LOGAN, Utah – Utah State head men's basketball coach Craig Smith has been named the District VIII Coach of the Year as announced by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association on Wednesday. Additionally, junior guard Sam Merrill and freshman center Neemias Queta were recognized as two of the 10 players on the all-District VIII team by the USBWA. District VIII represents schools in Wyoming, Utah, Idaho, New Mexico, Colorado, Nevada and Montana.
Smith led the Aggies to a regular season record of 25-6, the most victories by a first-year head coach in Utah State history, and the most victories in the country by a first-year head coach this year. The total included a 15-3 mark in conference play, as the Aggies shared the Mountain West regular season championship after being picked ninth in the preseason. The 15 league victories are tied for the third-most in school history and the most for a first-year head coach in the Mountain West since the 2013-14 season.
Merrill led the Aggies in points and assists during the regular season, averaging 21.0 points and 4.2 assists per game. Merrill started and ended the year with career highs of 37 points at Montana State and 38 points at Colorado State, respectively, as part of 30 double-digit scoring outings during the 2018-19 campaign. Merrill led the Mountain West in scoring during league games, averaging 22.0 points per game during the conference slate. Merrill also led the league in league games in free throw percentage (.904), and ranked among the conference leaders in minutes per game (37.1), assist/turnover ratio (2.3, 3rd), assists per game (4.4, 5th), 3-point field goals made per game (2.7, t-5th) and 3-point field goal percentage (.380, 10th).
Queta rewrote the USU single-season blocks record this season, totaling 73 rejections during the regular season to breeze past the previous school record of 59, set during the 2000-01 season. In fact, Queta recorded a Mountain West-freshman-record six blocks against Fresno State on Jan. 9, marking the most blocks by an Aggie in a single game since the 2007-08 season. In league games, Queta led the MW in field goal percentage (.639) and blocks per game (2.4), and is the only player in the conference that averaged more than two blocks per game. Queta was also among the leaders in league play in rebounds per game (9.7, 4th), defensive rebounds per game (7.3, 3rd) and offensive rebounds per game (2.3, 9th).
Merrill and Queta are the second and third player in school history to be named all-District VIII by the USBWA, joining Jalen Moore, who earned the honor during the 2016-17 season.
USU begins its run in the Mountain West Tournament this week, facing the winner of seventh-seeded New Mexico (13-17, 7-11) and 10th-seeded Wyoming (8-23, 4-14) in a quarterfinal game on Thursday, March 14, at 7 p.m. (MT). The game will be televised live on the CBS Sports Network (Comcast Ch. 269, DirecTV Ch. 221, Dish Ch. 158). If USU advances to the semifinals it will play at 9:30 p.m. (MT) on Friday, March 15, on the CBS Sports Network, while the championship game will be on Saturday, March 16, at 4 p.m. (MT) on CBS.
Utah State men's basketball news and information is available on Facebook (facebook.com/usumensbasketball), on Twitter (@usubasketball) and on Instagram (@usubasketball). Fans can also get USU men's basketball highlights on YouTube (youtube.com/utahstateathletics).
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