More so than perhaps any other team, the question over what kind of lineups we’ll see from Utah State head basketball coach Jerrod Calhoun is an interesting thought exercise. It goes beyond just “who will start” (though that’s also a big question in some areas) and into a question of how will Calhoun craft lineups that don’t have weak points in them given the team he constructed this offseason.
The complexity of this topic is very much a consequence of how Calhoun built the roster. With so many spots opened up by players transferring out, Calhoun obviously had the chance to do virtually whatever he wanted (as long as he could convince the players he wanted to come to Logan) so what he has is presumably what he wanted.
So what exactly does Calhoun have? That’s the question that needs to be answered first here. What types of players are on the roster and what kinds of roles can each player do? So, before going too far, we’ll be exploring exactly that.
Traditionally you have five positions, the point guard, shooting guard, small forward, power forward and center. Those labels aren’t quite as relevant today with basketball being more position-less, but they still mostly hold. Though for college basketball, a better way to do it would be to combine two of those positions, shooting guard and small forward, and just call them “wings.” In other words, you’d typically start a point guard, two wings, a power forward and a center.
The main reason for this is because a lot of teams end up starting three guards, one of whom is a usually a more traditional point guard and the others are combo guards (or wings, to use the new term). There’s often very little difference between the two non-PG guards. For instance, could you definitively say which of Ian Martinez and Mason Falslev was the small forward in USU’s starting lineup last year? It’s not a distinction worth even trying to make.
You could be even more broad with these position groups and combine power forwards and centers and just call them “bigs” (Calhoun did this with his first workouts with the team, dividing them into three groups and calling them guards, wings and bigs) but there are enough differences between power forwards and centers — especially on USU’s roster — that it’s a little too hard to consider them just one position.
With the new positions defined, let’s divide Utah State’s roster into the requisite groups to get an idea of where these players fit and then we can look at the kinds of lineups Calhoun could use in various situations and against different kinds of teams. With each of these position groups, we’ll go over potential battles for starting spots and playing time.
We’ll start with the point guards, those most likely to be the one initiating the offense, these players being Deyton Albury, Drake Allen, Jordy Barnes, Braden Housley and Jaxon Smith (FYI, the “offensive roles” referenced in these tables use the B-Ball Index definitions — click here for the link to their key).
Utah State Position Group — Guards
| Name | Yr. | Ht. | Wt. | Offensive Role |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deyton Albury | Sr. | 6-3 | 190 | Shot Creator |
| Drake Allen | Sr. | 6-4 | 190 | Primary Ball-Handler |
| Jordy Barnes | Fr. | 6-3 | 160 | Primary Ball-Handler |
| Braden Housley | So. | 6-4 | 180 | Primary Ball-Handler |
| Jaxon Smith | R-Fr. | 6-2 | 188 | Shot Creator |
For these five players there’s likely just one starting spot available but plenty of playing time up for grabs. Calhoun has made it pretty clear he wants to go three deep with his point guard rotation and plans on playing multiple primary ball-handlers at the same time so when only one guy lands the coveted starting role, it’s not the end of the road for the rest.
The two most likely candidates for the starting spot are Albury and Allen. Both are veterans who climbed their way from lower division and into the Division I ranks and have now had success at the higher level. Albury is more of a scorer (17.0 points per game last year) with his great quickness and ability to get to the rim against anybody. Allen isn’t as fast but has a little more height and a little more savvy. He’s also a better as a passer (4.3 assists per game last year). EvanMiya advanced stats actually named Allen as the best transfer recruit Utah State landed this offseason largely in part to his overall balanced style and ability to impact the game positively in a number of ways.
There are a lot of small factors that could play a role in who wins this battle, potential fit among them (does Calhoun want the better passer in Allen paired with Ian Martinez/Mason Falslev or the more offensive firepower and slightly better outside shooting Albury possesses?). Calhoun will need to balance these things with his lineups, not only for the starting five but all lineups with bench players as well. If the reserve units lack scoring it may behoove Calhoun to bring Albury off the bench, similar to how Steven Ashworth came off the bench initially for USU in 2022-23.
With Calhoun likely going three deep with his guards, the question is who will be the third? Braden Housley appears to be the favorite there, though he’ll need to fend off a pair of freshmen, Jordy Barnes and Jaxon Smith, to ensure he’s in the rotation. Housley already has a year of starting at Southern Utah under his belt so it stands to reason he should be able to prove his worth in Logan. He’s not quite at the level of Allen and Albury, in both experience and skill, which is why Housley is probably sitting in a fairly certain third on the depth chart. But since he’s just entering his sophomore season, there’s plenty of time to take over for Albury/Allen once the two use up their final season of eligibility this year.
Let’s move on to the wings — Dexter Akanno, Tucker Anderson, Mason Falslev, and Ian Martinez — and it’s potentially more complicated depth chart/position battle situation.
Utah State Position Group — Wings
| Name | Yr. | Ht. | Wt. | Offensive Role |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dexter Akanno | Sr. | 6-5 | 210 | Stationary Shooter |
| Tucker Anderson | So. | 6-9 | 190 | Movement Shooter |
| Mason Falslev | So. | 6-3 | 203 | Slasher |
| Ian Martinez | Sr. | 6-3 | 190 | Secondary Ball-Handler |
Martinez is about as close to a lock to start as anyone on the entire roster will get. There’s not a single player, newcomer or otherwise, that appears poised to challenge the Costa Rican guard for his spot. Martinez is the leader among returners in points, putting up his 13.3 points per game last year in a secondary scoring role behind Great Osobor. With the latter gone, Martinez is primed for a season where he could challenge for the title of leading scorer in the Mountain West.
Falslev seems like he’d be a lock as well, what with being a highly productive freshman on a high-level team last year and every indication he’s going to get better from there. But this is where lineups and rotations can get a bit tricky, and this isn’t something that involves only the wings because there’s a knock-on effect from the bigs that could impact whether Falslev and Anderson both start or whether just one of them does. And since the bigs position group got mentioned, the combination of power forwards and centers let’s drop one last table to go over them and then circle back. This group features Isaac Davis, Aubin Gateretse, Isaac Johnson, Pavle Stosic and Karson Templin.
Utah State Position Group — PF & C
| Name | Pos. | Yr. | Ht. | Wt. | Offensive Role |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Isaac Davis | PF | Fr. | 6-8 | 240 | Post Scorer |
| Aubin Gateretse | C | Sr. | 6-11 | 225 | Roll & Cut Big |
| Isaac Johnson | C | Jr. | 7-0 | 227 | Stretch Big |
| Pavle Stosic | PF | So. | 6-9 | 215 | Versatile Big |
| Karson Templin | PF | So. | 6-8 | 217 | Roll & Cut Big |
Firstly, there’s one position battle that’s easy to mention and get out of the way. That being the one between Johnson and Gateretse at center. The most likely scenario is that one of the two will start and the other serve as a reserve big. Johnson is the incumbent with Gateretse the incoming challenger fresh off a career season at Stetson (11.6 points, 7.6 rebounds, 1.5 blocks). The two are vastly different despite a lot of physical similarities with Johnson being a stretch big with the ability to hit shots from the outside and Gateretse being more of a paint beast and elite rim finisher and paint protector.
Much like the battle between Albury and Allen, this isn’t one that comes down purely to which player is flat-out better. Fit with the starting five and/or reserve players could be a huge factor and the drastic difference between Johnson and Gateretse’s styles just makes this more complicated, and it even adds layers to the Albury/Allen battle. Allen may fit better as a pick-and-roll duo with Gateretse while Albury could take full advantage of Johnson’s ability to create five-out lineups on offense, clearing the lane for more drives to the hoop. These two position battles greatly impact the other and Calhoun will need to balance both to craft the best lineups.
As potentially complicated as you can make the center position battle, it doesn’t really compare to what’s happening at power forward. On paper, Utah State has three guys at this position — Davis, Templin and Stosic — with all possessing solid potential but not enough experience to have confidence in their ability to make starting-caliber impacts on the team. The door’s open, though. Templin could rocket his way into the main rotation or perhaps Davis shows freshman of the year potential, even Stosic has skills that could make him an attractive option at PF if he shows ability right away.
Calhoun should very much hope one of his young PFs is able to play right away because if not, it puts him in a tough spot when creating lineups. If none of Davis, Templin or Stosic end up being viable options for the rotation, who plays power forward? At the college level, power forwards need to have a mix of inside presence with rebounding and defense while also having some kind of perimeter skill. Options other than Davis, Templin and Stosic consist of players who can only provide one end of the PF spectrum. Anderson and Akanno have the perimeter skills with some of the length to play the position but lack the ability to make a difference inside the paint, especially defensively. On the other hand, Johnson and Gateretse can both handle the interior but aren’t going to be at home chasing shorter forwards around.
This isn’t a fatal flaw in the Aggies’ roster. Some teams will go small, allowing for Akanno/Anderson to play power forward, and when teams go big Johnson/Gateretse is a viable option. It just complicates things when teams have a great PF that is too big for smaller lineups and to quick for USU’s bigger frontcourts.
Alright, that’s enough position group talk. Let’s move into some potential lineups.
A quick caveat to the following, there are a lot of lineup combinations and the things to think about when looking at these lineups is that there are several pairs of players that are highly interchangeable due to their abilities to play similar roles, even if they do so differently. The top examples would be Allen and Albury, Falslev and Martinez, Anderson and Akanno, Templin and Davis, and last but not least, Johnson and Gateretse. If Calhoun needs a slightly different flavor in a lineup, such as needing the more defensive Akanno rather than perimeter shooting of Anderson, that swap can be made. Not all of the potential to do that is going to be directly shown in the following lineup suggestions, but keep them in mind.
Starting Five
- G — Drake Allen
- W — Mason Falslev
- W — Ian Martinez
- W — Tucker Anderson
- C — Aubin Gateretse
This is my best guess right now for the starting five, though it requires that I make what is likely a yet-to-be-made decision with multiple position battles detailed above. The reason I’d lean this way is that Albury is a tad redundant with Falslev/Martinez and if Anderson is starting at PF it’d probably be better to have Gateretse in there for more interior finishing and rim protection, areas where he has an advantage over Johnson.
This is probably the most balanced lineup while also making sure (most of) the best players are on the court at the same time. And if Anderson is able to put on some weight and play power forward effectively, this would definitely be the most impactful five-man lineup the Aggies could put forward next year.
Power Forward Lineup
- G — Drake Allen
- W — Ian Martinez
- W — Mason Falslev (OR) Tucker Anderson
- PF — Karson Templin
- C — Isaac Johnson
This lineup compared to the suggested starting five above helps visualize knock-on effect of what’s going on at power forward. If Calhoun decided to start Templin, Davis or Stosic (going with Templin in this example due to experience), it means putting one of Anderson or Falslev on the bench to begin the game. That’s not an easy decision to make and it’s the main reason at this point I’m simply more sold on Anderson ending up at that starting PF slot even if he’s not the perfect fit. Once you get a few minutes into the game then, yea, you have one of those guys take a seat for a breather and one of the backup forwards comes in.
Switching Johnson for Gateretse in this lineup isn’t just for kicks and giggles. With Anderson potentially not on the court it becomes more important to have Johnson’s shooting and Templin’s stronger frame and rebounding would give back some of the interior presence lost with Gateretse on the bench.
Twin Towers
- G — Drake Allen
- W — Ian Martinez
- W — Mason Falslev
- C — Isaac Johnson
- C — Aubin Gateretse
I went over the viability of the pairing of Johnson and Gateretse a lot more in my full breakdown of Gateretse from a while back. With Johnson’s outside shooting, it’s a workable combo so long as one of the two doesn’t have to spend too much time defending quicker forwards on the perimeter, a situation where both will struggle to be productive defenders. And if the Aggies wanted to go ultra-tall, you could thrown Anderson into this lineup, though at that point you’re severely risking opponents sending in quicker lineups that would run circles around most of USU’s guys.
Two Point Guards
- G — Drake Allen
- G — Deyton Albury
- W — Ian Martinez
- W — Tucker Anderson
- C — Aubin Gateretse
Two point guard lineups are a certainty, not only through Calhoun’s philosophy but also roster construction. Allen and Albury may be battling for a starting spot, but they will still share the court a lot. If Allen ended up starting, subbing in Albury for Martinez could be quite the luxury for Calhoun as he’d be going from one great slashing guard to another without skipping a beat. And it’d also put two ball-handling point guards on the floor to facilitate more offense with Martinez, Anderson and whichever of Johnson/Gateretse is on the floor.
Having Housley on the roster also helps with these two-PG lineups. You don’t have to worry about staggering Albury and Allen’s minutes to always have a PG on the court. Calhoun can play them both for a time and if he wants them to rest for a couple minutes, Housley is there to take over as the lead ball-handler. And, of course, there’s the fact Housley could step into the two-PG lineups if the need arises or gameplan calls for it.
So that’s the long version of what some of Utah State’s lineup combinations could look like. Expect a lot of point guard-heavy lineups, experimentation at power forward, versatility at center and a heck of a lot of great play from the wings on this team. Whether it all comes together to form a Mountain West title defense is something that will have to wait until at least November.
