Utah State Aggies
2023-2024 Result: 28-7 record (14-4 MWC) NCAA tournament appearance
Key Additions
Deyton Albury (Queens)
Aubin Gateretse (Stetson)
Drake Allen (Utah Valley)
Dexter Akanno (Oregon State)
Tucker Anderson (Central Arkansas)
Braden Housley (Southern Utah)
Key Losses
Josh Uduje
Max Agbonkpolo
Great Osobor
Darius Brown II
Projected Starting Lineup
Head Coach: Jerrod Calhoun (1st season)
Guard: Deyton Albury (SR)
Guard: Ian Martinez (5th year)
Guard: Mason Falslev (SO)
Forward: Isaac Johnson (JR)
Center: Aubin Gateretse (SR)
Jerrod Calhoun takes over the Utah State Aggies program for Danny Sprinkle, who departed for Washington after a breakout year 1 in Logan. Typically when a head coach leaves for a bigger program he is able to take most of his key players with him, but that is not necessarily the case here. Although Sprinkle was able to bring all-conference big man Great Osobor with him, coach Calhoun was able to retain 3 important rotation players from last year’s tournament team in Ian Martinez, Mason Falslev, and Isaac Johnson, so this should make for a rather smooth transition to the Mountain West for the former Youngstown State head coach. Calhoun was able to recruit some other solid pieces via the transfer portal, bringing in a pair of Atlantic Sun transfers in Deyton Albury (Queens), and Aubin Gateretse (Stetson).
The Aggies offense definitely has some talent for Calhoun to work with in year 1, as Albury, Martinez, and Falslev are a perimeter group that brings some explosiveness off the dribble. Albury projects as the starting point guard for Utah State, and he is especially explosive off the dribble, so expect him to be able to get into the lane and consistently create advantages for the offense. What he does with these advantages against better defenses remains to be seen, as the pure passing ability doesn’t stand out, but he is a creative scorer at the rim. Albury and Martinez should make for a solid scoring duo in the backcourt, and they will need Martinez to be a reliable source of perimeter scoring with the lack of consistent shooting outside of him. Depth pieces like Dexter Akanno and Tucker Anderson may be able to provide relief to Martinez from the perimeter, but not at a super efficient clip. The frontcourt duo of Isaac Johnson and Aubin Gateretse will provide a solid rim presence for the Aggies, and Johnson being able to space the floor a bit as a 7-footer will open up some lineup flexibility for coach Calhoun. This Aggies team has a lot of similarities to last year’s team outside of not having a superstar on the roster, as their ability to score around the rim at all 5 positions along with having some offensive rebounding upside with Gateretse (14.1% OREB last season) gives this offense a higher floor than most teams in the Mountain West. There may be a few bumps in the road with a new style being implemented, but the offense has the characteristics to be a top 3 unit in this conference.
The Aggies' defense may also have a high floor in year 1 of the Calhoun era. While Youngstown State only had a top 150 defense once out of 7 years under Calhoun, he probably never had the size in the frontcourt that he has this season. Isaac Johnson (4.2% block rate) and Aubin Gateretse (6.2% block rate) will provide stable rim protection and will see a lot of time on the floor at the same time with Johnson’s ability to guard on the perimeter at a competent level. The rim protection along with the defensive rebounding ability creates a high floor in itself, and the perimeter group will also be able to hold its own. Albury, Martinez, and Falslev all move their feet well on the perimeter and they have some serviceable bench options they can go to as well. This defensive group may not have the upside to crack the top 50 in the country, because we need to see coach Calhoun operate an above-average defense, but the personnel should be able to carry the defense to a top 100 unit nationally.
Even though they lost a few key pieces from last year’s tournament team, there are some surprisingly high expectations for the Aggies this upcoming season. This roster has more than enough to compete in the Mountain West on both ends of the floor. The point guard play brings a little uncertainty this season, but Albury can be solid and they have depth pieces in Drake Allen and Braden Housley who have played the point guard position before. Utah State is easily in the top half of the Mountain West with a chance to crack the top 3 by season’s end.