This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2010, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Logan • The beauty of Pooh Williams, Tyler Newbold and Brockeith Pane lies beyond their athleticism, the way they shoot the ball and the way they can slash to the basket off the dribble.
Instead, the one constant among the three is perimeter defense. Williams was the best defender in the Western Athletic Conference last season. Newbold wasn't too far behind, and Pane loves to pressure opposing point guards. Together, the three make Utah State one of the best defensive teams in its conference.
But how will they do against Georgetown on Saturday morning? How will they fare in trying to stop Chris Wright, Austin Freeman and Jason Clark? Together, those three make up one of the finest backcourts in the nation, a threesome capable of beating teams in many ways.
If the Aggies have a shot at pulling the upset against the No. 14 team in the country before a nationally televised ESPNU audience, defense along the perimeter will play a big role. Tai Wesley could have his way inside with the Hoyas' big men, but it means nothing if Georgetown shoots as well at the Verizon Center as it has in sprinting to a 7-0 start.
"They have great players," USU coach Stew Morrill said. "They have as good a backcourt as we will see. They run the Princeton offense. It's the same thing we saw against Denver, but the personnel running the offense is much different."
This is as big a regular-season opportunity for Utah State as it's had in the Morrill era. Win, and the Aggies could earn themselves a national ranking. Win, and a misstep in the WAC tournament still would likely result in an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. Win, and USU can earn itself the national respect it's previously never had, despite its status as one of the better midmajor programs in the country. Of course, winning will be anything but easy. Wright, Freeman and Clark each are playing the best basketball of their careers, and their improvement as compared with last season has compensated for the loss of lottery pick Greg Monroe.
USU is 5-1 to start the year, but the Aggies have been spotty in their previous two wins against Northeastern and Denver.
"We know that we have a big challenge ahead of us," Utah State guard Brian Green said. "We have to come out and play well."