Aggies ride a big red dog to victory on senior night

Utah State opened WAC play this season with a four-point win over UTSA, with Preston Medlin and Kyisean Reed combining for 33 points. Ben Clifford and Tenale Roland weren't really factors in that game either, combining for only three points. So with that in mind, this game looked like a potentially dangerous one.

Nobody told the Aggies though...

USU came out, slowly built a small lead, slowly built on that lead, and slowly twisted the knife on the Roadrunners throughout the entire game.

It was all Clifford and Spencer Butterfield in the first half, with the two of them combining for 23 of USU's 25 points. Clifford kept on pwning n00bs in the second half, with Roland, Jarred Shaw, and even Matt Lopez getting in on the scoring.

When it all came down to it, the Aggies just kind of dominated in every area in this game. The bulk of those details are worthy of bullet points, so let's cut the crap and get to it!

NOTES

•  22 assists to only 10 turnovers!!! Happy happy, joy joy.
• Nine blocks for the team. It seems like they've been blocking the hell out of teams lately, which I'm just fine seeing more of!
• Oh hi Matt Lopez! Very nice to see you! Eight points on 4-4 shooting with two rebounds and two blocks in only six minutes will do just fine! Again, happy happy, joy joy!
• Spencer Butterfield only had three rebounds, which drops his rebounding average over the last two games to only 11.5 per game. Throw in 14 points and five assists and you've got another solid game, but really what else would you expect from him?
• Jarred Shaw seemed content to let Clifford steal the show down low tonight, but still finished with 11 points and nine boards. Next week is time for Shaw to really kick things into FYM, and remind everyone else in the WAC that he is Jarred Shaw, and they are not.
• Not a bad showing once again from Tenale Roland. He's really been a completely new player out there ever since Bracketbuster weekend. Scored 14 points (all in the second half), pulled down six boards, dished three assists, and even had a block.
• Marvin Jean's 10 rebounds, four assists, a steal, and a block are all pretty good looking. His 1-8 shooting is not. He badly needs to find his shot again because he can be a major X-factor going into next week if he gets hot.

SENIOR NIGHT - KYISEAN REED

It was heart-wrenching to have to bid farewell to this team's lone senior without him being able to suit up. It was the second year in a row too that a senior wasn't able to play because of injury. But for what it's worth, it looked like Kyisean was smiling for a lot of the game, and just seemed to be happy to be there with his teammates.

Everything about this dude just bleeds character. Whether it's how far he developed his game from last season to this one, to the reports of how good a student he has been at USU, there's nothing you could not like about this guy.

We'll be left to only wonder forever how much different this season could have been with him for these last couple months, and how special a moment there might have been if he'd thrown down one last high-flying dunk on his senior night.

Basketball aside, dude is going places in life. And even though his time was cut way too short, I know I'm not alone when I say I'm damn proud that Kyisean Reed is an Aggie!

Player of the Game: Ben Clifford

With 11 first-half points, it looked like Ben Clifford would finally break his previous career-high of 14 points. Turns out he shattered that, going off for 21 points to go with eight boards, three assists, and three blocks. All-around great game from him, but maybe most impressive was the ways in which he scored. Posting up, finishing on a fast break, hitting mid-range jumpers; all of it was a showing of how dangerous he can be as a player. He may never be a superstar, but he's been pretty steadily dependable through two full regular seasons now, and it looks like these major minutes he's been playing will really pay off down the road.

Let's never talk about this night again...

This song seems to have the kind of somber feel that is going on right now... So if you care for music while you read, click ---> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tj75Arhq5ho

If any Aggie fans told themselves at any point recently that it couldn't possibly get worse, the universe just delivered them a hearty bitch slap.

From the start, USU wasn't in this game. The eternal optimist in me hoped that maybe they could climb out of a massive hole much like they did back in a 2007 game against Oral Roberts to pull off a hard-earned win against the odds.

Bracketbuster Saturday brings out Aggies' best

It's somewhat becoming a trend that post game write-ups from those Saturday games are going to come around much later than others. That whole "Saturday night" thing just gets in the way. You know how it goes.

But how about them Aggies, eh?

More and more these guys are looking like a strong, determined, cohesive unit. The kind the could catch some fire and shock somebody come WAC Tournament time. The weak points of this team seem to be shrinking, while the strengths are getting stronger.

And Saturday's game against Illinois State might have been the best example of it all yet this year. As has often been the case since this became an eight-man team, these guys won by playing pure Stew Morrill basketball. Good shooting, tough defense, sharing the ball, etc.

Aggie bench thrown into the fire against Denver

Preston Medlin and Kyisean Reed are injured. Both could possibly be out for a while too, but we're waiting on more details.

So going into Saturday's game against Denver, Jarred Shaw was the lone guy still starting from the Aggies' opening game lineup. Tenale Roland got demoted, Danny Berger is still recovering from dying, and now Medlin and Reed are banged up. The bench that has struggled so badly for USU the past two weeks would all be seeing major minutes and depended on for production, which is something we've badly needed at times and haven't gotten from them. Then factor in that Denver is a team everyone knew would be contending for the WAC title, and this game had "We're f***ed" written all over it.

The optimist deep down in me thought, "Let's see how these guys respond, and maybe this experience will pay off down the road."

After seeing that game, I actually feel like these guys may have learned a quality lesson in stepping up to the challenge.

Aggies ride strong second half to beat UC Davis

Thursday the Aggies had a big lead to start the second half and saw their opponent slowly chip away to make it a game.

Friday was the opposite. UC Davis went into halftime leading 40-39, but in the second half, Utah State took back the lead and slowly widened it as time rolled on.

It was still an ugly game for the most part, but I dare say it was at least a little bit better looking than Thursday's affair. The key to Friday's win was Preston Medlin stepping up as the offensive weapon we all know he is, breaking the 20-point barrier for the first time this season. Maybe more importantly, he looked like he had that assassin's mentality once again.

It's funny how a slump can weigh down on you, no matter how capable of playing better you know yourself to be. But once that slump is broken, everything feels comfortable all over again. That's what it looked like after Medlin really got things going offensively in the first half. It seemed like he knew that if he forced the action on UC Davis, that points would end up on the board.

Sure enough, he went off for 23 of them on 9-17 shooting, while also tying for the team-lead in assists with four. And with Jarred Shaw having his first down game of the season, it was perfect timing for Medlin to step up with a big game like that.

Not a ton else to say about this game outside of its ugliness, Medlin's big night, and maybe mention that in that second half the team looked for flashes like they were starting to mesh some more. We saw a lot of that against Western Oregon, but the chemistry seems to be taking its time this season.

Basketball wins free throw contest against Weber State

In keeping with this season's theme of winning ugly, Utah State outlasted Weber State in what seemed to be much more of a free throw contest than a basketball game at times.

USU came out looking about like we've seen them look so far this year offensively. Not the most crisp of things, but able to score on pure talent. Jarred Shaw was at the center of things once again, controlling the paint on both ends of the floor. Dude has established himself quite nicely so far this season, and that's without having the offense feeding him quality looks in the post like it will as these guys learn things better.

As things are, you can tell this team still has a long way to go in learning the offense and really just developing at this level. It's nothing out of the ordinary really, it just takes a bit sometimes, and the more rookies there are, the tougher that process becomes (maybe the same can be said for the crowd?)

Anyway, you could tell for the bulk of the first half that Weber State was the more experienced team, which became especially more obvious because they run such a similar system as we're used to seeing here. For once though, the Aggies got to be the team, who despite being much more raw, was able to capitalize on size and athleticism advantages.

Long story short with the first half: Weber had a slight lead for the bulk of it, but USU overcame sloppy play to keep pace and enter the break tied at 28.

Aggies bounce back, even if it wasn't pretty

While WAC championship mania was taking over Logan, and even The Spectrum, we still had some basketball to played and revenge to be had!

Saturday's game in The Spectrum was once again nothing pretty, but as was the case with Idaho State, the Aggies did enough of what they needed to to win. I don't know if TAMCC just has USU's number or what, but that game went from a close one, then opened up to a blowout for a bit, then slowly got interesting again.

Looking at the stats, it's hard to see how the Islanders stayed into this game. USU outrebounded TAMCC by 10, had 21 assists to only nine turnovers, shot 56.8 percent from the field, and made 23 free throws. The Islanders made a handful of 3-pointers and only committed six turnovers, and that ended up being what made this close.

Basketball rolls again in second exhibition game

The funny thing about Saturday's exhibition win over Simon Fraser is that there were a few stretches where it seemed like the Aggies weren't even playing that well. Yet during those stretches, the USU lead continued to widen, eventually leading in a dominating final score of 92-56.

Regardless of how it appeared, the Aggies dominated on Saturday against an actual NCAA team, even if they're Division-2. That's a classification that not a lot of past exhibition opponents can claim, and that Simon Fraser team was certainly bigger, more athletic and much more skilled than the likes of Laval University that past USU teams have played in exhibition.

Now consider that Laval is the only exhibition team that the Aggies have beaten worse in the last six years than the 36-point win against Simon Fraser on Saturday. Suddenly this team is looking pretty solid with that in mind. And things are only going to continue to tighten up and get more crisp for USU as this season goes on.

To me, that says that this Utah State team will be able to win ugly this year. Even when things aren't exactly in rhythm offensively, USU's size, athleticism and just natural skill will help them still put points on the board and frustrate teams defensively. That's the one thing I take most from this game, and that's one hell of a positive attribute to have!

Things I want to see this weekend

This weekend is going to be a fun one with a home football game to occupy Saturday afternoon, followed by basketball's second exhibition that night. And with how things are going for football and how early along basketball is right now, I'd feel overly nitpicky to point out any lows as part of a highs, lows and IDKs.

So for the sake of doing something mid-week this week, let's just talk about a few things I want to see this weekend.

MORE THAN ANYTHING...
Both Romney Stadium and The Spectrum should be packed with students for both of these games. Especially Romney. The attendance against New Mexico State was kinda about what you'd expect during Fall Break, but the crowd needs a strong showing to rebound from that. This team is on the verge of a historic season, and we already know they aren't going to get much love from the stands for the last home game over Thanksgiving break.

So basically, this is the last time Romney will really be rocking this season, so it needs to rock hard!!! This team has earned a packed house, and dammit they had better get it!

And after the football game is finished, take a quick break, maybe grab some food, and head right up to The Spectrum!

It's gonna be one hell of a day!!!

Also, wear blue. 


FOOTBALL

More reps for the second unit - This one will require another blowout, but that is becoming more the expectation with this program rather than a rarity. With each week the second units are able to get into games and get reps, the more experience they gain, the more film they have to break down of what they're doing right or wrong, and better prepare this team for the future.

Three turnovers -The defense set a goal to have at least three turnovers per game this year, but they have yet to actually make it happen in any games this year. Last game was encouraging with a pair of interceptions by Will Davis and Kyler Fackrell, but they still need to do a bit more with stripping the ball and rocking the worlds of opposing quarterbacks.

A 120-yard game from Joe Hill - Gary Andersen said he's finally back to 100 percent, so it's time to get him involved once again. Like Kerwynn Williams, Hill can be a major threat both running and catching the ball, and we got to see a little bit of that last game. Time to light up the box score once again for him.


BASKETBALL

5+ assists for Tenale Roland - In the first game, Roland had zero turnovers, but only one assist. This time around, I want to see Roland take a few more risks just to test himself in the assist department. even if it means he ends up with a couple turnovers, I want to see him take some risks in passing at game speed and rack up some assists this time around.

Recapping basketball's first look of 2012-13

I can't help but speculate that at least some part of the reasoning for scrapping the Blue and White game this year has to do with some guys getting over-hyped from a good showing in a lowly scrimmage. First impressions go a long way, and those scrimmages were often the forum for those first impressions. So when a guy makes a great first impression, it's going to get talked about and that performance will often be referenced throughout a season by sites like this one.

Can't really fault Stew Morrill for wanting to keep those first impressions limited to at least an actual game situation... But that's not going to stop anyone from giving thoughts on everyone's performance!

So... Let's break down each player's performance from Friday's win over Grand Canyon, and hopefully not have to be eating any of these words in a month or two when we have a better feel for everyone. Doing it position-by-position.


POINT GUARDS
 
Tenale Roland - Among projected starters, Roland is the newest to the show, but still fit in quite nicely! Shot 3-6 from the field and 1-2 from 3-point range for eight points. Not bad for a first rodeo! He also added a Quayle-esque six rebounds, but more of the "in the right position to get the bounce" rather than the "jump way higher than everyone else" kind of boards. Not going to read too much into him only having one assist as he's still learning things. But considering the learning curve, not having a single turnover in 20 minutes of play is very encouraging!

Ahhh, it's good to be back in The Spectrum!!!

It was somewhat of a new feeling Friday in The Spectrum. Amid all the excitement of basketball starting, there was still the looming excitement of watching the USU football team take the field on Saturday morning. Usually by this time of the year, football has everyone feeling down and basketball is the saving grace of excitement. Even last year, that was the case with the football team standing at a 2-5 record when basketball's first exhibition rolled around.

For once, we have the best of both worlds, and oh what a glorious time it is!!!

If anyone had suspected the success and excitement around football might suck away some of the hype for basketball, it didn't take long to be proved wrong Friday night. The Spectrum was rocking to start off the game with a student section that was easily at least 75 percent full.

The 2012 USU basketball recruiting guide

With the signings of Marvin Jean and TeNale Roland earlier this week, Utah State looks to be done with basketball recruiting for the 2012 class.Now, it's time to break it all down!

To give a first impression, this looks like it very well could, and probably should turn out to be Stew Morrill's best recruiting class since, well... ever! Looking back at the 2005 class that brought in Durrall Peterson, Chaz Spicer, Chris Session, Nate Bendall and Tyler Newbold (who came later because of a mission), that's got some quality star power across that board. 2006 wasn't half-bad either with Kris Clark, Steve Ducharme, Brady Jardine and Pooh Williams.

But for each of those classes there were a couple of misses as well, which really can be said for every year. If you ever get a year where every guy in a class pans out to be a solid contributor, chances are a nice little NCAA tournament run is in your near future.

So if the basketball gods wouldn't mind smiling down on Utah State University this coming season, we'd really enjoy it if this were to be the class where everyone pans out to be studs. The ensuing result of such an astrological alignment (that's part of the Mayan 2012 thing, right?) would create something so unstoppable that not even John Cusack could save the rest of the WAC from USU's wrath (kind of like how he couldn't save that apocalyptic movie from being s***ty).

Tenale Roland rounds out 2012 recruiting

A few weeks ago we were able to piece together enough of the USU recruiting picture to determine that was hard after another wing and another point guard for next season, including who the prime candidates were. Since then we'd seen both of the wings on Utah State's radar commit to become Aggies, but the point guard situation was still a little bit unclear.

No longer...

Tenale Roland added his name to USU's potentially legendary 2012 recruiting class on Tuesday.

While Quan Conner made waves among USUfans with an impressive highlight video, Roland indeed might have been the guy the coaching staff coveted all along. While he didn't have the luxury of wowing fans with a slick-looking YouTube reel, Roland was the first to take an official visit to USU of the two, is touted as a stud defender (which we know is HUGE for Stew), had impressive numbers across the board and even brought home some all-American honors.

Roland was listed as a freshman at Rend Lake College last season, which leads to believe he and Marcel Davis will be splitting point guard responsibilities for the next three seasons. Under Stew Morrill at USU, no single point guard has played regular minutes for more than two seasons, so to have this kind of continuity would be something pretty major.

Marvin Jean makes it official

Rumors have been flying around for a while about Marvin Jean becoming an Aggie. Now it looks like the first news we heard about him has turned out to be true after all...

Marvin Jean is going to be an Aggie!

Coming off a season at Sullivan County Community College where he averaged 13.1 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game. He converted on 41 percent of his shots from the field and was solid from behind the 3-point line as well, hitting 40 percent of his 134 attempts on the year.

Aside from the numbers, Jean bring a very good athlete with some height (6'5) and length that should fit in great on the wing next year. Based on what little video can be found out there of Jean playing, he looks like a tremendous athlete who is willing to be a team-first kind of guy. He also appears to take a little pride in his defense, which is probably a big part of why Stew Morrill and company showed interest in the first place.

Really for the coaches to be willing to fly all the way to New York to see a player play and to make them a recruiting priority, there's got to be something special they see in Jean. While his size and athleticism looks to be pretty good, it's nothing off the charts that couldn't be found in a lot of other players. So I feel it's safe to assume from there that they see some intangibles in Jean, whether it's his instincts, his motor, heart, swagger, or whatever else it may... It's all something we may find out a little bit more of after the coaches are able to comment on him after signing.

Spencer Butterfield chooses Utah State - with bonus content!

It was only a matter of time before the USU recruiting picture became a little bit more clear, and Friday was a big step in that direction.

News came out early Friday that Yuba College shooting guard Spencer Butterfield committed to play for Utah State next season, bringing with him the toughness and scoring punch that made him a superstar at the junior college level. The Aggies are getting a player who led his team in scoring, rebounding, and steals, while having the second most assists on his team as well.

His overall numbers were 16.3 points per game, 8.3 rebounds and 3.2 assists, all while hitting on 54.3 percent of his shots from the field and 48.2 percent from behind the 3-point line. Oh, and all of this is from a guy who is only 6'3.

Based on everything that's been reported about his toughness and persona as a player, mixed in with his statistics, Butterfield sounds like the ultimate hybrid between Brian Green and Jared Quayle. If that potential doesn't get you excited... well... you probably don't know who Green and Quayle are.

Sorting out USU basketball's current recruiting picture

It seems like a flurry of recruiting news and rumors waited until right after the season officially ended last Wednesday to surface. So with all the speculation flying around, it's about time The Sagebrush Spot weighed in on a couple of these guys. Keep in mind too that this is all based on what I've been able to gather from various sources around the internet, while doing my best to be accurate on everything based on info available.

THE NEEDS

As things look, Utah State is after a point guard and at least one wing player to bring in for next year. Who those guys will be is the question that still remains... But we've got a few ideas.

THE RECRUITS

PG - Quan Conner
According to an article posted three weeks ago, Connr currently holds a scholarship offer from the Aggies. According to his Twitter, he's narrowed his choices to Morehead State and Utah State, with impending visits to both (Morehead this weekend, USU the next).

Based on video available of him, he looks like a total stud prospect. Smooth ball handling ability, good court-vision, some pretty passes and a good outside shot. Above all else, he looks like he just loves playing basketball. With that kind of mentality, one can only imagine the epic high-fives that he and Preston Medlin might share during big moments next season if those two are wrecking everyone's eardrums at The Spectrum together. This season he was 16th in NJCAA Division-I scoring with just more than 19 points per game to go with 3.8 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game.