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Logan • The post-Stew Morrill Era at Utah State begins Friday, when the Aggie men's basketball team opens practice for the 2015-16 season.
Morrill retired last March, leaving the head coaching job to longtime assistant Tum Duryea. He welcomes five returning starters from a team that finished 18-13, including 11-7 in the Mountain West Conference.
The top returnees are junior wing Jalen Moore, sophomore center-forward David Collette and senior guard Chris Smith. They averaged a combined 40.6 points per game last season.
Moore averaged 15.2 points and 6.2 rebounds on his way to second-team all-Mountain West honors. He reached double figures in 29 of Utah State's 31 games, including a school-record 17 straight.
Collette averaged 12.8 points and five rebounds. He shot 59.1 percent from the field and blocked 56 shots, the fourth-highest single-season total in school history.
Smith averaged 12.6 points, thanks mainly to his long-range shooting ability. He made 47.4 percent of his 3-pointers. Only four Aggies have shot a higher percentage from the 3-point line.
Utah State's other returning starters include senior guard Darius Perkins (9.5 ppg) and sophomore guard Julion Pearre (6.2 ppg). Newcomers of note include redshirt senior forward Grayson Moore, junior forward Lew Evans and redshirt freshman forward Quinn Taylor.
Moore is a transfer from Northwest Nazarene. He is Jalen Moore's brother. Evans is a transfer from Tulsa, where he averaged 5.3 points and 4.1 rebounds in 20 minutes per game during the 2013-14 season.
Utah State's first public scrimmage will be held Oct. 8 at the Spectrum.