Last Year: 26-9; Second (13-5) in the Mountain West Conference, lost in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament
Head Coach: Danny Sprinkle (First Year; previously went 81-43 over four seasons at Montana State, with two NCAA Tournament appearances)
Projected Starting Lineup
| PG Darius Brown II – 6’2″, 192 – Senior (5th) |
| SG Josh Uduje – 6’5″, 189 – Junior |
| SF Nigel Burris – 6’7″, 224 – Sophomore |
| PF Great Osobor – 6’8″, 261 – Junior |
| C Isaac Johnson – 7’0″, 227 – Sophomore |
Projected Starters’ 2022-23 Stats
Darius Brown: 9.1 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 4.9 apg, 1.8 spg – 39.7% 3FG @ Montana State
Josh Uduje: 13.9 ppg, 3.3 rpg, ,1.2 apg, 1.3 spg – 42.1% FG @ Coastal Carolina
Nigel Burris: 8.8 ppg, 5.0 apg, 0.5 apg, 0.5 spg – 44.8% 3FG @ Idaho
Great Osobor: 10.1 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 1.0 apg, 0.9 bpg – 62.4% FG @ Montana State
Isaac Johnson: 2.4 ppg, 1.1 rpg, 0.2 apg – 60.9% FG in 2021-22 @ Oregon
Experienced Reserves
| G Ian Martinez – 6’3″, 185 – Senior – awaiting NCAA Waiver |
| W Max Agbonkpolo – 6’9″, 194 – Senior (5th) |
| G Javon Jackson – 6’3″, 190 – Sophomore |
| F Jackson Grant – 6’10”, 226 – Junior |
| F/C Kalifa Sakho – 6’11”, 230 – Junior |
Experienced Reserves’ 2022-23 Stats
Ian Martinez: 5.7 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 0.6 apg, 0.4 spg – 40.3% 3FG @ Maryland
Max Agbonkpolo: 5.4 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 0.8 apg, 0.6 spg – 37.6% FG @ Wyoming
Javon Jackson: 15.8 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 2.8 apg, 1.3 spg – 39.4% 3FG @ Southern Nazarene
Jackson Grant: 0.5 ppg, 1.5 rpg, 0.3 bpg – 13.3% FG @ Washington
Kalifa Sakho: 6.4 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 1.8 bpg – 57.9% FG @ South Plains College
Freshmen
| G Mason Falslev – 6’3″, 203 – Redshirt Freshman |
| F Karson Templin – 6’8″, 217 – Freshman |
| W Garrison Phelps – 6’6″, 192 – Freshman |
| F Dallin Grant – 6’7″, 200 – Redshirt Freshman – returning from LDS mission |
A program that lost its coach and literally every player who scored a point off of last year’s team, Utah State has fully restocked its basketball cupboard with Sprinkle – and some pretty good players, too.
There have been an unprecedented whirlwind of offseason moves in Logan – a place where they’ve gotten fairly used to change, so that is saying something. Logan is also a place where folks have gotten particularly used to winning, so all of the extra upheaval had better translate into wins.
Whether a member of the Big West, Western Athletic Conference or now, the Mountain West, Utah State has won big and been a league power for a vast majority of the past three decades. This, even though the Aggies have had to endure four coaching changes in the decade since the iconic Stew Morrill hung up his spurs.
Since the home fans have come to expect success, Utah State had to make another strong, solid hire. The Aggies’ new head coach isn’t a bag of hundreds and thousands: he’s former Montana State leader Danny Sprinkle. He’s a guy who is coming off of quick but sustained success in Bozeman, and Sprinkle feels that he has quite quickly and completely rebuilt a transfer-ravaged roster. “The history and tradition with Utah State basketball, there’s expectations here and I accept that responsibility. I know what the expectations are and that’s what I’m about…I’m about winning, and I’m about doing it the right way,” Sprinkle said at his introductory press conference, as reported by the Desert News. With talented new pieces to fit together, rising youngsters and a couple of veterans with whom Sprinkle is already familiar, USU’s new coach is confident that fans won’t be waiting long for a winner.
Being that outgoing coach Ryan Odom brought a few of his guys along with him from Utah State to his new job at Virginia Commonwealth, it’s only fair that Sprinkle should do the same with guys from Montana State. Back in Bozeman, Sprinkle led the Bobcats to 52 combined wins, back-to-back Big Sky tourney championships and an NCAA Tournament appearance after each of the past two seasons. While star center Jubrile Belo has signed on to play professionally in Europe, two of Sprinkle’s other top three scorers from a year ago have joined him at Utah State. Great Osobor and Darius Brown took different routes to end up playing for Sprinkle, but now that they’ve had those tastes of success in the Big Sky, they’re hungry for more.
Osobor traveled from Bradford, England to Bozeman, Montana to begin making his name in American college basketball, winning the Big Sky’s 6th Man of the Year award last season. Despite largely playing behind Belo last year, Osobor showed flashes of real brilliance. He uses his wide frame and hips well in the paint, preferring to operate with his back to the basket and utilize his strength around the rim. Osobor is surprisingly quick for such a powerful player, and once he’s pinned a defender to the side and has a clear path to the goal, Osobor is very difficult to contain. With a 7’3″ wingspan to go along with his great strength and developing footwork, Osobor can get his shot even against considerably larger or more athletic players. Osobor utilizes a reliable lefty hook shot when he can’t get all the way to the rim, and can finish with either hand when he gets close enough to the cup. He shot 62.9% around the rim a year ago, with 20 dunks, and Osobor made 53.3% of the 30 other two-point shots he attempted, per Bart Torvik. More exciting than those sterling figures, though, is the number 149. Osobor shot 149 free throws in just 645 total minutes played; good for the 15th-best rate of free throws per minute played in the nation in 2022-23. While Sprinkle would like to see Osobor nudge his FT% up above 70 from the 66% he has shot in each of his first two years, one thing is immediately evident: with his expanding set of post moves, power and size, Osobor is going to absolutely feast at the charity stripe as he steps into a starting role. A good defender and rim protector who will only get better as he adds experience, Osobor is still flying under the national hoops radar for now, but probably won’t be able to for much longer.
A four-year starter and the third-leading assist man in Cal State-Northridge history, Brown suffered a tibial plateau fracture in his left knee six minutes into the seventh game of his senior year. His time on the floor for the Matadors was over. After rehabbing his knee, and earning a medical redshirt, Brown decided to hit the Transfer Portal and found a great fit with Sprinkle’s Bobcats. Over the course of his one season in Bozeman, Brown led the Big Sky in steals per game and finished second in the league in assists per game and defensive win shares. “Guards have control over the game. They control the tempo, they’re the coach on the floor, whatever coach wants has to go through the point guard,” Brown told the Montana Bobcats official site this past March. As coach on the floor last year, the numbers which Brown put up were a textbook study in point guard production. Brown shot 46.5% from the floor, 39.7% from downtown, 90.9% at the charity stripe, and he handed out three assists for each turnover he committed – all while being named Big Sky Defensive Player of the Year. It was a triumphant return to the court for Brown, and he hopes to be every bit the same steady and reliable presence for the Aggies. Utah State had great difficulty turning their opponents over last year; Brown will help out lots towards changing that. Brown is a genuine leader to help get the new faces which Sprinkle will be putting together onto the same page. For a team which will be searching for its identity, his proven two-way game will be a key steadying force – and a real annoyance for the Mountain West teams which will try to figure Brown out.
Brown shot 46.5% from the floor, 39.7% from downtown, 90.9% at the at the charity stripe, and he handed out three assists for each turnover he committed
With a potential star up front and a terrific leader to run the show, Sprinkle needed some scoring punch. Josh Uduje, come on down – you get first crack at being the Aggies’ top perimeter threat! Last season, Uduje led a balanced Coastal Carolina offense in scoring in what was, for the sophomore, a breakout year. Following a journey of his own from London, England to Conway, South Carolina, Uduje has proven that he can knock down three’s and slash effectively to the rim. In the paint, Uduje has some bounce – he led Coastal with 14 dunks a year ago – and the reach and agility to get around post players to create his own decent looks. Likewise, Uduje is long enough to get his shot from the outside. While he sometimes has a bit of hesitation at the top of his release, Uduje’s jumper looks good, and though he’s only hit 32% from deep each of his first two seasons, Uduje should start shooting more consistently soon; as evidence, his own 91% mark at the foul stripe last year.
One of the great enigmas of the prep recruiting class of 2019, former Southern Cal and Wyoming wing Max Agbonkpolo arrives in Logan hoping to finish his college career with a season that he can be proud of. A consensus Top 100 recruit when he arrived in Los Angeles, Agbonkpolo showed some tremendous ability in spurts. He started 18 games, averaging a career-high 7.7 points and 3.5 rebounds, as a junior with the Trojans, and then transferred to Wyoming prior to last season. Unfortunately, Wyoming’s year fell apart after star big man Graham Ike was lost to injury right before the season began, and, along with his former USC teammate Ethan Anderson, Agbonkpolo was dismissed from the Cowboys program. In explaining his decision to kick players who had committed no transgressions off of his team, Wyoming coach Jeff Linder told the Casper Star-Tribune “I know what right looks like and I know what wrong looks like. As we move forward, we just want to make sure we have the guys who want to be everyday dudes and who want to show up and work and put the time in and do the little things.” Suffice to say, Agbonkpolo may have January 9th and February 15th circled on his calendar this season during conference play. At his best, Agbonkpolo can knock down jumpers and attack the rim with his terrific length and smooth strides. While he may not have put together many consistent stretches, Agbonkpolo is a dangerous player to have as a third or fourth option. With Osobor commanding attention in the paint and Brown crisply moving the ball to open scorers, Agbonkpolo hopes to have found the correct setting in which to truly show off all of his skills.
Another player who will – if eligible – get the chance to show off his offensive skills in a primary scoring role, is former Utah and then Maryland guard Ian Martinez. As a two-time transfer who has yet to graduate, Martinez is at the mercy of the NCAA’s transfer approval board. When on the floor, Martinez has shown versatile offensive skills. He is a solid 42.9% career shooter on mid-range attempts, per Bart Torvik, and last season shot a career-best 40.3% from the land of trey. The former 4-star prospect was a consensus Top 100 recruit when he arrived at Utah three years ago from his home in Heredia, Costa Rica. He functioned as the Terps’ 6th man last year, posting a new career-high of 5.7 points per game off the bench for a team which not only went to the NCAA Tournament but won a game there. “Ian is arguably our best defensive player,” Maryland coach Kevin Willard said last year, and Sprinkle will be excited as soon as he’s able to add a two-way talent like Martinez to the Aggies’ lineup.
As a freshman at Idaho last season, Nigel Burris was about as efficient as you like. After having to deal with trying to defend him, Sprinkle realized that he would rather have Burris on his team. Now that he’s signed on to be an Aggie, Burris will provide great size and a floor-spacing threat on the wing. Being that he was a freshman, Burris didn’t make the same impact each game, but overall he took smart shots and used his length and smooth release to do a lot of damage without demanding many possessions. Burris scored in double figures 15 times as a freshman, and slashed 53/45/87% from the field, three, and the foul stripe. Burris is not a tremendous leaper, nor is he particularly quick; and his best offensive production came when he received a couple of good spot-up looks and got his confidence rolling in the first halves of games. He will have to work to get quicker in trying to keep up with the smaller, faster wings that some MW programs like to feature. If he can defend enough to function as a part-time wing, part-time stretch-4 depending on the lineup, Burris should continue to grow into a prominent role.
It’s been more than four years since Isaac Johnson left American Fork (94 miles from Logan), Utah, as a consensus Top 100 recruit, to begin serving an LDS mission. Two years later, he took the floor for the first time as an Oregon Duck, but he didn’t see the floor much as a freshman. After the season, Johnson realized that he belonged back home in the Beehive State, telling the Utah Statesman “I wanted to come back to Utah because it’s where I fit,” Johnson said. “I can get along with anybody anywhere, but it’s just a lot easier for me to be successful in my life when I have some other comforts.” Now, after redshirting last season following his transfer, and getting comfortable back where he’s from, Johnson is hoping to emerge as the star big man scouts said he would one day become. With face-up skill and range out to the three point arc, Johnson can score in the lane or draw his man far from the rim. Johnson has worked hard to add strength, as he was often pushed around as a lanky freshman in the Pac 12. Even so, Johnson is long, lean, and at home on the perimeter; very much a contrast to the low-post brawn of Osobor. It’s not hard to imagine the two presenting Sprinkle with the option of using whichever of his talented bigs is a better matchup that night – or, sometimes, playing alongside one another. However the roles shake out, Johnson will be excited to finally play for the home fans once more.
| Five Stats Which Told The Tale (with national ranks) |
| 77.4 – Points Per Game (30th) |
| 34.6% – Opponent 3FG% (222nd) |
| +7.4 – Average Score Margin (34th) |
| 4.9 – Steals Per Game (329th) |
| 55.5% – Team Effective FG% (8th) |
Continuing the theme of all roads leading to Logan, two of the guys Sprinkle is hoping will be impact reserves are a former McDonald’s All-American and a guy who, up until a few months ago, played Division II hoops. Jackson Grant is, like Johnson, a former 4-star recruit with size, perimeter skills…and a disappointing stop at a Pac 12 school on his resumé. Formerly Mr. Basketball in the state of Washington, Grant was expected to be a piece the Huskies could build around. Instead, Grant scored 34 points in 39 career games and is now an Aggie. A serious bout of Covid during his freshman season did nothing to help Grant, and he ended up losing weight when the Husky coaching staff had hoped to see him making gains. Now, feeling more like himself, Grant is hoping to show off the smooth jumper and agile footwork that once had the scouts lined up to see him play. His brother, Dallin, is a highly-regarded incoming freshman who was recruited all the way back when Craig Smith – who currently resides in Salt Lake City – was the Aggies’ coach. Despite seriving an LDS mission over the past two years, Dallin Grant is a long scoring forward who turned down offers from BYU and Stanford to play in Logan, and he’s set to debut this fall.
Javon Jackson starred last year for the DII Southern Nazarene (OK) Crimson Storm, showing off a dangerous deep shot and the confidence to lead his team as a freshman. Now, Sprinkle hopes, Jackson can sand down some of the rough edges of his game. While Jackson can create his own shot and also good chances for his teammates, he also forced some shots, passes, and drives into the heart of the defense last year. With high major size and confidence, Jackson plainly has the ability to contribute; the goal this year will be to become more efficient. Now that he won’t be asked to do so much, the Aggies’ coaches think that Jackson can refine his approach and start to become an even more dangerous player. Kalifa Sakho’s own journey to Division I college hoops took him from Rouen, France to Levelland, Texas, before he joined the Aggies. While not yet much of a finished product offensively, Sakho is long and mobile, and has good defensive instincts. If he can play patiently and protect the rim, Sakho could earn a decent role as a backup pivot.
Mason Falslev was on Utah State’s roster last year, but redshirted after switching his commitment from the University of Utah to Logan following an LDS mission. A former star quarterback on the football field, Falslev is a smooth operator on the hardwood as well. He can set up teammates and is a confident ballhandler, and Falslev had a reputation as a slick shooter in high school. Sprinkle will surely need steady points off the bench, and with his confidence as a leader, perimeter skills and scoring reputation, Falslev could see a significant role now that he will finally be on the court. Karson Templin is a talented forward who turned down UNLV, Toledo and Louisiana to play for the Aggies. He can score inside and out, but Templin’s most immediate impact should come defensively and on the boards. “I am going to play my butt off,” Templin told Brandon Jenkins for 247 Sports last year. “Whenever I am on the court, no one is going to out work me. I am going to leave it all on the floor while being a great teammate.” Templin stuck to his commitment despite the coaching change, and now will look to carve out his spot in Sprinkle’s lineup from day one. Garrison Phelps brings a similarly high-revving motor to Logan from hoops powerhouse Link Year Prep in Missouri, where Sprinkle has been recruiting him for awhile. “He can really defend, gets on the glass and just gets a lot done on both ends of the floor,” says 247 Sports’ Eric Bossi of Phelps, and Sprinkle will be glad to have the athleticism and versatility which Phelps brings as a developmental prospect.
“It’s going to be 13 to 15 guys that have never played with each other. They are all coming from different programs with different habits and have different ways they play offense and defense, so it will be an adjustment getting them all on the same page,” Sprinkle told the Logan Herald-Journal this summer. There’s no getting around the fact that Utah State is going to be something of an unknown for at least the first month of Sprinkle’s inaugural season with the Aggies. His track record, that of the program, and that of the players he’s brought in – especially Brown and Osobor – are about doing the unglamorous things which lead to winning big.
| Five Out-of-Conference Games to Keep an Eye on |
| N – Akron / FIU – November 20 |
| @ Bradley – November 11 |
| @ Saint Louis – November 28 |
| vs San Francisco – December 16 |
| @ Santa Clara – December 13 |
“What I do like, and we are going to continue this, we are not going to take high maintenance kids. I don’t care how talented you are, it’s not a fit here and not a fit in my program,” Sprinkle opined. “I just don’t think you can win at a high level with kids like that. You can win some games, but to win consistently and win the way Utah State has won for a long time, you have to get high-character kids that want to be here and play the right way.”
Utah State will look different – again. The thing that has maintained despite the shifting faces, is that Utah State will be good – again. They may not challenge for or win the Mountain West title like they have for most of the last decade, but the Aggies will be a difficult out. And by bringing in a coach that fits who will, in turn, bring in players who fit, Utah State will keep on contending into the years ahead.
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