Hallowed Records in Utah State Basketball History are Ready to Change Hands

Utah State University's men's basketball program is in its 103rd year of existence and has had a storied past that includes 17 trips to the NCAA Tournament and eight All-American's. With all the accomplishments Aggie Basketball has had in the past century, there has never been a period of time with greater success than the past decade under current head coach Stew Morrill.

And that success could become monumental this week as Morrill is one win shy of becoming the school's all-time winningest coach, while senior All-American guard Jaycee Carroll is just 31 points shy of becoming the school's all-time scoring leader.

 

E. Lowell Romney, who coached basketball at Utah State from 1920-41, won a school record 225 games in his 22 seasons leading the Aggies. Since Romney's tenure as basketball coach ended, Utah State was coached by 11 people before Morrill changed the landscape of Aggie Basketball forever.

 

In his 10th season at the helm of the Aggie program, Coach Morrill has guided Utah State to unprecedented heights as it has recorded eight straight 23-win seasons and advanced to eight straight postseasons, both of which are school records. Prior to his current run, USU had never posted more than three straight 20-win seasons, nor participated in more than three straight postseason appearances.

 

Under Morrill, Utah State has been one of the most consistent programs in the country as its 75.8 winning percentage during the past nine seasons (210-67) ranks as the fifth-best in the nation. USU has also averaged 24.8 wins during the last eight years and is one of just four schools across the nation to record eight straight 23-win seasons along with Gonzaga, Kansas and Syracuse.

 

One of the key ingredients to Coach Morrill's success during the past four years has been the play of Carroll, a 6-2 shooting guard from Evanston, Wyo., who has emerged into the most prolific scorer in school history.

 

On December 20 of this season, Carroll scored a then season-high 32 points at home against Utah Valley to become just the third player in school history to reach the 2,000-point plateau along with former Aggie greats Greg Grant (2,127) and Wayne Estes (2,001). Five games later, Carroll is now within striking distance of Grant's all-time scoring record set from 1983-86.

 

But it's not just about scoring for the lanky guard as Carroll also ranks among the top-10 Aggies all-time in steals and among the top-20 all-time in rebounds and assists. He also holds the school's all-time record for three-pointers made and three-point shooting, and is on the verge of setting new school records in three-point attempts, double-figure scoring games, games played, games started, minutes played, field goals made and field goals attempted.

 

Utah State hosts Western Athletic Conference foes Boise State University and the University of Idaho on Thursday and Saturday, respectively, in the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum, and with any luck, both of these Aggie records will have new names attached to them by the weekend.