USU basketball: Carroll is WAC top player

When expectations are high, Utah State's Jaycee Carroll rises to the occasion.

Last October, the media and the league's coaches tabbed the 6-foot-2 inch senior as the Western Athletic Conference Preseason Player of the Year, and at the same time, the Aggies were picked by some to win the league.

Carroll and the Aggies lived up to both.

One day after leading the Aggies to their first-ever WAC Championship with a 78-58 victory over Idaho, Carroll was named WAC Player of the Year.

"For sure I felt some pressure to live up to those expectations," Carroll said Sunday afternoon. "It is a breath of fresh air to know you're able to accomplish things that people saw that you could and you were able to be consistent throughout the whole season and to be able to help your team win."

Despite his impressive numbers — 24.5 points and 6.3 rebounds in league games — the battle for player of the year was still in the air between Carroll, Boise State's Reggie Larry, Nevada's Marcelus Kemp and New Mexico State's Justin Hawkins heading into the final week of the season.

All four players' teams were tied for first place in the league, and generally, the player of the year comes from the first-place team.

The Aggies beat Fresno State last Monday, behind 33 from Carroll, and then they beat Boise State and Idaho (he had 23 in each) to wrap up a share of the league crown and the No. 1 seed in the WAC Tournament in Las Cruces, N.M.

"We are extremely delighted about Jaycee receiving player-of-the-year honors, and it is well deserved," Utah State coach Stew Morrill said. "Certainly his statistics back up the type of remarkable season that he had. Being picked to be the player of the year (in the preseason) is one thing, but to actually being player of the year is a tremendous accomplishment."

Carroll is joined on the first team with Larry, Fresno State's Kevin Bell, Kemp and Hawkins.

"We were able to accomplish things as a team that allowed me to receive this award and Gary (Wilkinson, WAC second-team) as well," Carroll said.

Receiving the award was a completion of a goal he set long ago.