Big expectations for the big men
The last time the USU men’s basketball team returned its two top-scoring post players from the previous year was in the 2004-2005.
That was when former Aggies Nate Harris and Spencer Nelson returned after averaging a combined 23.2 points per game during the 2003-2004 season. That 2005 season was also the last time the Aggies earned an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, with their victory over Top-25 ranked Pacific in the Big West Championship.
This season, for the first time since Harris and Nelson, the Aggies return their top two scoring big men in senior Gary Wilkinson and sophomore Tai Wesley.
Even more intriguing is that Wesley and Wilkinson last season combined to average 23.2 points per game.
Recent history has shown that big-time post players yield results in the Western Athletic Conference. Two seasons ago New Mexico State won its first WAC Tournament title behind the play of an all-WAC player in Tyrone Nelson and two smothering defenders in Martin Iti and Hatila Passos.
Last season Boise State made a trip to the NCAA Tournament behind the play of the league’s top scoring post duo in Matt Nelson and Reggie Larry.
On top of being this year’s top returning post duo in the WAC, Wilkinson and Wesley were both named to the preseason all-WAC teams in the WAC coaches’ poll earlier this month. Wilkinson was also named the pre-season WAC player of the year in the media poll.
Being the top returners on a team trying to defend their regular season WAC championship from a year ago has come with its own fair share of pressure for Wesley and Wilkinson, especially with the graduation of a scorer like Jaycee Carroll.
“It’s tough,” Wesley said. “A lot more weight is put on my plate. People are looking at me to be more of a leader this year because of the experience that I have.”
Wilkinson, also being shouldered with plenty of the leadership role, said he feels like his best means of leadership this season will be the example he sets in practice.
“I think the bottom line is you’ve just got to be an example,” Wilkinson said. “If I came out here and just kind of went through the motions, didn’t work hard, didn’t want to listen to coach and kind of wanted to do my own thing, that’s going to set a standard for the team where we’re not going to achieve very much if they follow that.”
One other key loss from last season is the graduation of last season’s first big man off the bench in Steve Ducharme. His shoes will be filled by sophomores Matt Formisano and Modou Niang, both of whom saw limited playing time last season. Despite those limited minutes, both players have experience playing for head coach Stew Morrill, and both will be expected to be steady contributers this season.
“I know that they’re capable of being able to score and do what coach needs them to do,” Wilkinson said.
Wesley said that one of the biggest things that has helped Formisano and Modou develop in the past year has been counting on them more in practice to deliver positive results.
“Put the ball in their hands and try to make things happen,” Wesley said.
Gary Wilkinson
Wilkinson returns this season as the only player in the conference from last season’s post-season all-WAC first or second team. In his first season after coming to USU from Salt Lake Community College, Wilkinson logged 13.3 points and 7 rebounds per game in his junior season. With the scoring void left by Carroll’s departure, as well as another year of experience, Wilkinson said he feels ready to step up as the a go-to-guy for the Aggies.
“From this year to last year I feel so much more confident on the post knowing more of what coach expects of me as a player,” Wilkinson said.
Assistant coach Tim Duryea said he believes Wilkinson will also see improvement as a result of more factors than just simply playing experience.
“Gary is a guy that has done a fabulous job becoming a better athlete,” Duryea said. “Faster, stronger, bouncier, weighs more – he’s doing all that in a bigger, stronger, better package.”
Duryea said since Wilkinson’s arrival at USU, he has improved his post game to a point where he uses a balance of strength and skill to score in the post, as opposed to just the strength he relied heavily upon to score the ball in junior college.
“He catches the ball in the post and you can see him maneuvering to try to shoot his jumper over his left shoulder,” Duryea said.
Wilkinson also proved to be a strong rebounder during his junior season, especially as the season progressed. Wilkinson averaged 8.4 rebounds per game over the final 19 games of last season compared to just 5.4 rebounds a game over the first 16 contests of the year.
Duryea attributed that improvement to Wilkinson’s overall comfort level of being on the floor, and his aggression in rebounding balls out of his area. Duryea also said Morrill has hoped to have one of his big men average more than 10 rebounds per game over the course of a season.
“I think Gary’s got that goal in the back of his mind,” Duryea said.
Tai Wesley
Wesley began his freshman season as the first big man off the bench for the Aggies, before being inserted into the starting lineup in the 11th game of the regular season along with fellow freshman Tyler Newbold. The Aggies proceeded to win their next 10 games aided by the freshmen starters.
Wesley averaged 9.9 points and 4.5 rebounds per game during his freshman season, while also averaging 2.1 assists per game and shooting a team-best 63.5 percent from the field.
Wesley also led the Aggies in blocks as a freshman (33) and was third on the team with 25 steals.
“Tai’s biggest asset is his basketball skill,” Duryea said of Wesley. “Dribbling, passing, post moves, right-hand, left-hand – that’s a package you don’t see a lot of times in guys that are as big and strong as he is.”
Duryea also praised Wesley as a player that can be the cornerstone of an offense. “He can score his own ball and he can make shots for other people,” Duryea said. “If you have one of those guys on your team, your offense is usually pretty good. Tai’s advantage is that he is usually more skilled than the guy guarding him. Whatever you give him, he can take.”
Duryea said Wesley’s biggest flaw as a freshman was that he was often caught in foul trouble early in games. Duryea said that is likely a problem that will rectify itself as Wesley gains more playing experience.
“What post guys usually learn with experience is how to play physical without fouling, or how to foul and not get caught,” Duryea said.
Matt Formisano
Formisano played in 22 of 35 games during his freshman year, averaging 1.3 points and 1.2 rebounds per game over the course of the season.
He also delivered his strongest showing of the season against arguably the toughest post defense in the WAC last year with his season-high eight points and four rebounds on the road against New Mexico State.
Duryea called Formisano the definition of a solid program player, and is optimistic about his ability to step up and make more of a contribution to this year’s Aggie team.
“Matt is a guy that is really good at carrying out his assignments,” Duryea said. “He’s going to do exactly what you tell him to do every time. The thing that makes Matt a threat from the post, and maybe a little bit different, is he’s a good passer and he’s a really good face-up shooter from about 17 to 18 feet. He’s improved in every area. I think his confidence is better than when he got here.”
Duryea also said Formisano stood out as a very conscientious screener to help set-up teammates for shots.
“Matt always knows what we’re trying to do, and he’s really good at carrying out defensive assignments,” Duryea said.
Modou Niang
“Modou is probably a guy that we’ve seen the most improvement in from year one to year two in the program,” Duryea said.
Niang came to USU last year after playing his high school basketball in Japan. On top of being in a new country learning a new language, Niang also had to learn new basketball terminology while trying to learn a complicated system playing at USU.
“Modou is our x-factor on defense,” Duryea said. “Obviously, Modou is a guy that can play above the rim. Defensively, he’s a guy that can come over on the weak-side and block shots. He’s a guy that changes the game above the rim.”
Niang will look to make an impact in 2008-2009 after a year of seeing very limited minutes in games. Duryea attributed a lot of Niang’s progress shown in practice to increased strength in his legs that has helped him hold his ground in the post. He also expressed excitement about Niang’s potential as a player based on Niang’s abilities as an athlete.
He said Niang is showing that potential turn into production on the court.
“Modou’s one of those special guys that can get above everybody else and get rebounds in a crowd because of his length and athleticism,” Duryea said. “Modou’s a guy defensively that can take us to a whole other level. Not very many teams have a guy like that. If you have one of those guys, it’s a huge asset. They’re very valuable and very rare.”
–matt.sonn@aggiemail.usu.edu