LOGAN — At the time, it logically seemed that Craig Smith set an untenable standard for first-year basketball coaches at Utah State.
Left with little to work with when he was hired at USU in the spring of 2018 following a .500 season, the spirited Smith managed to far exceed anyone’s expectations in the first of his three seasons in Logan. Picked to finish ninth in the Mountain West, the 2018-19 Aggies, featuring Sam Merrill and Neemias Queta, ended up winning a share of the regular-season conference title and also taking the postseason tournament championship on their way to a 28-7 record.
“I called it the ‘care factor,’ and it’s one of the reasons I took the job here, is because people care here in Cache Valley. And I wanted to make sure when we were recruiting that the players took that personally, and every time we step on the court, we realize we’re playing for something bigger than just us.”
— Utah State coach Danny Sprinkle
The idea that something that impressive could happen again so quickly was absurd. And when Smith left for the University of Utah and Ryan Odom was hired as his replacement, that seemingly proved to be the case when the 2021-22 team finished the season a respectable — but rather underwhelming — 18-16.
So, when the 2023-24 Aggies were picked to finish ninth in preseason polls, whenever a USU fan pointed out that the 2018-19 team was similarly slated, it was just a tongue-in-cheek comparison. After all, new head coach Danny Sprinkle had zero points returning to the program following graduation and a mass defection of talent when Odom left for VCU, so just finishing somewhere in the middle of the Mountain West pack had to be considered a solid building block.
And yet, the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum might best be avoided in a thunderstorm because lightning has inexplicably struck twice on the campus of Utah State University.
“It’s been an incredible season,” freshman guard Mason Falslev said Tuesday night following the Aggies’ final home practice before leaving for the NCAA Tournament in Indianapolis.
“You know, I look back (at) everything that we’ve done and everything we’ve accomplished, and we went above and beyond what we thought we could achieve. That just shows you what hard work can do. We had long hours in the summer, and we practiced really hard, and, you know, it brought our team closer together. It’s just been good. We’ve been building off each other this whole season, so it’s been awesome.”
Currently ranked 20th in the AP Top 25 poll, the Aggies (27-6) head into the Friday 7:55 p.m. MDT matchup against TCU (21-12) determined to keep their remarkable season going and do something that no Utah State team has been able to do since 2001: win a game in the Big Dance.
And that was something Sprinkle mentioned last spring when he was introduced as the 21st head coach in the history of USU basketball, even though he knew that other than a pair of redshirted players in Falslev and sophomore Isaac Johnson, he had no returning athletes to build around.
“I am about winning and about doing it the right way,” the former Montana State coach stated on April 10. “We’ll continue to cultivate and enhance the culture and atmosphere that we already have here. We want to go win a game in the NCAA Tournament.
“I’m still mad about our game against Kansas State a few weeks ago,” Sprinkle added, “and I know you guys feel the same about your game with Missouri.”
Brave new world
At the time, Sprinkle also pointed out that “it’s a changing landscape in college basketball right now.”
“This job today is completely different than the job it was two years ago when Coach Odom was hired,” Sprinkle declared. “And it’s completely different than when Coach Smith was hired. And it’s ever changing, from NIL to the transfer portal to leagues restructuring, there’s all sorts of uncertainty right now.”
But Sprinkle and the coaching staff he brought with him from Bozeman seemingly used that uncertainty to their advantage, bringing along a pair of Bobcats in point guard Darius Brown II and power forward Great Osobor, then continuing to scour the transfer portal for other huge pieces like guards Ian Martinez (Maryland) and Josh Uduje (Coastal Carolina).
But even if the talent was there, the old college basketball adage is that it takes teams time to “gel” and adjust to a new coach’s system.
And yet, the completely new-look Aggies simply won 16 of their first 17 games, including 15 in a row and an upset of then-13th ranked Colorado State.
“You know, the one thing I always try to do is tell the truth,” Sprinkle replied with a smile when it was pointed out that in less than one calendar year, he’s backed up pretty much everything he said during his introductory press conference.
“Now, I would be lying if I told you I thought we were going to win an outright Mountain West championship the first year. I didn’t even know who was on our team when I did that press conference. But I knew the culture that me and my staff wanted to provide for our program.”
Sprinkle, who left his alma mater to come to Cache Valley, said it was important for his players — whoever they might be — to get a sense of the strong tradition of winning basketball at Utah State.
A winning tradition
“When they put their jerseys on, it was important to me that they feel of the tradition of this place because it means a lot to people here,” Sprinkle continued. “I called it the ‘care factor,’ and it’s one of the reasons I took the job here, is because people care here in Cache Valley. And I wanted to make sure when we were recruiting that the players took that personally, and every time we step on the court, we realize we’re playing for something bigger than just us.”
The faith that then-interim athletic director Jerry Bovee displayed in Sprinkle last season has certainly been rewarded. So much so, that it’s surely going to be difficult for new athletic director Diana Sabau to keep Sprinkle in Logan once the Aggies’ magnificent run is over.
An easy pick as Mountain West Coach of the Year, Sprinkle was also named a finalist for the Jim Phelan National Coach of the Year award on Tuesday. So, there’s a strong possibility that after losing Smith after three seasons and Odom after two, the Aggies will be in the market for yet another new coach in the coming weeks.
But if Sprinkle were able to deliver a long-sought-after victory in the NCAA Tournament — Utah State is 0-10 in the Big Dance since Stew Morrill led the No. 12-seeded Aggies to an upset of No. 5 Ohio State in 2001 — then Aggie Nation would be much more likely to wish him well.
A better seed certainly would have helped going into USU’s fourth NCAA appearance in the past six seasons. But after most bracketologists viewed Utah State as somewhere around a No. 6 or 7 seed, the Aggies were given a No. 8 — just like the 2018-19 team — during Sunday afternoon’s Selection Show.
“I was like everyone else; obviously, you’re looking at all the projections,” Osobor said of the unexpected seeding, which equals the best in school history. “You see what everyone’s saying, so I thought I had an idea of where we were going to be. Then I’m watching the show and seeing all the teams getting picked, and I wasn’t expected to be picked at that spot.
“It was just a shock to see Utah State, but it’s just whatever. I’m just glad we were able to get six Mountain West teams in.”
Named the Mountain West Player of the Year last week, Osobor picked up an honorable mention nod this week for the AP All-American Team after averaging a team-high 18.0 points and 9.2 rebounds per game during his junior season.
Leaping ahead
The Aggies, who beat Fresno State in overtime last week in the Mountain West tournament before losing to San Diego State in the semifinals, are counting on that kind of production from Osobor Friday against the Horned Frogs. TCU coach Jamie Dixon will be making his 15th NCAA Tournament appearance and has his alma mater in its third straight NCAA tourney.
“I know we’ve done this before. We’ve done this a bunch since I’ve been here. But it never gets old,” Dixon said during a press conference Monday. “And everybody goes in with all kinds of hope. And I’m proud of the Big 12 and what we’ve done, and I’m looking forward to the opportunity to represent TCU in Indianapolis.”
Led by senior forward Emanuel Miller (15.9 ppg, 5.9 rpg) and junior forward JaKobe Coles (9.7 ppg), the Frogs are experienced in the frontcourt as well as on the perimeter. Guards Jameer Nelson Jr. (11.3 ppg), Micah Peavy (11.1 ppg, 4.9 rpg) and Trevian Tennyson (8.6 ppg, team-high 62 3-pointers) are all seniors.
“It’s really all of them,” Sprinkle responded when asked which of TCU’s shooters has him most concerned. “... Tennyson’s got the most makes, but they’re all capable, even Emanuel Miller. He’s shooting almost 40%.
“But they don’t want to take a ton of 3s, necessarily. They don’t take bad 3s. They share the basketball, and they’re taking good 3s. That’s why they’re shooting a high percentage.”
TCU is also a very physical team that is fourth in the Big 12 in rebound margin (+4.5), but what really has Sprinkle worried is the Horned Frogs’ transition offense. Texas Christian leads the country in fastbreak points this season, averaging just over 18 per game.
“They’re really a good team; they’re so athletic and they’re fast,” Osobor said of the Frogs. “They will push the pace. But then, we push the pace, too. So, it will be a fast, fun game. I’m excited for it.”
