Redshirt situation still up in air for Ahmad
Utah State Head Coach Stew Morrill won’t beat around the bush with a reporter or his players.
That is why the question of whether Aggie basketball senior forward Mike Ahmad will redshirt or not seems kind of annoying to Morrill – quite frankly it isn’t his choice.
“We’re still mulling that one over and so is he,” Morrill said. “It’s ultimately up to him.”
But as far as the coaching staff is concerned, it has plenty of post players as it is, so Ahmad might be better off sitting a year on the bench.
Barring injury, Aggie newcomers John Neil and Ian McVey will spend the year as redshirts. Neil, who will likely see most of his time at forward, stands at 6-foot-5, while McVey, who is listed as capable of playing both forward or center, is 6-foot-9.
Desmond Penigar, Spencer Nelson, Mike Puzey and Chad Evans will likely get most of the playing time at the post, Morrill said.
The biggest drawback though is having the big guys in foul trouble.
Nelson found himself on the bench with 3:10 remaining in regulation, while Penigar (4 fouls), Puzey (2) and Evans (1) contributed to the 28 personal fouls on the day.
Making his voice heard
Some people are talkers and some people are not.
EA Sports Head Coach Pete Cassidy said former Kansas standout Nick Bradford talks – and talks and talks and talks.
“He has to explain his side of things to everything – regardless of the situation – at all times,” Cassidy said.
A prime example came three minutes into the first half of Saturday’s game.
After being poked in the eye by an Aggie, Bradford fell to the floor. As a concerned official hovered overhead, Bradford kicked and as he finally stood up, he looked at the referee and said, “You all called a foul on me, huh?”
Bradford was cited for pushing, a call he still disagreed with following the game.
The two just met a week ago and Cassidy said he hasn’t had the opportunity to adapt to Bradford’s personality yet. The coach spent most of the game trying to keep Bradford a little more tight-lipped.
Bradford wasn’t happy about it.
He said he was disappointed he didn’t get much playing time (only 13 minutes) but he did rack up five fouls and seven points.
“It’s tough when you don’t get too much of a chance to play,” he said.
Cassidy said despite Bradford’s antics on the court, he is a really caring person who says prayers in the locker room prior to game time.
Utes or Aggies – who would win?
If the scheduled Dec. 17 game against the Utes were moved to tomorrow, Cassidy would be the first in line.
“That would be a fun game to watch right now, it really would,” he said. “They’re similar in how they play the game. It would just be a good game. I couldn’t make the call [on who would win].”
Cassidy would know better than anyone – EA Sports fell to the Utes 92-86 Friday in Salt Lake City.
Bradford said a game between Utah and Utah State could go either way.
He said he thought Utah was bigger in size and a more physical team, but he said Utah State was a smarter team.
Behind any good team is a good crowd. Former San Diego State player Al Fuax said the Aggies have just that. He did have one suggestion though – USU fans need to make more noise.
By the numbers
4,679 – Saturday afternoon’s
attendance.
97 – Points given up by the Aggies.
70.3 – Utah State’s free-throw shooting
percentage.
55 – Rebounds by USU, 32 of which
were defensive. EA Sports recorded
35, only eight of which were off the
offensive glass.
42 – Points scored by the Utah State
bench. Butler led the Aggie charge
with 21 points.
5 – Players who fouled out: Bradford,
Maurice McLemore, Joe Vogel for
EA Sports and Mark Brown and
Nelson for Utah State.
4 – Aggies who did not play in
Saturday’s exhibition game. Ahmad,
Neil and McVey sat on the bench in
street clothes as K.C. Comadena was
the Aggie dressed who did not see
time on the court.
3 – Desmond Penigar dunks.
2 – Players who did not have any fouls
– Toranio Johnson and Greg
Patton. Each played 17 and 21 min-
utes, respectively.
0 – Fast-break points by either team.
-juag@cc.usu.edu