Aggie Basketball looking up, Football too!

Calendar October 31, 2009 | Posted by AggieNoise

Last night the Aggie men’s basketball team met and exceeded my expectations; tonight, the Aggie football team showed up just as I had predicted but failed to pull out the win. A busy week for Aggie sports provided a lot of excitement and entertainment for die-hard fans like me. It also provided ample new content to write about while I wait to hand out candy to nonexistent trick-or-treaters.

Football

The Aggies once again proved that they can play with anyone. The defense was very effective in limiting the damage of the nation’s leading rusher Ryan Mathews, well, for the first three quarters at least. The offense marched down the field time and again, but struggled to capitalize in the red-zone. Andersen again seems to lack confidence in the offensive line to get a push in 4th and short situations electing to use the leg of Peter Caldwell to give the Aggies better field position.

Ultimately, my opinion is the same with this team. We are well coached. We always have a good game plan. We always start off well. The team will never give up, but need to get bigger and stronger to be able to finish teams off. In order to win the offense will have to outscore the other team in the second half. For the offense to produce in the second half, Borel will need to be more effective at hitting his second, third, or fourth option in the plays. More experience will get us there. Borel is the right guy, and he shows it with a 100% effort every play. Next year will be our year.

Basketball

This year might be our year. We are deep. We have experience. We have size. We are skilled. We are athletic. These five guys surprised me last night:

Jared Quayle looked a full step faster than he did last season. He ran circles around the opposing point guard all night long. He didn’t assert himself offensively, but we all know the ability is there. His line: 9 points on 3 of 6 shooting including a pair of threes, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 0 turnovers, and 4 steals in 23 minutes of play.

Preston Medlin can score the basketball. He demonstrated a well rounded offensive attack by knocking down spot up jumpers, pull up jumpers, and a drive to the basket. The best part is his ability to find shots within the system. Preston could earn quality minutes this year. His line: 12 points on 5 of 6 shooting with a three, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 turnover in 22 minutes of play.

Tyrone White looks like a basketball player. At 6′ 6″ he is long and surprisingly athletic. He handles the ball well and can take it to the bucket. He demonstrated an ability to knock down the open three pointer, as well as the ability to defend well. He looked surprisingly mature and composed on the court last night. His line: 11 points on 3 of 6 shooting including a whopping 3 from long range, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 turnover in 21 minutes of play.

Brady Jardine is coming along well. It is rare that the most athletic player on your team is a 6′ 8″ post player but Jardine proved this to be true with a tomahawk dunk on a fast break in the first half. He goal tended a shot that was still above the box. The most impressive plays by Jardine, though, were the ones where he exhibited patience and control. His athleticism has it’s advantages at the right time, but he showed that he has been working on the fundamentals too. His line: 4 points on 2 of 4 shooting, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 turnovers, 2 blocks, 2 steals in only 13 minutes of play.

Nate Bendall is stronger than Gary Wilkinson which allows him to be better at converting around the basket. He is a strong rebounder. He can block shots. He has great hands. He can hit free-throws. He plays well within the system. Does this guy have any limitations? Well, he hasn’t shown an ability to shoot from the outside. Fortunately, Tai Wesley did last night. These two are going to enjoy playing alongside each other for the next two years. Nate’s line: 17 points on 7 of 7 shooting and 3 of 3 free-throws, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block, 1 steal in only 17 minutes of play.

Keep in mind that the competition will get much better in the coming weeks. I think these guys are looking forward to showing what they can do against quality opponents. For now my feeling is that we are going to have a good, very good, Utah State basketball team.

Aggie Noise

Official USU website: Aggie Men Roll To 85-51 Exhibition Win Against Northwest Nazarene and Aggies Nipped By Bulldogs, 31-27, Saturday

Cache Valley Daily: Fresno State rallies past Utah State 31-27 and USU opens season with big win over Northwest Nazarene (with photo gallery)

Herald Journal: Ags throttle NNU

Desret News: Utah State football: Aggies let another one slip away and Utah State basketball: Aggies cruise to exhibition win

Aggieville: exhibition report

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