Not only is Utah State getting kicked around rather unmercifully during this year's annual in-state tour, but last night in the Marriott Center, the Aggies got kicked around by a player who grew up in their shadow.
Jared Miller of Fielding, Utah, which is a mere mountain range and long wheat farm from the USU campus in Logan, scored 14 points and added another four rebounds, four steals and a blocked shot as Brigham Young beat Utah State by 24, 89-65, in a game that ran BYU's record to 5-1 and dropped USU's to 1-4. The Aggies have spent their preseason making the rest of the state look good. After opening the year with a resounding win over an NAIA-level Montana Tech team, the Aggies first lost to BYU in Logan, then to Utah in Salt Lake City, then to Weber State in Ogden, and, finally, to BYU again last night in Provo. One more game on the Beehive State tour remains, next Tuesday night in Logan in a rematch with Utah, and then the Ags can retire the Father Escalante Memorial Trophy, commemorating the first visitor who also thought traveling around the state was a good idea at the time.Miller's act was by no means the only blow dealt by a BYU team that now leaves for the Maui Invitational in Hawaii and, after that, the Far West Classic in Oregon with a full head of steam. But it was an insult added to insult. For two reasons: 1) Miller is from Utah State country, and 2) In past meetings, despite repeated losses to Miller's BYU teams, the Aggies had rendered the 6-foot-8 forward practically useless.
In five previous encounters as a Cougar against Utah State, Miller had scored exactly 14 points, and none in Logan. Two weeks ago he was shut out in USU's Spectrum just three days after opening the season with a career-high 31 points against Arizona State. The Aggies still had their neighbor's number it seemed. They were giving him as many points as they gave him scholarship offers six years ago coming out of Tremonton's Bear River High School - when he was a 17-year-old 6-foot-6 center.
Not only wasn't Utah State interested back then, neither was BYU or anyone else. So instead of going straight to college, Miller went to work for a year and a half to save up money so he could go on a Mormon mission. Then he got a call to the Chile mission and spent the money.
He came home in 1989 two inches taller and 25 pounds heavier and, nearly three years away from his last competitive basketball game, walked on to the Ricks College court in Rexburg. His tryout ended in 17.6-point, 9.5-rebound averages during a 27-6 season.
Now that he had everyone's interest . . . Utah State offered a scholarship. So did BYU, Utah and Colorado State. Miller said yes to the Cougars because his parents are from Provo and he'd spent his Northern Utah life as a kind of displaced Cougar anyway. "It's where I always wanted to go," said Miller last night. "Utah State recruited me real hard and I was flattered, but at Bear River High I was always the underdog cheering for BYU."
His allegiance was more open and more popular last night in front of an announced paid crowd of 20,936 in the Marriott Center (although the actual crowd was much smaller than that. Paying to see the Aggies on tour and actually seeing the Aggies on tour turned out to be two different things). Miller had double figures by halftime. At intermission he had 10 points and the Cougars led by 11.
He might have gone on to challenge his career-high point total except Miller's old nemesis reappeared in the second half: The personal foul. He led the team in that category a year ago, with 101 in 28 games, and is again the team leader as a senior, with 24 in six games. He played sparingly last night against USU in the second half hampered by foul trouble that finally got him a permanent pass to the bench for his fourth foul-out of the season and 14th of his career.
In all, Miller now has 196 career fouls as a Cougar, a formidable total but, still, far from Danny Ainge's school-record 393 fouls, accumulated over a four-year period of time.
"I don't know for sure why I get so many (fouls)," said Miller. "I guess mainly because I have this thing about people scoring on me."
The positive flip side for Miller is that in spite of this year's fouls, his minutes-per-game are at an all-time high average of 26.2. Everything else is up as well, most significantly his scoring (13.3 ppg) and rebounding (a team-leading 7.5 rpg).
"I really think it's geting better," he said of the fouls. "At the half I only had one."
He had plenty to spare in the second half. So did the Cougars. The Aggies were less competitive than they'd been two weeks ago. The Utah swing had seemingly taken its toll.
"I wouldn't want to do what they do every year," said BYU head coach Roger Reid, empathizing with the Aggies. "That's a terrible way to have to open the season. That's a good basketball team. They'll be all right if they keep their head up and stay tough." And travel somewhere else besides Utah.