Meet Utah St

[ejmpalle]

Number Name Height/Weight Position Year Minutes/g FG% 3pt% FT% Reb/g TO/g Pts/g

2 Pak, David 6-2/200 PG SR 22.4 .398 .352 .548 *3.06 2.0 6.1

20 Carroll, Jaycee 6-2/175 SG SO 30.4 .523 .476 .738 4.3 1.62 14.7

21 Session, Chris 6-6/215 SF JR (JC transfer who specializes in defense and rebounding. Not likely to hit a long ball.)

4 Harris, Nate 6-7/225 PF/C SR 30.9 .652 .222 .683 6.0 1.47 13.0

3 Matheus, Cass 6-10/235 C SR 15.5 .561 N/A .659 2.8 .781 6.2

Bench:

11 Vaitiekus, Arvydas 6-11/230 Center JR (he'd be the 3rd string center. You may not see him play)

12 Morgan, Everett 6-2/185 PG JR (he'll likely back up David Pak)

23 Huber, Chris 6-1/190 Guard SR (He'll likely back up Carroll, but is capable of playing PG also.)

24 Peterson, Durrall 6-3/210 SF JR (Could start at SF. If not he'll back up Session)

25 Hammer, Nick 6-6/205 SF SO (I don't think he'll play, but there is the possibility.)

30 Spicer, Chaz 6-7/215 PF JR (Will back up Nate Harris at the PF)

1 Daniels, Mike 6-2/190 PG JR (May not play, based on preseason)

Utah St shot 52.5% as a team while its opponents shot 39.6% last year. Utah St out rebounded its opponents by 6.6reb/g last year. Utah St shot 6 more freethrows per game than its opponents last year.

Utah St was led in exhibition games by the following players in scoring:

Nate Harris 13pts and 5.5 reb

Cassiano Matheus 11.5pts and 8reb

Chaz Spicer 11.5pts

Jaycee Carroll 10pts

I expect Utah St to look to get the ball to Jaycee Carroll and Nate Harris. They will also look to get Chaz Spicer the ball when he comes in off the bench.

[ORUTerry]

Thanks for the information. Can you tell us what kind of defense the Aggies play? I assume it is man-to-man; do they press at all or apply half-court traps? What kind of offense? Motion, etc.?

[ejmpalle]

Thanks for the information. Can you tell us what kind of defense the Aggies play? I assume it is man-to-man; do they press at all or apply half-court traps? What kind of offense? Motion, etc.?

The Aggies will run, mostly, a zone defense. They'll run a "monster" play where they double team the post. Caleb Green will likely have to pass out of the double team or play through it. The weak-side forward will come accross and keep the post player from turning into the paint. The other player that is initially guarding the post player keeps him from going baseline.

Utah St also runs a 3/4 court trap that isn't designed to get turnovers. It is simply designed to slow the other team down and run some time off of their shot clock. Utah St loves to play in the half court set on offense and defense. Utah St runs a motion offense.

IMHO, Ken Tutt will have to have a good day from beyond the arc for Oral Roberts to give Utah St fits defensively.

[ORUTerry]

Interesting that Utah State runs a zone.... do they also match-up with it? How far out do they extend the zone?

Does the motion offense involve a lot of screens and backcuts? Does USU milk the shot clock down past a certain time or do they run the offense to get the open shot whenever it comes? How good is your perimeter shooting? Teams coming into the Mabee Center seem to love the arena for shooting.

(The Mabee Center sits about 10,500. It is 30 years old but still a very nice basketball arena - especially for a school our size. Most teams coming to play ORU for the first time are a bit surprised at the quality of the arena.)

[ORUTerry]

ORU plays a man-to-man defense almost exclusively - our coach (Scott Sutton) is the son of Eddie Sutton at Oklahoma State. I think he is genetically averse to playing a zone defense... he might get kicked out of the family if he did.

We will press some to keep the other team honest and to test their ball-handling skills. This will be when Yemi Ogunoye is in the game. I am anxious to see how tenacious our defense will be this year; we lost our best defensive player (Luke Spencer-Gardner) who tyipcally matched up against the other team's best offensive player.

ORU is a veteran squad with a deep bench. Caleb Green is the heart of the team down low with Ken Tutt providing firepower from the perimeter. They are not the only weapons though, as Larry Owens and Mickey Michalec can also contribute on the offensive side of the court. A major key will be how some of the new/returning players mesh in the lineup and how the coaches orchestrate the playing times based upon particular performances/match-ups.

[ejmpalle]

Interesting that Utah State runs a zone.... do they also match-up with it? How far out do they extend the zone?

They'll look for favorable match-ups out of the zone. They, also, won't extend the zone beyond the 3 point line. Like I say, if Ken Tutt has a great day from beyond the arc, especially if he can shoot it a foot beyond the arc, Oral Roberts can give Utah St's defense fits.

Does the motion offense involve a lot of screens and backcuts? Does USU milk the shot clock down past a certain time or do they run the offense to get the open shot whenever it comes? How good is your perimeter shooting? Teams coming into the Mabee Center seem to love the arena for shooting.

Utah St loves to set a baseline screen for Nate Harris where he'll get the ball right under the basket on a pass from the wing. So, yes, they love to run screens and backcuts. They'll run the clock down as much as they can, especially at this point in the season. Right now, they usually don't have players that are confortable enough with the offense to pass before the called play is run.

Perimeter shooting: Jaycee Carroll is probably one of the premier 3 point shooters in the country (he shot 47.6% from beyond the arc, last year. He would've been about 5th in the country in 3pt% last year, but was shy of the minimum attempts by 1 shot). They'll run plays to get him open. David Pak can hit the 3, but isn't very consistent. Durrall Peterson seems to have a good 3 point shot. Those are the players that can hit it, regularly.

(The Mabee Center sits about 10,500. It is 30 years old but still a very nice basketball arena - especially for a school our size. Most teams coming to play ORU for the first time are a bit surprised at the quality of the arena.)

Sounds like the Dee Glenn Smith Spectrum in Logan, Utah. It seats about 10,270. It is THE MOST intense arena I've ever visited. The fans are right on top of the court and that is where it gets its character. Some fans on the front row could reach out and grab the referee.