"Fell into"

SectionBAggie · Post by **SectionBAggie** » June 26th, 2020, 1:11 pm

I see this term passed around quite a bit as in Queta fell into USU's lap. Or Sam Merrill fell into USU's lap as a legacy family member. I take exception to that term due to the fact that the coaches actually contacted the player and they ended up at USU.

The classic example of "falling into a lap" would be Michael Olowakandi at Pacific. He walked into Thomason's office and asked if he could get a spot on the team. No recruiting - by anyone. No contact - by anyone. No clue - by anyone - about the player who, by the way, ended up (mistakenly) the first pick in the NBA draft after he finished at UoP.

USU may not have had to work hard to get Merrill to come, but they were in contact with him.

As far as Queta goes, there were other schools aware of him. Posters on the UNM board regularly lament that Weir was aware of and in contact with him but didn't free up a scholarship for him. USU got a great player late in the process, but to my mind the phrase fell into doesn't really fit.

dirtnsnow · Post by **dirtnsnow** » June 26th, 2020, 1:15 pm

I can get on board with this. Another example is Gary Wilkinson when he was at SLCC. He contacted the coach.

hipsterdoofus21 · Post by **hipsterdoofus21** » June 26th, 2020, 2:10 pm

My wife fell into my lap. Picked her up on the rebound after my room mate dumped her.

Real Life Aggie · Post by **Real Life Aggie** » June 26th, 2020, 2:54 pm

hipsterdoofus21 wrote: ↑
June 26th, 2020, 2:10 pm
My wife fell into my lap. Picked her up on the rebound after my room mate dumped her.

You sound like a hopeless romantic, lol.

hipsterdoofus21 · Post by **hipsterdoofus21** » June 26th, 2020, 3:02 pm

Real Life Aggie wrote: ↑
June 26th, 2020, 2:54 pm

hipsterdoofus21 wrote: ↑
June 26th, 2020, 2:10 pm
My wife fell into my lap. Picked her up on the rebound after my room mate dumped her.
You sound like a hopeless romantic, lol.

I'll be the first to admit I out-kicked my coverage.

Post by **aggies22** » June 26th, 2020, 4:13 pm

SectionBAggie wrote: ↑
June 26th, 2020, 1:11 pm
I see this term passed around quite a bit as in Queta fell into USU's lap. Or Sam Merrill fell into USU's lap as a legacy family member. I take exception to that term due to the fact that the coaches actually contacted the player and they ended up at USU.

The classic example of "falling into a lap" would be Michael Olowakandi at Pacific. He walked into Thomason's office and asked if he could get a spot on the team. No recruiting - by anyone. No contact - by anyone. No clue - by anyone - about the player who, by the way, ended up (mistakenly) the first pick in the NBA draft after he finished at UoP.

USU may not have had to work hard to get Merrill to come, but they were in contact with him.

As far as Queta goes, there were other schools aware of him. Posters on the UNM board regularly lament that Weir was aware of and in contact with him but didn't free up a scholarship for him. USU got a great player late in the process, but to my mind the phrase fell into doesn't really fit.

If I recall correctly, a member of our coaching staff was basically stationed over in Portugal for much of the summer in an effort to land Neemias. That doesn't sound like "fell into our lap" to me. That sounds like we outworked everyone else. I'm just adding to your post my Aggie brother. I agree with your original post.

nvspuds · Post by **nvspuds** » June 26th, 2020, 4:26 pm

maybe Quetta fell into enough cash to make a trip to Logan worthwhile..

Real Life Aggie · Post by **Real Life Aggie** » June 26th, 2020, 4:26 pm

aggies22 wrote: ↑
June 26th, 2020, 4:13 pm

SectionBAggie wrote: ↑
June 26th, 2020, 1:11 pm
I see this term passed around quite a bit as in Queta fell into USU's lap. Or Sam Merrill fell into USU's lap as a legacy family member. I take exception to that term due to the fact that the coaches actually contacted the player and they ended up at USU.

The classic example of "falling into a lap" would be Michael Olowakandi at Pacific. He walked into Thomason's office and asked if he could get a spot on the team. No recruiting - by anyone. No contact - by anyone. No clue - by anyone - about the player who, by the way, ended up (mistakenly) the first pick in the NBA draft after he finished at UoP.

USU may not have had to work hard to get Merrill to come, but they were in contact with him.

As far as Queta goes, there were other schools aware of him. Posters on the UNM board regularly lament that Weir was aware of and in contact with him but didn't free up a scholarship for him. USU got a great player late in the process, but to my mind the phrase fell into doesn't really fit.
If I recall correctly, a member of our coaching staff was basically stationed over in Portugal for much of the summer in an effort to land Neemias. That doesn't sound like "fell into our lap" to me. That sounds like we outworked everyone else. I'm just adding to your post my Aggie brother. I agree with your original post.

Sounds like a rough job.

ususports · Post by **ususports** » June 26th, 2020, 4:30 pm

hipsterdoofus21 wrote: ↑
June 26th, 2020, 2:10 pm
My wife fell into my lap.

Thank you for leaving out the intimate details of what happened after.

dogie · Post by **dogie** » June 26th, 2020, 5:07 pm

SectionBAggie wrote: ↑
June 26th, 2020, 1:11 pm
I see this term passed around quite a bit as in Queta fell into USU's lap. Or Sam Merrill fell into USU's lap as a legacy family member. I take exception to that term due to the fact that the coaches actually contacted the player and they ended up at USU.

The classic example of "falling into a lap" would be Michael Olowakandi at Pacific. He walked into Thomason's office and asked if he could get a spot on the team. No recruiting - by anyone. No contact - by anyone. No clue - by anyone - about the player who, by the way, ended up (mistakenly) the first pick in the NBA draft after he finished at UoP.

USU may not have had to work hard to get Merrill to come, but they were in contact with him.

As far as Queta goes, there were other schools aware of him. Posters on the UNM board regularly lament that Weir was aware of and in contact with him but didn't free up a scholarship for him. USU got a great player late in the process, but to my mind the phrase fell into doesn't really fit.

I feel this way when I hear that we got “a steal” when landing recruits, as if the only way we could get top recruits is by stealth to withhold them from a school who rightfully should have signed them.

USU78 · Post by **USU78** » June 26th, 2020, 6:07 pm

dogie wrote: ↑
June 26th, 2020, 5:07 pm
school who rightfully should have signed them.

Bougars. Blech.

pilotaggie · Post by **pilotaggie** » June 26th, 2020, 7:40 pm

This whole thread reminds me of Jaycee and the second half of his career. Lots of moaning from the school down south that he should have been a Cougar. Ultimately the player ended up here and had to do something with the opportunity just like any other player. The difference is these guys become some of the greats. There will be guys that come out of nowhere for many schools.

Imakeitrain · Post by **Imakeitrain** » June 26th, 2020, 10:50 pm

dogie wrote: ↑
June 26th, 2020, 5:07 pm

SectionBAggie wrote: ↑
June 26th, 2020, 1:11 pm
I see this term passed around quite a bit as in Queta fell into USU's lap. Or Sam Merrill fell into USU's lap as a legacy family member. I take exception to that term due to the fact that the coaches actually contacted the player and they ended up at USU.

The classic example of "falling into a lap" would be Michael Olowakandi at Pacific. He walked into Thomason's office and asked if he could get a spot on the team. No recruiting - by anyone. No contact - by anyone. No clue - by anyone - about the player who, by the way, ended up (mistakenly) the first pick in the NBA draft after he finished at UoP.

USU may not have had to work hard to get Merrill to come, but they were in contact with him.

As far as Queta goes, there were other schools aware of him. Posters on the UNM board regularly lament that Weir was aware of and in contact with him but didn't free up a scholarship for him. USU got a great player late in the process, but to my mind the phrase fell into doesn't really fit.
I feel this way when I hear that we got “a steal” when landing recruits, as if the only way we could get top recruits is by stealth to withhold them from a school who rightfully should have signed them.

Idk. There are schools that would have had Adidas pay good money to have Queta attend.

bullshot · Post by **bullshot** » June 27th, 2020, 8:33 am

ususports wrote: ↑
June 26th, 2020, 4:30 pm

hipsterdoofus21 wrote: ↑
June 26th, 2020, 2:10 pm
My wife fell into my lap.
Thank you for leaving out the intimate details of what happened after.

Did you get a lap dance

hipsterdoofus21 · Post by **hipsterdoofus21** » June 27th, 2020, 2:02 pm

bullshot wrote: ↑
June 27th, 2020, 8:33 am

ususports wrote: ↑
June 26th, 2020, 4:30 pm

hipsterdoofus21 wrote: ↑
June 26th, 2020, 2:10 pm
My wife fell into my lap.
Thank you for leaving out the intimate details of what happened after.
Did you get a lap dance

If it was it was the first and last one

Bank Shot · Post by **Bank Shot** » June 27th, 2020, 2:49 pm

Well since we're talking about laps, some 35 years ago while I was sitting on a bar stool (couldn't figure out a dismount), talking to two buddies in a almost empty bar, this young lady walked in and I said "Wow...she could sit on my lap anytime!" She came in to look for a friend of hers that was supposed to be there and came up and asked if I had seen him. Long story short, 3 months later we were married and have been ever since. Great fortune for me...questionable for her.

Aggie formerly in Hawaii · Post by **Aggie formerly in Hawaii** » June 28th, 2020, 9:33 pm

Fell into is interesting. It is easy to say Sam Merrill was a given for Utah State, but what about after the coaching change in 2018? He had played at USU for two years where the team wasn't good and there certainly was not many believing in the Summer of 2018 that we were going to be a team that would make two straight tournaments and win 2 straight conference titles. Maybe someone that knows him will get on here and say he would have stayed at USU no matter what, but I'll give Craig Smith credit for getting Merrill to buy in and stay at USU for the next two years. I am sure he had P5 options at that point, but he stuck it out and became an Aggie legend.

Post by **aggies22** » June 28th, 2020, 9:52 pm

Aggie formerly in Hawaii wrote: ↑
June 28th, 2020, 9:33 pm
Fell into is interesting. It is easy to say Sam Merrill was a given for Utah State, but what about after the coaching change in 2018? He had played at USU for two years where the team wasn't good and there certainly was not many believing in the Summer of 2018 that we were going to be a team that would make two straight tournaments and win 2 straight conference titles. Maybe someone that knows him will get on here and say he would have stayed at USU no matter what, but I'll give Craig Smith credit for getting Merrill to buy in and stay at USU for the next two years. I am sure he had P5 options at that point, but he stuck it out and became an Aggie legend.

I have a friend that has known Sam since he was 8. I'll ask him.

Post by **Aglicious** » June 29th, 2020, 10:34 am

I'll add my 2 cents since I am one of those that have used the phrase more than once when it comes to Queta.

When I have said it, I did not mean to imply that coaches did not do any work to get him to Logan, but rather incredible fortune was on our side for it to happen. Many of these fortuitous things were out of our coaching staff's hands or happened to be in place prior to their arrival.

The staff was only aware of Neemi about 3.5 months prior to his signing in late August. There were other colleges that had been recruiting him longer or had been in contact previous to USU but most were turned off by the notion that he was going to be participating in summer league and national team events which would complicate the ability to jump through the numerous hoops that were already in place to sign a foreign player. Coach Smith has talked in interviews about the lengthy process to bring in a European player which is further complicated by the language barrier, translation of forms to be filled out, and wait time usually involved if the NCAA feels like things need a closer look.

Coach Smith has also mentioned that one of the things Neemi talked about when they first met was wanting to play in a great venue where basketball was a big deal. Queta watched YouTube videos of the Spectrum and that was the reason he initially kept in contact with Peterson and Smith. Over that summer the coaches were also able to bring Brito, a player that happened to already be on the roster when they arrived, into the recruiting scene. This not only helped with the culture barrier but helped Queta see the path had already been traveled to USU by a fellow countryman. Smith has also mentioned how critical Brito was in helping get the numerous forms filled out and proved to be an asset by being familiar with steps related to the Portuguese national team of which he had also been a part.

The coaching staff should be applauded for their perseverance where other staffs may have given up and I'm sure that coach Smith and coach Peterson built a relationship with Neemi over that summer and did their part. BUT there were elements of that recruitment that were already in place that made a huge difference when it came to where Queta chose to play college basketball. So when I say "fell into" I mean the staff was the beneficiary of some pretty fortuitous circumstances that were completely outside of their control.

I also think we need to remember that using the term "fell into" implies the player has significant impact. No one ever claimed we "fell into" landing Adam Thoseberry or Igor Premasunac. The term only increases in significance with every game that Neemi plays in an Aggie uniform. I honestly believe he is the biggest game changer we have seen in my time as an Aggie fan. I love Jaycee (my favorite player), I love Sam, and many other Aggie players since the 80's but Neemi changes the entire game when he's out there. We've had great scorers and great individual players before but I'm not sure we've seen one that impacts a game more with just his mere presence on the court.

Real Life Aggie · Post by **Real Life Aggie** » June 29th, 2020, 11:07 am

Aglicious wrote: ↑
June 29th, 2020, 10:34 am
...Neemi changes the entire game when he's out there. We've had great scorers and great individual players before but I'm not sure we've seen one that impacts a game more with just his mere presence on the court.

Every announcer ever points this out during the game and reviewing highlights, and I love it. Many comments of "see, this won't show up in the stats, but Player X didn't take that shot (or made that bad pass) because of Queta's intimidation in the paint."

slcagg · Post by **slcagg** » June 29th, 2020, 4:04 pm

Aglicious wrote: ↑
June 29th, 2020, 10:34 am
I'll add my 2 cents since I am one of those that have used the phrase more than once when it comes to Queta.

When I have said it, I did not mean to imply that coaches did not do any work to get him to Logan, but rather incredible fortune was on our side for it to happen. Many of these fortuitous things were out of our coaching staff's hands or happened to be in place prior to their arrival.

The staff was only aware of Neemi about 3.5 months prior to his signing in late August. There were other colleges that had been recruiting him longer or had been in contact previous to USU but most were turned off by the notion that he was going to be participating in summer league and national team events which would complicate the ability to jump through the numerous hoops that were already in place to sign a foreign player. Coach Smith has talked in interviews about the lengthy process to bring in a European player which is further complicated by the language barrier, translation of forms to be filled out, and wait time usually involved if the NCAA feels like things need a closer look.

Coach Smith has also mentioned that one of the things Neemi talked about when they first met was wanting to play in a great venue where basketball was a big deal. Queta watched YouTube videos of the Spectrum and that was the reason he initially kept in contact with Peterson and Smith. Over that summer the coaches were also able to bring Brito, a player that happened to already be on the roster when they arrived, into the recruiting scene. This not only helped with the culture barrier but helped Queta see the path had already been traveled to USU by a fellow countryman. Smith has also mentioned how critical Brito was in helping get the numerous forms filled out and proved to be an asset by being familiar with steps related to the Portuguese national team of which he had also been a part.

The coaching staff should be applauded for their perseverance where other staffs may have given up and I'm sure that coach Smith and coach Peterson built a relationship with Neemi over that summer and did their part. BUT there were elements of that recruitment that were already in place that made a huge difference when it came to where Queta chose to play college basketball. So when I say "fell into" I mean the staff was the beneficiary of some pretty fortuitous circumstances that were completely outside of their control.

I also think we need to remember that using the term "fell into" implies the player has significant impact. No one ever claimed we "fell into" landing Adam Thoseberry or Igor Premasunac. The term only increases in significance with every game that Neemi plays in an Aggie uniform. I honestly believe he is the biggest game changer we have seen in my time as an Aggie fan. I love Jaycee (my favorite player), I love Sam, and many other Aggie players since the 80's but Neemi changes the entire game when he's out there. We've had great scorers and great individual players before but I'm not sure we've seen one that impacts a game more with just his mere presence on the court.

I don’t think there was any coincidence that our best basketball last year was when queta finally got healthy.

Aggie84025 · Post by **Aggie84025** » June 29th, 2020, 4:10 pm

slcagg wrote: ↑
June 29th, 2020, 4:04 pm

Aglicious wrote: ↑
June 29th, 2020, 10:34 am
I'll add my 2 cents since I am one of those that have used the phrase more than once when it comes to Queta.

When I have said it, I did not mean to imply that coaches did not do any work to get him to Logan, but rather incredible fortune was on our side for it to happen. Many of these fortuitous things were out of our coaching staff's hands or happened to be in place prior to their arrival.

The staff was only aware of Neemi about 3.5 months prior to his signing in late August. There were other colleges that had been recruiting him longer or had been in contact previous to USU but most were turned off by the notion that he was going to be participating in summer league and national team events which would complicate the ability to jump through the numerous hoops that were already in place to sign a foreign player. Coach Smith has talked in interviews about the lengthy process to bring in a European player which is further complicated by the language barrier, translation of forms to be filled out, and wait time usually involved if the NCAA feels like things need a closer look.

Coach Smith has also mentioned that one of the things Neemi talked about when they first met was wanting to play in a great venue where basketball was a big deal. Queta watched YouTube videos of the Spectrum and that was the reason he initially kept in contact with Peterson and Smith. Over that summer the coaches were also able to bring Brito, a player that happened to already be on the roster when they arrived, into the recruiting scene. This not only helped with the culture barrier but helped Queta see the path had already been traveled to USU by a fellow countryman. Smith has also mentioned how critical Brito was in helping get the numerous forms filled out and proved to be an asset by being familiar with steps related to the Portuguese national team of which he had also been a part.

The coaching staff should be applauded for their perseverance where other staffs may have given up and I'm sure that coach Smith and coach Peterson built a relationship with Neemi over that summer and did their part. BUT there were elements of that recruitment that were already in place that made a huge difference when it came to where Queta chose to play college basketball. So when I say "fell into" I mean the staff was the beneficiary of some pretty fortuitous circumstances that were completely outside of their control.

I also think we need to remember that using the term "fell into" implies the player has significant impact. No one ever claimed we "fell into" landing Adam Thoseberry or Igor Premasunac. The term only increases in significance with every game that Neemi plays in an Aggie uniform. I honestly believe he is the biggest game changer we have seen in my time as an Aggie fan. I love Jaycee (my favorite player), I love Sam, and many other Aggie players since the 80's but Neemi changes the entire game when he's out there. We've had great scorers and great individual players before but I'm not sure we've seen one that impacts a game more with just his mere presence on the court.
I don’t think there was any coincidence that our best basketball last year was when queta finally got healthy.

I agree with that statement. Sam is going to be tough to replace especially his shooting, although all the guard recruits seem to be a good shooters. Having Queta back next year is going to be huge. A whole off season to weight train and get ready for the season is going to do him wonders. Toward the end of the season he was dominant. He will be force next year which gives me a lot of optimism for next year.

Donman · Post by **Donman** » June 29th, 2020, 4:57 pm

Aggie formerly in Hawaii wrote: ↑
June 28th, 2020, 9:33 pm
Fell into is interesting. It is easy to say Sam Merrill was a given for Utah State, but what about after the coaching change in 2018? He had played at USU for two years where the team wasn't good and there certainly was not many believing in the Summer of 2018 that we were going to be a team that would make two straight tournaments and win 2 straight conference titles. Maybe someone that knows him will get on here and say he would have stayed at USU no matter what, but I'll give Craig Smith credit for getting Merrill to buy in and stay at USU for the next two years. I am sure he had P5 options at that point, but he stuck it out and became an Aggie legend.

I know he was very happy with Craig Smith from a conversation I had in like April or May of that year.

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