Let's talk some of the recent headlines...
BASKETBALL BEATS TEXAS STATE 81-57
Welp... They really stuck it to me as far as that whole "cohesion" thing is concerned. The team got some chemistry going for them to the tune of 21 assists on Monday night. Spencer Butterfield was responsible for nine of those, going nicely with his 18 points and six rebounds. There's your player of the game right there.
Preston Medlin was dynamite once again too though, scoring 21 points, including five 3-pointers. he also had six rebounds in the game. Medlin is now fully dominating offensively like most people expected him to do. He's averaging 21 points per game over the last four contests and has hit on 15-of-31 attempts from behind the 3-point line.
Refreshing to see the team with 10 steals too when they haven't been forcing tons of turnovers just yet. Free throws are apparently still a big concern though.
Regardless, the team is now 2-0 in WAC play, which is a solid start to have. Now they've got two weeks and three home games to come together a bit more before the next road tests at New Mexico State and at Denver.
Oh, and they've won 10 in a row now... Maybe come out and see this team?
SHAVER AND BOUKNIGHT STAYING ON FOOTBALL STAFF
One would think that we'll really start hearing more about coaching hires now that the holidays are over and bowl games are wrapping up. Still, we got a little bit of news late last week with the announcements that coaches Jovon Bouknight and Kendrick Shaver will be staying on staff at Utah State under new head coach Matt Wells.
Both coaches have recruiting ties to the South, with areas in Florida specifically that have helped net a few very good players for USU.
Bouknight will be the wide receivers coach for the fourth season at USU, coming back after helping coach up a pretty well-rounded group of receivers. While Aggie wideouts haven't exactly put up numbers that are all that eye-popping, their play has been fairly solid. Their numbers are mostly just a reflection of being mostly a run-heavy offense in recent seasons. If nothing else, Bouknight is a young coach who looks to have a promising future in coaching, who is now still a member of the staff.
Same can be said for Shaver. He was named FootballScoop's Co-Defensive Backs National Coach of the Year this past season, probably due largely in part to how far he helped develop Will Davis. Nevin Lawson made some pretty big strides in 2012 too though. Really, the whole unit was pretty excellent, so with that to go along with Shaver's youth and excitement, retaining him on staff is huge!
Hopefully we'll know more in the coming days about guys who are staying on staff or others who are coming in. Crossing fingers for T.J. Woods and Kevin Clune to be able to stay too.
BOISE STATE IS STICKING IN THE MOUNTAIN WEST
We all know how much better of a football conference the Mountain West will be with Boise State in the mix, but if things keep up on the hardwood, they just might be bringing plenty to the table in basketball too. Lest we forget, that they were USU's opponent in the last WAC championship basketball game with the 2005-2011 WAC lineup.
This undoubtedly puts all sorts of pressure on San Diego State to finally remove their head from its own ass and ditch this whole Big East idea. If they follow BSU's lead and stick in the MWC, that will setup a division and championship game scenario. Not sure about you, but the idea of traveling to a conference championship game is pretty freaking exciting! Who doesn't love a good road trip, right? Start saving your money.
Back to basketball though, the MWC is one of the best conferences in the country right now, currently ranking No. 2 in conference RPI. The league is ahead of the ACC and Big East, perennially the best of the best when it comes to basketball conferences. Only the Big Ten ranks ahead of the MWC in RPI right now, with the MWC looking like it could legitimately have six teams worthy of NCAA bids.
LOOKING BACK ON 2012
Talk about a shift... Basketball brought frustration and disappointment, while football was dominant. It was a wild one, and hopefully 2013 will be the year we finally get the best of both worlds! Basketball has the potential to do some great things this season, while football has all the talent for an encore to 2012.
It was a fun one. Let's make 2013 even better!
I was at the game on Monday, one of the very few,an here are a few things I saw...I can't count the number of open 3's that Davis passed up, it must have been at least 15. He HAS to take that shot sometimes. I was amazed how quiet Butterfield's points were. I was looking at the scoreboard 2/3 of the way through the game and was amazed he was the #2 scorer. After that he poured in six more. Texas State, especially in the first half, had no answer for PreMed. He was awesome, without pushing at all. I was disappointed in Reed's game. He had plenty of effort, but almost nothing to show. How can a guy with all of his ability just disappear? It was the first time I've seen the Aggies live in years, so I had a fun time and was happy for the win. We had a 3-person "Winning Team" cheer going, TX ST fans are pathetic because we made WAY more noise that they did!
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