Aggie hoops: The Madness Begins
From the moment Utah State walked off the court in Columbus, OH, dejected following a 78-61 loss to Washington in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, everyone looked forward to the 2019-20 season with great anticipation.
On Thursday, the players, fans and the like all got their first taste of Aggie basketball in months — albeit with a watered-down look — with the annual Aggie Madness event in the Estes Center.
Both the men’s team and women’s team participated in a short scrimmage amongst themselves along with a few contests. The two headliner contests were the 3-point shootout which included players from both men’s and women’s teams, and the dunk contest. Lindsey Jensen-Baker won the battle of the sexes by defeating Brock Miller in the finale of the 3-point contest while freshman Sean Bairstow staved off incoming JC transfer Kuba Karwowski for the title of Aggie dunk champion.
Diogo Brito plays for USU’s Men’s Basketball team during Aggie Madness at the Wayne Estes Center on October 10, 2019.
The excitement over the season became apparent before the event tipped off at 8:30 in the evening. The bleachers in the Estes Center were filled to the bursting point with dozens of fans still filing in to watch the men and women play ball.
“I thought the promotion/marketing did a great job,” women’s head coach Jerry Finkbeiner said. “It was like popcorn. It really went well, it went smooth. Great college-age fan base here tonight.”
“To see it packed like it was tonight, standing room only on the sides. It means a lot to everybody in our program,” men’s head coach Craig Smith said. “It means a lot to the women’s team as well. It’s a sign that the season’s almost here.”
The men’s team will host their season debut on Nov. 5 against Montana State, six days after an exhibition contest with The College of Idaho on Oct. 30. The women’s season starts on Nov. 7 when the Aggies host Portland, five days after their exhibition with Arizona Christian on Nov. 2.
Fans were not the only excited party on the night of Aggie Madness. Smith noted how much the young men under his tutelage look forward to the event where they can show off their skills to patrons without the pressure a regular game brings.
Shyla Latone performs at Aggie Madness for USU Women’s Basketball at the Wayne Estes Center on October 10, 2019.
“You can almost always mark it down, one of our worst practices of the year is the day of (Aggie Madness),” Smith said. “Because they just can’t wait to go dunk and play the NBA All-Star game and that’s part of the deal.”
Smith’s comparison of the men’s scrimmage to the NBA All-Star game was spot-on. Hardly a lick of defense could be found but dunks, alley-oops, 3-pointers and isolation shots were plentiful the entire eight minutes of play.
Finkbeiner’s squad had a slightly more competitive scrimmage, though still very light in nature. The women have already played full-speed games this year with a trip to Mexico under their belts. That trip helped ease the USU women through the early part of a tough transition the team is going through, having to replace five starters/high-minute players lost to transfers and graduation.
Overall, the event showed just how much anticipation there is for the imminent dawn of a great season of Aggie hoops. Finkbeiner said the words on the lips of every fan, student, booster, player, coach and administrator since April.
“We’re looking forward to this season.”