LOGAN — High above the floor at the Smith Spectrum, the name Grant is permanently affixed to the wall with a bold number 5 below it.
Sometime after this season ends — and probably not too terribly long after — it will be joined by the number 20 and the name Carroll.
For the sold-out crowd of more than 10,000 Aggie fans, there was one overwhelming reason to attend the game. And USU guard Jaycee Carroll didn't make them wait long.
Needing only two points to pass Aggie legend Greg Grant and become the school's all-time leading scorer, Carroll missed his first two shots against Idaho but saw his 3-pointer from the left wing bounce high, balance on the rim and gently roll in with 13:33 on the clock.
The crowd, as it has for virtually all of his previous 2,126 career points, erupted in thunderous applause and Carroll graciously acknowledged them with a simple raise of his hands in thanks for the support he's received during his 118-game career as an Aggie.
"It's nice to get that over with," Carroll said after a post-game celebration that included a victory lap on the shoulders of teammates Tai Wesley and Gary Wilkinson and a video tribute on the overhead video screens that lasted several minutes.
The Aggies beat Idaho 79-64 to stay undefeated in WAC play at 4-0 and improved to 14-5 overall.
"They did a great job of trying to make me feel special."
Of course, Carroll has been a pretty decent job in proving his uniqueness over the past four seasons.
Now with 2,147 career points, Carroll is nothing short of a living legend on the USU campus. Not only does he hold the school's all-time scoring record, the senior from Evanston, Wyo., has made more 3-pointers (316) than any other Aggie. He's also the record-holder in minutes played (3,977) and snapped a tie with Grant for most games started in a USU uniform.
He'll likely continue breaking records for the rest of his time in Logan. Up next is the record for double-figure scoring games — he's currently tied with Grant for that record at 105.
But with the bulk of the 10,270 fans chanting his name long before the game even tipped off, Carroll had one fan taking special notice.
Grant, who broke Wayne Estes' scoring record some 22 years ago, was on hand to witness the occasion and pass the torch.
"I can't believe it's been 22 years since I (played) up here," Grant said, reminiscing about his playing days.
"I broke the record on the road," Grant noted. "I'm glad he got it here."
USU head coach Stew Morrill, the beneficiary of Carroll's play, was glad the record didn't come with a sour taste.
"Obviously, we had a little extra motivation with Jaycee's thing," Morrill said. "The last thing any of us wanted was for him to break the record at home, with a loss."
And while the past weekend has been one of the most remarkable in Utah State history, it's a history Carroll admits he didn't comprehend when he decided to become an Aggie. Though he grew up only a couple of hours away, Carroll said he had never heard of Greg Grant or Wayne Estes until he enrolled in classes and saw Estes' number 33 above the Spectrum floor.
He studied up on the Aggie greats by looking over the trophy case in the Spectrum and digging into the records books. During Carroll's freshman season, Grant was honored as a member of USU's all-century team and had his number retired.
It was then, Carroll said, that he met the former record-holder and talked with him, not beginning to think he, too, might have his name etched in the USU record books or, inevitably, having his number retired.
"For him to come over and congratulate me and give me a hug," Carroll said of the post-game activities, "everything about that was very memorable to me."
Nearly an hour after the game, Carroll was still in his uniform out on the floor. He had signed countless autographs, posed for dozens of pictures and shaken more hands than he could remember.
As the cleaning crew swept the last bits of popcorn and licorice from the arena, Carroll kicked himself around the Spectrum floor on a desk chair chatting with well-wishers on his cell phone while his wife, Baylee, waited patiently at his side.
The ball he used to score the historic points was still in his possession long after the game ended.
"I had someone offer to hold it for me," Carroll said. "I politely told them I'd take care of it."
Just like he's done for 117 previous games.
Morrill said he wished he could get Carroll to write a book on how to be a basketball player, calling it an assured best-seller.
"He could do a chapter on how to be a good kid," Morrill gushed after the game. "Also, who should buy the book are any freshmen who come to Utah State."
If that book is ever written, and a future Aggie freshman soaks in that chapter, Carroll will return to the Spectrum to help celebrate his records being broken.
Until then, though, the record book belongs to the kid from Evanston, a kid few thought capable of being a Division I player.
Now, 2,147 points later — and counting — Carroll is destined to have his number beside that of Estes and Grant.
"I felt if I got a chance," he said, "I could prove myself."
There's no doubting him now.
E-mail: jhinton@desnews.com