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When the Ags get going, so does the coach

Utah State coach Ryan Odom calls out to players during a game against San Diego State in the MWC championship game Saturday, March 11, 2023, in Las Vegas. The Aggies fell to the Aztecs but won enough games this season to land Odom a new job as the head coach at VCU.
Utah State coach Ryan Odom calls out to players during a game against San Diego State in the MWC championship game Saturday, March 11, 2023, in Las Vegas. The Aggies fell to the Aztecs but won enough games this season to land Odom a new job as the head coach at VCU. | Steve Marcus, Associated Press

For the second time in two years, Utah State’s head basketball coach is jilting the Aggies for another school.

Coach whatshisname — sheesh, who can remember these guys when they come and go so fast — dumped Utah State to take the head coaching position at VCU. That’s Virginia Commonwealth University, if you don’t know. Ryan Odom barely warmed up the office chair in Logan. He was the head coach for all of two years.

He didn’t stay long enough to get a parking validation.

After nearly two decades of stability under the great Stew Morrill, the Aggies have had three coaches in eight years and only one was fired. Going back to the pre-Morrill days, three of USU’s last five coaches have used USU as a stepping stone (which actually pales in comparison to the school’s football coaches/office temps).

Possibly it is the Cache Valley winters.

Larry Eustachy left the Aggies after staying five seasons to take the head coaching position at Iowa State, where he lasted another five seasons and got into a lot of trouble (long story).

He was followed by Morrill, who stayed 17 seasons, and then he retired.

Tim Duryea was next. He lasted three years and was fired.

Then came Craig Smith, who was stolen away by the University of Utah after three seasons in Logan. Isn’t there a law somewhere about coveting thy neighbor’s coach?

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And that brings us to Odom, whose two-year record is not flashy — 44-25 — but nevertheless good enough to get sniffs from two schools — South Florida and VCU. He was 18-16 last season, 26-9 this season.

So what do the Aggies do from here? They need their coaches to be successful — but not too successful; otherwise, they have to shop for another coach. NCAA Tournament bids, for instance, mean the coach is catching the next plane out of Logan.

But does it matter? The Aggies seem to be fairly coach-proof. They usually succeed no matter who is on the bench. Five of the last six coaches left town with winning records, the exception being Duryea (who was close, at 48-49). Odom had a winning percentage of .637, Smith .755, Morrill .720, Eustachy .649. Going back 11 coaches and 70 years, all but three of USU’s 11 coaches had strong winning records.

If the Aggies are hoping to retain a winning head coach without losing him to VCU, Iowa State, Utah, etc., there’s one criterion they should consider: Are they Utah natives?

The only coaches who have stayed put for a while were from Utah — Dutch Belnap (six seasons), Rod Tueller (nine), Kohn Smith (5), Morrill (17). Odom, Smith and Eustachy were from elsewhere.

Under Odom, the Aggies finished second in the Mountain West Conference, finished runner-up in the conference postseason tournament and qualified for the NCAA Tournament, losing in the first round to Missouri 76-65. That’s enough to generate interest from other schools.

VCU has no more name-brand value than Utah State, but Odom made the leap anyway. He grew up on the East Coast and began his coaching career there. The Commodores have this over the Aggies: they have appeared in the NCAA Tournament 11 times in 15 years, compared to six for USU during that time. A native of North Carolina, Odom was a graduate assistant at South Florida and then was hired as an assistant at several East Coast schools — Furman, North Carolina-Asheville, American, Virginia Tech and Charlotte.

No one can blame him for wanting to return to his roots; meanwhile, the Aggies are hunting for another coach.

Jack Dempsey, Associated Press
Jack Dempsey, Associated Press