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Logan • The Utah State men's basketball team officially opened practice Friday.

The first order of business, perhaps, was introductions.

Ten new players have joined the program since the end of last season, when the Aggies finished 16-15 overall and 7-11 in the Mountain West Conference under second-year head coach Tim Duryea.

Senior forward Jalen Moore is the top returnee. He led the Aggies in scoring (15.2) and rebounding (6.0) last season. With a similar performance, he will end up among the top 10 scorers in school history.

Because Utah State is much bigger than it was a year ago, Duryea plans to use Moore exclusively at his "natural position" of small forward, rather than power forward.

"I expect him to excel in all phases of the game … at a position where his basketball future lies," Duryea said in a statement.

Utah State's other senior is point guard Shane Rector, who finished strongly last season after becoming the starter. A former junior college transfer, he averaged 17.5 points and 4.5 assists in two Mountain West tournament games, including a 71-65 near-upset of regular-season champion San Diego State.

"Shane is coming into this year as the incumbent at the point," Duryea said. "… [He] has a clear mind going forward, in terms of what he needs to do at this level and what I like him to do to run our team."

Junior shooting guard Julion Pearre seems poised for a break-out season. An outstanding long-distance shooter, he's also the Aggies' top perimeter defender. He averaged 13 points on 10-for-22 three-point shooting in the final four games last year.

"Julion is a battle-tested guy that's played as many minutes as anyone else in the program over the last two years," Duryea said. "He is an extremely tough, aggressive kid and I love his mentality on the floor. He never backs down and he never takes his foot off of the pedal."

Sophomore power forward Quinn Taylor, a former walk-on, became a starter late last season and flourished. He averaged 4.2 points and 3.7 rebounds, but his contributions were greater than his statistics.

"Quinn has done a good job for us," Duryea said. "Things just turn out well when he's on the floor. He is a great execution guy."

Headlining the list of program newcomers is 6-foot-3 freshman guard Kobe McEwen from Wasatch Academy. He averaged 18.7 points, 4.6 rebounds and 5.4 assists for the Tigers, who went 29-4 against a national-type schedule. Most recruiting services ranked him as a top-100 recruit.

"Koby's versatility allows him to play the one or two," Duryea said. "He has the size and shooting ability to play the two and has tremendous instincts in passing the ball that allows him to play the one."

Utah State will hold its Prime Time Madness event on Oct. 14 at the Spectrum. The Aggies play Southern Virginia in an exhibition game on Nov. 4. They open the season Nov. 11 at UC Irvine. The home opener is Nov. 14 against New Jersey Institute of Technology.

— Steve Luhm