Men’s basketball host Vandals on Senior Night
If the Utah State men’s basketball team wants to avoid finishing with its worst record since the 1992-93 season, it will have to figure out how to win against some solid Western Athletic Conference teams.
“Right now, I look at it as trying to have a winning season,” said USU head coach Stew Morrill. “I hope our guys look at it that way — trying to keep competing and not get so discouraged that you cannot compete. It’s tough when you lose. There’s not anybody that has ever lost games that won’t tell you that. You have to battle that, you can’t give in, never give up, never give up.”
The task begins with an Idaho team that is even more improved from last season and defeated the Aggies in Moscow, Idaho, 57-54.
“It’s Senior Night and hopefully we can come out and play with some energy and enthusiasm and try to play good basketball,” Morrill said. “That’s what it is going to take. Idaho has a nice team, and they’ve found a way to win some close games that has got them to 7-4 in league.”
Sophomore Stephen Madison, who is averaging 12 points per game, hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 26 seconds left to give the Vandals the win.
“He’s a versatile guy,” Morrill said. “He can shoot it from three, he can go inside and gives them a different look when they go small and play him at the four. I think he is another guy that has gotten a lot better as he gets experience. He is a quality player for them.”
The Aggies will also have a handful to deal with in junior forward Kyle Barone, who is nearly averaging a double-double with 13 points and eight rebounds.
“He can shoot it, he can pass it, he’s long and he can hurt you in the block,” Morrill said. “He can face up and hurt you, he can drive by you, and he’s an awfully good rebounder, averaging eight a game. He gives them a presence inside offensively and defensively. They’re definitely going to him a lot and they should be.”
USU seniors Brockeith Pane and Morgan Grim will be honored before tipoff against the Vandals. Morrill said both seniors have made great contributions.
“Morgan Grim has played with a softball-sized ankle a lot this year, and people don’t realize that,” Morrill said. “He has been tough along those lines, it’s been frustrating for him, it’s been frustrating for coaches — all our team — but he has shown a lot of toughness playing with an ankle that would have sat most guys down.”
Grim is averaging 8.9 points per game and 6.1 rebounds per game, and Pane is averaging 12 points and just under four assists.
“Brockeith is obviously one of the premiere point guards in the league,” Morrill said. “I mean he does a lot of things out there. Sometimes he has gotten overlooked because we have struggled a little bit and he really shouldn’t have.”
Despite the tough year the Aggies have experienced, Morrill hopes the senior class will be remembered for its efforts.
“I think that far too often seniors are judged by what kind of season you are having,” Morrill said. “And they should really be judged for the things that I mentioned, for their effort and trying to do everything they can day in and day out.”
Senior forward Brady Jardine will also be honored, despite not playing for most of the season after sustaining a career-ending injury three games into the season.
“Obviously, it was a blow when we lost Brady (Jardine) and that certainly affected our team,” Morrill said. “Injuries shouldn’t be excuses, but they are facts. That’s the way I have always looked at it, and that is a fact that we lost him, and it was certainly tough for our team.”
A win against Idaho for the struggling Aggies could mean some momentum heading into the tournament, which could translate into some wins in Las Vegas and a prolonged post season.
“If we happen to do some good in the next three games, then it might give us some momentum going into the tournament,” Morrill said. “As I have said forever about tournaments, it’s not who played bad, it’s not who played good right before the tournament, it’s who played good during the tournament, and I believe that firmly. That week is a whole different thing to me, we are just trying to get back to winning a game.”
– ty.d.hus@aggiemail.usu.edu