Former USU players return to the Spectrum as members of Next Level
For the second week in a row, three former Aggies have returned to the Spectrum on Saturday to challenge their former team.
Shawn Daniels, Marcus Saxon and Kevin Rice all came to Utah State University to defeat the Aggies and notch a victory for their traveling team, Next Level Sports. These former Aggies came out victorious when they defeated Utah State University in a come-from-behind victory 72-67.
Although three of the former USU teammates started for Next Level Sports, the Aggies gave them a challenge, leading for almost the entire game and by 15 points at one point.
“It feels good, but it also feels bad because I know we had something to do with it,” Saxon said. “I played two roles [in the streak] I helped start it and I helped end it. I feel bad for the guys, though, but I hope they bounce back and start another streak.”
It has been three years since Saxon has played for the Aggies.
Saxon, still nursing a back injury, had three assists and one technical foul during the game.
“My coach told me to go out and get a technical foul,” Saxon said jokingly. “Actually what happened is I got mad and slapped the ball and he [the referee] called a technical, so it happens.”
Saxon’s former Aggie teammate, forward Rice, scored six points in the game with one assist.
“It was great to come back and see some old friends and play back in this gym once again,” Rice said.
After he finishes playing for the Next Level team, Rice will be heading further north to North Dakota.
“I’m going to go to the CBA right after this in North Dakota,” he said. “I’ll be there for seven months or so, then I’ll look at my options.”
Daniels led the Next Level team with 17 points and eight rebounds against his former teammates. Daniels, who was an Aggie just last year, is the only former Aggie coming in who also played under Head Coach Stew Morrill.
“The other two guys, they played for a different coach,” Daniels said. “I was the only one playing for Coach Morrill [and] I kind of knew [the plays], but I tried not to cheat the plays too much, so I don’t think we had any extra advantage.”
When asked how it feels to snap the Aggies home winning streak, Daniels said, “I could care less if we won, I just wanted to come out [and] play well. I’m real close with a lot of the guys on the team and they are going to have a real good season next year.”
Daniels felt great returning to a sort of “home crowd” since every other game he plays for Next Level is traveling.
“It felt great to come back and play in front of the fans,” he said. “Most of these people have been watching me play for the past two years. It was great having people cheer for you. In the previous games, nobody cheers for us.
“I have never played in a greater environment than the Spectrum. When you get to come back and have the people cheering for you, it’s a great feeling,” he said.
Daniels was a two-time first-team All-Big West selection during his Aggie career.