Outlook Outlook

QUICK FACTS QUICK FACTS OUTLOOK OUTLOOK AGGIE BIOS COACHES OPPONENTS AGGIE BIOS COACHES OPPONENTS SEASON REVIEW SEASON REVIEW RECORDS UNIVERSITY RECORDS UNIVERSITY OUTLOOK 13 STRAIGHT 21-WIN SEASONS • 13 STRAIGHT POSTSEASONS 1919 13 STRAIGHT 21-WIN SEASONS • 13 STRAIGHT POSTSEASONS AGGIE OUTLOOK AGGIES ENTER 2012-13 SEASON WITH SEVERAL UNKNOWNS ““I am excited about our team because it is always fun to start a new season and to look at the potential. I told our players in a meeting this year that we have a chance. I will be the first to admit that we have a chance, but that is what we have right now. It’s not like when we had been to the NCAA twice in a row and we had pretty much everybody back. Then the expectations that are out there are justified. The expectations that are out there right now are just Utah State. It is just the nature of 13 straight postseasons and lots of championships and 20 game winners and all of that. So, that is why the expectations are always what they are because of the past and the tradition of this basketball program while I have been here and long before I got here. That goes without saying and is something that is good. A lot of people would like to have what we have, so we are appreciative of that. That is where the expectations come from, just the nature of the beast.” --- USU head coach Stew Morrill Mathematicians, psychologists, physicists and other scientists work One of the unknowns that Morrill won’t have to worry about is vet- with and try to figure out the unknown. Utah State men’s basketball eran leadership and talent, as among the returning starters is junior head coach Stew Morrill can be added to that group as he enters guard Preston Medlin and senior forward Kyisean Reed, who both the season with several unknowns, including personnel on the Aggies’ earned honors last year and are expected to have good years. roster, as well as dealing with everything that comes with USU’s eighth “Preston Medlin was a first-team all-league player last year and and final season in the Western Athletic Conference, which includes we’re fortunate to have him back, and Kyisean Reed was on the all- five teams that are new to the conference and bring with them all newcomer team and had a solid first year.” sorts of unknowns. For the 13th straight season, USU had at least one player earn first- “It is a little bit of an odd situation for us. We came to the WAC from team all-league honors as Medlin was named to the WAC’s first team the Big West and this is our eighth and final year in the WAC before we in 2012, marking just the second time in school history that a sopho- move to the Mountain West next year. In all the years I’ve coached, this more earned first-team all-conference honors along with Nate Harris is as unusual situation as you’ll find. There’s all kinds of teams coming in (2004). Reed was named to the league’s all-newcomer team, and that we’re unfamiliar with and just as you’re figuring some out, you’re is the Aggies’ lone senior this season and is expected to have a big going to leave. There are a lot of new teams in the league that we don’t year, along with several of USU’s newcomers. know much about,” said Morrill, who enters his 15th season at the helm “We’ve got some guys that were sitting out that we’ve got some of the Aggies’ program and his 27th overall season as a head coach. high hopes for. Our fortunes in the league will be based a lot on how “We have been fortunate to win four WAC Championships during our it all meshes and what all these new guys are able to get done and short time in the conference. We are looking forward to the Mountain how the veterans are able to improve. It is probably one of the most West because it is a very challenging league, but we’ll also have some unknown years I’ve had here at Utah State. We’ve had some years nostalgia about leaving the WAC. The conference has been very good where we weren’t sure what we had and this is certainly one of those to our basketball program and we’re going to feel sad because we’ve years and is in that category; we’re kind of an unknown commodity. had a lot of good things happen while a part of this league,” Morrill said. We’re excited about it, we think we’ve got some potential, but we Morrill and the Aggies aren’t completely unfamiliar with the entire also realize that we don’t know about a lot of things,” Morrill said. list of incoming teams, which includes Denver, Seattle, Texas State, UT One thing that is known for USU is Morrill’s success, as he is the win- Arlington and UTSA. ningest coach in the Aggies’ tradition-rich history. During Morrill’s ten- “We played UT Arlington in our home tournament last year and ure on the USU bench, the Aggies have amassed an impressive 345- we’ve played both Denver and Seattle home and home, so we are 119 (.745) record including 175-55 (.761) in conference games as well familiar with some of them, but others I’ve not seen play in person nor as a 25-8 (.758) ledger in conference tournament action. Entering its on tape, so don’t really have a feel yet. We’ll just have to get edu- eighth and final season in the WAC, Utah State has compiled a 144-84 cated as we go,” Morrill said. (.632) mark in WAC games under Morrill. He has also earned confer- In addition to getting educated on their opponents, the Aggies ence coach of the year honors on five separate occasions during his will be getting educated about each other as the 2012-13 roster time at Utah State, including being named the 2009, 2010 and 2011 features three returning starters as part of five returning lettermen WAC Coach of the Year. with the addition of two players who redshirted last season along While at Utah State, Morrill has guided the Aggies to 13 straight 21- with seven newcomers. win seasons and 13 straight postseason appearances (NCAA-8, NIT-4, “Everyone counts some kids that were here last year practicing as CIT-1), both of which are school records. Prior to Morrill’s current run, new, but I view them as returnees for having been in the system. We USU had never posted more than three straight 20-win seasons and 20 NCAA TOURNAMENT APPEARANCES • 9 NIT APPEARANCES • 16 CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS • 8 TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONSHIPS • 1 GOAL - WIN have a lot of new guys and there’s a lot of unknowns, but we do re- participated in more than three-straight postseason tournaments. turn some guys that have experience,” Morrill said. During the last 13 years, Utah State is one of just five teams in the na- 20 2012-13 UTAH STATE MEN’S BASKETBALL • UTAHSTATEAGGIES.COM AGGIE OUTLOOK QUICK FACTS tion to win at least 21 games in each of those seasons, along with Duke, Gonzaga, Junior guard Preston Medlin Kansas and Syracuse. In order to have another 21-win season, Utah State will look toward the leadership of Medlin, both on and off the court, according to Morrill. “He’s just so versatile. He can score, he can definitely shoot the basketball, and he makes a lot of plays for his teammates,” Morrill said about Medlin. “We need to put him in a lot of positions to make plays. He needs to have the ball in his hands a lot.” Medlin had the ball in his hands a lot last year, finishing his sophomore season leading the team and ranking third in the WAC in scoring at 17.0 points per game. In fact, Medlin finished the year with 628 points to rank as the 10th-most OUTLOOK in a single-season in school history and the second-most in a single-season by an underclassman. Furthermore, Medlin became just the sixth sophomore in school history to lead his team in scoring. Medlin also finished the 2011-12 season ranking second in the WAC and 16th in the nation in three-point shooting at 42.8 percent. He also ranked fourth in the league in free throw shooting (.801), seventh in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.70), ninth in assists (3.35) and 10th in overall shooting (.496). STATISTICAL BREAKdOWN Off the court, Medlin has improved on his physical physique in the offseason, and it did not go unnoticed. Here’s a breakdown of what is coming back in 2012-13: AGGIE BIOS COACHES OPPONENTS “He’s worked hard in the offseason to try and gain some weight, I think that Points (1,421/2,551) ....................................................... 55.7% strength is an area that would certainly help him at the Division I level. His slightness Rebounds (662/1,154) ................................................... 57.3% has not been something that has kept him from producing, but we all know that Offensive (170/298) ............................................... 57.0% strength is a good thing in terms of rebounding and defending. I’d like to see him defensive (492/856) .............................................. 57.5% continue to grow as a defender. I actually think if he doesn’t have to do as much Minutes (3,922/7,422) ...................................................

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