Ags begin campaign for 4th WAC Title
The Utah State Aggies (11-2) begin their campaign for a 4th Western Athletic Conference Title, as they take on the Hawaii Warriors (9-3). Both the Aggies and Warriors made a big statement with their records leading up to the regular season, and the pre-season has been nothing short of surprising for the Warriors, who won only 10 games all last year.
The Warriors have still yet to prove themselves on the road, as they have left the island twice and compiled an 0-2 road record with losses at Brigham Young and Cal Poly. Despite the record and the fact that the Warriors were picked to finish last in the conference, Utah State Aggie head coach Stew Morrill and his crew won’t be overlooking the Rainbows.
“I don’t think Hawai’i is ninth, I mean there’s no way,” Morrill said. They’re not finishing 9th, they definitely have shown that in the preseason, that they’re very capable of being an upper-tier team and who knows beyond that.”
Much of the Warriors’ success can be attributed to new head coach Gib Arnold and the recruits he has brought along with him.
“I know I’ve been impressed with him through the years and his recruiting and his coaching when he was a head coach at CSI,” Morrill said. “And obviously, he is doing a very good job in his first Division I head coaching job. Obviously, his team has responded to the coaching change and the new people they’ve added and all of that.”
Morrill said, “He went out and recruited and added a bunch of kids that are doing a good job. They’ve just got a number of weapons. They’re really shooting the ball well with their two wings (Bo) Barnes and Zane Johnson, they’ve got an athletic four and five man. Right now with (Joston) Thomas and Vander (Joaquim) they’re athletic at the four and five.”
The Warriors have five players averaging double-figures. Senior forward Bill Amis leads with 15.8 points per game. Unfortunately for the Warriors, Amis is out due to injury and won’t play tonight. Johnson is averaging 13.5 points a game, while Thomas and Barnes are averaging 12.3 and 10.4 points per game. Senior Hiram Thompson, who always plays well against the Aggies, is averaging 12.3 points per game to go with three assists per game.
“They’ve got a really nice balance of athleticism and skill, and guys who can shoot the ball and shooting a high percentage from three,” Morrill said. “You look at their stats and they’re impressive in just about every area.”
A common theme throughout the season thus far has been consistency. The Aggies will get a good chance to gauge where they are tonight with the start of WAC play.
“It’s certainly not time to panic, we just want to get more consistent,” Morrill said. In terms of field goal percentage, and three-point field goal percentage, and fewest turnovers, those have always been pretty good stats for us and remain that way. The real question is will they remain that way through WAC play. Non-league stats are valuable to look at as you head into conference, but they are not near as telling as when you get half way through league and you are playing all the same people, those stats become much more relevant.”
Tip-off is slated for 7:05 p.m. at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.
-ty.d.hus@aggiemail.usu.edu