They recently lost to Pepperdine by 25 at home. How in the world does BYU lose this game? Do you really think they lose? I don’t know how it could happen…
I think they win.
Maybe our resident fact provider, grasshopper, could use his factual experience and predict, based on facts, who he thinks will win the game.
That has been my point from before the season started. Baxter would never grow or “have the game slow down” until he played minutes. You put him in and he gets burned, take him out and walk through what happened and insert him back in. We would have been miles ahead if Baxter had played early and often.
Watch now when teams focus on Baxter, he will look like a freshman again until he figures out how to play with teams bumping and chipping him on every play.
Back to why I posted this thread in the first place. Childs and Haws were not going to get things done by themselves. Rose was correct when he stated, “We are looking for that 3rd scorer”. Cannon is not D1 athletically, Harding has hit the Fr. wall, which is perplexing to me as he started out so strong, Hardnett and his hand still can’t hit a shot, Emery until the LMU game was an absolute HEAD case. Seljaas can’t hit an open 3 so he is a liability…and the list goes on.
Two dynamics I look at going forward…Whether Emery is getting his game back or was that a single game aberration. And Baxter.
Baxter is the real deal but teams are now scouting him and will make him earn EVERYTHING so I see him struggle but no doubt he takes the heat off Childs and he will help with altering foes shots and cleaning boards.
But Emery…if he gets his confidence back, watch out, BYU becomes good again.
We only have few more games to go including wcc tourney and possible NIT. Or will they carry on for next 3 more years with Baxter, Harding & Lee? And possible Shengzhe Li from China and Bermardo Da Silva from Brazil?
Could not find any video on Da Silva but I have watched Was. Academy this year. Da Silva is a good get. Wasatch is a farm team full of D1 players that travels the country and plays elite teams…they do not belong to a league here in Utah. Every player on that team will go to some college.
Li on the other had is new to basketball. https://usatodayhss.com/2018/byu-lands-commitments-from-forward-bernardo-da-silva-center-shengzhe-li
Li has good bball defensive skills but he plays low to the ground for a 6’ 10 guy. (reminds me of Worthington in the fact that he can’t jump, may be able to dunk) but Li can score unlike Worthington, he can go either hand and has a short jumper. Li is new to the sport and will only get better. He is slow-rumbling and can’t dribble very well. Has to stop to pass, His is certainly a “project”
Nate Hansen, byu commit
Been compared to TJ Haws. Long range shooter, great passer. 6’3
No way Chris, he is ready now so he will be awesome the rest of the season. He wasn’t ready until the LMU game and that is why he didn’t play very much. In fact, I’ll bet he looked very average until the friday Feb. 1 practice when the coaches looked at each other and had this conversation
Lacomb - I’ve been watching Baxter at practice today and I think he may be ready
Lewis - I don’t know Tim, his defense is suspect. He gets beat easy but he does play above the rim and had a nice block last game vs. Gonzaga.
Lacomb - Let’s see what Dave thinks
Lacomb/Lewis - Hey Dave, do you think Baxter might be ready? We’ve been asking this same question all season, hoping you would give him more minutes but we know you like Luke W. so we’ve been hesitant to ask again.
Rose - I don’t know. I’m not ready to give up on Luke just yet. I know he’s 6’10 and hasn’t dunked once in his career here and I know he has a tendency to commit lots of flagrant fouls and get beat on defense regularly, but I love his jump hook, which he hits about 10% of the time and I made him a team captain so I gotta stick with him.
Lacomb/Lewis - Are you sure Dave? We think Baxter might be ready for more minutes. He had 25 vs. Gonzaga and although we lost by 30, he did score 4 points which was 4 more than Luke and get 4 rebounds, which was double what Luke got.
Rose - I don’t know, I think he is talented and has potential but I just don’t know if he is ready. Let’s ask that guru coach grasshopper what he thinks.
Lacomb/Lewis - We think Baxter is ready, let’s start him and get him lots of minutes so we can beat LMU.
Rose - Well, it is groundhog day tomorrow and that is how it has felt around this place for the past 5 or more seasons, so maybe we could start him and see what happens. Mark it on the calendar guys, Feb. 1, the day we finally decided that Baxter was ready to start.
That is about how the conversation went… I’m pretty sure. 
Yes. Fish, you are spot on, like usual.
Grasshopper ain’t gonna like this.
LaComb: Dave says you aren’t ready.
Baxter: What, didn’t he see me throwing down on everyone and knocking down 3s?
LaComb: I’m not sure; he’s playing pinochle with Worthington and his folks now, but I’ll ask him when he gets back. But I don’t think it’s looking good for you. I mean, you were the best guy on your AAU team and dominated every D1 guy you saw, and I know you were offered by every Pac12 school and all, but I think that basketball is too fast for you and you need to wait for it to “slow down.”
Baxter: Slow down? Huh? Coach, I have no idea what you are talking about. I just get all the tough boards, dunk on guys, and make the crowd go crazy–I mean, I know our big expensive gym is half empty, so I’m just trying to help. But I don’t know what “slow down” means. I just throw down on guys.
LaComb: Well, I was talking about playing time.
Baxter: OH, NOW I get it! Yeah, don’t worry coach; I mean, I would be starting in the PAC12 from day one, but I don’t really want to play. There are other nice guys who should play, so I will just sit out.
LaComb: Ok, make sure you tell the media you didn’t want to be playing, OK?
Baxter: Got it, Coach.
Jim…nice conversation. just like the one in my head. Is he ready? Let me consult the Oiege Board.
Tom…here’s how it really went…Coach, I’m tired of sittin! Rose, “then get up and walk around or do the Dastrup row thingie”. Baxt, “I think I’ll just transfer, what do you think of that?” Rose, “You’re startin tomorrow”
Baxt, “OK, thanks, I think I just might save your job”
Well said
And to think you thought you were saying that tongue in cheek…from what I know, the truth is altogether too scary.
One more thing in on this “he was not ready garbage”:
Ready=6’9”, 40 inch vert, 7’3” wingspan, second fastest runner on the team, and a good ball handler and outside shooter. That’s all the “ready” you need to start or at the very least get major minutes from DAY ONE at Duke or NC or at any other real program.
BYU hardly ever gets a kid like this.
Dave Rose played with Clyde the Glide, for %#%£€ sake!! Now he recruits a kid with the same measurables and sits him for 20 games? Haha pure genius.
I think I have said enough on the whole “ready or not” discussion. Even after reading grasshopper’s explanation, which was one of his better one’s, I just don’t buy it as a valid reason for playing a guy like Luke W. over a guy like Gavin B.
On what reasoning does a coach do that? He isn’t ready? That’s crazy talk. The game doesn’t slow down in practice. They had tons of time to go over everything during the summer and fall. The only way a player gets better is by playing in the actual games and becoming familiar with his teammates in a variety of game situations. Baxter should have had those minutes early on, just like Jimmer should have, just like Dastrup, just like Chatman, just like Bartley and the list goes on and on. There is no reason to delay and wait for a player to be ready. That is an archaic, peach basket days approach.
Straight from the Hopper’s mouth “well Luke W. looks worse than last year”… as if that is even possible but grasshopper was right, he is worse than last year but apparently better than taking a chance on playing Baxter.
After all, sitting Baxter in favor of Worthington really paid off in several key wins early in the season… LOL!
Jim, Craig and Fish … one of the funniest string of posts yet!! Keep up the good work…can’t add anything to those remarks.
I am mystified that Colby Lewis isn’t taking some
of Worthington’s minutes. Looks like the Hardnett ghost injury is back … oh no!!
Yeah, that did not look good at all. Hardnett, when healthy can sure get to the basket and I love love his passes in tight places. He can be a game changer when healthy.
What is it between Scott G (grasshopper) and Jim Hawks? It sounds like a Hatfield and Mac-Coy fued. What do you two guys have against each other? Or do you both just have totally different ideas or opinions on things?
OK, while watching the game last night I saw a picture of Worthington and his new bride. Needless to say, I will never call him Worthlesston ever again. Holy Cow, dude. Whatever he is not on the court, he must have mad skills in the wooing department or just maybe…the bride is Coach Roses’ daughter, now that would explain EVERYTHING.
I didn’t watch that part. Is she Rose’s daughter? Or just more petty conspiracy stuff?
Worthington made 3 or 4 excellent plays and scored. Did a good job last night.
Rose actually does have a daughter that is probably in her early 20’s now. When I last coached at BYU’s Basketball Camp a few years ago, she was one of the coaches there. She must have thought I was an influencial booster because she asked what I thought BYU should do to improve in basketball. I said hire Scott Gavenmann as an Asst Coach.