Always keep this in mind

We all get excited when 'our' team lands this or that recruit and that's only natural. This uplift takes place even though we have no idea or capability of truly determining the future and thus how a certain player will turn out.

Never was this better exemplified than in the following (we're using this to prove our point -- not to knock USU recruiitng as this happens at every school, even the Duke and North Carolina's).

Men's Basketball Announces Fall Signing Class
Deremy Geiger, Rich Sirju, Jordan Stone and Bryce Webster have all signed NLI's to play at USU
Dec. 12, 2007

LOGAN, Utah - Utah State head men's basketball coach Stew Morrill announced Wednesday four players who have signed National Letters of Intent to compete for the Aggies. Among the group are two junior college transfers in Rich Sirju and Bryce Webster, and two high school standouts in Deremy Geiger and Jordan Stone.

Geiger, Sirju and Webster will all enroll at USU for the Fall 2008 semester, while Stone plans to serve a two-year LDS Church Mission following high school and will not compete for the Aggies until the 2010-11 season.

"This group meets the needs that our program has coming up next season with the graduation of three seniors," said Morrill. "Deremy and Rich give us two quality guards that can shoot the ball to go along with our returning nucleus. Bryce gives us another quality post player with Division I experience, and we are excited about the progress Jordan has made in high school and we have no doubt he will be a tremendous asset to Utah State after returning from his mission."

"All of these student-athletes are very strong academically and all possess the high character that we demand from our players. We as a coaching staff are very excited about the potential of this group and are confident they will be positive influences both on and off the court during their Aggie careers."

Geiger, a 5-10, 165-pound point guard, is currently a senior at Canyon Springs High School in Las Vegas, Nev., and is averaging 18.6 points, 5.0 assists and 3.0 steals through five games this year, while shooting 45.0 percent from the field and 83.0 percent from the free throw line. As a prep junior, Geiger averaged 15.6 points, 4.0 assists and 2.0 steals per game and earned first-team all-division and second-team all-region honors, as he helped Canyon Springs to a 32-3 record and a trip to the semifinals of the 4A state tournament.

"He's a tremendous basketball player who is very smart and understands the game," said Canyon Springs head coach Daryl Branham. Deremy is a gym rat who works hard every day in practice and is becoming more and more of a leader for our team. He is a person of high character and I think he will do very well at Utah State."

"During the recruiting process, Jordan was excited about the opportunity to play for one of the top coaches in the country in Stew Morrill and for one of the best programs in America with the success the Aggies have had over the years, and felt like there was only one choice for him and it was Utah State."

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. I think he is a great fit for Utah State because he possesses the character and commitment to academics that Coach Stew Morrill and his staff look for."

These particular realities broke down thusly:

* Deremy Geiger ended up transferring, playing for a junior college in Texas and now has signed with WAC rival Idaho.

* Rich Sirju lasted less than a season and transferred -- he is now at the University of West Alabama. Sirju scored 13.3 points per game last season.

* Bryce Webster didn't make it to Logan. He left the Minnesota program for Irvine Valley College (a southern CA community college), signed with Utah State but never arrived. Webster finally ended up at Cal State Fuillerton.

* Jordan Stone is coming off his LDS mission and the latest seems to be he'll play as a freshman for USU in the 2011-2012 season.

The best laid plans of mice and men...

A few more links and notes

Per the Juco Junction site, D.J. Wright has signed a letter-of-intent with a D-1 team. We don't have a subscription in order to access the full article so we're surmising that it's Louisiana Tech. Hey, bet the mortgage on it -- now there's phrase that has taken on new meaning the past few years. He is just what Coach Kerry Rupp needs since Kyle Gibson, Jamel Guyton and Magnum Rolle will be departing.

Jason Groves has a preview of the Aggie game against Fullerton, which is coming off a win against UCLA. This season is the time to play both UCLA and USC.

Speaking of Fullerton, 6-foot-10, 240 pounds Bryce Webster plays for the Titans. He's started both games this season and is playing just below 30 minutes a game. Webster is averaging 7.0 points per game (.636 from the floor) and 9.5 rebounds a contest. He signed with Utah State as part of the 2008 class but never played a game for the Aggies.

Bryce Webster resurfaces

Here's a 'Land of Ten Thousand Lakes' kid who played a year at Minnesota then left for a season at Irvine Valley JC in southern California and eventually signed with Utah State.

But something came up and he departed from college basketball before ever playing a game in Logan. It seems he remained at Irvine Valley.

Now, he appears to have popped up again, this time committed to Cal State Fullerton of the Big West Conference.

Ex-Gopher Bryce Webster to Ink with Fullerton
Chris Monter
October 30, 2008

Bryce Webster, a 6-9, 240-pound big man who attended St. Thomas Academy before signing with Minnesota, will sign with Cal Fullerton in the early signing period, according to sources close to the program. Webster was granted his request to be released from his scholarship last August by head coach Tubby Smith. Webster played last year at Irvine Valley CC and signed with Utah State in the fall...

Go here for the remainder and it doesn't appear any subscription is required.
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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.