Incoming recruits set to revitalize team defense
In his first recruiting class as the head coach of the men’s basketball team, Craig Smith isn’t hiding the direction he’s taking the program.
The five incoming players of the 2018-19 class will bring many things to the table with diverse skill sets. However, three of them — John Knight III, Ke’Sean Davis and Ben Fakira — seem to have a couple of common attributes: defensive potential and versatility.
Last season the Aggies were very limited on defense and ranked among the worst in the Mountain West in steals (10th), blocks (9th) and opponent’s field goal percentage (10th). It’s clear that the former South Dakota coach plans to fix that.
Smith said it himself in his introductory press conference that the team would play “aggressive man-to-man defense.” To do that, a team needs versatile defenders and USU just added several.
Knight III is one of a couple candidates to pair with Sam Merrill (who is no slouch on defense himself) in the backcourt. Smith said the defensive instincts of his new 6-foot-2 guard will “have a big impact on that end of the floor.” The junior college transfer produced eye-popping defensive stats for a guard, leading his team in blocks with an average of 2.1 to go along with 1.3 steals per game.
Davis, another JC transfer, doesn’t have the block or steals stats (averaged 0.3 blocks and 0.5 steals in 30 games) but with his athleticism and 6-foot-7, 225-pound frame, he has the ability to defend multiple positions. A fact Smith pointed out, saying it makes the forward “a huge asset on the defensive end.”
New assistant coach Eric Peterson, who was crucial in the recruitment of Davis, was also the lead recruiter for the 6-foot-10 Fakira. It was his size and defensive capabilities that encouraged Peterson to pursue the native Australian.
“Defensively, for his size, he moves extremely well, defends screen and roll and is a very physical player,” Peterson said. “He is not going to back down from anyone.”
Fakira has the potential to be a great shot-blocker as he boasts an NBA-caliber wingspan that reportedly spans more than seven feet and has the bulk at 255 pounds to go toe-to-toe with most NCAA centers.
With Knight III, Davis and Fakira, Coach Smith is building a foundation of versatile defenders at every level on the court. And they will bolster a lineup that already has experience guarding out of position.
For most of the 2017-18 season, playing out of position was a necessity for almost everyone on the team. Guards and forwards like Diogo Brito, Dwayne Brown Jr. and Quinn Taylor had to play most of their minutes at center and power forward. Assuming the bigs are healthier this year, those players will spend more time at their natural positions but will be perfectly capable of guarding bigs every now and again.
If Smith has his way, the Aggies could end up being a very versatile defensive unit. The only player on the roster that doesn’t project to be able to play and/or guard at least two positions is Crew Ainge. The rest will likely have no problems adapting to Smith’s style of defense.