We’re sure to have a lot of KU traffic coming to this board, so I wanted to get a team synopsis out there on the Aggies, a scouting report of sorts, so that when the Blue and Whites square off on Thursday, everyone will have an idea of what to watch for.
Our Style:
Stew Morrill likes to play a medium to slow paced game with emphasis on defense and rebounding. We have a very good record when holding teams to under 60 points and we are about +6 in rebounding for the year. Stew will play Zone or Man, whatever is effective. He likes to play a ¾ zone trapping press that forces opponents to systematically bring the ball up the court. It’s not that intense and won’t force tons of turnovers, but it eats shot clock time and forces teams to be patient in advancing the ball.
Our offense focuses on bringing the ball inside. We’ve done that with varying degrees of success this year due to our inconsistent outside shot. While not to big, we have 3 guys very effective once close to the basket. If our 3 pointers are falling, we are as tough to guard as anyone. If they aren’t, a packed zone will be very effective in clogging our inside game and forcing things to get ugly.
Our Players: (Inside – Out)
Desmond Penigar (Pen*i*gar) is the best player on our team. At a thick-ish 6’7”, he’s effective inside and out, averaging over 15 PPG at the PF. He’s got a really sweet shot and can score in traffic. His game has been inconsistent his senior year due in part to effort and in part to our lack of outside threat to keep defenses honest. He has 3-point range (36%) so whoever guards him will have to stay close. In winning the BW conference tourney, Penigar took MVP honors and really stepped up his game. He carried the team at times and willed us to victory. If he plays like that, you’ll see one of the better players in the country.
Spencer Nelson is a well-built, athletic 6’8” sophomore that is our emotional leader. He plays intense, if a bit reckless on D and has had the most foul trouble of anyone on the team. He leads the team in rebounding at 7.3 per game and led the team in FG% (.655) for the season, though he’s not likely to shoot more than 5-7 shots. His infectious smile and love of the game are really fun to watch. One of the most likable guys you’ll ever meet, he really leaves it all on the floor.
Nate Harris is a 6’8” redshirt Freshman that has been averaging about 18 minutes a game over the last half of the season. He redshirted due to consecutive knee injuries and seems now to just be hitting his stride. He has great touch around the basket and appears to score with ease in traffic. It may not be pretty, but it’s very effective. He’s averaged 5 points per game and 3.2 boards, but has had 12 and 13 point games. His defense has been his mainstay. He may be our best post defender because he is so fundamentally sound. If we get foul trouble inside, you’ll see a lot of Nate off the bench.
Mike Puzey (Pew*zee) is a 6’9” center that’s had a hard, disappointing year. He had an early season injury followed by other issues that have really hurt his senior campaign. He’s a scrapper and works hard when he’s in, but his minutes have been pretty low (11). His offense is limited so his contributions will be guarding and on the glass. Given KU’s size, I expect Puzey will play a fair amount to try and help slow down Collison. Like all our big men, Puzey is athletic enough to guard outside against post players that can hit the three.
Toraino Johnson is our 6’4” senior swingman. A 3-year starter, his game is contributing however the team needs. He’s hit some critical threes, but isn’t a serious 3-point threat. He’s very active on the boards and guards as well as anyone on the team. He’s very fundamentally sound and doesn’t get too up or down. He’s most effective when his 15’ jumper is working, but the offense doesn’t go through him too much. Active on the glass, he’s averaged 7.8 points and 3.6 rebounds. He’s surprisingly athletic. If you don’t keep an eye on him, he’ll chip in with 8 boards and 16 points and just kill you. He’s a very opportunistic player.
Chad Evans has been a career bench player. At 6’7” he’s got a lean frame and rarely looks to score. He’s very active and scrappy on the glass, but his time consists mostly of getting TJ some rest. He’ll mix it up with anyone (in a good way) and plays with a lot of heart. He can hit the jumper or an occasional three, but don’t look for him to score except for on offensive rebounds. He’s averaged just 2 points and 2 rebounds in 10 minutes.
Cardell Butler is a 6’4” JUCO transfer that emerged in the BW tourney (finally) as our starter at the 2. Besides being thin at Center, the 2 has been our biggest problem with getting consistent output. Butler is a junior with amazing athletic skills. Heavily recruited out of High School, he had to take the JUCO route, to our great benefit. His release is a bit slow, but his jump is gravity defying. He’s averaged almost 9 points per and gets 2.5 boards. He shoots a nice 43% from the floor, but is inconsistent behind the arc. His season average is just 30% from three, but he had a real bad dry spell that he seems to be over.
Ronnie Ross is a 6’1” senior SG who was expected to move from the point this year to generate scoring. A natural 2, he’s really struggled with consistency. He’s possibly our best 3-point shooter but has been so up and down you never know what we’re going to get. When he’s hitting from outside, we’re a very good team. He’s a streaky shooter who can light it up or disappear. His defense is serviceable, but he’s possibly a tad short. That said, whoever is playing better between Butler and Ross will see the most minutes. Lately it’s been Butler by a long ways. Ross will back up the PG.
Mark Brown is another JUCO junior that is a very natural PG. At a lean 5’10” he’s a quiet leader that runs Stew’s offense very effectively and efficiently. He’s got great range on his three, but doesn’t shoot a lot or at a great % (.354). He averages 8.8 points, 2.3 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game. He only commits 2.2 turnovers while leading the Aggies in minutes. He’s a great FT shooter (.851) who, along with Butler (.857), has been ice at the line to seal games.
That is our rotation. Others may play but it’s very unlikely they get meaningful minutes. Can USU beat a very tough and game KU team? They can, but only under the most favorable of circumstances. First and foremost, our outside shot has to be falling. If we can make defenses play us honest, it opens our inside game. A big game out of Penigar is a must. Game tempo must be kept in check and the Aggies have to crash the glass hard. Avoiding foul trouble is key, also. While deep, we aren’t deep big. On the other hand, Collison is prone to offensive fouls. If he can be slowed down, it really helps our chances.
USU is better than a 15 seed team, but a 15 seed is what we earned with inconsistent play and some rather discouraging losses against sub-par opponents. On the other hand we are 3-1 against the field of 65 and are playing our best basketball of the year right now. Expect the Aggies to fight hard and compete. Stew is a very solid coach that can match wits with Roy Williams. It’ll come down to rebounding, 3 point shooting and foul trouble as to whether the Aggies can be there at the end with a chance to pull the upset. We’ll need all three.
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