Off-court breather provided by institute
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LOGAN, UTAH
The five returned missionaries on the Utah State University basketball team have plenty to fill their time — classes, basketball practice, games, social life. So why would they add LDS Institute classes?
"Why not?" redshirt freshman forward Tai Wesley asked in return. "It's a break from our day. It's a time to put the world aside and concentrate on our beliefs; refocus on what's really important."
His sentiments were repeated by each of the five players in separate Church News interviews after the Aggies, on their home court, beat Western Athletic Conference foe Louisiana Tech 86-59 Thursday night, Feb. 28.
Since then, the Utah State team, with four of the five returned missionaries in the starting lineup, has advanced to postseason play as WAC co-champions.
The team is led in NCAA-Division 1 basketball wars by 6-2 senior guard Jaycee Carroll. In a 79-64 home-court win over Idaho on Saturday, Jan. 19, he became Utah State's career scoring leader. He passed the previous mark of 2,127 set by Greg Grant in 1986.
Carroll said he has been enrolled in the Logan Institute adjacent to the USU campus for all but two semesters of his college years. He has been impressed with the teachers at the institute.
"It's been a good place I can go and ask for advice as far as the Church goes; ask for life advice. I've talked to them about whether or not I should get married (he did, to USU cheerleader Baylee Roche in July 2007) and about gospel matters."
Wesley said making it to institute classes is a matter of prioritizing.
"It is tough sometimes to prioritize classes and basketball and religion, but if we just keep our priorities straight, it just works out."
He added about institute, "It keeps me humble. It keeps me on the ground."
Gary Wilkinson, who, as a teen, had little interest in the Church and was a high-school dropout (see Dec. 8, 2007, Church News, is an enthusiastic advocate of the Church's religious educational program for college-age young adults. The 6-9 junior forward, who married USU volleyball player Jessica Peterson, said institute is "something that gives you a little break in the day. You focus on spiritual things and get your mind right and really remember what you're working for, day in and day out, in life. I think that's one thing that has really blessed my life to keep me focused on really what's important through school and through basketball. Your relationship with the Lord is what's most important."
For Tyler Newbold, a 6-4 freshman guard, institute is part of realizing what's important in life.
"If we put God first, everything else is going to fall into place," he said. "Your life will be stable, and when bad things do happen, you know where to look for strength and comfort. That's what I really need in life at this time when there's a lot of things going on, a lot of pressure from different areas."
Institute is "great," according to 6-8 redshirt freshman forward Matt Formisano who comes off the bench for the Aggies. "It's a nice way to start the day for me to go to institute."
He said with basketball practice in the afternoon, he is able to find a break in his regular school classes to slip in an institute class.
"It relaxes me to go to institute class and learn about the scriptures and feel the Spirit. It's a great way to relieve pressure."
Institute director Wayne Dymock said the basketball players are regulars in classes, usually absent only when on road trips with their team.
E-mail to: ghill@desnews.com
