A meetinghouse of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was broken into early this morning at around 2 a.m., witnesses say. The meetinghouse is located at 900 North 1600 East in Logan, Utah.
Sheriff Deputy Geoffrey Hasty said that some computer equipment, including two CPUs, were taken, while two monitors were found smashed in the hallway outside of the bishop’s office.
“I came in to fix some ceiling tiles,” said physical maintenance manager Robert (Bob) Knotz, who came in to repair tiles at 6 a.m. Knotz found the front door to be unlocked, so “(that) was my first thought that something was amiss, so I opened the door and there were two monitors smashed. That’s when I realized something was wrong. So that’s when I called for help,” he said.
Bishop Larry Shirk had been the last person to leave the meetinghouse before the break-in occurred, at about a quarter to 11 the previous night. He had locked all of the doors, but left his window open in his office.
“It had been snowing, hailing last night, and that’s why I opened the window, to listen to the storm, and obviously I forgot to close the window,” Shirk said.
Shirk also noted that confidential information on the CPUs had been erased since they were getting retired in exchange for newer models.
One citizen in the neighborhood had heard the sounds of the break-in, but assumed that it was the sound of the garbage truck. 85-year-old Evelyn Breathwaite remarked that she heard some noise at 2 a.m., but thought it was the garbage truck. However, when she checked her garbage cans and found no truck there, she went back to bed.
“I never felt like (the neighborhood) was never safe,” Breathwaite said. “This is a safe neighborhood, this is not a very common occurrence.”
“It looks like (the case) doesn’t look to complicated,” Hasty remarked. “(It involved) two juveniles… I’m just glad nobody was hurt.”
Knotz also noted that this was the first time that any sort of break-in had occurred at that particular meetinghouse, though he doesn’t suspect the thievery was any sort of malicious act against the LDS Church in particular.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Monday, January 28, 2008
Thank you, President Hinckley
Nearly thirteen million people- and more- appreciate and love you for what you did for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
Aggies get embarrassed in Las Cruces
Oh, my, how Utah State's ten-game win streak and WAC run came to a crashing halt in the form of a 100-70 defeat at New Mexico State on Saturday.
Since my last post about the Aggies, they defeated Boise State and Idaho at home- CONGRATULATIONS TO STEW MORRILL (WINNINGEST USU COACH) AND JAYCEE CARROLL (ALL-TIME LEADING USU SCORER)- and then beat Louisiana Tech on the road on Thursday before the tough defeat at Las Cruces.
I want to know what's going on with the suspension of the four players- Steve DuCharme, Desmond Stephens, Pooh Williams, and Jaxon Myaer, though. Every single release about the suspension simply states that they were sent home before the game against the NewMags for "violating undisclosed team rules" What rules?! Let's get specific here and stop being so cryptic about what is going on with my Aggies!
Hopefully more details will come out soon- and hopefully three of those four players outside of Jaxon who are not redshirting will be available to play Saturday against Nevada, because in a game as huge as that, the Aggies need all the help they can get.
Since my last post about the Aggies, they defeated Boise State and Idaho at home- CONGRATULATIONS TO STEW MORRILL (WINNINGEST USU COACH) AND JAYCEE CARROLL (ALL-TIME LEADING USU SCORER)- and then beat Louisiana Tech on the road on Thursday before the tough defeat at Las Cruces.
I want to know what's going on with the suspension of the four players- Steve DuCharme, Desmond Stephens, Pooh Williams, and Jaxon Myaer, though. Every single release about the suspension simply states that they were sent home before the game against the NewMags for "violating undisclosed team rules" What rules?! Let's get specific here and stop being so cryptic about what is going on with my Aggies!
Hopefully more details will come out soon- and hopefully three of those four players outside of Jaxon who are not redshirting will be available to play Saturday against Nevada, because in a game as huge as that, the Aggies need all the help they can get.
Jazz now at 26-18 since last post was 20-17
The Utah Jazz have won six of their last seven games since I last posted about them. They have been playing better team defense, and finding good shots on the offensive end.
It has been interesting, but good, to see that Carlos Boozer hasn't had to score as much while the Jazz have won ten of their last 12 games. This is largely due to the fact that new addition Kyle Korver has brought an additional scoring average of 10.2 points per game to the club.
The Jazz face the ever-formidable San Antonio Spurs (28-14), winners of four of the last seven NBA championships, tonight at the EnergySolutions Arena. Hopefully the result will be different from the last time I blogged in advance of Utah's game against San Antonio back on Dec. 7th.
It has been interesting, but good, to see that Carlos Boozer hasn't had to score as much while the Jazz have won ten of their last 12 games. This is largely due to the fact that new addition Kyle Korver has brought an additional scoring average of 10.2 points per game to the club.
The Jazz face the ever-formidable San Antonio Spurs (28-14), winners of four of the last seven NBA championships, tonight at the EnergySolutions Arena. Hopefully the result will be different from the last time I blogged in advance of Utah's game against San Antonio back on Dec. 7th.
Friday, January 25, 2008
Extra Practice News Story 2: Fire
A fire broke yesterday in Ogden, at 2100 Washington Blvd. at around 2:00 in the afternoon. Five people were in the building when the fire spread- three in Pedro’s Restaurant in the basement, including two girls of the age of four and two, who were taken to McKay-Dee Hospital. The two who were in an apartment level upstairs escaped the fire without needing any treatment.
Deputy Fire Chief Greg Chamberlain suspected that the fire was probably started by a grease fire in the restaurant, a fact that was confirmed by restaurant owner Pedro Sanchez.
“I was cooking hamburgers… the grease came on really fast. I told Michael (Freeman, a customer inside the restaurant) to call somebody. Then dark smoke came,” said Sanchez.
While the two people in the restaurant- Sanchez and Freeman- escaped, 27-year old Miguel Sanchez, Pedro’s brother, and his two daughters Maria del Mar and Mercedes weren’t so lucky. Miguel was treated at the scene, while his daughters were taken to McKay-Dee Hospital shortly after the occurrence.
Pedro Sanchez remarked that he is a legal resident in the United States, as is his brother Miguel, who is currently waiting for a working visa so he can work in the restaurant with him. Sanchez also noted how he has enjoyed operating the restaurant in the two years that he has been in the country.
“I like my restaurant. I like being here in America. My brother came here wanting to help with his two girls. We were wanting to grow bigger with the restaurant.”
"I think I will talk with the owner of the building to see what we can do (to fix the restaurant)," Sanchez continued.
Apartment owner Rachel Calhoun had no comment on the incident.
Deputy Fire Chief Greg Chamberlain suspected that the fire was probably started by a grease fire in the restaurant, a fact that was confirmed by restaurant owner Pedro Sanchez.
“I was cooking hamburgers… the grease came on really fast. I told Michael (Freeman, a customer inside the restaurant) to call somebody. Then dark smoke came,” said Sanchez.
While the two people in the restaurant- Sanchez and Freeman- escaped, 27-year old Miguel Sanchez, Pedro’s brother, and his two daughters Maria del Mar and Mercedes weren’t so lucky. Miguel was treated at the scene, while his daughters were taken to McKay-Dee Hospital shortly after the occurrence.
Pedro Sanchez remarked that he is a legal resident in the United States, as is his brother Miguel, who is currently waiting for a working visa so he can work in the restaurant with him. Sanchez also noted how he has enjoyed operating the restaurant in the two years that he has been in the country.
“I like my restaurant. I like being here in America. My brother came here wanting to help with his two girls. We were wanting to grow bigger with the restaurant.”
"I think I will talk with the owner of the building to see what we can do (to fix the restaurant)," Sanchez continued.
Apartment owner Rachel Calhoun had no comment on the incident.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Practice News Story 2: Fire
A fire broke at 2:00 in the afternoon yesterday, at 2100 South Washington Blvd. in Ogden. Five people were in the building when the fire spread- two in Pedro’s Restaurant in the basement, and three upstairs, including two girls of the age of four and two, who along with their father were taken to McKay-Dee Hospital.
Deputy Fire Chief Greg Chamberlain suspected that the fire was probably started by a grease fire in the restaurant, a fact that was confirmed by restaurant owner Pedro Sanchez.
“I was cooking hamburgers… the grease came on really fast. I told Michael (Freeman, a customer inside the restaurant) to call somebody. Then dark smoke came,” said Sanchez.
While the two people in the restaurant- Sanchez and Freeman- escaped, 27-year old Miguel Sanchez, Pedro’s brother, and his two daughters Maria and Mercedes weren’t so lucky. They had to be taken to McKay-Dee Hospital shortly after the fire occurred.
Pedro Sanchez remarked that he is a legal resident in the United States, as is his brother Miguel, who is currently waiting for a working visa so he could work in the restaurant with him. Sanchez remarked how he enjoyed operating the restaurant in the two years he has been in the country.
“I like my restaurant. I like being here in America. My brother came here wanting to help with his two girls. We were wanting to grow bigger with the restaurant.”
Apartment owner Rachel Calhoun had no comment on the incident.
Deputy Fire Chief Greg Chamberlain suspected that the fire was probably started by a grease fire in the restaurant, a fact that was confirmed by restaurant owner Pedro Sanchez.
“I was cooking hamburgers… the grease came on really fast. I told Michael (Freeman, a customer inside the restaurant) to call somebody. Then dark smoke came,” said Sanchez.
While the two people in the restaurant- Sanchez and Freeman- escaped, 27-year old Miguel Sanchez, Pedro’s brother, and his two daughters Maria and Mercedes weren’t so lucky. They had to be taken to McKay-Dee Hospital shortly after the fire occurred.
Pedro Sanchez remarked that he is a legal resident in the United States, as is his brother Miguel, who is currently waiting for a working visa so he could work in the restaurant with him. Sanchez remarked how he enjoyed operating the restaurant in the two years he has been in the country.
“I like my restaurant. I like being here in America. My brother came here wanting to help with his two girls. We were wanting to grow bigger with the restaurant.”
Apartment owner Rachel Calhoun had no comment on the incident.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Practice News Story 1: Accident
Ten Utah State University students and a USU instructor were involved in a fatal van accident yesterday at on Interstate 84, west of Tremonton. The accident occurred at about 4:00 in the afternoon. Eight of the eleven people have passed away as a result of the accident.
The students were taking a field trip to Greenline Implements in Tremonton, Utah, as part of Agriculture Week at the university. Eyewitness Kyle Holden, an employee of Greenline Implements, said that they were “about halfway back” from the plant when “the van was in the fast line, then swerved into the slow lane… I just happened to look back, and made eye contact with Evan… I saw smoke, and that’s when I realized something was wrong.”
Holden suspects that there was a malfunction involved with one of the wheels.
After the accident occurred, Holden said that he got out of his car and “tried to stabilize anybody who needed help.” He said he got to Evan Parker, the instructor who was driving the van, “but his head was crushed.”
It is very likely that neither Parker nor the passengers were wearing seatbelts, said Lieutenant Jason Jensen, who said that the van was also going 95-100 miles per hour when the accident occurred.
“In my 15 years of experience, you don’t get thrown out of a vehicle like that when you’re wearing a seatbelt,” said Jensen.
Jensen was the fourth vehicle to arrive on the scene, at about 4:10 P.M.
“I did not personally work on anybody who was alive,” Jensen said.
Names of four who passed away were publicly released: Parker, a 45-year old man; and three students, Steven Bair, 24 years of age; and Curt Madsen and Brad Wilcox, who were pronounced dead at the scene.
Meanwhile, names of two of the survivors are Robert Petersen and Jared Nelson, both who are currently at Ogden Regional Hospital. Nelson was initially life-flighted to Brigham City before getting tranferred to Ogden.
Though it is suspected that the passengers were not wearing seatbelts, alchohol was likely not involved, said Noel Cockett, Dean of the College of Agriculture.
“Evan (the driver) is not the type to allow alchohol… I highly doubt alchohol was involved,” she said.
Cockett said that the regularily scheduled events for the rest of the week had been canceled."Field trips happen two or three times per day during (Agriculture Week). This is an agricultural school... it's just ironic," Cockett said.
"Evan had told me that this is the finest group of students that he had yet to work with," she continued.
Monday, January 14, 2008
Thoughts on Aggies improving to 2-0 in WAC play
The Aggies weathered several storms of New Mexico State in winning 74-62 in Logan Saturday night.
Gary Wilkinson scored 18 points, Jaycee Carroll had 15, and Steve DuCharme did a nice job playing extra time in lieu of Tai Wesley's foul trouble to score 13.
The Aggies won this game with defense, rebounding and bench play. Utah State out-rebounded a team that usually out-rebounds its opponents by 6.6 boards per game. Further, New Mexico State shot just 35.2% from the field, including 8-30 from the 3-point line. Utah State had probably their best defensive effort of the season on Saturday.
It was refreshing to see the Aggies win without Carroll having to score over 20 points, a major problem for the team during last year's NIT-berth season. Carroll shot just 5-16, but with the way that others around him played on offense, it did not matter.
A player to step up his offensive production, besides Wilkinson and DuCharme, was backup point guard Desmond Stephens, who scored nine points on 3-4 shooting from the 3. Stephens hit his bombs during the middle-to-latter part of the second half, when the southern Aggies made it difficult for the northern Aggies to get the ball into the post. Stephens' shooting is an unsung key attribute to the win. The 5-9 player also had five rebounds.
Tyler Newbold did not play a great game, but had the comedic part of the night all to himself when he volleyball-spiked a long NMSU pass into the stands with 2.3 seconds left in the game. He can be forgiven of his performance just because the spike was so funny.
Tai, coming off a career-high 27-point game, was only able to play six minutes in the first half. Though he totaled 22 minutes for the game, the 21-year old freshman scored eight points and did well when he was in the game.
Wilkinson and DuCharme's play were huge keys. With Wesley out for extended periods of time, and Carroll not hitting his shots like normal (though he had seven rebounds), Stew Morrill needed those guys to have good games.
Perhaps another great unsung performance came from DeUndrae Spraggins, on the defensive end, for holding NMSU star Justin Hawkins, who was averaging 18.2 points and 7.8 rebounds per game, to just seven points and three boards. Though Spraggins hasn't contributed much on the offensive end this season, he has made up for it by playing great perimeter defense.
Finally, there's Kris Clark, who dished out eight assists and played a very solid game with just one turnover.
I would say that the Aggies played a 'B+' type game on Saturday, as opposed to a B- performance nine days earlier against Hawai'i in their WAC opener. They need to play just as well as they did two days ago on Thursday against Boise State (12-4, 3-1), who is much improved and possesses a talented forward in Reggie Larry, one of the five or six best players in the conference. It should be fun to see Carroll and Larry as the opposing teams' top players go at it on Thursday.
Gary Wilkinson scored 18 points, Jaycee Carroll had 15, and Steve DuCharme did a nice job playing extra time in lieu of Tai Wesley's foul trouble to score 13.
The Aggies won this game with defense, rebounding and bench play. Utah State out-rebounded a team that usually out-rebounds its opponents by 6.6 boards per game. Further, New Mexico State shot just 35.2% from the field, including 8-30 from the 3-point line. Utah State had probably their best defensive effort of the season on Saturday.
It was refreshing to see the Aggies win without Carroll having to score over 20 points, a major problem for the team during last year's NIT-berth season. Carroll shot just 5-16, but with the way that others around him played on offense, it did not matter.
A player to step up his offensive production, besides Wilkinson and DuCharme, was backup point guard Desmond Stephens, who scored nine points on 3-4 shooting from the 3. Stephens hit his bombs during the middle-to-latter part of the second half, when the southern Aggies made it difficult for the northern Aggies to get the ball into the post. Stephens' shooting is an unsung key attribute to the win. The 5-9 player also had five rebounds.
Tyler Newbold did not play a great game, but had the comedic part of the night all to himself when he volleyball-spiked a long NMSU pass into the stands with 2.3 seconds left in the game. He can be forgiven of his performance just because the spike was so funny.
Tai, coming off a career-high 27-point game, was only able to play six minutes in the first half. Though he totaled 22 minutes for the game, the 21-year old freshman scored eight points and did well when he was in the game.
Wilkinson and DuCharme's play were huge keys. With Wesley out for extended periods of time, and Carroll not hitting his shots like normal (though he had seven rebounds), Stew Morrill needed those guys to have good games.
Perhaps another great unsung performance came from DeUndrae Spraggins, on the defensive end, for holding NMSU star Justin Hawkins, who was averaging 18.2 points and 7.8 rebounds per game, to just seven points and three boards. Though Spraggins hasn't contributed much on the offensive end this season, he has made up for it by playing great perimeter defense.
Finally, there's Kris Clark, who dished out eight assists and played a very solid game with just one turnover.
I would say that the Aggies played a 'B+' type game on Saturday, as opposed to a B- performance nine days earlier against Hawai'i in their WAC opener. They need to play just as well as they did two days ago on Thursday against Boise State (12-4, 3-1), who is much improved and possesses a talented forward in Reggie Larry, one of the five or six best players in the conference. It should be fun to see Carroll and Larry as the opposing teams' top players go at it on Thursday.
Friday, January 11, 2008
Great win for Jazz, but danger looms
So the 20-17 Jazz beat the Steve Nash-Shawn Marion-Grant Hill-less Suns last night, 108-86. While Phoenix is the best team in the Western Conference, they were missing three of their four or five best players. With that said, last night's win was a big one for the Jazz. They needed that sort of confidence, and a win to nearly put them back in the playoff picture, if the playoffs were to start today.
However, there is plenty of room for caution as 45 games remain on the schedule. As Deseret Morning News columnist Brad Rock pointed out, three of the past six seasons, the Jazz had the same identical 19-17 record through 36 games.
Those past three seasons were 2001-02, 2003-04, and 2005-06. The final tally of those seasons? 44-38, to take the last spot of the playoffs; 42-40; and 41-41, to barely miss the playoffs both times.
This is not inconceivable to happen this season. The Western Conference playoff race is now a 10-team affair, and the Jazz are currently ninth, a half-game behind #8 Golden State and a half-game ahead of #10 Houston. Every other team of those ten are 21-13 or better, nearly three games better than Utah.
There is still plenty of time remaining on the season, and the Jazz have the roster to rise up the standings. However, the question is if this will happen. Utah still loses road games that they have no business losing. Though the Jazz are still young, they aren't exactly NBA newborns anymore. But they are still losing to teams like New York and Miami, two of the fecal teams of the league. If they can clear these teams out of the system, and only have to worry about choking against the Spurs and Mavs of the world, then they can possibly rise to even fourth in the conference.
Do I think that the Jazz will still make the playoffs? Hmm... yes. I still think they will. In fact, I can still see them improving to my pre-season prediction of 49-33 and getting the sixth seed. This is very possible.
The Jazz just have to accept the fact that they aren't infants anymore... they are toddlers. And a group of very talented toddlers, at that.
However, there is plenty of room for caution as 45 games remain on the schedule. As Deseret Morning News columnist Brad Rock pointed out, three of the past six seasons, the Jazz had the same identical 19-17 record through 36 games.
Those past three seasons were 2001-02, 2003-04, and 2005-06. The final tally of those seasons? 44-38, to take the last spot of the playoffs; 42-40; and 41-41, to barely miss the playoffs both times.
This is not inconceivable to happen this season. The Western Conference playoff race is now a 10-team affair, and the Jazz are currently ninth, a half-game behind #8 Golden State and a half-game ahead of #10 Houston. Every other team of those ten are 21-13 or better, nearly three games better than Utah.
There is still plenty of time remaining on the season, and the Jazz have the roster to rise up the standings. However, the question is if this will happen. Utah still loses road games that they have no business losing. Though the Jazz are still young, they aren't exactly NBA newborns anymore. But they are still losing to teams like New York and Miami, two of the fecal teams of the league. If they can clear these teams out of the system, and only have to worry about choking against the Spurs and Mavs of the world, then they can possibly rise to even fourth in the conference.
Do I think that the Jazz will still make the playoffs? Hmm... yes. I still think they will. In fact, I can still see them improving to my pre-season prediction of 49-33 and getting the sixth seed. This is very possible.
The Jazz just have to accept the fact that they aren't infants anymore... they are toddlers. And a group of very talented toddlers, at that.
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
After a one-month absence...
Finally, a new post! Utah State basketball is on my mind today as the Aggies are riding a six-game win streak.
Utah State now stands at 11-5, 1-0 in WAC play, after rolling off the streak with every game at home. These wins include triumphs over Prairie View, UVSC, Northern Arizona, Oral Roberts, and Hawaii on January 3rd to start conference play on the right foot.
The Aggies' scheduled game last Saturday against Nevada was postponed due to the severity of the snowfall delaying flights into Reno, home of the Aggies' conference rival. This likely means that the re-scheduled date will arrive no earlier than two weeks from now, but probably no more than a month from today.
It is about the mid-season point of the college basketball regular season, and there are plenty of assessments about the Aggies, in addition to plenty of questions that have both been answered and have been prompted as a result of the Aggies' winning play of late.
Is this the first year, in their third of being in the WAC, that Utah State wins the regular-season conference championship, which would all but guarantee a return to the NCAA Tournament after a one-year absence? Is the starting lineup change, one that came into effect after the Aggies' embarrassing 72-48 loss at Utah that placed them at 5-5, the key to this championship? Forward Tai Wesley and guard/forward Tyler Newbold are just redshirt freshman, but have helped the Aggies take significant steps toward being a WAC contender, rather than the pretender that they were in early-season losses at Weber State, Cal-Poly and UC-Irvine.
The Aggies have parleyed a long, long homestand into this winning streak. However, they are still unproven on the road. The game at Nevada would have been a fantastic measuring stick. Now, they will face several multi-game road trips in WAC play, which will determine if they will indeed take the regular-season trophy. After all, USU is not going to lose more than two, but probably just one, conference game at the Spectrum.
Are the junior-college transfers- Gary Wilkinson, DeUndrae Spraggins, and Desmond Stephens- going to fulfill their roles all for this team for the duration of the season? Wilkinson has fulfilled his role for the most part, being a reliable scorer as the starting center. However, Spraggins is not the scoring option that he was envisioned to be. On the other hand, he has provided stellar perimeter defense and energy coming off the bench. Stephens has also been a mixed bag. The trick for him is to utilize his breakneck speed in the right way. Sometimes he has a tendency to try and make a play, particularly on the fast break, before it has opened up. Cut down on the turnovers, and Stephens will be a reliable backup point guard for Kris Clark, who has re-steadied his game after a slew of early-season on-court issues.
Obviously, Jaycee Carroll will continue to do his thing, breaking the Utah State all-time scoring record that currently belongs to Greg Grant in about three games, and doing everything he possibly can to maximize the return of his senior year.
Truly, Steve DuCharme may be the wild-card. The post player started every game last season coming out of a community college in Kansas, but has lost that spot to Wesley. His minutes have decreased slightly, but he is still seeing around 22 or 23 minutes per game. If DuCharme can come in the game and provide instant scoring and rebounding help in place of Wilkinson or Wesley, then the Aggies won't have problems with post play during the entirety of the game, especially against talented WAC forwards like Justin Hawkins of New Mexico State or Hector Hernandez of Fresno State. DuCharme may be discouraged about the demotion, but the truth is that he may be the difference-maker in the conference run.
This season promises to continue to get more interesting as January turns into February. Utah State should get great competition from several WAC teams. Nevada, New Mexico State, Fresno State, and Boise State have just as good a chance as the Aggies, while San Jose State and Idaho are improved. Louisiana Tech and Hawaii may turn out to be the cellar-dwellars, though teams struggle to win on the islands after all the travel required, and the Warriors gave Utah State all they could handle last Thursday.
Utah State now stands at 11-5, 1-0 in WAC play, after rolling off the streak with every game at home. These wins include triumphs over Prairie View, UVSC, Northern Arizona, Oral Roberts, and Hawaii on January 3rd to start conference play on the right foot.
The Aggies' scheduled game last Saturday against Nevada was postponed due to the severity of the snowfall delaying flights into Reno, home of the Aggies' conference rival. This likely means that the re-scheduled date will arrive no earlier than two weeks from now, but probably no more than a month from today.
It is about the mid-season point of the college basketball regular season, and there are plenty of assessments about the Aggies, in addition to plenty of questions that have both been answered and have been prompted as a result of the Aggies' winning play of late.
Is this the first year, in their third of being in the WAC, that Utah State wins the regular-season conference championship, which would all but guarantee a return to the NCAA Tournament after a one-year absence? Is the starting lineup change, one that came into effect after the Aggies' embarrassing 72-48 loss at Utah that placed them at 5-5, the key to this championship? Forward Tai Wesley and guard/forward Tyler Newbold are just redshirt freshman, but have helped the Aggies take significant steps toward being a WAC contender, rather than the pretender that they were in early-season losses at Weber State, Cal-Poly and UC-Irvine.
The Aggies have parleyed a long, long homestand into this winning streak. However, they are still unproven on the road. The game at Nevada would have been a fantastic measuring stick. Now, they will face several multi-game road trips in WAC play, which will determine if they will indeed take the regular-season trophy. After all, USU is not going to lose more than two, but probably just one, conference game at the Spectrum.
Are the junior-college transfers- Gary Wilkinson, DeUndrae Spraggins, and Desmond Stephens- going to fulfill their roles all for this team for the duration of the season? Wilkinson has fulfilled his role for the most part, being a reliable scorer as the starting center. However, Spraggins is not the scoring option that he was envisioned to be. On the other hand, he has provided stellar perimeter defense and energy coming off the bench. Stephens has also been a mixed bag. The trick for him is to utilize his breakneck speed in the right way. Sometimes he has a tendency to try and make a play, particularly on the fast break, before it has opened up. Cut down on the turnovers, and Stephens will be a reliable backup point guard for Kris Clark, who has re-steadied his game after a slew of early-season on-court issues.
Obviously, Jaycee Carroll will continue to do his thing, breaking the Utah State all-time scoring record that currently belongs to Greg Grant in about three games, and doing everything he possibly can to maximize the return of his senior year.
Truly, Steve DuCharme may be the wild-card. The post player started every game last season coming out of a community college in Kansas, but has lost that spot to Wesley. His minutes have decreased slightly, but he is still seeing around 22 or 23 minutes per game. If DuCharme can come in the game and provide instant scoring and rebounding help in place of Wilkinson or Wesley, then the Aggies won't have problems with post play during the entirety of the game, especially against talented WAC forwards like Justin Hawkins of New Mexico State or Hector Hernandez of Fresno State. DuCharme may be discouraged about the demotion, but the truth is that he may be the difference-maker in the conference run.
This season promises to continue to get more interesting as January turns into February. Utah State should get great competition from several WAC teams. Nevada, New Mexico State, Fresno State, and Boise State have just as good a chance as the Aggies, while San Jose State and Idaho are improved. Louisiana Tech and Hawaii may turn out to be the cellar-dwellars, though teams struggle to win on the islands after all the travel required, and the Warriors gave Utah State all they could handle last Thursday.
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