USU’s roller coaster regular season ends this Saturday

High expectations were extinguished before the season started.

Utah State was selected to finish third in the Mountain West’s preseason poll before David Collette betrayed his teammates, coaches and fans.

The Aggies now reside in the eighth spot of the Mountain West standings with two games remaining in the regular season.

Tim Duryea inherited a team capable of competing for a conference championship in his first season as head coach before arguably his best player quit the team.

Duryea has done a respectable job this season despite the frustrating losses. It can only go uphill from here.

USU will return 11 players from the current roster next season. Duryea’s ability to recruit quality players gives Aggie fans hope for next season and beyond.

Koby McEwen, an ESPN Top 100 recruit from Wasatch Academy, should make an immediate impact on the court next season. McEwen was reportedly given offers from Baylor, Wake Forest and Georgia Tech. He is widely considered as the second best recruit from Utah behind Frank Jackson of Lone Peak who will be attending Duke.

If Duryea can regularly sign players of McEwen’s caliber, USU could quickly become a consistent contender in the Mountain West.

Next season will be a different story.

— bfordhamsix@gmail.com

Twitter: @bfordham6