This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2010, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Obviously three games this week, all in succession affords some unique opportunity. But the main thing is consistency. Utah State was very good in the second half against Utah Valley, and while the Aggies are 8-2 this season, conference play is eight days away as hard as it seems to believe.
As such, here are some of the things that should be accomplished for the Gossner tournament.
Brockeith Pane needs to find consistency in the point guard position.
Pooh Williams needs to find his shooting stroke and the defensive prowress that made him the best defender in the conference last season.
Tyler Newbold should continue shooting the ball whenever he's open, even if he misses. The offense suffers when he hesitates.
Brian Green needs simply to adjust to being a marked man by opposing defenses. Open looks for him are hard to come by.
Tai Wesley needs to continue to play without fouling. He's been good at that since the Georgetown game. The longer he's on the floor, the better the Aggies are.
Nate Bendall just needs to stay healthy. His timing and explosion are coming back.
James Walker and E.J. Farris have three last shots to try to win the back-up point guard position. One of them will be the odd man out come conference play.
As a team, the Aggies are playing better, and rounding into form. If USU plays to its potential, there may not be many losses left on its schedule. This team is extremely talented. But the rest of the WAC is noticeably down from last season.
Tony Jones