That feeling...

...you get when you wake up and it is all over. Yup, that was this morning. Today is probably my least favorite day of the year because today is the day after basketball.

There are many things to say about last nights loss, but I don't really want to analyze it and think about the loss. I truly have grown up, a couple of years ago I would have just stayed in bed and be grumpy after a first round loss in the conference tournament. But, I am learning to accept it :D I just hope I don't have to experience it much in the future.

This season was nothing like anyone was expecting. I don't really want to hash out all the injuries again, because that has been talked about enough. Instead I would rather talk about how much fun my first season of being an AGGIE! I have been an Aggie for my whole life, but this season was different. This season I swiped my card 18 times (I missed 2 games) to enter the most amazing building in Logan: The Spectrum. It was absolutely positively the best 4 months. I dreamed of this moment and it was beautiful. This season taught me patience. It taught me to never give up. It taught me that life is short and basketball is just game. It taught me that Coach Morrill is a pretty smart guy. I would imagine you think I am crazy because how can watching basketball teach me these things? I don't really know, but it did.

Yesterday at lunch my parents and I (mostly me) hashed out memories of past Aggie teams. I hope that someday there will be something worth remembering from this 2012-2013 squad. So for me here is a few thoughts from this year.

• Coach Morrill amazes me. That man had to make some major adjustments in the middle of the season and only once did I hear him get after the team for not playing up to their ability. This man believed in the used-to-be-bench players and convinced a lot of Aggies, at least me, to believe in them too. Someday I hope to meet you, Coach, because I've got a lot of questions....
• This team played with something that I didn't see very often last season and that was passion. There was something awesome about the last half of the season watching this team fight. I think the reason I loved this team so much was because it was the fire they played with even though they were faced with their fair share of adversity. 

Wow, that is all I got for this year. Some may ask, what about a national tournament (i.e. like last years tourney)? To you I will quote Coach Morrill

“I think we’re done, I don’t think we’ll be given an opportunity and on the slight chance that we are invited with all the injuries and everything ... maybe we should just shut it down.’’ 

I believe that is exactly what Coach will do, shut this season down. To many injuries and to many surgeries that need to be done so, folks I think this season is done.

Today starts a new goal. Win a Mt. West Conference Championship. Somehow I believe that this goal will be met. I mean look at how good the WAC was to us. If you would like a nice trip down memory lane, take a look at this video

So, I just want to say a quick THANK YOU! To my readers, I don't really know how many there are but thanks. I really love writing my thoughts and talking Aggie Basketball.

So, Thank you and GO AGGIES!

Love, Kylie  

Is it really the end?

I have purposefully delayed this blog entry because I didn't want to face the fact that this basketball season is winding down rather fast and I am not sure I am like it. I have a love hate relationship with March. Love because of the madness and the endless games I can watch. Hate, because of the senior nights the fact that I will have to wait another 7 months before I am back in the Spectrum.

I was not able to attend the final home game this year due to other commitments that I had. It was a downer, but I have learned that there are indeed more important things than basketball. Shocker I know!! I am super proud with the way the team ended the regular season. Wins are wins in my book. I would just like to give a huge shot out to Spencer Butterfield for his 20 rebounds against Texas State March 7th. That is impressive. That guy plays hard basketball and I really enjoy watching him play.

With Saturday's win the Aggies notched there 21st win this season and also the Aggie basketball program earned its 1,500th win. That is pretty neat. Who knew that we would get 21 wins after all of the adversity this team experienced? I mean that is pretty neat.

All-WAC honors were handed out on Sunday. Two Aggies (Spencer and Jarred) received All-WAC 2nd team honors as well as named to the All-Newcomer Team. I read that this is the first time in 14 years we did not have a 1st Team All-Conference team. I guess that can be attributed to the fact that those in the running were sitting on the bench for the last half of conference play.

Thursday night the Aggies play number 4 seed UT Arlington at 9:30 Utah time in a first round match-up in the WAC tournament.Coach Morrill every year says that the tournament is a new season and anything can happen. So let the Madness begin!

I am still available if anyone needs to fill a seat down to Las Vegas....

Weekly Wrap-up

@BYU
Once again the buzzer beater shot goes the way of the opponent. The game that was originally supposed to be played in December but because of the near death experience of Guard Danny Berger, the game was rescheduled for February. I wonder what would have been the outcome of that game had it been played then with a full strength roster. Anyway, to be quite honest I couldn't believe my eyes during the game. Somehow the Aggies came back from what I thought to be a large deficit and made it an interesting game towards the end. It all came down to one shot and sadly it wasn't the Aggies that had the ball. There are lots of things you can say that the Ags did wrong in this game(i.e. turnovers, missed free throws) but I am just proud of the amazing effort that they displayed in the Marriott center. I got a little bit restless because of the number of fouls called(51 to be exact, between both teams) because I though for sure it was going to get real ugly when we end the game with 1 guy on the court. Thankfully, by a miracle, the refs decided to stop calling fouls once a majority of the players on each team reach 4 personal fouls. As much as I hate the thought of loosing to BYU,  I am just proud of this team and their ability to play tough basketball.

Shout outs to Jordan Stone and Spencer Butterfield for their outstanding games as Aggies. Every time Jordan would box out his guy I would just chuckle. The BYU player didn't know what was coming and most times would be knocked to the floor! Spencer just deserves any bit a praise available. He is hard-nosed and determined to win every basketball game. I seriously love watching him play because he is going 110% for the entire game. Plus don't get worried if he only has 2 points in the first half because he can pour it on in the second half. I don't know how he does it but man that is crazy.

vs Illinois State
Well folks, the end of the ESPN Bracket-busters has come. The Aggies played in the last of this series and I was glad it was at home. After a really really slow start the Aggies looked like it could be a blow out. Thank goodness they decided against it! Shots started to fall and players started to do what they do best. I love looking up to the scoreboard and seeing such balanced scoring between all the guys. That to me shows that this is a TEAM not just one superstar and four helpers. It was a great win and I always like being in the Spectrum. Sadly there is only 1 game left that I will be able to see. I will miss the last game due to a event that takes higher priority over my Aggies (shocking there could be such a thing!)

Extra Notes
Once again I just love this team! Oh my. They play to win and never give up. I feel like each guy has taken ownership of this team and truly wants to win and be champions. The past couple of games listening to Coach Morrill on the radio I have noticed that he as well loves this team. It is noticeably different from last years team. Not saying they weren't unified, but I just felt like Coach never felt satisfied with their efforts last year. This year nearly every game he talks about how great their effort and how impressed he is with their practice habits. I truly think Coach Morrill is a genius. The reason this rag tag team of bench players turned starters are playing so well is because they have a basketball genius as a coach.

Ok. End of Coach Morrill tangent. Sometimes I just get carried away...oh to have the chance to meet that man!

The Aggies go to WAC leader Laousina Tech(which by the way just 2 years ago was the laugh stock of the conference and didn't even make it to the tourny) on Thursday and then travel to UT Arlington for a game Saturday night.

RECORD: 19-7

As always, GO AGGIES!

It's been a while....

I apologize for my lack of posts lately. It certainly was not for the lack of information to write about.

The team has been playing with a lot heart since the La Tech game. I was shocked like many that the Ags were able to win the road games at Idaho, Seattle U and San Jose St. I hate to say it, but I wasn't sure if they would be able to pull off three wins in a row on the road. Especially to 3 teams that caused us some trouble in Logan. I am very happy we got those wins, and on that road trip this "new" Aggie team was starting to figure everything out. That is a positive.

I will be the first to admit it, I was unimpressed by the way Jarred Shaw played first half of the season. But boy am I glad he has come together. He has really stepped up his game and has been key to the road wins and last nights win against NMSU. He is a key player to this Aggie team.

Speaking of key players, Spencer "freaking" Butterfield is a hard nosed gritty player that is just plain fun to watch. He is just insane when he flies in to get rebounds. Sometimes I wonder if he will make it out alive.

It still scares me a bit each time we start a game not knowing if we will end the game with 5 players on the court...I get worried a lot about fouls. And probably the whole coaching staff is worried about fouls. We haven't had to get too terribly worried yet, thank goodness. But we have a lot of games to play and 1 of them is in Provo...

The students were ready last night and were fun to watch. At times they showed a glimpse of the Spectrum I know and love.

There is truly nothin' like watching Aggie Basketball.

(Side note: If you were wondering, yes Coach Morrill was wearing a brown suit. And yes, that is different)

RECORD: 18-6 (9-5 WAC)
UP NEXT: @ YBU on Tuesday, Feb. 19 at 7:00 on BYUtv

Heartbreak in the Spectrum

I probably have said this a million times, but I will say it again. I LOVE THIS TEAM!

I don't know what else to say. I have started 25 different times, and all I can say is that in the near future this new Aggie team will fire on all cylinders and get a W. I know these players know how to play basketball, they wouldn't be here if they didn't. So I know that wins will come, most of these guys are having to adjust to playing significant minutes and that takes time I suspect. I would guess that there is a different mental toughness that is involved in getting prepared for the game. During my own basketball career I was told to shoot, shoot, shoot because that is the only way you will score a basket. This team lost last night because shots just wouldn't fall. I guarantee that these guys will get there shots to fall. 

Game Points:

• Once again, Jarred Shaw is getting my praise. He played out of his mind last night. Very impressed. He mentioned on the radio after the game that his family told him to just "Play Basketball". Sometimes is is easy to get caught up in the complexities of the game and forget the simplicity. As Jared Quayle once said, "Put the ball in the hole and play defense" (or something close to that)
• SPENCER BUTTERFIELD! Holy Cow. 15 rebounds. 15! That is almost half of the entire La Tech teams total rebounds. Every game he is becoming more and more of a Stew Morrill basketball player. Love it.
• Ben Clifford, is probably my favorite player right now. It is crazy to say that he is the "veteran" player for the healthy guys as a sophomore. This guy works his tail off. I am really liking the almost out side threat that he brings to the team. I say "almost" because he has only taken a few 3 pointers and there is an opportunity for it. Does anyone remember when Gary Wilkinson would shoot the 3? 
• La Tech's coach, Micheal White is really annoying. Don't like him much. Wish the front row could half hassled him a little more.
• The refs were really really slow. 
• The injured Aggies on the end of the bench make me laugh. Especially when they whip their towels. I don't know if it has to do anything with Ben Clifford starting now, but I do know that he would whip his towel all the time. 
• In the annual Coaches vs Cancer game Coach Morrill sported sleek black tennis shoes. Why you may ask would I mention this? Well, because I am crazy observant and this is the first time I noticed him in something other than the white and blue ones that his assistants wear. 
• Ok, probably after that last point I should stop because I am starting to sound like a crazy person.

This team last night came together and played hard basketball. Coach said because of the effort he will take the result. I mean we should too, we took the number 1 team in the WAC and only lost by 3!

Ags, head out on the road for a 3 game road trip. Here is to hoping for a couple of wins!

GO AGGIES!

The season is not over.

I can bet most Aggie fans have thrown in the towel on this 2012-2013 season. As easy as it may be to do that I have decided to just enjoy the moment. This is Aggie Basketball! This is the one thing that keeps people in Cache Valley sane during the long inversion season! I know it hurts to loose games. Especially when this is a program that wins a lot of games. But are you really only an Aggie fan when they are winning 20+ games a season, going undefeated at home, and win conference championships? If you are, I am ashamed. You sound like a cougar. I am known for being harsh, but I thought Aggie fans were more than that. I thought Aggie fans were the ones that stick with it through the think and thin. Now more than ever Coach Morrill and Co. need support of "Aggie Nation". This is especially needed for Saturday nights when the Aggies host the top seed Louisiana Tech in the Spectrum.

Game Thoughts:

• Jarred Shaw in fact knows how to do a move TOWARDS the basket. It was a miracle. Now, if he can only finish them. Kudos to Jarred.
• Ben Clifford step-up his game. Very impressed with this points and rebounds, but more importantly his 110% effort for the entire game. There at the end when he was playing defense on the inbound pass that was crazy!! I hope he keeps the intensity and continues to improve. 
• Marvin Jean, the Jean Machine. Great scorer, just hoping he can become more consistant. 
• Biggest enemy for the Aggies the remainder of the season are FOULS. We were OK in the first half keeping them under control. They kinda caught up to us in the second, which could have caused some serious trouble. Coach has said that he will put 4 guys on the court if need be. I hope that he never has too.
• Jordan Stone, hustles. Coach has mentioned that he is not as "polished" on offense but he will work 100% the whole time. 
• Marcel Davis has hit the "freshman wall" I hoped that it wouldn't happen, but it has. I hope it passes quickly and he gets his shot back. 
• The point guard is KEY to a Coach Morrill basketball system. We need a point guard to step up and direct this team.

Aggie fans. This team needs our support. Cheer them on. Don't be a cougar and only be a fan when the team is wining.



Read All About It:
First a great Thank You letter from Mrs. Diane Berger, read here.
Second, an article from the Cache Valley Daily written by Tim Olsen, read here.

Aggie Basketball

I will only say this on this past weekends games: You win some, and loose some.The End.

Ok, not the end.

I went to the women's game on Saturday night and what I saw was pretty impressive. Night and day difference from last years team, tempo wise. This system gets up and down the court like nobody's business. Holy Cow. That was some fun basketball to watch. IF you haven't been to a game yet, you have to go. If for only one reason make that reason to see Devyn Christensen play. That girl knows how to put the ball in the hole! WOW! 23 Points in the first half! 23! I also loved the play of Franny Vaaulu. She knows how to be physical down in the low post. She had some great post moves and beautiful baskets. However the thing that made me most impressed was after the final buzzer had sounded. After the teams shook hands Coach Finkbeiner has his team do a quick talk on the court and then all of a sudden the team is in the stands. They all go different directions and start saying thank you to those in attendance. They give hi-fives and say hi. I was so impressed. That is so cool. Someday, soon I hope, there will be more that 200 people in attendance to these games. They are so much fun to watch. The Lady Aggies won handily 85-69. (That is one high scoring game!)

P.S. Coach Fink is also pretty awesome because he gives his team every Sunday off. I am really starting to like this coach.