Just when Pope appeared to have the rotation really figured out, this happens. The bottom line, 98% of our woes are at point. I said it 6 months before the season started. I said it at the start, and throughout the season. We do not have a solid point. Barcello IS and will always be a 2 guard. BA is a game winner when he plays well, a game killer when he does not. This game he sucked. Having said that, BYU still should of won the game but Pope is the first to say that he was out coached, and he was, the only time BYU was able to practice before the game was at 12 on a 1 PM game and he wore his guys out. He should of had a walk through and spent the hour shooting 3s.(Me) Wacky Wednesday: Early afternoon game left BYU out of sync - Deseret News
Every single BYU player will tell you that they were dooped by this Pepperdine tip off and it appears that Pope learned a big lesson about the WCC and their dislike for BYU. You do know that BYU is always saddled with a road series of SMC and SF. Then a SMC-Gonzaga at the end of the season. Take a look at both Gonzaga and SMC’s schedules historically. We get it put to us every stinking year.
George has got to figure it out or he will continue to sit. Love what Lohner and Johnson are doing. BYU is far from a burning ship, they are top 30 good and it will show by Dance time. I am soooooooo tired of Cali teams, their crazy govner, it just seems to seep into everything Cali does, all the way to athletics.
Enough rant. Go COugs
The time of the game is weird. But, the NCAAs have early games as well. The George thing isn’t on George in my opinion. He’s proved he needs to be out there. My starting 5 and ending 5 is:
Barcello (less turnovers)
Johnson
George
Lohner
Haarms
I want the best talent out there. If you want Averette in there at the point ok. But, his turnovers kill runs. 3 less turnovers and we get 3 more shots and the end is different.
The puzzling thing is how so many of our players just fall down. Stay up! Stand up!
I posted most of this in the other thread about the PU game, but it makes more sense to add my thoughts to the Mid Season Report:
In the last 4 games AB is shooting 27% overall and 21% from deep. Tough to win when your best player and best shooter can’t hit the broad side of a barn (love that analogy–I bet kids today don’t even know what it’s like to throw a ball at a target on a barn or a warehouse because they are too busy playing video games or being in fancy travel leagues).
BA will give Pope heartburn. Just when he was playing more under control, he commits THIRTEEN TOs in THREE games. You just simply need more than a 1-1 A/TO ratio from your PG. And I guarantee BA, who is a dynamite kid, would agree 1000%.
Reason #1001 why kids will line up to play for Pope: he always takes the blame, but never takes the credit, and does it with gusto. What a great leader. My goal to win the trust of my players when I was coaching was to “cheer loudly and criticize quietly,” and Pope is a great example of that.
I don’t think this BYU team can go very far, because it lacks “that guy” who will show up consistently and score in the clutch, against good D, when the going gets tough, but it’s fun watching Pope the Mad Scientist working to get the most possible out of each kid.
Lohner and “The Strong Guy” (named by my grandson): watching those two improve is quite a thing. Both future STARS for BYU. And I still believe in George long term…we just don’t get athletes like Lohner and George very often. George is probably the best iso scorer on the team, which doesn’t say much for the rest of the guys when George can’t even get on the court
I have close ties with the BYU ath dept and can tell you they are working overtime on testing, discipline, etc to keep this season going. MAD PROPS TO THE AD, THE HC, AND THE ENTIRE ATH DEPT STAFF AND THE PLAYERS for keeping this ball rolling so we have ball to watch!!
I give the coaching staff the MVP award this year no matter what happens. I watched the Gonzaga/San Diego game that just finished and for having the worst record in the league-they looked pretty good. Probably capable of beating anyone in the WCC on a given night except someone named Gonzaga. This tells me that the league is not as bad as one would think and until I start seeing BYU dominate anyone on the road, I’m not predicting a tournament bid or even 2nd place for BYU. They could do both but from what I’ve seen, every road game might be a challenge. That said, it’s great to be a Cougar fan, and if they don’t make it, it’s ok, because they give 100% each game and that’s really all you can ask
I only saw the second half of the game and I would respectfully disagree with this assessment. Was he perfect? No. Did he suck? Not even close. There were so many other things that I can point to besides Averette as a problem in the Pepperdine loss. Without him BYU loses that game by 10+. Where was George? didn’t play the second half at all. Where was Haarms? how many shots can a 7 footer miss from inside of 5 or 6 feet? He missed a ton. Who made meaningful contributions when BYU needed them? Nobody… and why to our players go to the floor so much when it isn’t necessary? Basketball is a game you play on your feet, not on the floor. If they want to play Twister, do it at a FHE activity.
I guess I missed their contributions watching the second half, because I didn’t see much from either one of them. Not sure why Johnson had the ball at the end of the game except that he was the leading scorer. He demonstrated what has been a problem for many BYU teams in the past… when it comes down to crunch time and you need a clutch player to step up, BYU does not have that player. I think Haws did it a time or two and before that it was Jimmer. BYU ALWAYS lacks in the mental toughness department… head cases.
The reality of this loss is that it started in the win last week vs. Pepperdine when they let the Waves back into the game from the 10 minute to 4 minutes left mark. That allowed Pepperdine to believe and it carried over to this game.
For the first time this season Pope was outcoached… nobody is perfect.
-----I work with a kid who was playing football as SDSU and is now at Santa Barbara CC. He practices twice a day and they didn’t even have a schedule to play this season. They get tested weekly. It is incredible what many college athletes have had to go through just to do something they love.
Lohner had all 11 of his points in the first half; 3-4 from the field including 1-1 on an open 3, 4-4 from the line, and a bunch of rebounds. He was the best player on the court for either team in the first half.
you noticed that the team is almost become: If Averette has a good game, we win. bad game we lose. More so then Barcello just because Barcello will asist or get his on defense. Averette has the ball so much and is not a great defender just because of his size that BYU really depends on him to score.
Amen brotha.
BYU sits at 33 in the ESPN power index. That should be enough to keep them in a 8-10 range.
this year no matter what happens. I watched the Gonzaga/San Diego game that just finished and for having the worst record in the league-they looked pretty good. Probably capable of beating anyone in the WCC on a given night except someone named Gonzaga. This tells me that the league is not as bad as one would think and until I start seeing BYU dominate anyone on the road, I’m not predicting a tournament bid or even 2nd place for BYU. They could do both but from what I’ve seen, every road game might be a challenge. That said, it’s great to be a Cougar fan, and if they don’t make it, it’s ok, because they give 100% each game and that’s really all you can ask