And Kaufusi… I kind of think Dastrup will red shirt, don’t ask me why, I just thought of it. We have so much brawn down low.
The Zags have higher rated recruiting classes every single year over BYU with exception of the Lone Peak year. We get a top 100 player while they get 2 top 50 players. They will be a load for any team in the country and yes, they are the cash cow for the WCC and will always get the calls. BYU does not play defense, GU does so I’m not sure how much is bias and how much is that the Zags are just a better complete team with better coaching.
SMC took 5 white guys who are fundimentally sound, very smart and Bennett rigged a “stay at home” schedule to take advantage of their great 3 point shooting and got a top 25 rating out of the deal. They are one year better so they will make few mistakes. That is a recipe for winning a ton of games but when you get them away from their gym where long balls don’t fall so easy, they are very beatable.
BYU has so many variables that I think we will be tinkering with lineups and rotations well into Dec.
Right now I have Gonzaga and SMC way ahead of BYU and it will remain that way until BYU has a set group of starters and a rotation.
we have a core of LP3 +Davis and I think Bryant will be the 5th.
TJ, Bryant and Rose can all play the point and more importantly, can get to the hoop. Last season we had Collinsworth. I see a lot of open shots coming BYU’s way that we did not have last season…how many times did KC turnover the ball? KC was a ridiculous finisher but average passer and above all, KC sucked at the FT line. Coach Rose is gushing because he now has guys that take 2 to defend and they all shoot a high FT %.
Our rotation will be Childs and Rose (both should be starters). That is a serious team.
BYU split with both of them last year.
At SMC was a setup that the Cougs probably would have won given more normal circumstances.
Last year the three games against Gonzaga were decided by a total of 8 points.
SMC may be a bit ahead because of so many returners.
For Gonzaga to be way ahead, all their new players must be way ahead of all of BYU’s new players…
Using their recruiting stars averages to compare BYU and Gonzaga puts the Bulldogs very slightly ahead of the Cougars. 3.14 to 2.97. So Gonzaga ahead seems reasonable…way ahead not so much.
Harold,
you are comparing last year’s BYU team to this year’s. Last year’s BYU team was lead by 3 Seniors and a 3 year starter Jr (Davis).
this year’s team is lead by one senior and a bunch of sophomores and true freshmen, and I might add, our point guards have never started for a BYU game yet.
Our talent level is way up but our experience level is abysmal. So until BYU gets experience, I have Gonzaga and SMC way ahead as both teams are full of experienced players and point guards
Those are occasional losses. Even when BYU beats Gonzaga, the Zags always return the favor and then do what they have to in the tournament to get the bid.
The are able to do what matters when it matters and until BYU does that even once I will categorize the Cougars’ wins over Gonzaga as “occasional”.
Also, 76 wins and 10 losses in league is a good definition of occasional.
Agreed 76 - 10 means that Gonzaga occasionally loses.
However, BYU beating Gonzaga 4 out of 5 years also means BYU beats them regularly. Unfortunately Gonzaga beat BYU in the WCC tournament 4 of the 5 years BYU has been in the WCC.
But Rose’s teams have never won a conference tournament. So the fact that the Cougs lose to the Bulldogs in the tournament means next to nothing. BYU would be losing to whomever they played. It just happens that the Bulldogs have been good enough that BYU keeps running into them in the post season.
Undoubtedly you characterize SMC well. Gonzaga lost a higher percentage of minutes than BYU did. So their ‘experience’ is kind of like Elijah Bryant’s someplace else.
That SMC didn’t do even as well as BYU did in the NIT seems to me to be another indication that much of their record last year was chimerical, based on home cooking and weak opponents. This year looks like more of the same…the WCC is begging to be ignored again come dance time because their top teams aren’t playing strong schedules and their weak teams look to prove that they are weak again against their typical weak schedules.
You speak the truth, Kemosabe. but what I see is that the top 3 of the WCC will be miles ahead of the rest of the pack and I don’t see any of the lower tier, outside of a Pepperdine, getting even one win out of the big 3. I am thinking that the WCC gets the rare 3 teams that are in the Dance.