Utah State basketball: Slow start but good year for Ags
"You don't replace Jaycee Carroll with one player. We've got to have balance like some of our other teams have had," Morrill said. "We've got to have everybody improve their game and step up if we're going to be competitive, and I mean just competitive to start with."
The Aggies (24-11, 12-4) averaged 72.9 points per game, and Carroll, who scored 22.4 points, was 31 percent of the Aggies offense.
That 31 percent is now going to have to be absorbed in the remaining group.
"We've got to have some newcomers come through. We've got to have the guys returning have a great offseason and improve themselves and take on larger roles," Morrill said. "But if we're going to be a good basketball team, I think we will have to have real good balance."
Carroll notwithstanding, the Aggies essentially had three players score at or near double figures: Gary Wilkinson (13.3) and Tai Wesley (9.9), who'll both return, and Stephen DuCharme (9.4), who graduated.
"We've had teams where we've had four or five guys near double figures and that's what this team will need to do," Morrill said.
This means Pooh Williams, Desmond Stephens, Modou Niang, DeUndrae Spraggins, Matt Formisano and redshirt Jaxon Myaer will have to step up their games along with newcomers Rich Sirju, Deremy Geiger, Brady Jardine, Jared Quayle, Jordan Stone and Bryce Webster.
The Aggies, however, couldn't have had a better year than last year to begin building a new foundation without Carroll, who set 10 new school records.
Utah State won 23 games or more for the ninth straight year, went to postseason for the ninth straight year and won a share of its first-ever Western Athletic Conference championship.
"The nature of what we have created at Utah State is that there are very high expectations and there are always those who are going to be disappointed," Morrill said. "Our aspirations are always to compete in the NCAA tournament, but with that being said, those that want to be disappointed can be disappointed, but I'm not one of them."
The Aggies lost 61-57 to Illinois State in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament, and seeing that the Aggies ended up there after their miserable 5-5 start to their season is a feat in and of itself.
The insertion of freshmen Tai Wesley and Tyler Newbold into the starting lineup, and moving Stephen DuCharme to the bench for more stabilization there, helped the Aggies take off. They won 10 straight games and 13 of their next 14 games, and established themselves as a Western Athletic Conference contender.
"(I knew) there were going to be some bumps along the way and certainly there were," said Morrill, who surpassed E. Lowell Romney for all-time wins in Utah State history with a home win over Boise State on Jan. 17.
"We were fortunate to get on a little bit of a roll and I surely didn't anticipate that we would be counting as strong on two freshmen starting," he said.
Again, the Aggies hopes of postseason were in peril when they dropped three straight road games at Nevada, Hawaii (after leading by 14 with less that 10 minutes to go) and San Jose State, but the Aggies rallied and reeled off three straight wins over Fresno State, Boise State and Idaho to earn their share of the Western Athletic Conference crown and earn the No. 1 seed for the WAC tournament.
"The share of the WAC championship has to be the crowning moment of the year," Morrill said.
The Aggies, whose 24 wins was the fifth-most in school history, advanced to the semifinals of the conference tournament before losing to eventual champion Boise State.
"We came a long ways from when we were 5-5," Morrill said. "I look back and feel like this group did a really nice job."
Utah State basketball 2007-08 year review
FINAL RECORD: 24-11, 12-4 WAC
POSTSEASON: In their ninth straight postseason appearance, the Aggies lost 61-57 to Illinois State in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament. Two consecutive turnovers down the stretch doomed the Aggies.
STARTERS LOST: Two-time All-American guard Jaycee Carroll (22.4 points), PG Kris Clark (5.6 points, 6.4 assists), the Aggies' single season assists leader, and sixth-man Stephen DuCharme (9.4 points, 5.0 rebounds).
Starters returning: Gary Wilkinson (13.3, 7.0), Tai Wesley (9.9, 4.5) and Tyler Newbold (5.4, 2.5).
SEASON HIGHLIGHTS: After inserting freshmen Newbold and Wesley into the starting lineup, the Aggies won 10 straight and 13 of their next 14. Also, the Aggies beat Fresno State, Boise State and Idaho in the final week to lock up a share of the WAC title and the No. 1 seed for the conference tournament. ... Carroll became the all-time leading scorer, and Stew Morrill became the all-time winningest coach in school history
SEASON LOWLIGHTS: The Aggies were 5-5 after their first 10 games ... USU suffered a 30-point loss to New Mexico State, a game in which four players missed due to suspensions.
E-mail: jhinton@desnews.com
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