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USU fan and blogger Scott Ficklin is not a happy camper. But what we found most interesting in his post was about exhibiting the will to compete (or not) which also involves undertaking the short and long term preparation necessary to succeed both individually and as a team.

We see two different items here:

1) being a leader, vocally or by a display of actions

2) personal improvement

For most players, it's not as aspect of their personalities or within their comfort level to vocalize to teammates with fiery exhortations, "at-a-boys," or getting on someone's case, so to speak. We aren't familiar enough with the Aggie roster to know who falls into what category.

But someone can also 'lead' through his actions if he is perceived as having earned the role of the 'chief'' on the court -- but it can't be by way of default or simply seniority. It's helpful but not necessary if the point plays this role since he handles the ball most of the time and sets a tone.
But there is nothing preventing a forward and/or center from doing this.

Maybe this aspect is indeed missing on the 2009-2010 Aggies. We didn't perceive Jared Quayle as a USU major domo last season even though he enjoyed quite the successful transition from junior college. The question is begged: can someone be a one-year leader? We don't know.

But there is also this difference from last year. Gary Wilkinson is 6-foot-10 and provided a substantial and fairly easy target to get the ball to. He was comfortable in this role and, at 27, far more mature than most teammates or opponents. Nate Bendall is 6-foot-9 and in his initial year -- it would be too much to expect him to step into the position as a team leader.

Plus, Tai Wesley is probably 6-foot-6 on his longest days, meaning he is not nearly as large or easy a target as Wilkinson, thus making it harder for him to 'lead' by example during and at the end of games.

Wesley has also struggled at times with playing 'smart' ball and not letting his emotions run his actions. Someone in the midst of that transition is not a likely candidate for a leadership role.

Then there is personal improvement, a player bugaboo that we witness far too often. There are very few players who will put in the time and effort -- doing what needs to be done -- in order to his upgrade mental and physical basketball talents. A lot of kids spend time in gyms but have no master plan on what needs to be accomplished and how to do it. Scrimmaging is okay if someone is employing some new techniques and such -- otherwise, it's simply wasted time. A lot can be done even without a basketball in sight but how many kids get this and are willing to undertake such work?

Anyway, we have rambled long enough.

Here's Ficklin's article:

The Dream Team
Scott Ficklin
TrueBlueA
Sunday, 03 January

Last year was a "fairytale season" for the Aggies. 30 wins and only 5 losses.

That fairytale has turned into a slow, unathletic version of "The Wizard of Oz" where the Aggies become the Tin Man, limping through the schedule in search of some heart at the end of some LSD induced metaphor for the gold standard. Meanwhile, they throw enough bricks up at the basket to build a road from here to wherever they think they're going (and if that isn't the NIT, they're dreaming). Playing with heart was sooooo last year.

Stats tell the story of games. I don't care. I'm not going to go into the statistics from tonight's loss to the other Aggies. They don't tell the story about this team. Where is the effort? There are flashes of grit. Wesley wills the Aggies along at points. Newbold goes through slumps that even Shaq's free throws have never seen, but he always tries his hardest anyway. The rest of the team? I've got nothing. No, they've got nothing...

Go here for the remainder.