COLUMN: Gridiron struggles got you down? The hardwood awaits
It’s a definite mystery to me just how the USU football team goes from thrashing BYU on national TV one week to getting torn apart by Louisiana Tech the next. Common wisdom would be to say that this year’s Aggies just can’t put things together on the road, but there’s the Oklahoma game, which was against the best team USU has played this year, in probably the toughest atmosphere that Utah State will visit in 2010. Somehow the Aggies managed to only lose that game by seven points, while losing the other two road games against Louisiana Tech and San Diego State by a combined 52 points.
Mysterious indeed, but for pretty much the first time this year, I’m going to move away away from talking football. After all, they do have the week off, and on top of that, I’m not sure what else can really be said about this team other than the bits about injuries and needing to execute better on the road.
Instead this week, it’s time to finally talk about something glorious, which is rapidly approaching. I’m referring, of course, to the beginning of Utah State basketball season.
Starting Friday, the Aggie men will begin official team practices for a season that looks as promising as just about any other season ever has, with the team returning seven of its top eight scorers from a team that won 27 games, a third consecutive Western Athletic Conference regular season championship and earned a second straight bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Simply put, the 2010-2011 Aggies are loaded with talent and experience, and based on the incoming recruiting class, they’ll be receiving quite the boost in athleticism from a duo of incoming point guards in junior Brockeith Pane and freshman James Walker.
Upon a glance at the recruiting rankings from ESPN.com, Walker appears to be the top overall recruit in the entire WAC from the 2010 class, carrying an overall rating of 92 out of 100, and ranked as the No. 42 rated shooting guard in the country. Pane’s prowess isn’t far behind, as he was also rated a 92 by ESPN.com out of high school.
Mix in a two junior college All-Americans, the top big-man recruit from in-state and a couple more athletes with star potential and you’ve got what looks to be head coach Stew Morrill’s best recruiting class he’s had at Utah State. Obviously, time will tell if that really is the case, but when it comes to maximizing a player’s potential, nobody has seemed to have mastered the art quite like Morrill.
Recruits aren’t the real reason why this year’s basketball team looks to be something special, though. The real reason for excitement is the returning players, which include essentially everybody from a year ago who isn’t named Jared Quayle or Jaxon Myaer.
Starters Pooh Williams, Tyler Newbold, Nate Bendall and Tai Wesley all return for their senior seasons, while Brian Green, Preston Medlin, Matt Formisano and Brady Jardine should all be back into their roles as superstars off the bench. Throw in University of Utah transfer Morgan Grim, and the Aggies’ core looks as deep and as solid as ever.
The production from Pane and Walker looks to be the real key to the season, seeing as how they look to plug the only voids left from last year’s team. If the hype surrounding both of those players is any indication as to how they are capable of performing, Utah State should cruise to a fourth straight WAC championship this season.
Obviously there is still plenty of football to be played, and there is still a very real chance at a bowl game for Utah State, but with the bye week for football and with the calendar getting close enough to the new season, it was finally time to get the gears turning on the basketball hype machine. I have a tough time believing that this season will be anything less than epic.
Oh, and there’s that whole Spectrum place that seems to excite people, too.
Team practices start Friday, exhibition games start Oct. 30, and the regular season officially begins one month from today. In other words, it’s the most wonderful time of the year.
Matt Sonnenberg is a senior majoring in print journalism. Matt is an avid fan of Aggie athletics and can be found on the front row of every home football and basketball game. He can also be reached at matt.sonn@aggiemail.usu.edu.