Utah State basketball: Aggies downplay their age advantage

BOISE — They may be older than dirt, but don't tell Utah State coach Stew Morrill that the Aggies have an advantage just because their birth certificates read like Methuselah's.

"Yes, way too much is being made of the age of our team," said Morrill. "Nothing was made of it until we got a lot of national pub (publicity) this year.

"Every team and every program has things that help them. We're not as athletic as some teams. We're not as big as some teams. We do have some older kids and that's a little niche for us, but everybody has their thing that helps their team."

Regardless of how many times a player has blown out the candles on a cake, college athletics have eligibility rules. It isn't as if Utah State has guys playing on the team for ten seasons.

"Our guys have still played the same number of years — just the fact that they interrupted it with two years of not bouncing a basketball some of them, not all of them, it may make them a little bit more mature, it doesn't necessarily help their basketball abilities," Morrill added. "What it does the most is help them deal with me, which isn't easy to do — just ask my wife."

Gary Wilkinson was named the WAC player of the year, and at 26 years of age, is the oldest player participating in the NCAA Tournament. He is not the only player 20-plus on the Aggies after several served LDS missions. But exactly how that age difference plays out on floor is anyone's guess.

"I don't know," said Wilkinson of if the Aggies' older age may help them. "It's just talk. I think there are older and younger guys in every profession and it's just something — I don't know if it's an advantage.

"I've had a lot more experience in my life, so that might play a part. It's what it is. I'm older than most guys, so maybe I have a little bit more 'old man strength' as some might say, but other than that I don't know if it's too much of an advantage."

LOGAN NORTH: One advantage the Aggies will certainly have — whether it turns out to benefit them or not remains to be seen — is in the home court.

"Well, that's the first thing I said when we got our NCAA pairings and knew we were going to Boise," said Morrill of being excited with the draw. "This is unbelievable for our fans to have a chance to get to this venue. It's four hours away, and the problem is getting enough tickets. I think we were assigned originally like 550 tickets and you will see more Aggies than 550.