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Show Basketball Preview Special, Fall 2009 Page 17 ZPlayers Continued from page 11 coach Stew Morrill, joining Tony Brown and Nate Harris... A graduate of the same high school that produced Morrill. PERSONAL: Full name is Tai William Evans Wesley... Born May 13, 1986 in Orem, Utah... One of seven children of Susan and Hiagi Wesley... Is the younger brother of former Brigham Young standout Mekeli Wesley, Russell Wesley who played at Utah Valley State, and 2003 all-state selection Tika Wesley... Majoring in interdisciplinary studies... Enjoys golfing, boating and playing video games... Returned from a two-year LDS Church Mission in Oaxaca, Mexico in May, 2007... First name is pronounced Tie. POOH WILLIAMS Junior • Guard/Forward • 6-3 • 200 • 2L • Federal Way, Wash. (Federal Way HS) This Season: Should emerge as one of the top wings in the WAC this season... Is the best one-on-one defender on the team... Can take the ball to the basket and has developed into a solid three-point shooter... Needs to take the next step in his game and be a consistent player for an entire season... Is lefthanded. 2009 Season (SO.): Started 31 games and played in all 35 during his sophomore season... Finished the year by averaging 5.9 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game, while shooting 46.4 percent from the field, 38.5 percent from three-point range, and 68.1 percent from the free throw line... Played an average of 24.6 minutes per game... During league games, he averaged 6.4 points, 2.1 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game, while shooting 49.4 percent from the field, 46.2 percent from three-point range, and 78.6 percent from the free throw line... Averaged 10.7 points, 2.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists during the WAC Tournament as he shot 52.9 percent from the field, 50.0 percent from three-point range, and was a perfect 11-of-11 at the free throw line... Scored in double-figures seven times during the season, including a careerhigh 17 points against San Jose State at home in the regular season finale as he was 7-of-10 from the field and 3-of-5 from three-point range... Registered a career-high six rebounds at Louisiana Tech and had a career-high six assists against both Utah and SJSU at home... Was voted the team’s Best Defensive Player by his teammates. 2008 Season (Fr.): Played in 29 games, starting three in his first year at Utah State... Averaged 2.4 points, 1.0 assists and 0.8 rebounds in 12.1 minutes per game... Shot 38.8 percent from the field, 36.0 percent from three-point range and 62.5 percent from the free throw line... His three starts were in consecutive games against Montana-Western, Cal Poly and UC Irvine... Scored a season-high 10 points against Illinois State in the postseason MasterCard NIT as he was 4-of-5 from the field and 2-of-2 from threepoint range... Finished the season by averaging 5.5 points and shooting 60.0 percent from the field in his last four games... Took two charges and recorded one dunk during the season. HIGH SCHOOL: Earned first-team all-state honors as a prep senior in 2006 at Federal Way High School in Federal Way, Wash... Averaged just under 27 points and five rebounds per game as he led his team to the championship game of the district tournament... Scored a career-high 40 points against Bellermine Prep and had a career-high 12 rebounds against Bemer High School... Also played in the Washington State All-Star game... Earned first-team all-city honors as a junior averaging approximately 16 points and five rebounds per game... Played at the same high school as NBA players Donny Marshall and Michael Dickerson. First name is pronounced Mow-do and his last name is pronounced Knee-yan. PERSONAL: Full name is Earnest Williams... Born July 1, 1988 in Tacoma, Wash... One of six children of Earnest and Mae Williams... Majoring in interdisciplinary studies... Enjoys watching movies and hanging out with family and friends... Married Jamelah Brown, who played basketball at Utah State from 2007-08, on July 25, 2009. This Season: Had some nice contributions as a freshman, but also experienced some growing pains... Has an excellent attitude... Is the most athletic post player on the team, but needs to become a better defender... The biggest key for him to be successful is he must improve his skill level in terms of scoring at the block and passing out of block, as well as slowing down on the offensive end of the floor. MODOU NIANG Redshirt Sophomore • Center • 6-10 • 220 • 1L • Richard-Toll, Senegal (Hachioji HS, Tokyo, Japan) This Season: Has a lot of physical attributes as he is very big and strong, and has the ability to block shots... Must improve his skills and perform more consistently... Also needs to commit to the game mentally and become an everyday player. 2009 Season (SO.): Received a medical redshirt after breaking his hand against Howard on Dec. 29... Prior to his injury he had appeared in eight games for an average of 9.3 minutes per contest... His best game of the season was at home against Cal Poly as he scored a career-high eight points on 4-of-5 shooting and added a career-high six rebounds in just 13 minutes... Played a season-high 16 minutes against Howard and had six points and four rebounds before suffering his season-ending injury... Finished the year by averaging 2.6 points and 2.6 rebounds per game, while shooting 66.7 percent from the field (8-12) and 45.5 percent from the free throw line (5-11)... Also had four blocks, four assists and two dunks in his eight games. 2008 Season (Fr.): Played in 18 games in his freshman season at Utah State and averaged 5.1 minutes per outing... Finished the year by averaging 0.6 points, 1.2 rebounds and 0.6 blocks per game, while shooting 27.3 percent from the field and 71.4 percent from the free throw line... Also had season-highs with four points, three rebounds and three blocks against the Mustangs... Earned academic all-WAC honors. HIGH SCHOOL: Named the top center two years in a row in the National High School Championships in Japan... During his senior season he averaged a doubledouble as he led the nation in scoring at 32.3 points, to go along with 18.7 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 3.6 blocks per game... Also shot 74.7 percent from the field and 54.2 percent from the free throw line... During his senior season he had seasonhighs of 51 points and 40 rebounds... Led Hachioji to consecutive National All-Star tournaments... Hachioji High School finished third in the nation during his sophomore season and fourth during his senior season... Was also named a Tokyo (Kanto) All-Star as a sophomore as he averaged 33.5 points, 20.4 rebounds and 5.3 blocks per game. Personal: Full name is Modou Niang... Born April 12, 1987 in Richard-Toll, Senegal... One of seven children of Mamadou and N¬πdeye Niang... Majoring in math... Likes bowling, listening to music, reading books and surfing the internet... BRADY JARDINE Sophomore • Forward • 6-7 • 220 • 1L• Twin Falls, Idaho (Twin Falls HS) HONORS: Academic All-WAC (2009). 2009 Season (FR.): Sat out the first 11 games of the season as a potential redshirt before seeing his first collegiate action against Houston Baptist on Dec. 30... Played in 22 games during the season and averaged 7.7 minutes per contest... Finished the year by averaging 1.8 points and 2.9 rebounds per game, while shooting 34.1 percent from the field and 48.0 percent from the free throw line... Had 11 blocks during the season to finish tied for third on the team... Also had 30 offensive rebounds in limited playing time, which was the fifth-most on the team... Averaged 2.0 points and 3.5 rebounds in league games... Had his best game of the season at Hawai¬πi as he scored five points and recorded a season-high 10 rebounds... Also had nine rebounds at home against New Mexico State... Scored a season-high seven points against Cal State Bakersfield as he was 2-of-3 from the field and 3of-3 from the free throw line... His season-high in blocks was three at home against Hawai¬πi... Had three dunks and took three charges during the season... An academic all-WAC honoree. HIGH SCHOOL: Named the Idaho Gatorade and 5A Player of the Year as a prep senior at Twin Falls High School as he averaged 17.0 points, 8.5 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2.8 blocks per game... As a senior he led Twin Falls to a 24-2 record and its first state championship in 32 years... Led the team in scoring 12 times... Earned second-team all-region honors as a junior as he averaged 8.3 points, 8.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game... As a junior, Twin Falls HS went 25-1 and finished in third-place at the state tournament... Had a 39-inch vertical jump as a prep senior. PERSONAL: Full name is Brady Carl Jardine... Born July 18, 1987 in Phoenix, Ariz. ... One of four children of Jeff and Janelle Jardine... His sister Kelsey will be a junior at USU this fall... Enjoys all outdoor activities including hunting and fishing... Returned from a two-year LDS Church Mission in San Antonio, Texas in August, 2008... Majoring in finance... Married Jenna Oldroyd in October, 2009. JAXON MYAER Sophomore • Guard • 5-9 • 165 • 1L • Salt Lake City, Utah (Judge Memorial HS) This Season: Has a confidence level that gives him a chance to be successful in the WAC... He must add toughness to his game and become a pest on defense... Is an excellent perimeter shooter, but ZContinued on page 18 |