When executed correctly, USU's motion wing offense seemed unstoppable this season. The ball would whip around like a hummingbird, almost quicker than the eye could follow, as Statesman reporter G. Christopher Terry described it. The other team would run itself silly, a pass would fly toward an unguarded blue-and-white jersey and then the backboard would rattle from the thunk of yet another nailed basket.

That wasn't the only thrill that packed the fans into the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum for home games. This season was like no other in recent memory; it was USU's first in the Western Athletic Conference. Ranked 9th in the nation, a major leaguer in comparison to the Aggies' former home in the Big West, the WAC would demand a great deal from players and coaches. Rekindled regional rivalries in games against Nevada and New Mexico State compensated for the occasional disappointment of losing in such a tough field of competition, mostly at season's weary end.

So a second-place finish to Nevada for the WAC season followed by a repeat at the tournament was nothing to mope about. The Nevada Wolf Pack played to the best of its home-court advantage in the overtime that settled the tie. Then it was on to the NCAA tournament, the fifth invite in seven years under Coach Stew Morrill, to meet the fifth-ranked Washington Huskies. The favored team, the Huskies forced 22 turnovers out of the Aggies to claim a 13-point margin of victory. The Aggies' heroic comeback during the second half was heroic but it wasn't enough to compensate for the Huskies' shooting power.

Despite their disappointment, the Aggies had much to be celebrate. They were the only men's team in Utah invited to this year's tournament, and only one of five in Division 1 who have won 23 games a season for the past seven years. "Our guys overachieved in almost every aspect this season," says assistant coach Don Verlin. "We had only five starters on our 13-man roster. Anytime you have to bring in eight new guys, that's teaching a lot of new guys a lot of new things." Coach Morrill, designated the most effective collegiate basketball mentor in the state by the Deseret News, got much of the credit.

"He is a demanding coach who recruits players who will buy into his strategy and who are willing to learn and put the time into perfecting specific skills," says Aggie game announcer Craig Hislop '72.

"He may be demanding but he is also fair," says Verlin. "He treats Nate Harris and Jaycee Carroll the same as everybody else."

Harris is the first player in USU history to earn three-time, first-team all-conference honors, and Carroll ended his sophomore season ranked in the top ten in the nation for three-point shooting. With seconds remaining in the game against Northwestern State, Carroll sunk four consecutive shots from the charity stripe.

The departure of Harris, a graduating senior, will change the game plan somewhat for next season. "He is irreplaceable," says Verlin. "But when we had to replace Spencer Nelson, Nate stepped up his game, although in a different way." -Jane Koerner