USU’s Tai Wesley receives Associated Press All-American honor

LOGAN, Utah – For the fourth time in the last five years, Utah State’s men’s basketball program has had a player earn Associated Press All-American honors as Tai Wesley was named to the honorable mention team it was announced Monday. Wesley was one of 60 student-athletes to receive All-America honors from the Associated Press and one of 45 to earn honorable mention honors. Wesley joins former Aggie greats Wayne Estes, Jaycee Carroll and Gary Wilkinson as the only players in school history to be named an All-American by the Associated Press. Estes earned first-team AP All-America honors following the 1965 season, while Carroll earned honorable mention AP All-America honors following the 2007 and 2008 seasons, and Wilkinson was named honorable mention All-American following the 2009 season. “To be named an All-American is very satisfying and something I couldn’t have done without the coaching staff and all the players I’ve played with during my Utah State career,” said Wesley. “It’s a honor to be recognized as one of the best basketball players in the country.” Wesley was the only player from the Western Athletic Conference honored by the Associated Press and one of just two players from the state of Utah recognized as BYU’s Jimmer Fredette was named an AP first-team All-American. Wesley, a 6-7 senior forward from Provo, Utah (Provo HS), was named the WAC’s Player of the Year this past season as he led the team in scoring and rebounding with 14.8 points and 8.0 rebounds per game. He finished the year ranking second in the WAC in field goal shooting (.599), fifth in blocked shots (1.06), sixth in scoring and sixth in rebounding. As a senior, he scored 502 points marking the 47th time in school history that an Aggie has scored 500 points in a single season. For his career, Wesley is a member of the winningest class in school history with a 111-28 (.799) mark and a school-record four-straight regular season WAC Championships. He is also the only player in school history to have career numbers of at least 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, 200 assists, 100 steals and 100 blocks. All-time, Wesley ranks eighth in school history in scoring (1,749), tied for first in games played (139), third in games started (128), third in blocked shots (144), third in double-figure scoring games (101), fourth in field goal percentage (.596), fourth in free throws attempted (608), fifth in free throws made (428), fifth in total minutes played (3,768), sixth in rebounding (873), sixth in field goals made (657), eighth in assists (356), ninth in steals (112) and 10th in field goals attempted (1,102). Wesley’s other honors this year include being named to the 2011 WAC All-Tournament team along with receiving first-team all-district honors from both the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) and the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA). -USU-

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