Utah St. basketball: Aggies again in top poll position

Win an average of 25 games per season for more than a decade and people take notice. Return four starters from a team that cruised to a conference championship and a 30-5 record and people might expect similar results.

And that's why, when the Western Athletic Conference men's basketball preseason polls were released Tuesday, Utah State was exactly where it left off last season — on top.

Of course, Utah State coach Stew Morrill downplayed the significance of the polls.

"I can't ever remember where preseason predictions have helped us win any games," Morrill said. "These preseason polls are more a reflection on your past and what happened last year, and we haven't done anything yet this season."

Typically, though, Utah State's future has reflected its past. And with Jared Quayle and Tai Wesley headlining a veteran team, the Aggies have little reason to believe they won't again contend for the conference title.

"We all have pressures in Division I athletics and if you have a good program you are trying to stay at a high level," Morrill admitted. "Pressure is something we have gotten used to at Utah State and have learned to live with."

Utah State received every available first-place vote in the coaches poll. Morrill, who is not allowed to vote for his own team, gave Nevada his vote.

The Wolf Pack, with a pair of preseason all-conference selections in Luke Babbitt (preseason player of the year) and Armon Johnson, landed in second in the coaches poll, followed by New Mexico State and Idaho.

In the media poll, USU received 15 first-place votes, while Nevada picked up 12. NMSU got six and San Jose State received one. The ballots were close, with the Aggies getting 273 total points and Nevada just behind at 269.

"This is our fifth year in the WAC ... and I think this is as deep as it's been," Morrill said. "It's going to be a fight."

Quayle, a 6-foot-2 senior point guard, was named to the first team by both the media and coaches. And Wesley, a 6-7 junior forward, was a second-team selection by the coaches.

Despite losing WAC player of the year Gary Wilkinson, Utah State — much like it did when losing all-WAC players Jaycee Carroll, Nate Harris, Spencer Nelson and others — has the tools in place to survive the rebuilding. Wesley is a double-digit scorer on the post, and newcomer Nate Bendall was a star player at SLCC when the Bruins won the national junior college title last year.