Former Aggies thriving in professional leagues

Former Utah State men’s basketball player Jaycee Carroll recently hit a 3-pointer for Real Madrid to beat Barcelona in the ACB League Final and it got us thinking. Out of all the former Aggies, how many are playing professional basketball around the world?

Carroll is the most well known player still playing professional basketball. He had a four-year career at Utah State before playing with Teramo Basket of the Italian Serie A for a year, Gran Canaria for two years and settling in with Real Madrid in 2011.

Carroll just finished one of his best seasons with the club, averaging 10.1 points per game while shooting 40 percent from 3-point range and 90 percent from the free-throw line. His best season with the team came in 2015-16 when he put up 13.2 points per game on 88 percent from the free-throw line and an astounding 53 percent from 3-point range.

His best season in the pro’s came with Gran Canaria in 2010-11 when he scored 19.6 points per game on 46 percent from 3-point range and 91 percent from the free-throw line while also adding 3.0 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game.

Carroll has been on Real Madrid for four of it’s ACB league championships.

Carroll against Barcelona shooting the game-winning jumper with 1.9 seconds left on the clock. Photo from twitter: @Honor_Leyenda

The other former Aggie still in the pros is Tai Wesley, who plays for the South East Melbourne Phoenix in Australia’s NBL. Wesley also players for the Guam national basketball team.

Wesley has played for a total of eight different teams in his career, spending his first three in Europe before heading down under to New Zealand and Australia.

Wesley’s best season in the pro’s came in the New Zealand NBL playing for the Southland Sharks where, in 20 games, he averaged 18.4 points and 9.5 assists while shooting an insane 66 percent from 3-point range.

His career accolades include being a two-time NBL champion and a three-time NZNBL champion while also being a two-time NZNBL Finals MVP.

These two have both been phenomenal players in the pros. The men’s basketball program has shown a vast amount of growth in recent years, which lends the question, who will be the next Aggie to take their game to the professional level?