This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

I've wanted to write this blog for more than a few weeks, but couldn't because of the fluid nature of the roster. But with the Aggies appearing to be done with recruiting, and with the roster appearing to be set, maybe this blog can carve out a rotation. It's always fun to speculate in the May, June and July months. Fun to look at perspective rotations, roles, and any predicted awards. That's what blogs are for, and that's what this blog will attempt. Any feedback, good or bad is welcomed, as always. So here goes with your 2011-2012 USU Aggies.......

Point guard - Brockeith Pane has a chance to be the best point guard, and maybe even the best player in the WAC next season. He's as good as any guard in the conference in transition, and maybe the best guard in the league when it comes to getting to the basket off the dribble, creating contact and finishing at the rim. He doesn't have top end speed, but he has good speed. What he does have is exceptional strength, good athleticism, and an exceptional ability to create space and get his shot off. Those attributes allow him to get a shot off pretty much any time he feels like it. Now where does he improve? He's got to adjust from being the second option to being the first option, which means much more defensive attention. He's also got to get a reliable three-point shot, and a better understanding of balancing his distribution with his own offense. If he can master those things, he could be a player of the year candidate. He's that good. E.J. Farris will be Pane's back-up with James Walker's transfer. He did some good things at times. At others, he wasn't so good. With the back-up spot all his, he's got to be much more consistent than he was this season, even if it's for 10 minutes a night. Mitch Bruneel may be an insurance option here.

Shooting guard - Preston Medlin has impressed the coaching staff seemingly since his breakout performance against BYU two years ago. Numerous reports have Medlin being one of the best players in practice. He's bigger than he was as a true freshman, but still needs to gain muscle. He's not nearly the defensive stopper that Tyler Newbold was, but Newbold's not nearly the shooter Medlin is. Medlin's the kind of shooter that can put up 20 a night at some point in his career, whether that comes next season or not. He's fearless, sneaky athletic, and great coming off screens. Offensively, he should be a perfect complement to Pane. The question is whether other shooting guards are going to eat USU for lunch. As one coach told this blog during the season, "We'll be different. We should be able to score just fine. But will we be able to stop people?" There look to be a number of options behind Medlin. There's the ulta-athletic Antonio Bumpus. There's Steven Thornton. There's Mitch Bruneel. One of these guys may slide down to small forward if Norvell Arnold doesn't make it to campus. And that leads us to.......

Small Forward - Norvell Arnold comes with baggage. Anthony DiLoreto type baggage after this http://www.thehawkeye.com/story/SCC-all-American-030811 story surfaced of an arrest on a number of charges last month. Still, there's no indication that Stew Morrill expects anything from Arnold other than him being an Aggie this coming season. There's a reason for that: He's reportedly really good. Very athletic, very good off the dribble, fills the stat sheet up, rebounds and is good in transition. In the opinion of this blog, without ever having seen him play, he's a key to the team next season because he's a natural small forward. Bumpus is a shooting guard. Danny Berger is expected to be in the mix, but nobody knows how effective he'll be. If Arnold is an Aggie it completes the team. If he isn't, USU will be forced to use someone there out of position. Steven Thornton is another option, as well as Kyisean Reed, although the staff wants to use him in the frontcourt.

Power Forward - Brady Jardine, this is your frontcourt. Your year. Your time after three seasons of backing up Tai Wesley. Jardine is as boom or bust as they come. Insanely athletic, one of the most athletic big men in the country actually, you look at Jardine and think he can easily average a double-double this coming season and block two shots a game. But then you look at the dropped passes, the overthinking on offense, missed lay-ups and wonder if he's ever going to put all that talent together. Jardine is another huge key to the Aggies. Sure, Pane and Medlin project as a high scoring backcourt. Sure, if Arnold makes it to campus, he will surely help offensively. But you need interior scoring. Every team does. Now Jardine, offensively, will never be Wesley. But he will also never be double-teamed, either. He's got to take advantage of that, and provide a semblance of scoring in the post. He's got to stay out of foul trouble. He's got to provide leadership in what will be a very inexperienced frontcourt. That's a lot to have on his shoulders, but he's a senior, he has more time in the system than anyone on the team, and leadership comes with the territory....A lot of options will be on hand as well. There's Reed, described as at least as athletic as Jardine, maybe even more. He will play a lot if he makes it to campus, albeit in different spots. There's Ben Clifford, who will be a redshirt freshman. He was the best high school big man in Utah two years ago, is a legit 6-8, can rebound, can block shots and can stick an open 15-18 foot jumper. There's Morgan Grim, who was the fourth big man in the rotation last season.

Center - Maybe the biggest question mark other than Norvell Arnold. Igor Premasunac figures to be the starter, a 6-foot-9 space eater up front. Will be rebound? Will he be able to play defense? Will he be able to score in the paint? Those questions need to be answered, because he's the biggest body on the roster, and Utah State sorely needs the size. Reed and Jardine are athletic, but lack Nate Bendall type size. Grim is another option here. Jordan Stone is 7-foot, and has the body of an Adonis, but is he ready to step on the floor? He may be a redshirt candidate.

One thing is for sure: There are a ton of moving parts on this team, some questions that won't be answered until school starts in the fall and questions that won't be answered until after the season has started. But the talent is there, and it's foolish for anyone to go against Stew Morrill and his ability to coach talent. This could be an athletic bunch that's dangerous once the postseason rolls around.

Tony Jones