‘I’m about winning’: Danny Sprinkle introduced as Utah State basketball coach
Utah State basketball head coach Danny Sprinkle was introduced on Monday, making his first impression on Aggie fans.
In a press conference in Logan, Sprinkle said he was honored to be chosen as Utah State’s 29th men’s basketball head coach.
“I’m honored and humbled to represent you guys, to be chosen as the head coach of your men’s basketball program,” Sprinkle said.
Sprinkle’s first regular season game as a college basketball head coach was in 2019 at the Spectrum as Utah State defeated Montana State.
He complimented Utah State’s crowd, calling it one of the hardest places to play.
Sprinkle is Utah State’s fourth coach hired since Stew Morrill retired in 2015. Craig Smith and Ryan Odom both enjoyed success in Logan, but Smith left for Utah and Odom was hired by VCU.
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“The history and tradition with Utah State basketball, there’s expectations here and I accept that responsibility. I know what the expectations are and that’s what I’m about ... I’m about winning, and I’m about doing it the right way,” Sprinkle said.
At Montana State, Sprinkle’s career record was 81-43, with NCAA tournament appearances in the last two seasons. He was the Big Sky Coach of the Year in 2021-22.
What attracted Sprinkle to Logan?
“What attracted me to Utah State is the care factor. This community cares. There’s not a lot of communities that care about their team like this one. You turn on games in the Pac-12 right now and you’re seeing 3-4,000 fans in those arenas. That will never happen here,” Sprinkle said.
He emphasized the importance of players graduating in some of his first comments at the press conference.
“Our players will graduate. I had a 100% graduation rate at Montana State and that’s non-negotiable,” Sprinkle said.
Sprinkle says the Aggies will be a “blue-collar team” and will be unselfish and efficient.
“Our style of play, we’re going to be blue-collar. Sometimes it’s not going to be pretty, but the end result will be,” Sprinkle said. “We’re going to fight and we’re going to scrap.”
Referencing the changing landscape in college basketball, from NIL to the transfer portal to league restructuring, Sprinkle said the program will adapt.
Sprinkle will have to heavily utilize the transfer portal in his first season, starting basically from scratch, as Steven Ashworth, Szymon Zapala, Max Shulga, Sean Bairstow and Cade Potter all transferred away from Utah State this offseason.
A new era is dawning in Cache Valley, and Sprinkle is tasked to keep the success the Aggies’ program has seen rolling.
