Utah State basketball and Utah Jazz face similar seasons
“We’ve had to burn the ships behind us,” said Jazz operating chief and president officer Randy Rigby. “These players have earned, to me, the time—this is their time now. And I think they will prove up that they’re worthy of the merit.”
Truer words have not been spoken about the Jazz as they have had disappointing seasons these past couple of years. But, for the campus of Utah State University these words seem to take on a newfound meaning. The Aggies have also had a hard time playing up to expectations these past couple of seasons, as history in the Spectrum and in the Aggie basketball program points out. Cries ring out in the minds of all basketball fans, Jazz and Aggie alike, that the teams should be better.
One might say that the Jazz and the Aggies are in very similar positions at the moment. Starting with the new and young atmosphere of both teams, there is definitely a lot of potential energy radiating from these squads. The Jazz have an average experience of about two-and-a-half seasons in the NBA. Acquiring five free agents as well as getting two first-round draft picks that have had a lot of hype about them, but even more so about their potential.
That is the spirit the Jazz are playing with, untapped potential just waiting to break out of the bottom of the NBA. Most of their experience comes from two of their recently acquired free agents; Dahntay Jones and Steve Novak, who combine for 18 years of professional experience in the NBA, which is almost half of the teams total experience. The leaders of the Jazz, Gordon Hayward and Derrick Favors, both have just four years of experience in the NBA apiece. The Jazz can definitely be considered young bloods and have a lot to prove.
This is precisely what the Aggies are experiencing at this time under unwanted circumstances in the basketball program. On the roster there are six freshmen, two of them being red-shirted this season. There are only two experienced seniors to lead the charge; Sean Harris and Grayson Moore. To add some much needed maturity to the team, USU has received two transfers, Darrius Perkins and Chris Smith, who are both juniors.
Due to five seniors graduating last season, as well as four other players transferring to other schools, there was a great crevice left in the Aggie roster. With these circumstances, the Aggie recruiting staff has had a nightmare on their hands, and they handled it professionally with the new incoming freshman and transfers that the Aggies received.
There are high hopes for the future, and although it may not come as soon as we all hope for, there is definitely light on the horizon for the boys in the Spectrum. This will be a rebuilding year for basketball in Utah, both on the professional level as well as the collegiate level. Although the Aggies did not finish as awfully as previously thought, USU finished with the most wins out of any team for their first season joining the Mountain West Conference. The future is bright.
As the famous Charles Barkley always says on ESPN, “My boys, the Jazz, are really going to surprise some people this year.” That is the optimism needed for this season and those to come for Aggies and Jazz fans alike.
Twitter: @crowtherwade