Brayden Bell departs

Boy, we give Brayden Bell the stink eye of sorts (just kidding) and then he decides to depart Utah State for what will probably be a D-2 school due to not wanting to sit out yet another season.

Bell quits Utah State
Shawn Harrison
Logan Herald Journal
December 30, 2007

When the Aggie men’s basketball team took the court Saturday night, there was one less player with the Aggies.

That’s because sophomore Brayden Bell decided to call it a career — at least at Utah State. The 6-foot-9 center from Brighton informed Aggie head coach Stew Morrill after the Christmas break.

“Brayden informed us during the break that he had decided not to return,” Morrill said. “I’m not going to comment on all the particular circumstances regarding Brayden’s decision. It’s probably safe to say most of the time in these situations, playing time is the factor. That’s all I’m going to say.”

After redshirting last season with the Aggies, he had seen action in seven games this year. When he did see playing time, he averaged 6.3 minutes, 1.7 points and 1.6 rebounds a game. He was shooting 27.8 percent from the field and 66.7 percent at the free-throw line...

Go here for the remainder.

Brayden Bell MIA

Since we whispered the praises of Utah State in our previous post, here's one that isn't so positive.

Again, we want to stress that WE missed on this one. In a sense, it has nothing to do with Bell -- he didn't announce to the world how good and productive he was going to be right away. No, that's what we did, it was both our expectation and prediction. That's one difference we wish to stress -- his inability to perform well makes US look the fool and we readily admit the egg is all over OUR face. But on too many sites and message boards (especially the latter), this entire post would have been a rip job on Bell, chock full of derogatory drivel and self-righteous bleatings in a not-so-veiled attempt to hide the fact the author or authors got it wrong.

Brayden Bell

We flat out missed on this one -- at least for this season.

Now we feel no need to perform any Bell-bashing and such is not the intent of this post. However, we fully expected Bell to be productively sharing time with newcomer Gary Wilkinson as the Utah State center tandem, or even alongside one another but only Wilkinson has come through so far.

For those of you unfamiliar with Brayden Bell, at 6-9 250 he went from the Utah prep ranks to Ohio State. Playing little -- as expected for most freshmen entering the ranks of the BIg 10 -- he saw action in just seven games, averaging 1.4 points and 2.3 rebounds per game. With Greg Oden looming on the horizon, Bell knew his immediate situation would not become better so he returned home.

After redshirting last year but still practicing and learning both Stew Morrill's system and expectations, here are Bell's numbers to date:

*** he has played in but seven of the Aggies 14 games to date and been on the court for just 44 minutes total.

In fact, Bell's lack of production led to Coach Morrill's decision to play freshman Modou Niang, 6-9 240, a raw talent who had been expected to redshirt this season.

Granted, Bell is a sophomore in athletic eligibility and certainly has the time ahead of him to make strides. It's not like his college basketball career is over.

But Morrill also obtained some additional insurance during the November signing period in center Bryce Webster. From the Utah State news release on Webster:

"...Webster, a 6-9, 240-pound center, is currently a sophomore at Irvine Valley Community College in Irvine, Calif., and is averaging 11.9 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game while shooting 60.3 percent from the field. As a college freshman, Webster started seven games and played in 28 at the University of Minnesota and averaged 1.7 points and 1.2 rebounds.

As a prep senior at St. Thomas Academy in Minneapolis, Webster earned first-team all-state honors as both a junior and senior and was named the Minneapolis Star Tribune Metro Player of the year in 2006 as he averaged 21.6 points, 11.5 rebounds and 3.5 blocks per game en route to being ranked the 18th-best center in the country by scout.com, and the 83rd-best player in the country by prepstars.com.

"Bryce is a humble and hard-working individual who wants to get better," said Irvine Valley head coach Jerry Hernandez. "He is a big, strong and active player who is mobile and a very good defender..."

Webster is a work in progress himself but also one who could very well put another obstacle in front of Bell and his efforts to get some playing time. or maybe the presence of Webster will provide further incentive for Bell.

Bryce Webster commits to Utah State

Stew Morrill is definitely serious about never having to play with an undersized center in the paint.

Along with JC transfer Gary Wilkinson and Ohio State transfer Brayden Bell and with Modu Niang, an African kid by way of Japan in reserve, Morrill has landed another big boy.

6-9 240 Bryce Webster, formerly at Minnesota and playing this year in California at Irvine Valley Junior College, has agreed to come to Logan next season.

Webster was a much gloried player as a Minnesota prepster but failed to make much of a dent last season and asked for his release from incoming Coach Tubby Smith.

Here's a link to an article about this from Martin Renzhofer of the Salt Lake City Tribune.

A preview of Utah State men's basketball 2007-2008

Hasn't shooting guard Jaycee Carroll been attached at the hip to Stew Morrill for about a decade now? Seriously, Carroll is 24 but will be entering his final Western Athletic Conference (WAC) go-around in the 2007-2008 season. Look for him to also finally receive the conference most valuable player award.

Carroll was first in the WAC and 10th in the nation scoring with 21.3 ppg., and first in the WAC and 12th in the nation in free throw shooting at 88.8%. He also led the league in three-point shooting at 43%, was fifth in overall shooting at 52%, and was 12th in the league in rebounding with 6.3 boards per game.

But it won't be Carroll and a decent group of role players representing the Aggies in the upcoming season--as it was in 2006-2007. Under-sized Stephen DuCharme, at maybe 6-7, was the man patrolling the middle for Utah State last year and he'll be moving to power forward.

Morrill now will have three large, strong 'bigs' at his disposal in Gary Wilkinson, Brayden Bell and Modu Niang.

Wilkinson is a 6-8 240 stud down low and may very well find himself a first-team All-WAC selection at season's end. He's strong and relentless in the paint and will be at the free throw line 10-12 times a game.The Utah native Bell is a bounceback transfer from Ohio State. At 6-9 240, he's still raw but will be another banger in the paint. Bell also surprisngly displays nice touch and range on his shot but don't expect Morrill to be calling his number for 20-foot jumpers.

Niang is a Senegal native who somehow ended up in Japan for high school. He'll probably be redshirted unless a frontcourt injury bug hits the Aggies.

Granted, the underrated and steady graduated duo of small forward Chaz Spicer and wing Durrall Peterson will be missed but an offense refocused on frontcourt scoring, combined with Carroll's offensive firepower, just needs other role players to step up.

Here's Utah State's roster for next season as returnees and what they offer:

Nick Hammer 6-6 205 guard senior. An effective spot up, catch-and-shoot marksmen.

Kris Clark 6-2 180 guard senior.146 assists last season --- best in the WAC --- versus 66 turnovers, he stumbled a bit at the point early in the season but his scoring and passing picked up as the year progressed.

Jaycee Carroll 6-2 175 guard senior. What more can be said about Carroll?

Brayden Bell 6-9 240 center sophomore. Initially, Bell will probably be Wilkinson's backup.

Stephen DuCharme 6-7 230 forward senior. 10.2 ppg. 5.1 rpg. 54% from the floor last season, he actually has decent range on his shot and should find himself playing out of the paint more than in it.

Here are two signees who just completed their LDS missions and are returning to the team. Both will need to first get their basketball 'legs' back:

Tai Wesley 6-6 230 forward freshman. Back from LDS mission, was Mr. Basketball in Utah two years ago, initially a role player, is smart, tough and tenacious.

Tyler Newbold 6-4 190 shooting guard freshman. Back from LDS mission, he's a very good leaper and outside shooter.

Here's the new Utah State signees:

Gary Wilkinson -- 6-9, 240 center/power forward Salt Lake Community College junior college A well-deserved junior college All-American last season, Wilkinson averaged 18.5 points and 8.1 rebounds per game, shooting 60% from the field and 74% from the foul line. He ranked third in the Scenic West Athletic Conference (SWAC) and 38th in the nation in scoring, and was first in the conference in rebounding

Deundrae Spraggins -- 6-3, 180 guard/forward Paris Junior College. Possibly a Durrall Peterson look and play-alike, Spraggins averaged 11.3 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.0 assists a contest, shooting 52.8% from the field, 44.4% from three-point range, and 84% from the free throw line -- look for Morrill to turn to Spraggins early on.

Desmond Stephens -- 5-9, 150 guard Southeastern Illinois Junior College. Stephens is an extremely quick, good-shooting backcourter. He averaged 17.3 points, 4.1 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 2.2 steals per game, while shooting 50.5% from the field, 51.6% from three-point range, and 75% from the free throw line Stephens will help when starting point Kris Clark is matched up against a smaller, quicker opponent.

Modu Niang -- 6-9 235 center high school, Japan. Apparently, very few people have actually seen Niang play but he's described as athletic despite his size and bulk.

Pooh Williams -- 6-5 190 wing/shooting guard freshman high school Washington. An excellent shooter, he shot 41% on 3's in high school, 58% overall (but is probably a redshirt candidate.

Jaxon Myaer ---5-9 170 high school, Utah. A tough little guy who will walk-on and probably redshirt his first season.

Morrill has led the Aggies to eight straight 23-win seasons (23-12 last year) and eight straight postseason appearances (5 NCAA, 3 NIT). Don't expect this to change now. Granted, a number of new players need to be worked into the rotation but the backcourt is pretty much set and the frontcourt has very solid candidates who should be able to step in and help out immediately.

As for a starting five, it will be Jaycee Carroll and Kris Clark in the backcourt, Gary Wilkinson in the middle, and probably Stephen DuCharme and newcomer Deundrae Spraggins.

We have to go with the Utah State Aggies as the team to beat in 2007-2008. Morrill played NMSU very close last season and the Logan-ites have amply added talent.