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Greg Grant, Aggies' all-time
scorer, thanks fans for recognizing his hard work on
the court
By Megan Roe
March 4, 2005 | Nearly 19 years after
playing basketball as an Aggie, the school's all-time
leading scorer, Greg Grant, can still remember his best
moment on the court.
"We played BYU in Logan. I was lucky enough to
steal the ball twice in the final moments, and win the
game," Grant said.
He also remembers his best slam-dunk. The 6-foot-7
forward said he posted up a player 3 inches taller than
him, then spun around another 6-foot-10 player and dunked
the ball.
One memory he will never forget is halftime at USU's
game against Long Beach State on Feb. 24, 2005. Grant
was named to the Utah State all-century basketball team
followed by a standing ovation from Aggie fans. Also,
his jersey, No. 5, was retired and is now hanging from
the Smith Spectrum press box alongside the jerseys of
Wayne Estes (33) and Bert Cook (6).
"It was a warm feeling, very flattering,"
Grant said. "It was nice because I had worked hard
and they recognized that hard work."
In his USU career, from 1983 to 1986, Grant scored
2,127 points. He also leads USU in steals with 226 and
is second in rebounds with 1,003.
In 1984, Grant tried out for the Olympic team. He remembers
not being impressed with Michael Jordan, the NCAA player
of the year, recalling that Utah's Devin Durrant
dunked on Jordan during the tryouts.
After college, Grant was drafted by the Detroit Pistons
but was cut after two weeks. He then played in Spain
for a year. He returned to Utah and he is working at
the Salt Lake City International airport as an air traffic
controller. He still plays basketball in recreational
leagues. He said he can still dunk, though it's illegal
in his league.
Grant said he doesn't watch much basketball on TV or
go to many games, but he does enjoy watching the Aggies
play when he gets a chance. He said he was impressed
with Spencer Nelson, who is also a member of the all-century
team. Grant called him a "smart" player.
A few things have changed since he played college ball.
Grant said the game has become a lot more physical.
He said referees allow a lot more hand-checking. Also,
he prefers shorter shorts than the current long and
baggy style.
Remembering his basketball experience, Grant said another
reason he loved USU was because of its social atmosphere.
"It was such a great experience," Grant
said. "My advice to the students now is, just enjoy
it because it goes by so fast."
Still, to Grant, these memories don't even match
up to the happiest moment in his life.
"My best experience was when my daughter was born,"
Grant said. "No, maybe it was when she said, 'Dad,
you were right.'" But that's only happened once."
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