Utah State to hire assistant Tim Duryea as head coach to replace Stew Morrill

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Utah State did not have to look very far to find a new head coach, tabbing longtime Aggies assistant Tim Duryea for the program’s top job.

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Duryea, 50, joined the program as an assistant in 2001, and has served as the Aggies associate coach since 2008. Aggies fans should expect to see plenty of emphasis on defense under Duryea. With Duryea in charge of the team’s defense in his first seven years at the school, Utah State finished in the top 10 in the NCAA Division I four times in fewest points allowed per game.

Duryea replaces longtime Aggies coach Stew Morrill, who retired at the end of the season. Morrill had held the Aggies' top post since 1998, and logged a 402-156 mark while leading the team to eight NCAA Tournament appearances. However, after 14 straight 20-win seasons under Morrill, the Aggies slumped to 18 wins the past two years.

A 1988 graduate of the University of North Texas — where he helped lead the team to an NCAA Tournament appearance as a player — Duryea made stops as an assistant at Colorado State, North Texas and Hutchinson (Kan.) Community College before arriving in Logan.

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