CEDAR CITY, Utah – Southern Utah forward Jaiden Feroah and guard Chase Degraffenried joined assistant coach Donald Williams on the latest episode of Williams' YouTube podcast, Uncle D's Basketball Life, released Thursday, Oct. 8. The three talked about the players' shared Green River roots, the jump from junior college to Division I, the Thunderbirds' non-conference schedule and the program's first season back in the Big Sky Conference.
The full episode is available on YouTube here.
THE GREEN RIVER CONNECTION
Both players came to Cedar City by way of Green River College. Their ties go beyond that: Degraffenried roomed with Feroah's brother for two years at Green River.
FROM JUCO TO DIVISION I
Degraffenried said the biggest adjustment has been moving from the go-to scorer at Green River to finding other ways to help the team, especially rebounding and defense. Williams said Degraffenried's defense has improved and pointed to his work on the offensive glass.
LOOKING AHEAD
Feroah said the biggest difference from last season is the competition for playing time throughout the roster.
"This year our bottom guys are fighting to get in the upper half, you know?" Feroah said. "Like every day practice is competitive."
Both players said they're looking forward to the non-conference schedule. Feroah named the trip to High Point and the game at Texas. Degraffenried said he's excited about Texas and Washington.
"I'm real excited for the Texas one and just playing in front of a big crowd like that," Degraffenried said.
ABOUT THE GUESTS
Feroah is a 6-foot-9 graduate forward from Draper, Utah, and Corner Canyon High School. He played at Holy Cross and Green River before coming to Southern Utah. Last season he was named to the WAC All-Defensive Team after leading the conference with 51 blocks, including eight against UTRGV. He also led the Thunderbirds with 6.7 rebounds per game, averaged nearly 14 points and shot 56 percent from the field, second-best in the league.
Degraffenried is a 6-foot-4 guard from Salem, Utah, and Salem Hills High School. He was a three-time NWAC Athlete of the Week at Green River last season. One of those weeks, he scored 36 points against Tacoma and 34 against Pierce.
ABOUT THE HOST
Williams is in his fourth season on head coach Rob Jeter's staff and brings more than 20 years of coaching experience, including 10 years at the Division I level.
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