Monday, December 28, 2015

Utah State v San Jose State University

Senior guard Chris Smith is on a tear of late and the catch-and-shoot marksman is going to require a defender to stay on him. He's not a dribble-drive guy. Let the other Aggies shoot.

6-foot-8 junior Jalen Moore was supposed the The Man this season but his numbers aren't indicating this. Yes, he's at 14.2 and 6.1 in points and rebounds per game but he's shooting 42%, 30% and 65% respectively.

From Utah State athletics comes this analysis prior to Wednesday's matchup between the host Spartans and the Aggies.

Here's more, also from USU athletics:

December 28, 2015

USU men's basketball head coach Tim Duryea addressed the media on Monday and answered questions about the upcoming Mountain West road opener at San José State on Wednesday, Dec. 30. The complete transcript of the press conference can be found below.

On San José State
“San José State is a very big, long, athletic team. They have started a few different lineups and play 10 or 11 guys. The common theme is big and athletic. They are a totally different team than they were last year when they had so many issues with health and suspensions. I’m really impressed with Frank Rogers, who was hurt all last year, but played for them before that. He is a big, 6-9, left-handed, athletic post player that can score on the block, can make a 3-pointer, is a very good rebounder and a very good player. His stats are very impressive.

“They are big at the wings. Their wings are shooters, in Ryan Welage, who plays the three and the four. Cody Schwartz plays the two and three and they are a couple of 6-8, 6-9 freshmen that are getting their feet wet and shoot the ball very well. (Princeton) Onwas and Gary Williams are also really athletic players that play multiple positions. All-in-all a big, long, athletic team that plays multiple defenses and has played a lot better this year than they did last year.”

On addressing SJSU’s length and adjusting lineups
“We’ll kind of go game by game and feel that out. We’ll probably start a bigger five man between Lew (Evans) and Elston (Jones). Certain games may give us certain times when we’ll want to be more unorthodox offensively and make them react and match up to us. We may never start that small lineup, but just use it as a change of pace. 

“One of the issues with SJSU is rebounding. They are plus-three on the boards through the non-conference and that is one of the areas that we have to make sure to cover. We are a little undersized, so we need to put some bodies on people and clear some space for ourselves so we can get on the boards.”

On Elston Jones’ health
“With the rest and the tournament games, followed by more rest, he is basically 100 percent. He has a little bit of pain in there that he is working out, but it is not really hindering him right now.”

On Princeton Onwas
“He’s the kid that is not going to beat you from the 3-point line, but he is a really athletic player. He can guard multiple positions and can score a lot of different ways. Most of them are unscheduled points where he will get a layup off a steal, a stick back on an offensive rebound, he’ll drive the ball to the basket and score it. He is a little unusual offensively and not looking to shoot 3-pointers, but will score inside the lane a lot for a guy his size. He is also an impact defender on the other end.”

On how much different San José State appears with its different roster
“It is almost like playing a new team and a new coach. They are doing a lot of different things on both sides of the ball and as a coach, when you have a full roster of players, you can do a lot more things. It feels like a whole new team. There are a few holdovers that are playing a decent role for them, but mostly, it is a totally new-look team. It really isn’t unexpected after all they went through last year. Everybody figured you would see a new and improved San José State team this year and that is the case.”

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