Sept. 18, 2008

LOGAN, Utah -

By Shawn Harrison, Logan Herald Journal

Some sad news was making the rounds this week at Utah State University and throughout the Aggie basketball family.

Mike Santos passed away on Sept. 10 at his home in Riverdale. A funeral service will be held this morning at 10 for the former Aggie great at Lindquist Mortuary in Ogden.

"He was a really nice guy," said Jimmy Moore, who played two years with Santos at USU. "That is just really sad."

Former Aggie head coach Rod Tueller concurred.

"Mike was a very dear friend," Tueller said. "That is a sad story (of his passing)."

Santos complained of pain in his back a week ago, son-in-law Johnathon Weaver said. The 6-foot-8 basketball star laid down to rest and never woke up.

"According to the autopsy, his heart exploded," Weaver said. "... We didn't expect something like this."

The death of the 52-year-old former Aggie was shocking to his former coach. Dutch Belnap couldn't believe the news.

"I was really surprised when I saw that he had passed," Belnap said. "... He was way too young. That is too darned bad."

Santos and Oscar Williams followed their high school coach, Jim Harrick, to Logan from Morningside High School in Inglewood, Calif. Harrick became an assistant under Belnap, as was Tueller at the time.

"Santos was the big guy, 6-8 or 6-9 in the middle, and Oscar was the point guard," said Craig Hislop, who was the athletic department's media relations director at the time. "... That was an interesting group of players and coaches. Santos was really mild mannered and well behaved."

And he could play.

Santos came to USU in 1975 and wrapped up his Aggie career in 1978. He finished with 1,287 points during his four years with the Aggies, which still ranks 15th all-time.

Santos also had 748 rebounds, which is the eighth-most in school history.

"He was an outstanding player," Tueller said. "... He was an outstanding young man, kind of quiet and unassuming. He played real tough inside for us. He was a dominating inside player.

"... It's kind of funny, because we thought he might not be tough enough to play, but he always took care of his job. He ended up being a dominating inside player. He had good size, excellent athletic ability and was smooth."

Moore has similar memories.

"He was a quiet and nice guy off the court and of course a great player on the court," Moore said. "... Mike was just a good athlete. He could run the court, very fast for a big guy. He was a typical inside player, played with his back to the basket. He could face the basket and shoot the shot. He was just a good all-around basketball player."

Santos holds the school record for field goal percentage in a game, when he made all 12 shots he took against Idaho State during the 1978 season. He also ranks fourth for 10-rebound games during his career with 33, is sixth for double-doubles with 30 and twice grabbed at least 10 rebounds for nine straight games, which is the fourth-best streak at USU.

His best season, statistically as an Aggie, was arguably as a senior. He scored 512 points (18.3 average per game) and shot 59.5 percent from the field. Twice he pulled down 22 rebounds in a contest, which is tied for 10th best at USU. Santos led the Aggies in scoring during the 1976-77 season (18.2 ppg) and the 1977-78 season. He also led the team in rebounding in both of those seasons with 11.3 and 8.8, respectively, and in field goal percentage.

It was a social adjustment for Santos when he arrived in Cache Valley with his big afro. The athlete from southern California didn't seem to let anything bother him, though.

"He was 6-8, but wore an afro that was about six or eight inches high," Tueller said. "He looked awesome. He looked mean, but he wasn't. He was really a nice kid."

"His afro was bigger than the basket," Belnap said. "He would tell me, `Coach, if I get the defensive guy behind me, he can't see around me.' ... He was fun to coach."

No all-conference accolades came Santos' way, but like Tueller pointed out, USU was not part of a league during that era. The Aggies played an independent schedule. They still made it to the NCAA Tournament once during Santos' time at USU, making the Big Dance in 1975 with a 21-6 record. The Aggies also made the NIT in 1978 with a 21-7 record.

"He was a good player, a nice kid to work with," Belnap said. "... He was a good rebounder and a good shooter. He had a good personality."

During his four years with the Aggies, they went 71-37.

"He was on some very good teams," Tueller said. "We did very well."

After his playing days at USU, Santos was chosen by Buffalo in the third round of the 1978 NBA draft, but he never played professionally in the United States. He got a better offer overseas and took his game to Europe, where he played for several years, according to Belnap.

Moore remembers playing against Santos in Europe.

"My last year in Europe, we played against his team," Moore said. "He was in Sweden at the time."

When Santos decided to return to the states, he ended up back in the Beehive State. He was a police officer for more than 22 years with the Ogden Police Department. At the time of his death, Santos was working for Northern Utah Security.

Santos had a son and six stepchildren. He also had 27 grandchildren.

"He was a pretty decent guy," Weaver said.