After Utah State’s 2023 NCAA Tournament appearance, new head coach Danny Sprinkle is making some noise in Logan, Utah with a 10-1 start to the season behind a loaded cast a transfers.
Following Sprinkle over from Montana State, 6-foot-8 forward Great Osobor has been one of the top transfers in the nation so far this season averaging 18.5 PPG, 9.2 RPG, 2.7 APG, and 1.9 BKPG with five double-doubles.
Most impressively, the Bradford, U.K. native won TPR’s Transfer Performance of the Week for a 31-point, 10-rebound double-double to force a comeback win over Southern Utah earlier this season.
However, even on nights when Osobor has struggled, former top-100 prospect Ian Martinez and 2022-23 Big Sky Defensive Player of the Year Darius Brown II have found success.
Following stints at Utah and Maryland, Martinez is having a career-best season for the Aggies averaging 12 PPG, 2.9 RPG, and 1.1 STLPG as the team’s second leading-scorer.
Brown was on Sprinkle’s roster at Montana State after four seasons at CSU Northridge and like Osobor, followed the head coach to Utah State where he now averages 10.6 PPG and 7.9 APG.
To defeat Santa Clara last night for the program’s ninth straight win despite only nine points from Osobor, Martinez poured in a career-high 28 points while Brown contributed 23 points, seven assists, and four steals.
Proving a pivotal role player in and out of the starting lineup has been another U.K. native in Coastal Carolina transfer Josh Uduje averaging 9.2 PPG, 2.6 RPG, and shooting 44% from three. He’s already hit the double-digit scoring mark five times this season and has been a momentum shifting shooter off the bench early for the Aggies.
Just to showcase this team’s depth:
Former USC and Wyoming forward Max Agbonkpolo added 10 points and seven boards in last night’s win.
Former top-100 Oregon recruit Isaac Johnson managed 16 points over Saint Louis and 11 points against Bradley after redshirting last season.
2022-23 Big Sky Rookie of the Year and Idaho transfer Nigel Burris contributed 10 points in last week’s contest against San Diego, offering a lot to the future of this Utah State program.
While another former top-100 prospect and Washington transfer in Jackson Grant is finally starting to get some playing time.
With so much transfer talent up and down the board at Utah State, it’s clear Sprinkle is building this Aggies program for immediate success and to compete in the ruthless Mountain West for years to come.
