COLUMN: Section F
I get the same feeling about this time every year. I wonder, “How did basketball season go by that fast?”
It doesn’t seem like it could possibly be over already, but amazingly that is the case. Even more amazingly is that we just got to enjoy arguably the best season of Aggie basketball in school history, and from the looks of things, the best may be yet to come. Taking a look at the current state of things, USU just took a Marquette team, who reached a ranking as high as No. 8 in the nation this year and had three seniors and two juniors in their starting five, down to the wire. In comparison, Utah State was starting one senior, one junior and three sophomores on top of being the mid-major underdog against a team from a Big East Conference that some people have called the toughest conference in history this season.
If nothing else, this season quieted many of the doubts that critics have had toward Utah State, whether it be how prepared USU was for big games with a weak non-conference schedule, the Aggies supposed lack of athleticism or the lack of heavily recruited talent on the roster.
I’ll reaffirm the squashing of all those criticisms really quick. First, how well did playing a tougher non-conference schedule help a couple other in-state teams in their NCAA Tournament games where they were even the higher seed? I recall both teams who reside south of Logan got beaten rather soundly by lesser teams than Marquette. I’ll cover the second and third criticisms by simply pointing out point guard Jared Quayle’s rebounding dominance over Nevada forward Luke Babbitt, who was a top-25 recruit in the nation a year ago.
With any and all legitimate criticism now thoroughly debunked, it’s time to look ahead. As hard as it is to lose the WAC Player of the Year to graduation for the second year in a row, USU did just fine bouncing back from the loss the first time around. This time there’s no starting point guard to replace along with that player of the year, though.
What it comes down to is that in college basketball if you have four returning starters from what was already a good team, there’s plenty of cause to be excited. When you return four starters from what was already a dominant team, there’s plenty of cause to lose your mind with anticipation.
Here’s a couple fun facts for everyone. The last time Utah State basketball returned four starters in a season was the famed 2001 season where USU set what is now the previous school record for wins in a season of 28 and upset Ohio State University in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. I don’t want to say anything is for sure, but if we were this close to beating a higher-seeded Marquette team this year, imagine how that experience could pay off in a year from now.
If that isn’t enough for you, only one starter will be graduating from next year’s team, as well.
What I’m saying is that as tough as that Marquette loss was to swallow, that game, this season and this team are loaded with silver linings. It seems strange to be pointing out silver linings for a season that yielded the most number of wins in the history of USU basketball, but like I said, I’m looking ahead now … and I’m only seeing good things.