I cannot wait for the MWC

Aggiesbleedblue · Post by **Aggiesbleedblue** » March 17th, 2013, 8:42 pm

I absolutely cannot wait to be in this conference. I am excited for both football and basketball, but more so for basketball. The benefits of being in this conference are immeasureable. The RPI of the MWC is great, which comes in handy at tournament time. We had the same record as Boise State this year, and they get an automatic bid. They went 21-10! A few years ago we went 30-4 and we wouldn't have got an auto-bid had we lost the WAC title game. Say next time we have a great year and go 27-6 or something like that, we will be a 3-5 seed in the Big Dance!! i know that is looking ahead, but this is IMO the best CBB conference in America, and i still cannot believe we get to be a part of it next year! The Spectrum better be back to its old self at every home game next year because we have a great Non conference schedule as well as hosting NM, CSU, UNLV among others!! SEE YOU AT THE BIG DANCE NEXT YEAR AGGIE FANS!!! And we finally won't get hosed in seeding, so we will win at least a game!

bigblue · Post by **bigblue** » March 17th, 2013, 8:48 pm

It's going to be a long summer.

AGGZILLA · Post by **AGGZILLA** » March 17th, 2013, 8:52 pm

Aggiesbleedblue wrote:I absolutely cannot wait to be in this conference. I am excited for both football and basketball, but more so for basketball. The benefits of being in this conference are immeasureable. The RPI of the MWC is great, which comes in handy at tournament time. We had the same record as Boise State this year, and they get an automatic bid. They went 21-10! A few years ago we went 30-4 and we wouldn't have got an auto-bid had we lost the WAC title game. Say next time we have a great year and go 27-6 or something like that, we will be a 3-5 seed in the Big Dance!! i know that is looking ahead, but this is IMO the best CBB conference in America, and i still cannot believe we get to be a part of it next year! The Spectrum better be back to its old self at every home game next year because we have a great Non conference schedule as well as hosting NM, CSU, UNLV among others!! SEE YOU AT THE BIG DANCE NEXT YEAR AGGIE FANS!!! And we finally won't get hosed in seeding, so we will win at least a game!

Your win/loss record has nothing to do with selection nor seeding in the tourney. I wish it did, otherwise we would've been seeded far better in tournaments past. Boise's 21-10 is a night and day to our 21-10, though. It all boils down to who you beat and where you beat them. That is the main criteria that the committee uses.

UNLV_FinalFour · Post by **UNLV_FinalFour** » March 17th, 2013, 9:42 pm

Aggiesbleedblue wrote:I absolutely cannot wait to be in this conference. I am excited for both football and basketball, but more so for basketball. The benefits of being in this conference are immeasureable. The RPI of the MWC is great, which comes in handy at tournament time. We had the same record as Boise State this year, and they get an automatic bid. They went 21-10! A few years ago we went 30-4 and we wouldn't have got an auto-bid had we lost the WAC title game. Say next time we have a great year and go 27-6 or something like that, we will be a 3-5 seed in the Big Dance!! i know that is looking ahead, but this is IMO the best CBB conference in America, and i still cannot believe we get to be a part of it next year! The Spectrum better be back to its old self at every home game next year because we have a great Non conference schedule as well as hosting NM, CSU, UNLV among others!! SEE YOU AT THE BIG DANCE NEXT YEAR AGGIE FANS!!! And we finally won't get hosed in seeding, so we will win at least a game!

I think Utah State is a great addition to the conference. The Aggies have some ground to make up before they become a serious contender in the MWC simply because the jump in competition is significant. But with the rich history and winning tradition you have with your program, and with a terrific coach in Stew Morrill, USU will rise into the mix of things within a few quick seasons.

Nevada Reno expected to have a decent showing in the MWC this season after losing only two players from last year's 13-1 WAC champion team, but they just couldn't match up physically and finished at the bottom in last place. But they will get bigger and better in time.

Boise finished at the bottom in last place during their first season in the MWC also. So there is some growing pains involved, but Boise has since recruited well internationally and has worked themselves up to 5th place in the league and they got the NCAA at-large bid today. They should be even better next season since they return everyone.

The biggest difference from the WAC to the MWC is the talent level. There are no nights off in the league because every team can play. Each team has at least 1 or more NBA players on its roster, even the weaker teams like Wyoming's Leonard Washington and Air Force's Micheal Lyons are NBA-caliber players. Perhaps only Boise and Fresno currently do not feature a true NBA prospect on their rosters.

Recruiting is where Utah State will need the most improvement to truly compete, but that improvement will certainly come. Stew Morrill has been around the block more than once and he knows what he's doing. As a member in the MWC the Aggies will become a more attractive option to better players and you will begin landing better overall talent, beating out top Pac-12 schools for players, etc.

Currently the top programs in the MWC are consistently landing 4-star and 5-star type athletes. UNLV for example currently has 2 5-star McDonald's AA's (Bennett and Birch) and the rest are 4-stars with one or two 3-stars on the roster. Next year we have another McDonald's AA (Kendrick) and a couple more 4-stars coming in our 2013 class. SDSU and New Mexico are also grabbing elite talent. So it's tough to reach the top without having the horses and even then it's not guaranteed--we finished 3rd this season. Sometimes a great coach can get more performance with less talent, but either way, teams are playing at a high level and winning the conference title requires a pretty special team.

Butterfield and Shaw are solid players but the Aggies will need to upgrade in most areas and get physically stronger to win games. Like I said, I think it's only a matter of time for Stew Morrill to find the right players he needs to compete at a high level in the MWC. But he will get them over the next couple of years.

When Nevada Reno was eliminated in the 1st round of the MWC tourney the CBS broadcasters asked their coach in an interview about the transition of playing in the WAC versus coming into the MWC. His comment was "The WAC has some nice players who are enjoyable to watch, but the MWC has 'men' on a nightly basis."

This season has been especially competitive top to bottom, pushing the MWC to the #1 or #2 conference RPI range. Next season there should be a little more breathing room since CSU loses all 5 starting seniors and Air Force loses 4 starting seniors and Wyoming loses some key pieces. Several other players from SDSU and UNLV are leaving early to the NBA. But it will be plenty tough still and teams will reload.

I'm excited to have Utah State joining the league. I anticipate the Aggies will take a few lumps next season but your program will emerge nicely as one of the upper teams featured in the league in no time.

AgMac · Post by **AgMac** » March 17th, 2013, 9:57 pm

Thank you for stopping in unlv final four. Unfortunately you are probably correct about taking our lumps. I hope we can quickly rise to the higher end of the league. Thank you for the respectful words for our program and stew.

USUBlue · Post by **USUBlue** » March 17th, 2013, 10:00 pm

UNLV_FinalFour wrote:I think Utah State is a great addition to the conference. The Aggies have some ground to make up before they become a serious contender in the MWC simply because the jump in competition is significant. But with the rich history and winning tradition you have with your program, and with a terrific coach in Stew Morrill, USU will rise into the mix of things within a few quick seasons.

Nevada Reno expected to have a decent showing in the MWC this season after losing only two players from last year's 13-1 WAC champion team, but they just couldn't match up physically and finished at the bottom in last place. But they will get bigger and better in time.

Boise finished at the bottom in last place during their first season in the MWC also. So there is some growing pains involved, but Boise has since recruited well internationally and has worked themselves up to 5th place in the league and they got the NCAA at-large bid today. They should be even better next season since they return everyone.

The biggest difference from the WAC to the MWC is the talent level. There are no nights off in the league because every team can play. Each team has at least 1 or more NBA players on its roster, even the weaker teams like Wyoming's Leonard Washington and Air Force's Micheal Lyons are NBA-caliber players. Perhaps only Boise and Fresno currently do not feature a true NBA prospect on their rosters.

Recruiting is where Utah State will need the most improvement to truly compete, but that improvement will certainly come. Stew Morrill has been around the block more than once and he knows what he's doing. As a member in the MWC the Aggies will become a more attractive option to better players and you will begin landing better overall talent, beating out top Pac-12 schools for players, etc.

Currently the top programs in the MWC are consistently landing 4-star and 5-star type athletes. UNLV for example currently has 2 5-star McDonald's AA's (Bennett and Birch) and the rest are 4-stars with one or two 3-stars on the roster. Next year we have another McDonald's AA (Kendrick) and a couple more 4-stars coming in our 2013 class. SDSU and New Mexico are also grabbing elite talent. So it's tough to reach the top without having the horses and even then it's not guaranteed--we finished 3rd this season. Sometimes a great coach can get more performance with less talent, but either way, teams are playing at a high level and winning the conference title requires a pretty special team.

Butterfield and Shaw are solid players but the Aggies will need to upgrade in most areas and get physically stronger to win games. Like I said, I think it's only a matter of time for Stew Morrill to find the right players he needs to compete at a high level in the MWC. But he will get them over the next couple of years.

When Nevada Reno was eliminated in the 1st round of the MWC tourney the CBS broadcasters asked their coach in an interview about the transition of playing in the WAC versus coming into the MWC. His comment was "The WAC has some nice players who are enjoyable to watch, but the MWC has 'men' on a nightly basis."

This season has been especially competitive top to bottom, pushing the MWC to the #1 or #2 conference RPI range. Next season there should be a little more breathing room since CSU loses all 5 starting seniors and Air Force loses 4 starting seniors and Wyoming loses some key pieces. Several other players from SDSU and UNLV are leaving early to the NBA. But it will be plenty tough still and teams will reload.

I'm excited to have Utah State joining the league. I anticipate the Aggies will take a few lumps next season but your program will emerge nicely as one of the upper teams featured in the league in no time.

How dare you be so logical about what it takes to win in the MWC. Haven't you heard, USU's roster is full of MWC all-conference players. We are going to win all our home games, but maybe one, and we'll win a couple on the road. At least .500 is guaranteed and the NCAA tournament is ours next year. The Spectrum will make all the difference. Berger, Doc, Harris, Stone -- are sure to play up to the competition. Butterfield and Shaw will be all-conference. Wow, let's not add anyone but some freshmen who will redshirt and an SUU transfer -- we're good just as we are.

Seriously Rebel, it's nice to have you on the board -- balance and perspective.

dogie · Post by **dogie** » March 17th, 2013, 10:16 pm

AGGZILLA wrote:
Aggiesbleedblue wrote:I absolutely cannot wait to be in this conference. I am excited for both football and basketball, but more so for basketball. The benefits of being in this conference are immeasureable. The RPI of the MWC is great, which comes in handy at tournament time. We had the same record as Boise State this year, and they get an automatic bid. They went 21-10! A few years ago we went 30-4 and we wouldn't have got an auto-bid had we lost the WAC title game. Say next time we have a great year and go 27-6 or something like that, we will be a 3-5 seed in the Big Dance!! i know that is looking ahead, but this is IMO the best CBB conference in America, and i still cannot believe we get to be a part of it next year! The Spectrum better be back to its old self at every home game next year because we have a great Non conference schedule as well as hosting NM, CSU, UNLV among others!! SEE YOU AT THE BIG DANCE NEXT YEAR AGGIE FANS!!! And we finally won't get hosed in seeding, so we will win at least a game!

Your win/loss record has nothing to do with selection nor seeding in the tourney. I wish it did, otherwise we would've been seeded far better in tournaments past. Boise's 21-10 is a night and day to our 21-10, though. It all boils down to who you beat and where you beat them. That is the main criteria that the committee uses.

It's true that Boise State's 21-10 is night and day to USU's 21-10, but that is entirely because Boise State is playing a MWC schedule and USU is playing a WAC schedule. The original post didn't suggest that USU's 2013 WAC team that went 21-10 should be getting an invitation.

The point was that a 21-10 MWC school is quite likely going to be in the tournament. Boise State is a perfect example to line up with USU this year. Boise State's OOC SOS was 200, while USU's was 210. Boise State lost two games and USU lost two. Boise State had a quality OOC win (Creighton) and a bad loss (Utah). USU had neither exceptionally good OOC wins or bad losses.

Boise State then played a MWC schedule and finished 21-10 with an NCAA invitation. USU played a WAC schedule, finished 21-10 and had no chance whatsoever of going to the tournament.

So, to recap, the point was that a 21-10 MWC team is quite likely to go to the tournament. USU's 2013 team wouldn't have gone 21-10 in the MWC this year - but that wasn't the point of hte original post. Boise State had a poor OOC SOS, one quality OOC win, one bad OOC loss, a 21-10 record with a MWC schedule, and an at-large bid.

Donman · Post by **Donman** » March 17th, 2013, 10:20 pm

I am not certain anyone has disagreed that if we want to win the MWC our recruiting will have to pick up. The issue I have is that you fail to see what a huge factor injuries played this year on the team. If you count Jardine, five our best seven or eight players were on the bench. The injured lineup might have very well beat the group playing on the floor.

We fail to realize that we had two JC All American wings that never played a game for USU due to injury and personal reasons.

We fail to realize we have a pretty good point guard for the future in Doc, who before he was injured was giving us glimpses of having a future Andre Miller on the court.

We fail to recongize that we have a pretty good recruit in Jalen Morre coming in, who according to Tony Jones (who has watched more basketball than me) thinks has the ability to play in the NBA.

We fail to recongize that we have a big coming in Shanks who was being sought after by some pretty good programs.

We fail to recongize that we got a player that was listed as one of the top 10 players nationally who hadn't committed yet, just prior to committing to us.

Once again, I don't think anyone believes that we are going to come in and dominate the MWC. It will be a challenge. But just as our team went from the Big West to the WAC and was successful. The same thing can happen in basketball.

We have talent coming back next year. Talent that if it would have stayed healthy would have had an excellent chance at winning the WAC this year. Talent that beat a pretty good Santa Clara team on the road.

Call me a homer, but if I have to live my life looking for the negative in my basketball team with every passing day then I would be pretty miserable person.

I fully recognize bad talent and bad coaching. Heck I beat the drum to fire DA from about the first game. I worked in the AD department when Kohn Smith was coach. So believe me I know when someone needs to go.

Go Aggies!!!

pharquar · Post by **pharquar** » March 17th, 2013, 10:58 pm

USUBlue wrote: How dare you be so logical about what it takes to win in the MWC. Haven't you heard, USU's roster is full of MWC all-conference players. We are going to win all our home games, but maybe one, and we'll win a couple on the road. At least .500 is guaranteed and the NCAA tournament is ours next year. The Spectrum will make all the difference. Berger, Doc, Harris, Stone -- are sure to play up to the competition. Butterfield and Shaw will be all-conference. Wow, let's not add anyone but some freshmen who will redshirt and an SUU transfer -- we're good just as we are.

Seriously Rebel, it's nice to have you on the board -- balance and perspective.

Would you please quit trolling, USUBlue? This rebelfan comes on our board and posts a logical post and all you can do is post a sarcastic trolling comment of hyperbole baiting people into stupid arguments? It's really tiresome and annoying that every post from you is like this. It would've been just as easy for you to say something like:

"Rebel, it's nice to have you on the board, thanks for your balance and perspective."

Why do you have to try to make this place into a cesspool?

-------

By the way, thanks for stopping by UNLV_FinalFour. You've been a great addition to the board, and I respect and appreciate your comments. It will be fun to see how the Aggies can compete in the MWC next year. I miss the UNLV games of old in the Spectrum.

AGGZILLA · Post by **AGGZILLA** » March 17th, 2013, 11:25 pm

dogie wrote:
AGGZILLA wrote:
Aggiesbleedblue wrote:I absolutely cannot wait to be in this conference. I am excited for both football and basketball, but more so for basketball. The benefits of being in this conference are immeasureable. The RPI of the MWC is great, which comes in handy at tournament time. We had the same record as Boise State this year, and they get an automatic bid. They went 21-10! A few years ago we went 30-4 and we wouldn't have got an auto-bid had we lost the WAC title game. Say next time we have a great year and go 27-6 or something like that, we will be a 3-5 seed in the Big Dance!! i know that is looking ahead, but this is IMO the best CBB conference in America, and i still cannot believe we get to be a part of it next year! The Spectrum better be back to its old self at every home game next year because we have a great Non conference schedule as well as hosting NM, CSU, UNLV among others!! SEE YOU AT THE BIG DANCE NEXT YEAR AGGIE FANS!!! And we finally won't get hosed in seeding, so we will win at least a game!

Your win/loss record has nothing to do with selection nor seeding in the tourney. I wish it did, otherwise we would've been seeded far better in tournaments past. Boise's 21-10 is a night and day to our 21-10, though. It all boils down to who you beat and where you beat them. That is the main criteria that the committee uses.

It's true that Boise State's 21-10 is night and day to USU's 21-10, but that is entirely because Boise State is playing a MWC schedule and USU is playing a WAC schedule. The original post didn't suggest that USU's 2013 WAC team that went 21-10 should be getting an invitation.

The point was that a 21-10 MWC school is quite likely going to be in the tournament. Boise State is a perfect example to line up with USU this year. Boise State's OOC SOS was 200, while USU's was 210. Boise State lost two games and USU lost two. Boise State had a quality OOC win (Creighton) and a bad loss (Utah). USU had neither exceptionally good OOC wins or bad losses.

Boise State then played a MWC schedule and finished 21-10 with an NCAA invitation. USU played a WAC schedule, finished 21-10 and had no chance whatsoever of going to the tournament.

So, to recap, the point was that a 21-10 MWC team is quite likely to go to the tournament. USU's 2013 team wouldn't have gone 21-10 in the MWC this year - but that wasn't the point of hte original post. Boise State had a poor OOC SOS, one quality OOC win, one bad OOC loss, a 21-10 record with a MWC schedule, and an at-large bid.

So you're saying there are differences that go beyond the two records simply being identical?? I think we're both saying the same thing... just going about it in different ways. But the record has nothing to do with it, is my point. Had Boise gone 19-12, but you trade that loss at Michigan State for a win(which it very well could've been), and I still think they would've gotten in, even with a worse record. That's is what I'm trying to say. The record doesn't matter. Its who you beat and where is what is important to the committee. Conference affiliation is also not a criteria, nor influence... as far as I know, in the selection or seeding of teams. We could be in the BW, WAC, Big Sky... doesn't matter. We could go 21-10 next season, but our getting into the big dance would still depend heavily upon who we beat and where, and not simply that we're in the MWC.

MetsJetsAggies · Post by **MetsJetsAggies** » March 18th, 2013, 12:02 am

pharquar wrote:
USUBlue wrote: How dare you be so logical about what it takes to win in the MWC. Haven't you heard, USU's roster is full of MWC all-conference players. We are going to win all our home games, but maybe one, and we'll win a couple on the road. At least .500 is guaranteed and the NCAA tournament is ours next year. The Spectrum will make all the difference. Berger, Doc, Harris, Stone -- are sure to play up to the competition. Butterfield and Shaw will be all-conference. Wow, let's not add anyone but some freshmen who will redshirt and an SUU transfer -- we're good just as we are.

Seriously Rebel, it's nice to have you on the board -- balance and perspective.
Would you please quit trolling, USUBlue? This rebelfan comes on our board and posts a logical post and all you can do is post a sarcastic trolling comment of hyperbole baiting people into stupid arguments? It's really tiresome and annoying that every post from you is like this. It would've been just as easy for you to say something like:

"Rebel, it's nice to have you on the board, thanks for your balance and perspective."

Why do you have to try to make this place into a cesspool?

-------

By the way, thanks for stopping by UNLV_FinalFour. You've been a great addition to the board, and I respect and appreciate your comments. It will be fun to see how the Aggies can compete in the MWC next year. I miss the UNLV games of old in the Spectrum.

.

Aggiesbleedblue · Post by **Aggiesbleedblue** » March 18th, 2013, 12:15 am

AGGZILLA, I couldn't disagree more. If conference affiliation didn't matter Then why was there so much discussion on Gonzaga getting a 1 seed or not? Had they gone 31-2 in the MWC they would have been the #1 overall seed. If boise state went 21-10 in the WCC or WAC they would have zero chance of an at large. If we had our 30-4 year as a member of the MWC we would be seeded accordingly, much like BYU, SDSU and NM all were. Being in a good conference makes all the difference to the committee. If we go 11-5/12-4 in the NC and 9-7 in the MWC next year (very possible, IMO) we can go dancing. If we stay healthy!

scotlandog · Post by **scotlandog** » March 18th, 2013, 12:43 am

conference affiliation matters only because of who you are playing in conference (and beating) and not necessarily the NAME of the conference. I think thats what Aggzilla is trying to say. (Correct me if I'm wrong Aggzilla.) So, yeah, your record is important and your conference is important but only because of what those two things represent; and that is quality wins, at home and even better, away.

Post by **treesap32** » March 18th, 2013, 1:03 am

scotlandog wrote:conference affiliation matters only because of who you are playing in conference (and beating) and not necessarily the NAME of the conference. I think thats what Aggzilla is trying to say. (Correct me if I'm wrong Aggzilla.) So, yeah, your record is important and your conference is important but only because of what those two things represent; and that is quality wins, at home and even better, away.

Very well said.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD

NVAggie · Post by **NVAggie** » March 18th, 2013, 7:08 am

USUBlue, the Jay Bilas of USUfans.

letsbehonest · Post by **letsbehonest** » March 18th, 2013, 11:17 am

I hope the MWC can become the thing that helps get USU to take another step up the ladder. I am skeptical based on what I have seen from the USU basketball program over Stew's tenure. That isn't to say we won't be good. I think we can finish in the 4-6 range year in and year out but Stew's teams have always seemed to struggle against very athletic teams and right now at the very least UNLV, New Mexico, and SD State are way ahead of us. The thing that gives me some hope is 2 of our players. Am excited to see how Doc grows as a player and if Moore is as good as I think he is. If those two become what I think most USU fans hope they can become then in Doc's JR and SR year we could be in for something very special.

aggieaggie · Post by **aggieaggie** » March 18th, 2013, 11:24 am

letsbehonest wrote:I hope the MWC can become the thing that helps get USU to take another step up the ladder. I am skeptical based on what I have seen from the USU basketball program over Stew's tenure. That isn't to say we won't be good. I think we can finish in the 4-6 range year in and year out but Stew's teams have always seemed to struggle against very athletic teams and right now at the very least UNLV, New Mexico, and SD State are way ahead of us. The thing that gives me some hope is 2 of our players. Am excited to see how Doc grows as a player and if Moore is as good as I think he is. If those two become what I think most USU fans hope they can become then in Doc's JR and SR year we could be in for something very special.

I ask the question, do you think Stew can accomplish in the MWC what Majerus did at Utah?

AGGZILLA · Post by **AGGZILLA** » March 18th, 2013, 11:24 am

Aggiesbleedblue wrote:AGGZILLA, I couldn't disagree more. If conference affiliation didn't matter Then why was there so much discussion on Gonzaga getting a 1 seed or not? Had they gone 31-2 in the MWC they would have been the #1 overall seed. If boise state went 21-10 in the WCC or WAC they would have zero chance of an at large. If we had our 30-4 year as a member of the MWC we would be seeded accordingly, much like BYU, SDSU and NM all were. Being in a good conference makes all the difference to the committee. If we go 11-5/12-4 in the NC and 9-7 in the MWC next year (very possible, IMO) we can go dancing. If we stay healthy!

Interesting. You know this for a fact? Kinda funny... this is the same type of mentality fans around here had when we were leaving the Big West for the WAC back in 2005. I'd like to point something out--- remember after the infamous 2004 snub, even though we were ranked at the time, that a lot of people around here, including Stew himself, said that the main reason why we were snubbed was because we were a member of the Big West(not the fact that we had only two top 100 rpi wins all season). Well, that fallacy got blasted out of the water pretty quickly... fast forward just a year later and you'll remember that Pacific, a BW member(and also ranked that year), was not only awarded an at-large bid, but they earned an 8-seed... thereby blasting another fallacy that Big West teams were automatically penciled into the 12-13 seed line, no matter what... a line, mind you, that interestingly enough, we have pretty much been stuck on every time we go to the big dance, whether in the BW or the WAC. Until we're able to pick up some marquee-quality wins outside of the Spectrum(neutral or road), it will stay that way, regardless of our simply being in the MWC. Being in a 'good conference' means absolutely nothing to the committee... if that were true, then Saint Mary's, Middle Tennessee State, the Boise State's and LaSalle's would've been snubbed yesterday and replaced by Kentucky, Virginia, Tennessee, and Maryland in the big dance.

AGGZILLA · Post by **AGGZILLA** » March 18th, 2013, 11:26 am

scotlandog wrote:conference affiliation matters only because of who you are playing in conference (and beating) and not necessarily the NAME of the conference. I think thats what Aggzilla is trying to say. (Correct me if I'm wrong Aggzilla.) So, yeah, your record is important and your conference is important but only because of what those two things represent; and that is quality wins, at home and even better, away.

spot on

letsbehonest · Post by **letsbehonest** » March 18th, 2013, 11:34 am

aggieaggie wrote:
letsbehonest wrote:I hope the MWC can become the thing that helps get USU to take another step up the ladder. I am skeptical based on what I have seen from the USU basketball program over Stew's tenure. That isn't to say we won't be good. I think we can finish in the 4-6 range year in and year out but Stew's teams have always seemed to struggle against very athletic teams and right now at the very least UNLV, New Mexico, and SD State are way ahead of us. The thing that gives me some hope is 2 of our players. Am excited to see how Doc grows as a player and if Moore is as good as I think he is. If those two become what I think most USU fans hope they can become then in Doc's JR and SR year we could be in for something very special.

I ask the question, do you think Stew can accomplish in the MWC what Majerus did at Utah?

I would say no. Majerus had two players that went ealry in the first rd of the nba draft that helped him achieve some great runs. If/when Stew can bring in that caliber of player is when I believe it can happen.

AGGZILLA · Post by **AGGZILLA** » March 18th, 2013, 11:38 am

letsbehonest wrote:
aggieaggie wrote:
letsbehonest wrote:I hope the MWC can become the thing that helps get USU to take another step up the ladder. I am skeptical based on what I have seen from the USU basketball program over Stew's tenure. That isn't to say we won't be good. I think we can finish in the 4-6 range year in and year out but Stew's teams have always seemed to struggle against very athletic teams and right now at the very least UNLV, New Mexico, and SD State are way ahead of us. The thing that gives me some hope is 2 of our players. Am excited to see how Doc grows as a player and if Moore is as good as I think he is. If those two become what I think most USU fans hope they can become then in Doc's JR and SR year we could be in for something very special.

I ask the question, do you think Stew can accomplish in the MWC what Majerus did at Utah?
I would say no. Majerus had two players that went ealry in the first rd of the nba draft that helped him achieve some great runs. If/when Stew can bring in that caliber of player is when I believe it can happen.

Keith Van Horn, Andre Miller, Michael Doleac, Hanno Mottola, Alex Jensen... the list goes on and on. If Stew were ever able to land that type of talent, then we can better answer that question. Right now, its a resounding and unhesitating "no".

mnprepsdude · Post by **mnprepsdude** » March 18th, 2013, 11:45 am

It's pretty simple. If u go 12-6 in a better conference then your odds of getting in the tourney go up. If u are crappy in a good conference, u aren't going anywhere.

NowhereLandAggie · Post by **NowhereLandAggie** » March 18th, 2013, 11:48 am

aggieaggie wrote:
letsbehonest wrote:I hope the MWC can become the thing that helps get USU to take another step up the ladder. I am skeptical based on what I have seen from the USU basketball program over Stew's tenure. That isn't to say we won't be good. I think we can finish in the 4-6 range year in and year out but Stew's teams have always seemed to struggle against very athletic teams and right now at the very least UNLV, New Mexico, and SD State are way ahead of us. The thing that gives me some hope is 2 of our players. Am excited to see how Doc grows as a player and if Moore is as good as I think he is. If those two become what I think most USU fans hope they can become then in Doc's JR and SR year we could be in for something very special.

I ask the question, do you think Stew can accomplish in the MWC what Majerus did at Utah?

I will also say no. (Hope I am wrong though.) Majerus won all but one of his first round games at Utah in the NCAA tournament. He brought together 4 players that eventually played at least a few games in the NBA (with 3 having long careers in Van Horn, Miller and Doleac.)

I actually thought Morrill's best shot at doing some damage in the Dance was when the team was anchored by Wesley, Newbold, and Wilkinson. They weren't the same caliber of players as Utah had in the late 90's (hence didn't end up in the NBA) but were solid pros that went overseas.

I just don't see as many of these guys coming into the program in the future. I hope I am wrong, but until the inside game improves to what it has been in the past on both an offensive and defensive level, I don't think this program is going to break through.

NVAggie · Post by **NVAggie** » March 18th, 2013, 11:52 am

How many good road wins did Colorado St. have this year? They are in the tourney. How many of the good wins you speak of came from the OOC schedule?

diehardaggiefan · Post by **diehardaggiefan** » March 18th, 2013, 11:56 am

Yeah the name of the conference means little. Kentucky went 12-6 in the SEC, finished 2nd in the regular season, and went 21-11 overall yet get to watch the NCAA tournament like the rest of us. Washington won the regular season pac 12 title last year outright and played in the nit. The MWC gives us a much better shot than the Wac, but if we don't beat the teams in the higher part of the conference, or if the conference has a down year it might not matter. You have to beat good teams, and avoid bad losses regardless of what conference you are in.

AgMan21 · Post by **AgMan21** » March 18th, 2013, 11:58 am

pharquar wrote:
USUBlue wrote: How dare you be so logical about what it takes to win in the MWC. Haven't you heard, USU's roster is full of MWC all-conference players. We are going to win all our home games, but maybe one, and we'll win a couple on the road. At least .500 is guaranteed and the NCAA tournament is ours next year. The Spectrum will make all the difference. Berger, Doc, Harris, Stone -- are sure to play up to the competition. Butterfield and Shaw will be all-conference. Wow, let's not add anyone but some freshmen who will redshirt and an SUU transfer -- we're good just as we are.

Seriously Rebel, it's nice to have you on the board -- balance and perspective.
Would you please quit trolling, USUBlue? This rebelfan comes on our board and posts a logical post and all you can do is post a sarcastic trolling comment of hyperbole baiting people into stupid arguments? It's really tiresome and annoying that every post from you is like this. It would've been just as easy for you to say something like:

"Rebel, it's nice to have you on the board, thanks for your balance and perspective."

Why do you have to try to make this place into a cesspool?

-------

By the way, thanks for stopping by UNLV_FinalFour. You've been a great addition to the board, and I respect and appreciate your comments. It will be fun to see how the Aggies can compete in the MWC next year. I miss the UNLV games of old in the Spectrum.

diehardaggiefan · Post by **diehardaggiefan** » March 18th, 2013, 12:01 pm

NVAggie wrote:How many good road wins did Colorado St. have this year? They are in the tourney. How many of the good wins you speak of came from the OOC schedule?

They may have not had a ton of road wins, but they had many quality wins. Something we severely lacked in 2004.

NVAggie · Post by **NVAggie** » March 18th, 2013, 12:08 pm

Point being, you don't get many opportunities for a quality opponent at home in the OOC schedule. CSU has thrived on having home games against UNLV, SDSU, UNM, etc. That is a major advantage one has in a good conference.

Seldomseensmith · Post by **Seldomseensmith** » March 18th, 2013, 12:09 pm

UNLV_FinalFour..........

Nevada Reno expected to have a decent showing in the MWC this season after losing only two players from last year's 13-1 WAC champion team, but they just couldn't match up physically and finished at the bottom in last place. But they will get bigger and better in time.

Boise finished at the bottom in last place during their first season in the MWC also. So there is some growing pains involved, but Boise has since recruited well internationally and has worked themselves up to 5th place in the league and they got the NCAA at-large bid today. They should be even better next season since they return everyone.

The biggest difference from the WAC to the MWC is the talent level. There are no nights off in the league because every team can play. Each team has at least 1 or more NBA players on its roster, even the weaker teams like Wyoming's Leonard Washington and Air Force's Micheal Lyons are NBA-caliber players. Perhaps only Boise and Fresno currently do not feature a true NBA prospect on their rosters.

Recruiting is where Utah State will need the most improvement to truly compete, but that improvement will certainly come. Stew Morrill has been around the block more than once and he knows what he's doing. As a member in the MWC the Aggies will become a more attractive option to better players and you will begin landing better overall talent, beating out top Pac-12 schools for players, etc.

Currently the top programs in the MWC are consistently landing 4-star and 5-star type athletes. UNLV for example currently has 2 5-star McDonald's AA's (Bennett and Birch) and the rest are 4-stars with one or two 3-stars on the roster. Next year we have another McDonald's AA (Kendrick) and a couple more 4-stars coming in our 2013 class. SDSU and New Mexico are also grabbing elite talent. So it's tough to reach the top without having the horses and even then it's not guaranteed--we finished 3rd this season. Sometimes a great coach can get more performance with less talent, but either way, teams are playing at a high level and winning the conference title requires a pretty special team.

Butterfield and Shaw are solid players but the Aggies will need to upgrade in most areas and get physically stronger to win games. Like I said, I think it's only a matter of time for Stew Morrill to find the right players he needs to compete at a high level in the MWC. But he will get them over the next couple of years.

When Nevada Reno was eliminated in the 1st round of the MWC tourney the CBS broadcasters asked their coach in an interview about the transition of playing in the WAC versus coming into the MWC. His comment was "The WAC has some nice players who are enjoyable to watch, but the MWC has 'men' on a nightly basis."

Can't disagree with any of that.

Aggiesbleedblue · Post by **Aggiesbleedblue** » March 18th, 2013, 1:22 pm

AGGZILLA, interesting that you compare the transition of big west to WAC and WAC to MWC. The Jump to the WAC seemed major at the time, but in hindsight it wasn't really. And yes if Gonzaga went 31-2 in this years MWC there is no question they would have Bren #1 overall. I do agree we need to get some top 50 wins in the NC to get an at large. The only explanation for pacific getting in and us getting hosed when we were ranked is that we are Utah State and we always get screwed by the commitee for whatever reason.

NowhereLandAggie · Post by **NowhereLandAggie** » March 18th, 2013, 1:44 pm

Aggiesbleedblue wrote:AGGZILLA, interesting that you compare the transition of big west to WAC and WAC to MWC. The Jump to the WAC seemed major at the time, but in hindsight it wasn't really. And yes if Gonzaga went 31-2 in this years MWC there is no question they would have Bren #1 overall. I do agree we need to get some top 50 wins in the NC to get an at large. The only explanation for pacific getting in and us getting hosed when we were ranked is that we are Utah State and we always get screwed by the commitee for whatever reason.

It was comparable to the jump today. When we joined the WAC, we went from a league that was rated (usually) somewhere in the 20th range, to one rated in the top 10 (usually.) We are now going from one ranked 13th to one in the top 5. The WAC has lost a lot over the past few years, but even this past season it wasn't as bad as the Big West was during our last few years there.

AGGZILLA · Post by **AGGZILLA** » March 18th, 2013, 1:49 pm

Aggiesbleedblue wrote:AGGZILLA, interesting that you compare the transition of big west to WAC and WAC to MWC. The Jump to the WAC seemed major at the time, but in hindsight it wasn't really. And yes if Gonzaga went 31-2 in this years MWC there is no question they would have Bren #1 overall. I do agree we need to get some top 50 wins in the NC to get an at large. The only explanation for pacific getting in and us getting hosed when we were ranked is that we are Utah State and we always get screwed by the commitee for whatever reason.

So no facts to back up that statement, just your opinion? Got it.

Also, you're saying that the reason for our snub in 2004 and subsequent low seeds in the tourney since isn't because of poor conference affiliation, your original argument for the benefits of being in the MWC, isn't because our resumes of years past have, on average, been mediocre with a low number of marquee-quality wins on the road or on neutral courts.... but because we're "Utah State" and we "ALWAYS get screwed by the committee"?? That's your explanation? So I guess my question to you, is, if we're 'always getting screwed' since we're 'Utah State'... why would that change once we're in the MWC?

AGGZILLA · Post by **AGGZILLA** » March 18th, 2013, 1:55 pm

NVAggie wrote:How many good road wins did Colorado St. have this year? They are in the tourney. How many of the good wins you speak of came from the OOC schedule?

And this is exactly why some here think that they got 'hosed'... they finished 2nd in the lauded MWC, but they were seeded lower than 3rd place UNLV(5-seed) and 4th place SDSU(7-seed). Personally, I don't think they got hosed at all and it looks like neither do you... for the same reasons you just mentioned, which were, a dearth of 'good road (and neutral court) wins'. Maybe you could copy and paste both of your posts about CSU in this thread here and put these guys in their place-- viewtopic.php?f=7&t=26449

Legand49 · Post by **Legand49** » March 18th, 2013, 2:24 pm

Let me get this straight. You're stoked about the mountain west because you guys will never see a NCAA appearance again?

Post by **ProvoAggie** » March 18th, 2013, 2:28 pm

Legand49 wrote:Let me get this straight. You're stoked about the mountain west because you guys will never see a NCAA appearance again?

That's what they told us when we joined the WAC. We don't have to win the MWC to get into the NCAA tourney...in the WAC you have to win the conference tourney to even get a crappy seed.

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