USU basketball hosts first ever ‘Night with the Pros’
Utah State Men’s Basketball hosted its first-ever “Night with the Pros” on Sept. 10 in the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum. The fundraising event was headlined by former Aggies and now professional players Neemias Queta and Sam Merrill, as well as Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla.
In addition to the NBA pros, 18 Utah State Athletics Hall of Famers were in attendance, 20 additional former USU athletes, five former USU basketball coaches and two former USU basketball players whose numbers are retired. A full list of players and coaches in attendance can be found at the end of the article.
The event started in the afternoon with a private donor meet-and-greet at the Logan Country Club, followed by a banquet dinner and auction in the Spectrum. The evening was then opened to the public with a program that honored the former coaches and players in attendance, emceed by the voices of the Aggies, Al Lewis and Scott Garrard.
A new tradition was also started by the men’s basketball program as they honored Aggie alumnus Jim Laub as the inaugural sixth man of the year.
After the Aggie alumni were honored, Merrill, Queta, Mazzulla, Michael McCullough — former Aggie and current chief marketing officer of the Miami Heat — and USU Men’s Basketball head coach Jerrod Calhoun took the stage for a live interview with Garrard.
The interview questions for Merrill and Queta centered around their time in Logan as players and their time since in the NBA.
“I mean, it’s such a huge part of who I am: third-generation Aggie … my dad being a huge Utah State guy, my parents meeting here. I have so much family up here — like, this is the only place I ever wanted to play,” Merrill said. “It’s hard to — it’s hard to describe. Every time — I don’t come back to Logan as much as I probably should — but every time I come out of that canyon, it feels like I’m coming home.”
Queta echoed Merrill’s sentiments.
“This was a great, great experience for me, coming out here to Utah State. It was my first time in the United States. I was welcomed with open arms,” Queta said. “It was a great opportunity for me to come out here and just get adjusted … It was a great opportunity for me to play basketball.”
Mazzulla, a long-time friend of Calhoun’s, spoke on their relationship and his position as a leader in the NBA.
“[Calhoun] coached me at West Virginia when I was playing, and then his first head coaching job was me, coach Paul, coach Manning … worked for him for three years, and he was the best man in my wedding, and we’ve just been able to make each other better on and off the court,” Mazzulla said. “What they’ve done here tonight, building relationships, bringing people together — it’s kind of what they taught me how to do in the game … They just teach you how to move it forward and leave it better than you found it. So, really grateful to be here and grateful for the relationship that we have.”
Calhoun, in addition to similar comments on his relationship with Mazzulla, spoke to the current state of college athletics with NIL deals and revenue sharing.
“We have spent a ton of time over the last 10 months raising money. It’s something I’ve always done … We’ve had so many former players step up — so many business people step up,” Calhoun said. “We have a lot of great business people in this state, in this community, and we just ask for your help. But I also think when we do some things structurally here on campus, we need everybody to step up … We can moan, we can groan, whatever we want to do about it, but I think we have to embrace it and conquer it.”
Calhoun also shared the men’s basketball team has tripled their NIL in the first season with his staff at the helm. The event, which was primarily a fundraising event, sold 32 tables at $5,000 each and auctioned off over $40,000 of merchandise with an additional silent auction throughout, as well as additional donations given throughout the night.
“Utah State’s a team. Everybody in here is a part of our team,” Calhoun said. “Our goal tonight was to raise about $250,000, and we’re very, very close to that. And we’re going to keep going.”
The event concluded with lighting the A on Old Main blue, intending to signify a win for Utah State athletics.
USU Athletics Hall of Fame Members in attendance:Jaycee CarrollShawn DanielsEric FransonRich HawsJimmy MooreSpencer NelsonMarvin RobertsTai WesleyGary WilkinsonNate Williams
Former USU Players in attendance:Jeff AndersonMatt BarnsLandon BrenchlyDiogo BritoDarius BrownDwayne Brown JrDanny BurgerSpencer ButterfieldJaylen MooreMichael McCulloghBrian GreenBrady JardineJeff MeyerPreston MedlinSam MerrillBrock MillerReid NeweyAble PorterNeemias QuetaDick SackettKlay StallQuinn TaylorTann Tueller
Former USU Basketball Coaches in Attendance:Dutch BelnapDick MottaKohn SmithCraig SmithRod Tueller