OCR Text |
Show April 15, 2009 MEN'S BASKETBALL Stavon is movin' on By TIM OLSEN sports editor Despite being part of the winningest men's basketball team in USU history, sharp-shooting guard Stavon Williams has decided to leave the team due to personal reasons. "The reason 1 signed was because of James Ware, me and him had a tight relationship ... and I knew it was going to be hard for me going so far away from my family." Williams said. "When he left it was a month before the season so I'm already signed and it's already a hassle to decommit and go through that whole process." Ware joined the Aggies as an assistant coach in 2006 and stayed with the Aggies for two seasons before taking an assistant coaching job at Santa Clara University last June. Ware, a former Utah Jazz draftee, hails from Williams' native Minnesota and the two formed a tight bond. With Ware's departure before the season and Williams' preseason troubles, his short USU career was nearly over before it took place. "I wasn't playing well and I wasn't producing like I thought I was going to and I was just going through all the things I went through at the beginning of the year, the little trouble I got in and whatnot," Williams said. "I was going to leave at semester, but then another player left and I was like I don't want to do that to the team." The Aggies are sure glad he stuck around. Williams played in 34 of USU's 35 games this season, and though he only averaged six points per contest he was deadly from beyond the arc He knocked down nearly 43 percent of his 3-pointers and sparked the Aggie offense on several occasions. One of Williams more memorable moments come out every game no matter what, if we're losing they're still up there cheering hard still packed and everything." Along with the thrill of playing under the Spectrum lights - a thrill he said sent shivers up his spine - Williams will also miss his teammates. "I'm going to remember how great of teammates 1 had because they were so supportive," he said. "I've never been around a group of guys like that, period, in my life. I've never been on a team with so many positive players and just nice, kind ... like a family." As Williams leaves one family to return to another, the Aggies are now faced with replacing his team-leading outside shot, his 18 minutes of playing time per game, and arguably their most important role player. The junior said he was grateful for his experience here and expressed his love for the Aggie faithful. "I've got so much to say, I thank them for supporting me everywhere. They were the best fans that you could ever have. I don't want people to look at me like oh he's leaving, because it's not like that at all," Williams said. "It's just STAVON WILLIAMS has decided to leave personal reasons and I feel like everyone should the team due to personal reasons. PATRICK ODEN understand that. It's nothing about Utah State photo because it's the best school and the best fans came on the Spectrum floor against league foe I've ever played in front of- the best people, Nevada. After trailing at the half, Williams period." scored eight straight points during a critical Williams said he is looking to return closer stretch in the second half that pushed USU to to either family in Minnesota or Texas, but he's an 11-point win. not sure where he'll end up or whether he'll be Williams said playing in front of the playing Division I or II basketball. Spectrum crowd is something that he will miss "I definitely want to stay Division I, but if it's a lot, and really made his decision to leave a anything like not a full ride than I'm going to tough one. "It made it so much harder - the fans are •I See STAVON, page 9 great, they're just amazing," he said. "They'll Standings Softball WAC Nevada 9-2 Fresno Sta!e8-4 Hawaii NMSU La. Tech 8-4 4-4 5-6 Boise Stale 4-7 SJSU Utah Slate 4-8 1-8 OVERALL 29-12 26-17 20-20 24-14 21-18 18-18 17-27 8-28 Wilkinson performs well at invitational BY USU ATHLETICS Utah State's Gary Wilkinson was named to the 2009 Portsmouth Invitational AllTournament team this past weekend as he helped his club (Tidewater Sealants) to a 1-2 record. In three games, Wilkinson averaged 16.7 points and 11.7 rebounds, and shot a tournament-best 71.4 percent from the field (20-28). Wilkinson, a 6-9 senior forward from South Jordan, Utah (Salt Lake CC), scored in double-figures in all three contests, including double-doubles in his last two games. His best game of the tournament was in a 100-83 win against Portsmouth Sports Club as he was 10-of-ll from the field and finished with 26 points and 11 rebounds. Wilkinson began the tournament with 11 points and nine rebounds in his first game, and then had 13 points and 15 rebounds in his second contest. Wilkinson was one of 13 players named to the all-tournament team joining A.J. Abrams (Texas), Alade Aminu (Georgia Tech), Jimmy Baron (Rhode Island), Jon Brockman (Washington), Paul Delaney III (UAB), Wes Matthews (Marquette), B.J. Raymond (Xavier), Alex Ruoff (West Virginia), Garret Siler (Augusta State), Jermaine Tayler (Central Florida), A.D. Vassallo (Virginia Tech), Gary Wilkinson (Utah State), and DeMarre Carroll of Missouri who was named the tournament's MVP. Wilkinson's list of postseason honors continues to grow as he was named an honorable mention All-American by the Associated Press T H E DEFENSIVE LINE LOOKS to shut down the offense during goaline drills. The defense stepped it up in the Aggies second scrimmage of the season which took place last Saturday. Many USU defenders are playing new positions in an effort to get more speed on the field. CAMERON PETERSON photo and the Western Athletic Conference Player of the Year, along with being named a second-team high-major All-American by Collegehoops.net and earning academic all-WAC honors for the second straight year. lings. Royster has moved to the inside this "This was the best step forward we've seen By TIM OLSEN Wilkinson's other honseason after playing on the end. from the defense as far as flying to the footsports editor ors this year include being "It's a huge mentality change," he said. ball, playing with pad level and playing with named the Most Valuable "You have to go from being a finesse player emotion," Andersen said. "The defensive line Speed is the name of the game on the Player of the 2009 WAC to being a more aggressive, pound the ball was a big part of that because they were able, front lines of head coach Gary Andersen's Tournament along with for really the first time, to get underneath new system. As the Aggies wind down spring and get off the block player. It's a whole difreceiving first-team allferent world." the pads of the offensive line and actually get ball and gear up for the 2009 season, they're district honors from both Along with getting players in the right the line of scrimmage moving in a positive looking forward to showing the USU faithful the National Association position, new defensive line coach Chad direction if you're on the defensive side of the a new kind of machine. of Basketball Coaches Kauha'aha'a said his group has been held to football." "We're beasting everybody," said senior (NABC) and the United a tough regiment of working out and a disciBishop talked about how everything the Alan Bishop. "We're knocking back O-lineStates Basketball Writers new staff has brought with them has helped men and making plays with our speed, and I •plined weight program. Association (USBWA). "What we did in the off-season through the defensive front get better and better. think everyone is going to be impressed." As a senior, Wilkinson "The strength coach has been workA big key to getting the most speed on the winter conditioning was get the guys in led Utah State in scoring ing with us real hard since they got here to field at one time has been a shuffling of play- shape and get them on a weight program," and rebounding with 17.1 improve our speed and athleticism," he said. ers into different positions by the new coach- Kauha'-aha'a said. "Every week we have a goal points and 6.8 rebounds they had to meet and if they didn't, they had "We practice at a lot higher tempo, every ing staff. Former defensive ends have moved per game. He finished the to do extra running, lifting, whatever to get drill we do with Coach K is real high tempo inside to defensive tackle, former linebackers year ranking second in the that weight down." and everything is real technique so we're not have moved down to the end position and WAC in scoring and free Both Kauha'aha'a and Andersen said the wasting any movement." former safetys have moved to linebacker. throw shooting (.826), was defense has taken a while to gel used to their As well as gelling as a unit on the field, "Speed is huge and the main thing they've fourth in field goal shootnew positions and the new schemes being the defensive line spends some time bonding done to have our speed on the field is getting ing (.580), and sixth in introduced, but that Tuesday's practice was people in the right positions," said junior rebounding. the best yet. [M See SPEED, page 9 Nathan Royster, one of the recent change- SPRING FOOTBALL SERIES: PART 2 OF 8 A new breed of Aggies |