Jan. 15, 2008

LOGAN, Utah -

By Tim Olsen, USU Athletic Media Relations

From 1963 to 1965, a young man by the name of Wayne Estes captured not only the hearts of Aggie fans, but garnered national attention for his prolific ability to score. Now, 43 years later, Utah State senior All-American guard Jaycee Carroll is finding himself in a similar position.

Carroll has been on a record-breaking tear this season and now finds himself just 31 points shy of breaking the school's all-time scoring record of 2,127 points held by Greg Grant who played at USU from 1983-86.

"It's something that's come after a lot of hard work and team success, so it will mean a lot to me," Carroll said. "But the better our team does, the more I'll look back on this season as a success."

Utah State associate coach Don Verlin said the best thing about Carroll is that he comes to work everyday and that his work ethic is one of his greatest attributes. Whether it was wrestling and swimming in junior high, or basketball at Utah State, Verlin said that Carroll has "an endless work ethic" that has made him as good as he is.

It's that work ethic that has been one of Carroll's most noticeable attributes to followers of Aggie Basketball. He is often compared to an `Energizer Bunny' of sorts, running up and down the court with endless energy, fighting for rebounds and having to deal with defensive schemes designed specifically to stop him.

That endless energy has allowed Carroll to lead not only the team, but the Western Athletic Conference in scoring the past two seasons with an average of 21.3 points a game last year and a 21.2 point average so far this season. Carroll has also surprisingly led the Aggies in rebounding the past two seasons despite his 6'2" frame.

Utah State, however, was not originally in Carroll's plans. The Evanston, Wyo., native said he had his sights set on the University of Wyoming and was excited to play in his home state.

"I originally had no desire to have anything to do with the state of Utah," Carroll said with a smile.

Despite being voted the Wyoming Gatorade Player of the Year both his junior and senior year and averaging an astounding 39.4 points a game his senior season, Carroll was not heavily recruited in his home state.

"Utah State came up and they'd just been to the NCAA tournament and won a whole bunch of games, and they were the first to offer me a scholarship, and the chance to play Division I basketball," Carroll said. "I was smart enough to say okay and commit to come here and I haven't regretted it since. I love being here in Utah, I love Logan and I especially love playing for Coach Morrill and Utah State."

Verlin said Carroll was a hard player to gage coming out of high school because of the level of the competition he played against, and he wasn't for sure if Carroll would be able compete at the college level and if he would be able to have similar success against much tougher competition.

"It was hard to evaluate him," Verlin said. "I don't think anybody in the world ever thought he was going to be the type of scorer he's been and do the things he's done."

Besides the adoration of Aggie fans, the national media attention and the ability to score, it's that small town factor that draws comparisons of Carroll to Estes. Estes grew up in the small town of Anaconda, Mont., and when his chubby 6'5" frame arrived on the Utah State campus nobody expected much out of him. Little did anyone know that before his death in 1965 he would become an All-American, average 33.7 points a game his senior year, and battle NBA great Rick Barry for the NCAA scoring title that season.

Four years ago when Carroll stepped onto the court at Utah State, no one really knew what to expect from the gangly kid from Evanston. They were quickly given an idea. Carroll set a new single-game scoring record for a USU freshman during the 2004-05 season when he dropped in 28 points against UC Santa Barbara. Carroll started 31 games that season and averaged nearly 15 points a contest on his way to being voted the Big West Conference's Freshman of the Year.

Carroll has since turned into one of the top shooters in the country. He is USU's all-time leader in three-pointers made with 308 and currently ranks seventh in NCAA history in three-point shooting at 46.0 percent. This season Carroll is currently making 52.6 percent of his field goals, 50.5 percent of his three-pointers, and 92.9 percent of his free throws and is the only player in the country currently shooting over 50 percent from both the field and three-point range, and over 90 percent from the line.

"Jaycee doesn't play in a system where guys average 30 points a game and get up a lot of shots or have a number of possessions, he plays in a limited possession basketball program and his percentages are unbelievable." Verlin said. "When a guy shoots 50 percent from two and three, that's just a credit to him."

Stats like Carroll has consistently put up are bound to catch national attention, and they have. Carroll was recently voted the National Player of the Week by ESPN's Dick Vitale, after back-to-back 30 point nights for the first time in his career. It is the second time in his career that he has received the honor, the first coming after a 44-point performance against New Mexico State last season.

As Carroll closes in on the all-time scoring record he said he realizes the importance of the occasion and is excited about it, but also said that his team's success is the most important. Carroll said being part of Utah State's winning tradition and keeping that tradition alive is more important than the individual records he's achieved.

Looking forward, Carroll said he doesn't know what the future holds in store for him, but that whatever it is he hopes it involves a lot of good things, and he's looking forward to it.

"I know whatever it is, I'll work hard for it and do my best to be successful," Carroll said. "I know that it will involve my wife, a family and kids, and it's either going to involve more basketball, more school, or a combination of the two."

Regardless of what the future holds for Jaycee Carroll, Aggie fans should take the opportunity during the present to watch one of the greatest shooters in the country and one of the best Aggie basketball players of all time. History is rare, and Aggie fans are watching it this season seemingly every time Carroll takes the court.

"He has taken the challenge, worked hard everyday and overachieved at everything he's done, and that's Jaycee Carroll," Verlin said. "We're fortunate to have him."