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Logan • Utah State coach Stew Morrill received a warm greeting and smiled when introduced prior to Saturday night's game against New Mexico.

One day after announcing he will retire after his 17th season at Utah State, Morrill coached his 543rd game with the Aggies.

Shortly after the press conference called to announce his plans, Morrill's players were active on social media.

Via Twitter, sophomore forward Jalen Moore said, "Coach Morrill will be missed by this program and Logan, Utah. One of the best coaches ever. Learned a lot from him in my two years here."

Senior forward Sean Harris agreed: "Coach Morrill will be missed. It's been a great time at Utah State with him. He's a master of the game."

At his news conference, Morrill indicated he never considered walking away in the middle of the season.

"I reassured our players, if I was just wanting to be done and quit on them, I would have been done today," he said. "I don't want to do that. I want to do it right. I want to finish the season and see what we can do, see where we can go."

No quiet exit

Morrill joked about a preference for announcing his pending retirement.

It did not involve a meeting with the media.

Referring to athletic director Scott Barnes and school president Stan Albrecht, Morrill said, " I asked Scott and the president if we could do this in a release form — you know, a release where you just give a couple quotes. I would have been good. That would have been a heck of a lot easier than trying to do this. But they said no, and, at least for a few months, they can tell me no."

Going out on top

Barnes praised Morrill, calling him the greatest men's basketball coach in school history.

He is also grateful the Aggies aren't close to rock bottom, which is often the case during a coaching change.

Morrill "has left the table full for the next coach to come to Utah State," Barnes said.

Lobos miss Neal

New Mexico continues to play without sophomore guard Cullen Neal, one of the Mountain West's best players.

Neal injured his ankle on Nov. 20 in a game against Boston College. Last week, it was announced he will miss the rest of the season and apply for a medical redshirt to regain a year of eligibility.

Neal averaged 24.5 points in the Lobos' first two games.

"He's just not responding like we thought he would," said New Mexico coach Craig Neal, who is also Cullen's father. "He's having a hard time jumping. It's a real tough time for him."