What's in store for the Aggies?

While some will be dressing up in their scariest outfits for Halloween, members of the USU men’s basketball team will suit up for the first time of the year Friday in the Spectrum, to take on Northwest Nazarene.
The Aggies are coming off a very successful season, sharing first place in the WAC (Western Athletic Conference) for the first time ever and almost making it to the NCAA tournament to close out the year.
The year saw many remarkable feats as head coach Stew Morrill became the winningest coach in Utah State history, and Jaycee Carroll became the all time leading scorer. Carroll has since graduated and moved on to play professional ball in Italy. So how will the Aggies fill his void?
“The Carroll void will be filled by the team,” said Sammy Hislop of the Statesman. “They don't have anybody that can score 24 points every night like Carroll did, so they're hoping for more balance. I think they're still solid at both guard spots with Tyler Newbold and Jaxon Myaer/Jared Quayle.”
It’s obvious that the team will sport a new look this year and won’t have the luxury of depending on Carroll to score 24 a game as they did last year. With the new year it brings out new stars. Center and lone senior Gary Wilkinson has been named a preseason All American and preseason WAC Player of the Year, looks to be a stand out for the team to rely on for his leadership.
Utah State will return three starters this year in Tia Wesley, Tyler Newbold, and Wilkinson, and also bring back key reserves Pooh Williams, Matt Formisano, and Modou Niang. In the preseason polls the Aggies are predicted to take second overall by the media and coaches. Hislop states, “I would agree with that, but wouldn't be surprised if the Aggies ended up winning the regular season (mainly because of the home-court advantage the Spectrum gives them).” Last year the Aggies were 17-0 at home in the Spectrum. They look to keep their unblemished mark this year as well.
“This year’s team will definitely be more balanced scoring wise. No one player on this team will average what Jaycee did. With that being said, if USU has four or five guys averaging 10-11 points per game, they will be much harder to guard then they were in the past.” said Doug Hoffman, asst. AD of Media Relations.
In the past couple of seasons opposing teams could zero in on Carroll in hopes of shutting down the Aggie offense, this year hopes to prove that they don’t have to rely on one person to carry the scoring load and work together as a team. “We have a lot of inexperience defensively, but we have guys who want to work hard and do what coach wants them to do." said Wilkinson.
After playing Northwest Nazarene Friday, the Aggies host Concordia University on the 8th of Nov. and then open the regular season against Montana State – Northern Friday the 14th in the Spectrum.