Newark Product Set to Begin NCAA Tournament for Utah State

When  basketball player E.J. Farris graduated in 2008, he didn’t have a long list of Division I schools salivating over him.

There was some interest from the University of Portland, but Farris ended up at College of the Sequoias in Hanford where he played for a year and averaged 13 points per game.

And while most junior college players play two years and then transfer – hopefully to a Division I program – Farris was good enough to earn a spot on the Utah State roster after just one year of JC ball.

He redshirted last year, but averaged 1.9 points in 7.3 minutes per game this year as the Aggies went 30-3 and won the Western Athletic Conference title.

The impressive season earned the team a No. 12 seed in the NCAA tournament and a first-round meeting with No. 5 Kansas State today at 6:57 p.m.

He's played in 21 of 33 games for the team, which has won eight in a row and 25 of its last 26.

Farris has always had the makings of a Division I player. He was a 6-foot-1 shooting guard and was ranked No. 40 on the NorCalPreps.com senior class list.

He averaged 20.5 points, 5 assists and 3 rebounds per game his senior year and was the top player in the Mission Valley Athletic League.

Farris was instrumental in a memorable 74-72 double-overtime North Coast Section Division I semifinal win over Castro Valley.

He guided the Cougars to an overall record of 26-8 and a second-place finish in the section. The Cougars’ season came to an end that year with a 62-42 loss to eventual state champion McClymonds.