OUR VIEW: Thank goodness for Stew Morrill

Thanks to Stew Morrill, the end of October has meant one main thing for an Aggie fan during the past 10 years: basketball season.

This year is no different – especially after a recent 58-yard field-goal kick in the head.

No offense is intended here to those on the football team. Of course they work hard, were the better team against Fresno State and deserve praise for that performance.

But the Aggie football team is a lot like the current economy – nobody really knows where the bottom is.

Fortunately, nobody will have to witness another football loss before the men’s basketball season begins.

Like a light at the end of a long tunnel, the basketball season will tip off Friday at 7 p.m. in the Spectrum.

Though winter is starting up, it might as well be spring in a warm and raucous Spectrum watching a winning team.

Thank goodness for Morrill and those that work with him. Moreover, thank goodness USU Director of Athletics Scott Barnes signed Morrill to a contract extension Oct. 15 that will keep him here until the 2014-15 season.

Morrill has put an indelible mark of excellence on the men’s basketball program. The following statistics are the proof:

In his 10 seasons at USU, Morrill has won 237 games – an astounding number when put up against Brent Guy’s seven wins in four years. Even though there are less games per season in football, the difference is still very large. Morrill has a .734 winning percentage; Guy has a .162 percentage.

Morrill has led USU to nine straight 20-win seasons and nine straight postseason appearances (five NCAA Tournament appearances NIT showings).

Morrill’s teams own nine of the top 11 seasons in Aggie history.

There isn’t space enough to list the remainder of Morrill’s accomplishments. He’s only going to add to his resume this season; the Aggies were picked to finish second in the Western Athletic Conference by the media and coaches.

So, go trick-or-treat with the Aggie basketball team Friday. The opponent – the Northwest Nazarene Crusaders of Nampa, Idaho – won’t be anything special. But we all need a reminder of what it’s like to win consistently.