Athelete of the Week: Carroll explains practice with Morrill
Utah Statesman: This is the fifth time you have received this award this season. How does it feel to be recognized by the state media individually while also helping the team win?
Jaycee Carroll: It’s a really neat honor. It’s really cool to be recognized by people, as always, as the student athlete of the week here at Utah State. Like you said, the best part of the whole award is that it came after a couple of wins. As a team we have improved, and you can almost give the whole Utah State [team] the award this week because of how everyone has improved, and we have started to come together and play a little bit if basketball.
US: Can you take us into a Stew Morrill practice and tell us what that’s like?
Carroll: Into a Stew Morrill practice. I tell you what, it starts about an hour before practice even starts. You start thinking about it and what you got to do to get ready. We are always here a half hour early. In that half hour, we are getting our ankles taped and starting to prepare mentally for what we are about to go through. The first thing we do is go into about a half-hour or 45-minute film session, and we either watch ourselves or our opponents and what we need to do better and what we need to do to stop the other team. And then once practice starts, it’s a full-out effort, full-out concentration for two hours or however long practice goes.
US: Has Stew ever laced up his sneakers and played with you guys?
Carroll: No, he hasn’t laced them up. He stays on his shoes, and he will show us his jump-shooting ability and free-throw shooting ability every now and then. You know, kind of shows off.
US: If he did play with you, what would the strong points of his game be?
Carroll: Outside shooting and post banger? He’s got those two things. He would step out to the 3-pointer, and he knocks them down, but then he would back our post players down and beat them up inside.
US: Who is the toughest player you have ever played against?
Carroll: Brandon Roy from the University of Washington. He plays for the Trailblazers now. He’s pretty tough.
US: What is your most memorable moment in the Spectrum?
Carroll: From this season it’s probably the 3-point shot I made to tie the game against Utah and then the game winning shot that Chaz hit when the crowd stormed the floor.
US: Word is that you’re a golfer. Is that correct?
Carrol: Yeah.
US: Where do you like to play around here?
Carroll: I love Logan River Golf course. I think that is a great place to go. You know it’s challenging for me because you have to keep it in the fairway. Otherwise you lose the ball. Other than that, I think that Birch Creek is a great course, and it is fun to go out there with some friends.
US: What is your best round ever?
Carroll: 76.
US: What are you studying?
Carroll: I am studying Spanish. I would like to be a Spanish teacher and then get into administration.
US: What has been your most difficult class?
Carroll: Most difficult class? Economics 1500. I hope the teacher doesn’t read that because it still is.
US: What do you like to do on a date?
Carroll: I like to do something that maybe the girl has never done before. I like to try and be creative. The first date I try and do something that is different. I got a couple of secret places that I like to take girls that’s different and gives us a chance to talk a lot. I love to talk. That is my favorite thing to do on a date.
US: If you had any advice for the new freshmen, what would it be?
Carroll: My advice would be to work hard and study hard in classes, but also make the most of the college experience, making lots of new friends and hanging out with lots of new people. Oh, and one more thing, attending every single Aggie basketball game and cheering as loud as they can the whole time.
-samabry@cc.usu.edu