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Show Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2010 Page 8 WednesdaySport Utah State University • Logan, Utah • www.aggietownsquare.com TouchBase FOOTBALL The long jourtry to Logan Former JUCO wide receiver Xavier Martin By ADAM NETTINA staff writer Beneath the California sunshine, decked out in swim trunks and flip-flops, the 5-foot-10-inch, 200-pound wide receiver had thought he finally reached the end of his long journey from high school football star to college athlete. There were times, he thought, when it hadn't seemed worth it. The lack of scholarship offers out of high school, the autumn in which he was redshirted at the University of Maine. Never quite fitting into the frigid town of Orono, he had found himself on the outside looking in, questioning whether he would ever make good on his two-time allcounty status as a running back out of Joppatown, MD. At San Diego State in January 2008, Xavier finally felt like he was on the verge of college football stardom. Little did he know that other plans were in store for him, and that his journey back to the gridiron would take him far from those majestic shores. Flash forward to Dec. 11, 2009. A winter snowstorm to give USU explosive presence hangs over Logan, dumping more than a foot of snow. Martin, now two years older, has still yet to play a down in an NCAA Division I college football game. Yet on his official tour of USU, the older and wiser Xavier Martin finds him- four-time honorroll student at Joppatown High School, he self oddly at home and ready to take his farthest leap of faith yet. He soon signs with the Aggies, in the process becoming one of five JUCO players who will join USU's football roster this spring. Today, he will be joined by some two dozen other young men, as high school football seniors from across the country sign their National Letters of Intent to play college football come fall. While you wouldn't know it by looking at him, Martin is a journeyman in every Photo courtesy of Travis sense of the word. A Downs dreamed of playing for William and Mary following his graduation in 2007. That dream never quite came to fruition, however, and instead of staring at the illustrious Virginia institution, Xavier found himself redshirting at the University of Maine. "I really wanted to go to William and Mary, but I had to take my SATs late, so that was off the table," recalls Martin, now a junior at USU. "At the end of high school, I took my official visit to William and Mary, but somehow, things fell through, so I ended up at Maine." Little did he know at the time that Orono would be only the first stop of many on a two-year crosscountry odyssey. There was nothing wrong with Maine, said Xavier, who didn't mind the cold weather or the relatively out-of-theway status of the school. Yet during his redshirt season, he found himself growing more frustrated by his circumstances and worried that playing time may elude him come fall 2008. Convinced bigger and better things still awaited him, he looked to transfer after only a semester. "Stuff just wasn't adding up like I wanted it to, and it seemed like the Maine coaches weren't fulfilling their promises just as far as game stuff went," Xavier said. "At the end of November, I got my release signed from Maine, and I hit a couple of schools up." One school that had kept tabs on Martin was San Diego State, which offered him the El SeeJOURNEY, page 12 Utah D-fence on upswing despite missing Boozer eading into a Jan. 9 showdown in Dallas, the Jazz were 1 9 1 7 overall, fighting to stay relevant in the Western Conference playoff picture, and dealing with constant rumors, speculation and questions regarding potential roster shake-up. Then came the makeover. While the roster speculation remains a constant, specifically whether Carlos Boozer and Kyle Korver will be moved before the Feb. 18 trade deadline, seemingly everything else has changed. Beginning with the Jan. 9 win over the Mavericks, the Jazz have won 10 of their last 12 games, including what is now a six-game winning streak after Monday night's 104 92 victory over the Mays at EnergySolutions Arena. The team has vaulted itself into fourth place in the Western Conference. The Jazz have a pair of home games against Portland and Denver, a trip to Los Angeles to face the Clippers and a home showdown against the Lakers before the six-day layoff surrounding the all-star game. Considering the team's play as of late, especially at home, a four-game sweep is easily conceivable. Sitting a half game behind Dallas and lurking three and a half games behind Northwest division leading Denver, the Jazz have the opportunity to make a strong push up the Western Conference ladder - - BY USU ATHLETICS Utah State men's basketball coach Stew Morrill announced Monday that redshirt freshman center Anthony DiLoreto has been suspended from the team indefinitely for an undisclosed violation of team rules. With the suspension, DiLoreto will not practice or travel with the team. DiLoreto (pronounced Delow-ret-o), a 7-1, 230-pound center from Minnetonka, Minn., is redshirting for Utah State this year and hasn't played in any games. As a prep senior at Hopkins High School, DiLoreto averaged 8.2 points and 8.0 rebounds per game as he helped lead the Royals to a 27-2 record. During his senior year, he scored in double-figures nine times and had a season-high 16 points versus Edina High School. WACStandings Men's Basketball WAC OVERALL Louisiana Tech Utah State New Mexico State Nevada San Jose State Fresno State Idaho Boise State Hawaii 6-2 6-2 6-2 5-3 5-4 4-5 2-6 2-7 2-7 18-4 16-6 13-8 13-8 12-9 11-12 10-10 11-11 9-13 WACStandings Women's Basketball WAC OVERALL Fresno State Nevada Louisiana Tech Boise State New Mexico State Utah State Hawaii Idaho San Jose State 8-0 6-1 4-3 3-4 3-4 3-5 3-5 2-5 1-6 17-5 12-9 13-6 14-7 13-8 11-10 9-12 4-16 5-15 Men's Top 25 By DAN FAWSON staff writer H Men's basketball team suspends Anthony DiLoreto during this next week. 1. Kansas 20-1, 1,605 2. Villanova 19-1, 1,534 3. Syracuse 21-1, 1,506 4. Kentucky 20-1, 1,460 5. Michigan State 19-3, 1,367 6. West Virginia 17-3, 1,230 7. Georgetown 16-4, 1,204 8. Purdue 18-3, 1,182 9. Texas 18-3, 1,069 10.Kansas State 17-4, 1,025 10. Duke 17-4, 1,025 12. Brigham Young 21-2, 748 13. Ohio State 16-6, 677 14.Tennessee 16-4, 655 15.New Mexico 20-3, 636 16.Wisconsin 16-5, 585 17.Gonzaga 17-4, 541 18. Vanderbilt 16-4, 502 19.Temple 18-4, 495 20. Baylor 16-4, 461 21. Georgia Tech 16-5, 459 22. Pittsburgh 16-5, 278 23. Butler 18-4, 216 24. Northern Iowa 19-2, 193 25. Mississippi 16-5, 132 All this coming from a team, which, one month ago, had most fans and media throwing in the towel on a passionless, soft, inconsistent Jazz team not worth the price of admission. "Blow the whole thing up and start the rebuilding process, now," seemed to be the popular cry. Why the sudden change? Surprisingly enough, the Jazz have managed this transformation by relying on something that, prior to the new year, seemed relatively foreign to them: defense. During the past 12 games, which have produced seven wins over teams currently in position to make the playoffs, the Jazz have held every opponent under 50 percent shooting from the field and have allowed only two teams to eclipse the 100-point mark (both wins). The team's new found commitment to the defensive end of the floor was on full display during the fourth quarter of Monday night's win. After giving up 30 points in the third quarter, allowing the Mays to trim a sevenpoint halftime lead down to one, the Jazz opened the quarter on a 1 7 6 run, completely disrupting a previously crisp Dallas offense. The Jazz blocked three shots, forced seven turnovers, and Women's Top 15 - SeeJAZZ, page 9 PAUL MILLSAP (RIGHT) BLOCKS Mavericks guard Jason Terry's shot on Monday night's Jazz 104-92 win over Dallas. PATRICK ODEN photo 1. Connecticut 2. Stanford 3. Notre Dame 4. Nebraska 5. Tennessee 6. Duke 7.Xavier 8. Ohio State 9. North Carolina 10.Oklahoma State 11. West Virginia 12. Texas A&M 13. Oklahoma 14.Georgia 15. Baylor 21-0 1000 19-1 960 19-1 896 19-0 869 19-2 858 18-3 809 16-3 721 21-3 665 16-3 655 18-3 632 20-2 593 15-4 529 15-5 493 18-4 478 15-5 431 |