USU men’s hoops adds JC guard Carson Bischoff

Photo credit: Treasure Valley Community College Athletics Department

In what may be the final addition to the 2019-20 Utah State basketball roster, head coach Craig Smith has elected to bolster his guard rotation with walk-on junior college transfer Carson Bischoff of Treasure Valley Community College in Oregon.

As a sophomore at TVCC, the 6-foot-4 guard scored 19.7 points per game — second on the team — on 43 percent shooting overall, 39.1 percent from 3-point range and 81.0 percent on free throws. He also led the team in rebounding with 6.6 per game and was third in assists with 2.6 an outing.

“We are thrilled to announce Carson will be joining our program,” Smith said in a statement. “Carson is a lights-out shooter that really knows how to play. He really fits our program’s culture, as he is highly competitive and is all about the team.”

Bischoff already has deep ties to the state of Utah and even USU. He played his high school ball at Weber High School in Ogden and spent his freshman year of college playing at USU Eastern. In high school, Bischoff played against current Aggie point guard Abel Porter, who played for Weber’s region foe, Davis High School. When he was a sophomore in HS, Bischoff’s Warriors side beat out Porter’s Darts for the Region 1 title in the 2012-13 season.

The addition of Bischoff finally gives more depth to a guard rotation hurting after losing four guards in just over a year’s time to transfers Heading into the summer, the Aggies had just one point guard and three guards overall on the roster: Porter and shooting guards Sam Merrill and Diogo Brito.

At the start of the 2018-19 season, USU had lost Koby McEwen to a transfer earlier that spring, but had Crew Ainge, John Knight III and Tauriawn Knight as potential replacements (with Porter as an afterthought). By the end of April, all three had announced their respective intentions to transfer from Logan and all have now found new homes.

While Bischoff may not challenge Porter, who also began his Aggie career as a walk-on, for a starting role with the team, the depth and scoring will be eagerly welcomed by the Aggies.