Utah State basketball: Slow start but good year for Ags

Utah State basketball coach Stew Morrill and his team are nearly three weeks into life without All-American guard and all-time leading scorer Jaycee Carroll, and perhaps after just the first day, the challenge was delivered.

"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.

Behind them, the returner with the highest average is Tyler Newbold (5.4).

"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.