Utah State basketball: Idaho's coach Verlin is familiar with Morrill

LOGAN — Call it one of the unpleasant side effects of success.

Utah State has had sustained success for the past decade and, as a result, its basketball coaches have been in demand. Stew Morrill, who has a lofty 249-87 record coaching the Aggies, hasn't seriously flirted with the idea of leaving Logan since he arrived 10 seasons ago.

His assistants, however, have become hot commodities and one — Don Verlin — is making his first visit to the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum since leaving Morrill's side last spring. Verlin's Idaho Vandals will help Utah State usher in the new year and the WAC season tonight with a 7 p.m. tipoff.

"We're going to have our hands full with Idaho," Morrill said. "They're going to be well prepared and they're playing with a lot of confidence." Verlin spent 10 seasons with Morrill at Utah State and another five as his understudy at Colorado State. To say he knows Morrill's coaching tendencies might be a bit of an understatement.

And all that time learning from the all-time leader in Aggie basketball victories has paid some early dividends. The Vandals, at the bottom of the WAC just last season, are enjoying a 7-7 record thus far and picked up a 78-73 upset at Nevada on Saturday.

But if there is one thing Verlin is familiar with, it's the difficulty his team will have in the Spectrum where Utah State has won 25 games in a row. USU is 150-12 at home since Morrill took over the program.

The Aggies will use a newly balanced attack with Gary Wilkinson (17.1 points, 8.2 rebounds per game) and Tai Wesley (12.8, 6.1) holding down the posts while Jared Quayle (12.0, 5.8, 3.1 assists) and Tyler Newbold (10.5, 4.2) man the wing with Pooh Williams also coming on strong in recent games.

Idaho, which will be closing out a three-game, five-day road trip, is led by the guardline of Mac Hopson (16.3 points, 5.1 rebounds, 6.1 assists) and Kashif Watson (10.3, 3.6).

USU's Newbold and Williams have been asked to be defensive stoppers and have come up big in recent games and will likely draw the task of slowing Hopson and Watson down.

As a team, Idaho is shooting 47 percent from the floor and has a stiff defense that allows only 66.4 points per game and 42.7 percent shooting. The Vandals will try to slow an Aggie offense averaging 75.7 points and 52.3 percent shooting.

The Aggies will wrap up a 5-game homestand and make their first WAC road trip of the season this weekend at Louisiana Tech and New Mexico State.

Aggies on the air

Utah State (12-1, 0-0 WAC) vs. Idaho (7-7, 1-0)
Smith Spectrum, Logan
Tonight, 7 p.m.
TV: none Radio: 1230 AM, 610 AM, 95.9 FM

E-mail: jeborn@desnews.com