Utah State is going to win the WAC again.
Is such a prediction brave? Hardly.
Reflecting a homer? Not unless the PTW address has changed. Wait, we'll stick our head out of our McMansion and check.....nope, still the same zip.
Our prognostication is based on what has taken place so far this season:
* Nate Bendall is back and working towards his steady self of last season
* Tai Wesley is shooting even better this season although Stew Morrill is still madly coding to program silly fouls out of Wesley's game
* Brockeith Pane isn't Jared Quayle (possessing very different skills) but Q wasn't Jaycee Carroll and it's all a big so what
* Brady Jardine is more effective this season
* Tyler Newbold is emerging from a very funky shooting slump
* Brian Green is still canning treys
* Pooh Williams remains a stalwart defensive contributor.
Plus, there's always The Spectrum factor which should never be discounted unless one proudly proclaims membership in the Foolhardy Party.
Also, the Aggies play the best 'D' among the nine teams which really factors into games on the road. Note: Hawaii currently leads the WAC at 37% shooting percentage defense with USU at 39%.
Stew Morrill's bunch is the steadiest of the WAC members, mentally the toughest and utilize a system that wears down opponents as the game goes on with its screen, screen, screen and then screen playbook. Opponents start cutting corners in order to evade contact and Utah State takes advantage.
As Jason Groves wrote in his recent blog entry, the Aggies won't out-athlete you (he put it much more eloquently than PTW) but track and field talents in and of themselves mean little in hoops, needing pairing with basketball skills and mental fortitude.
We will now reach for our Kevlar body suit.
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Folks, Utah State is going to win the WAC
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3 comments:
No need for Kevlar, Kevin. USU is the safe and smart pick. Any fan of other schools who take issue with that are not being honest. One needs only to look at last year and see they struggled worse the first part of the WAC but still ended up winning it by a nice cushion against far more experienced teams. The contenders were lost when AJ and Luke Babbitt went pro, or when NMSU lost Young and were hit by injuries. Some teams might hand them a loss or two but that probably will be it. One could argue there are three or four teams with more upside but they most likely won't be anywhere near that level this year.
The bold pick would be to choose who will finish second, which with the new tournament format will be important. Or to pick a team who could knock USU off come time in Vegas. These are more intriguing developements.
No need for Kevlar, except for maybe not having a space in the post below this one. North Carolina State is not playing Fresno tomorrow. ;-)
Kevin, I know it's not popular among WAC circles to doubt mighty Utah State. I just don't think this team is as untouchable as they were in the Gary Wilkinson and Carroll days. Although the rest of the league is not as good as it was then. It's hard to argue your logic that athletes don't always win basketball games. They do keep you in a game however and I think if you have a closer on your team (Adrian Oliver, Troy Gillenwater, Robert Arnold) the Utah State Aggies could find themselves on the losing end on more occasions than some predict this year. Or I could be way off. Wouldn't be the first time.
Kevin
You're right about the the Utags winning the WAC title. But they will still have to deal with New Mexico State in the WAC tournament. We all know that Southern Ags are tougher than the Logan bunch come early March.
Utah State could find itself in the NIT.
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