Cinn at the Marriott. the beginning of Big 12 play

Basketball
1

Buckle up, It’s go time for the BIG 12.
On Paper, Cinn is just the kind of team that can cause headaches for BYU

1 Ther two best players go 7’ and 6’11
#30 Victor Lankin will work you inside or take a shot anywhere on the floor and shoots plenty of 3s.
match up nightmare for us

Aziz Bandeogo, I’m gonna say Brazilian, pure inside player, dunk you very much.

Both guys are poor FT, 50 to 60%

2 Cinn plays a lot of guys, much like BYU, so don’t count on them gassing out like so many teams BYU faces. There will be no blow out I’m guessin.

3 Cinn takes plenty of 3s, they have 2 players that shoot over 45%, Frederick is a 3 point specialist (closest thing to Knell) . 6’8 Lukosious not only shoots the 3 well but he will take any shot anywhere.

4 Cinn is the best assist team we have faced to date. That makes them dangerous.
They are really good at a lot of things, play plenty of guys, have size but the one thing that stands out…

5 They have not played well in road games. little Ol Howard U took them to OT and Xavier beat them
47 ranked Dayton killed them on a neutral court

6 on Defense, Cinn will have trouble with Khalifa taking them outside, They have not faced a passing center, opens the middle for easy lay ups. Hall should have a good game on high pic and rolls.

7 BYU on D will have to worry about Cinn shooting 3s, 35% of their shots are 3balls. BYU also has to worry about their ability to assist, Cinn is #37 in the NET, they do a lot of things well.

8 Can Cinn beat BYU, they all the pieces to be a top 25 team but they have not played well on the road… at the Marriott, at 8pm on ESPN2

I will say BYU gets to 80 and it only takes 75 to win.

2

Here’s food for thought:
Today for the 1st time, Waterman is the highest rated BYU player in the NET @3.8
in comparison, my guy, Spenc Johnson AKA “Cool Hand Luke” is 4th @3.4
behind Richie Saunder @3.6 and Trevon Knell @3.6

If I were to look at the trust issue.
I would have Spenc #1 followed by
2 Saunders
3 Robinson
4 Hall
5 Waterman

Pope trusts his guys by way of minutes played per game:
#1 is Spenc Johnson at 62.7% of game minutes
#2 Hall at 61.9%
#3 Knell at 60%
#4 Waterman 57%
#5 Robinson 53% (would be much higher due to injury)
#6 Foos…had he not been injured would land around #3
Khalifa and Baker would also in the top 5 had they not been injured.

In summary, Pope values his senior leadership and floor generals. Pope also want 4 to 5 scorers on the floor at all times. It is an old tactic used to beat bigger faster teams.

3

So

  1. Johnson
  2. Hall
  3. Robinson
  4. Foos

second tier
Khalifa, Baker because lack of experience with the team
Waterman because of lack of results with the team

third tier or questionmark
Saunders
Stewart
Atiki

with the potential addition of Adams iff he is prepared to play…

seems like a solid Sweet 16 maybe final 8 squad…though the soft schedule so far leaves much room for gaining improvement against solid competition and figuring out to win on the road

4

Pope has 3 seniors, Johnson, Knell (his team captains), Waterman. They get the most minutes on the team with exception of Hall, a Sophomore who is 3rd on the team in minutes.

As of today, Pope would have Robinson, Baker and Khalifa in that 1st group.

Foos and Khalifa are equally good as centers. Foos, the better scorer, Khalifa by far a better passer. If I had to go with either in a Kansas type game, I would choose Khalifa just on his getting other player an open look.

BYU actually has too much of a good thing. Most teams go 8 players deep. I count 10, 11 if you include Stewart. List does not even include Adams. Cra Cra!

5

Robinson, coming off the Bench, is a senior too…it looks to me that he played 23 minutes a game…basically the same as Waterman, until his injury…perhaps emphasizing your point that Pope loves his seniors

6

I believe Robinson is a Junior and has another year.

7

“We’ve had some opportunities to slide him into the point guard position –not a lot, but we’ve had some– and I think he’s got a future there. He’s got a huge upside,” said Pope. “And clearly, he’s made a big jump. Probably the biggest jump that he’s made over the offseason, even though he works so hard on his game, was building relationships with guys on his team.” BYU’s Jaxson Robinson Soars Up NBA Draft Ranking (kslsports.com)

Robinson is a fourth-year college basketball player and is designated as a senior on BYU’s roster. He still has one year of college eligibility due to the COVID-19 season.

Men’s Basketball 2023-2024 - BYU Athletics - Official Athletics Website - BYU Cougars
has him listed as a senior…

it seems one can no longer find the historical rosters on the website…no finding who was on the team with ainge or jimmer…all gone…

8

You are correct, Harold. I missed that Robinson is listed as a Sr. but back to my Trust factor:
Robinson came in @ 53% minutes per game, if he had not been injured, Robinson would be in the 60%.

Robinson is BYU’s only NBA talent on the team, he has been flying up the ratings as I posted in the past, he has to work on his strength. Put another 15 lbs on that frame so he can finish at the rim and defend stouter NBA talent.

9

ON the UC side of things.
Both Bandaogo (UC’s bruising center) and Fredrick (UCs 3 pt leader) have been sidelined for the past 3 games. 7’ Bandaogo is known to BYU, he played for Utah Valley, next door to BYU, before transferring to UC. 6’3 Fredrick is a transfer from Kentucky, that should tell us all about his shooting skills
Big 12 debut for Cincinnati Bearcats basketball against powerful BYU Cougars (msn.com)

CU’s projected lineup and BYU’s lineup

Viktor Lakhin (F, 6’11", 13.6 ppg) -Waterman

Day Day Thomas (G, 6’, 11.4 ppg) -Hall

John Newman III (F, 6’5", 9.3 ppg) -Knell

Simas Lukošius (G, 6’8", 9.2 ppg) -Johnson

Jamille Reynolds (C, 6’11", 7.3 ppg) -Khalifa
With Skillings Jr. coming off the bench (their version of Robinson, can really shoot.

Me: If Bandeogo can’t go. 6’11 Reynolds 270 lbs played well in his place but Atiki or Khalifa will handle him just fine.
Fredrick was replaced just fine by Skillings shooting.

UC “hopes” to keep BYU under 70 pts for the game. Good luck with that one.