to his advantage down low and could get up a whole lot higher than you'd think he be vertically capable of.

Much like Bernard Rock, Daniels was a key part of an incredible two-year stretch for Aggie basketball in the 2000 and 2001 seasons. He played and started in every single one of those games, averaging 11.9 points and 7.3 rebounds per game in those two seasons. He also hit on 57.8 percent of his shots from the field, which ranks as the seventh best average in school history.

Outside of wins though, maybe the most impressive statistic by Daniels was the amount of blocks he racked up in his two-year career. His blocks per game average of 1.7 is the best in Utah State history, and despite only playing two seasons, Daniels ranks No. 4 all time in total blocks. That all was a product of being solid as a rock down low, as well as masterful timing to become USU's sultan of swat, earning him the honor of the 2001 Big West Defensive Player of the Year.

Daniels was also named to the all-Big West first team in both of his seasons at USU as well as a mid-major all-American in 2001 by CollegeInsider.com (hey, they do a tournament now!).

Outside of his god-awful free throw shooting numbers, Daniels possessed an absolutely complete game. His per game averages in both rebounding and blocks are the best of any player to play more than one season for Morrill. And capping it all off was the fact that his team's absolutely dominated the Big West Conference for those two seasons, as well as that famed NCAA Tournament win over Ohio State in 2001. Daniels was as key as anyone in that stretch, providing an anchor down low in an offense that relies so heavily on a strong post presence.