Sprinkle A Little Danny
Sprinkle A Little Danny
Danny Sprinkle is the hottest name in coaching but is Utah State basketball becoming a speed-bump on the way to something bigger?
First Things First» Danny Sprinkle is a Montana kid. Like most who reside in that state for more than a year, you either A] go into the service or B] get the hell out as soon as you have a chance! [That’s what my Montana History professor told the thousands of us outsiders that settled into our seats inside a cavernous auditorium at the University of Montana-Missoula on day one.]
Heck, I’d argue just as my prof did that it doesn't even matter if you go to high school in the state—Sprinkle got his education at rival Montana State after a storied basketball career at Helena High School.
Ask UFC cham-peen "Sugar" Sean O'Malley how long he stayed put in Helena, the Montana capital. As soon as his birthday hit eighHE GONE! And he wasn’t coming back, either. [Dunno why he would; he's got a mansion in Arizona which is where his scambum dad settled in retirement.]
I know 16 million dudes plus my cousin who would looooove to get back at Sean, his dad and Gawd knows who else who's hit you with some trumped-up charges on some Montana roadway and then tells you to swipe your credit card for a speeding ticket because the county in which you got pulled over is open two hours a week.
In Montana, you could PROVE beyond a shadow of a doubt that you were innocent, but since the person who pulled you over has a sister in charge of the entire county, it ain’t gonna matter. Sign here, ya friggin—’n what kinda name is [redacted]?!
Anyway, that's probably part of the reason why Danny Sprinkle left MSU, his beloved alma mater that he himself led to NCAA Tournament glory the past two years as a coach and long ago as a student-athlete.
In this new age of name, image and you-know-what-comes-next, Sprinkle "took" his two best players at MSU [Great Osobor and Darius Brown II] with him to Logan. While Sprinkle had ZERO starters returning on Utah State’s roster, he’s still guided the Aggies to a 24-5 record with a slew of transfers. Even in the meat grinder that is the Mountain West Conference that will have as many as SIX teams as shoo-ins for the Big Dance including San Diego State and USU, no less.
Mountain West Meat Grinder
» For Sprinkle, it doesn't get any better than this. After a more-difficult-than-it-looked 72-60 win Friday night versus a feisty Air Force team that just won this past week at The Pit [New Mexico], the Utah State coach flexed a few muscles, showing off some humility.
“I give our guys a lot of credit because that's a hard team to play against,” said Sprinkle afterward of Air Force. “Their style, their discipline. You're going to have to guard them for 30 seconds every time. They're going to back-cut three, four times, and they do it with great pace.”
For the love of all that's holy, it capped off a week when Jeff "I followed the Ball Bros around like some puppydawg" Goodman showed up in Logan taking selfies with fans before, during and after the Ags’ win over San Diego State—last year’s NCAA Tournament runner-up.
Over the past week, Utah State eked by SDSU at home 68-63, traveled to Fresno State and survived, winning 77-73 and then thumped Air Force by 12. Sprinkle literally just won a mid-season Coach Of The Year Award. But in this one-and-done generation is it wise for the Utah State coach to leave after one season? I’ll put it this way; it’s uncharted territory. Not even Rick Pitino tried this.
I know that isn't what Utah State fans and alumni want to hear, but it's coming after the ides of March. [For those who aren’t aware, this would be the time period after the 15th of March.] At or around that point, the offers will be coming in like hotcakes at a Denny's after the plane has landed at Salt Lake International and the team vans have skittered across Sardine Canyon's ribbons of visible road. Does this native of Helena really want to be living like this in more snow or is Sprinkle really here for a good time—not for a long time?
