USU hoops — Kyisean Reed nominated for dunk contest, Spencer Butterfield gets weekly WAC honors

Even though Kyisean Reed may never thrill the Spectrum crowd with his ferocious slams again, the senior still is a nominee for "Dark Horse Dunker," a competition that lands the winner in Atlanta during the weekend of the national championship.

Reed was lost for the season with a knee injury, but his video highlights have made him a finalist in the voting competition. Fans can vote on Facebook once per day to help advance their favorite dunker. The opening round is two weeks long.

The competition concludes on March 18, and the winner will compete in the College Slam Dunk Championships on April 5 on ESPN on the Sunday before the college championship game.

Reed, who had surgery on his knee last month, is unlikely to recover in time to compete, but as a fan favorite, will probably get some votes from the Aggies faithful.

Check out Reed's highlights above. As a standby witness for a great number of his dunks this season, this writer can attest that his drive on the Salukis that sent a few players clearing his path was one of the more impressive feats of the year for the Aggies. But then again, so was his one-man fast break with a steal and one-handed finish.

Butterfield named WAC player of the week

He put on a show for his hometown crowd, but the WAC was watching Spencer Butterfield, too.

The junior guard got Western Athletic Player of the Week honors on Monday for his 22-point, 10-rebound performance against San Jose State in Utah State's 63-36 win. Butterfield had his outburst on a 9-for-11 shooting night, and was 3-for-3 from long range.

The game was about as close to home as the junior will get this season: He was playing two hours away from his hometown of Loomis, Calif.

— Kyle Goonkgoon@sltrib.comTwitter: @kylegoon