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Logan • The last time Utah State's basketball team finished below .500, Bill Clinton had just been sworn in as president of the United States.
Yes, it's been awhile.
Utah State kept its 23-year streak of success going in 2015-16, when the Aggies finished 16-15 under rookie head coach Tim Duryea. While the win-total wasn't what Aggie Nation has come to expect — Utah State averaged 29 victories between 2009-11 — it was a notable accomplishment given the chaotic start to the season.
Center David Collette quit three days before the opening game, leaving Duryea without a proven post player. The Aggies, undersized against every Division I team they faced, scrambled most of the year to find an identity.
This season, size won't be the most pressing problem for Utah State, which recruited four post players who stand between 6-foot-8 and 6-foot-11.
Transfer Norbert Janicek averaged 15.6 points and 6.2 rebounds as a freshman at Snow College. Ngor Barnaba transferred from Missouri State-West Plains, where he averaged 14.7 points and 7.5 rebounds.
"We're much bigger than we were last year," Duryea said, "… [and] our big guys are skilled. They're the ones who have to make the biggest jumps for us to become a very good basketball team."
Freshman guard Koby McEwen is another newcomer expected to make an impact. As a senior at Wasatch Academy, he averaged 18.7 points, 4.6 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game.
"He's hyper-competitive," Duryea said. "He wants to do well, sometimes to his detriment. … [But] day-by-day, he's seeing the floor a little more clearly and the game is slowing down for him. We love having him in our program."
Of course, Duryea won't depend entirely on new players. Senior Jalen Moore is one of the best players in the Mountain West Conference and, his coach suspects, will thrive playing his natural position of small forward.
Moore was slowed over the summer by a back injury but, according to Duryea, "He's bounced back … and looks great. He's got a lively body and I think he's very comfortable with where he's playing and what we're doing with him."
Senior point guard Shane Rector, junior shooting guard Julion Pearre and sophomore forward Quinn Taylor also return.
Rector averaged 17.5 points and 4.5 assists in the Mountain West tournament in March. Pearre is the Aggies' most consistent three-point shooter and best perimeter defender. Taylor is the blue-collar player every successful team needs.
"Our practices have gone really well," Duryea said. "We have a group that is eager to learn … and the returning guys understand the urgency of getting the new guys better."
Twitter: @sluhm —
USU men's basketball update
• Utah State hasn't suffered through a losing basketball season since 1992-93.
• The Aggies finished 16-15 in Tim Duryea's first year as their head coach.
• Utah State opens its season on Nov. 11, when the Aggies visit UC Irvine.