Both Massey and Ken Pomeroy have BYU ranked 47, 57 in the composite rankings. At this point everything is based off of “what we did last season”. Here’s my two cents for what it is worth:
BYU could not defend a lick, ranked 300+ the past two years, folks, that is rock bottom. why should we be any different this year? I have 3 strong arguments, depth down low, Quinsey hire and veteran players.
Kaufusi is seasoned a year after coming in green with 0 basketball practice for 3 years. Austin is healthy again. Davis and Aytes have redshirts under their belts. That right there changes everything on D. I expect to see a miracle on D, we won’t be slightly better but light years better on defense.
Who are our leaders? KC and Fischer as a seniors run the show and 5th year senior Austin runs the defense. We will win a lot of tight ones with our seniors running the show.
I see BYU as a top 25 team and possibly taking on Gonzaga for the title.
Times have changed. Our interior D is the key. We all know that last year our D was a joke. We had ANSON WINDER or FB4 GUARDING THE 4. That is both a compliment to their considerable toughness and athleticism, and a major criticism of our roster. Yes I’m a real optimist, but here are some cold hard facts for people to think about: Davis and Aytes can both man up and defend your best post player–particularly Davis. Both are legit size for a D1 post player. What I recall about Davis when he was at USU is that he is a wide, strong, athletic body who will fight for every inch of the paint and take it personally if you infringe. And Nate Austin is an OUTSTANDING help side defender in the post. And Kaufusi didn’t even look like the same player in March that we saw in January. Just think about our post presence 2014 vs 2015: we all know that Kaufusi made huge strides last year, and it’s safe to say he will continue to improve (he already has NBA athleticism, which can’t be taught). So, in addition to Kaufusi:
2014: Andrus, Nielson andSharp. A veritable beanpole convention.
2015: Aytes, Davis, and Austin.
All the guards will look better on D because they will be bailed out when they get beaten. I’m really looking forward to this season.
2016: Add Mika and Dastrup, two wide body 4 star ESPN top 100 post players, to Aytes and Davis as seniors and Kaufusi as a Jr. Are you kidding me? hahahahaha!!!
Yet another post where the same two guys (whom I love reading posts by) are going nutso on the hype and conjecture of how BYU will fare this upcoming season. I don’t think a team with a ranking of somewhere around 50 is going very far but I could be wrong. There are so many good players, how are they going to find time for all of them? How will all of this incredible “star” talent fit together, find their individual roles and play as a winning team game in and game out? Are KC and Fischer (particularly the latter) capable of deferring to the underclassmen who might step up? I saw many instances last year where one or both of those players hurt the team because they forced shots or committed mental mistakes and turnovers at key times, contributing to losses that should have been wins. How does the TEAM address those problems?
Not with hype and conjecture over how good they are or will be… again.
Well, that was last year. Players usually get better each year understanding the game and their roles better. KC is the “Star” and I’m sure the team knows this.
I think this team has great potential and we will find out how good of coach Rose really is or isn’t. This will be the deepest and talented team he will have coached.
Wow Jim… Are you a fan or someone who just like to diss BYU players…
Not sure where you think some of these players are just hype… TJ Haws, Emery and Mika while in High School beat some of the best HS teams in the country. They played Jabari Parker team that was considered to be the best in the country, they did not beat them, they annihilated them. Some of these players they played against are now in the NBA (Parker, Randall, etc.). All three were recruited by Duke… so Coach K does not understand that these guys are just “hype”?
You accuse these players of feeling entitled… WHAT DOCUMENTED proof do you have that backs this nonsense? You have none, because they do not feel entitled… They EARNED the praise they get based on their work ethic, and time they spent in the gym… ALL of three of the guys are gym rats… That is why they are as good as they are hyped, they put the time in.
Wow Dissing on KC… he hurt the team? by having SIX triple doubles during the year? (which is an NCAA record) You do not what the three areas of the triple double is right? Scoring, Assist, Rebounds? that HURT the team? It was more like the rest of the team, deferred to KC not willing to take the shot…
Sometimes Jim, I have to wonder about you… Your negative attitude toward anything BYU… makes me wonder why you watch the games at all.
we’re goin nutso because we have the pieces in place that we were missing last season due to injuries. Aytes, Austin will make a huge difference down low.
It is very simple. I have the experience of coaching high school basketball and you don’t. I am able to look at what we have and know the potential. This will be a great opportunity for Rose to utilize his player’s talents and abilities. This will be a great test.
When I had a potentially great team I knew what needed to be done and turned out to be a great year. One league and all. We’ll see how good Rose is this year
Once again, I stand by everything I wrote. Yes, KC is a great all around player but there were a few games where he forced things and hurt the team as a result. Why is that so hard to recognize, acknowledge and accept? It doesn’t mean he isn’t a very good basketball player. It’s okay to look at EVERY aspect of a situation, right?
I won’t change anything I said because it is all true. Also, I said nothing about “entitlement” in this thread. I only suggested this might be something that contributes to their inability to win a wcc title, make some noise in the ncaa or any other reason for their inability to live up to the hype… and I did that in a different thread.
Do you disagree and believe that none of these comments are accurate? or are you just upset with the tone of the posts?
I coached at BYU BB Camp this year and I have a few worries from discussions with knowledgable people and observing BYU players practicing.
I’m concerned that Emry’s health will never be right and that he could be another Chris Collinsworth who retires early due to injuries.
Chatman and Calvert didn’t look athletic enough. Playing against HS talent in Washington and Colorado is very different than the WCC and non-conf competition we’ll face.
I got a picture taken with Aytes. I don’t know what he’ll be listed at, but I think he’s 6’6" which is a problem. I didn’t see him play because he was out due to his ankle…which concerns me greatly. I heard he was dominating Davies in the Summer of 2014 prior to his injury.
On the positive side, I agree with Tom that our frontline depth will be the best we’ve had in years. I’m eager to see Davis play. I wish we still had Bartley because I think he’d fit great on this team playing SG/SF.
Obviously your coaching “experience” hasn’t given you the necessary insight into what makes a coach “good”.
It is too easy, for a coach that has a lot of talent on his team, to be a good coach. A great coach is one who maximizes what he has to work with. I personally think a great coach is one who takes average talent and turns it into something better. A great coach is one who can take what he has to work with, analyze individual skills and abilities and see how that can be mixed together in the most effective way possible to achieve the highest potential success.
One of the reasons the “best coaches” are good is because they have the best talent to work with. That is too easy… the real best coaches are the ones who make the most of what they have to work with. Massimino coached Villanova to a ncaa title in 1985 and beat the best talent/teams in the country. That was an example of a “great” coach. Lastly, good coaching isn’t a result of having coached at any particular level. I know plenty of “high school coaches” who aren’t very good at what they do for a variety of reasons. Having coached a few years of jv high school basketball doesn’t make someone a good coach.
FInally some real life actual truth. Are you the realistic half of your brother Tom?
In all seriousness, this is some of what I have been trying to say. There is nothing wrong with being excited about the potential of the upcoming season and team. I am very hopeful that they can at least meet expectations and possibly exceed them. My posts only try to add some perspective and hypothesize for some of the reasons why they never get over the hump and make a good run to the sweet 16 or something.
blah-wait and see-I like C Larimers-concerned-I’m concerned about every player I haven’t seen play before and especially those coming off injuries. I’m concerned about KC’s tendonitis right now. I’m concerned who is going to fill Haw’s point production. I’m not ready to grant BYU top 25 status-ask me the middle of December-I’ll know more. I hope for the best but remember what’s been happening. I hope QL is a great defensive coach. My goodness-the Utah BB program was at the bottom of the despair charts-look what LK did it a few years by demanding toughness and work ethics. Now, in my mind LK is a great coach-he took a pathetic program from the dumpster and made them a force. Well Rose took a dumpster program and made them good, so is he a good coach or a great coach? I think the ever optimistic Grasshopper is waiting to see what Rose does with this years talent.
Heh-Tom’s posts are always good and his enthusiastic approach is contagious. He is more “coach” like then most people that post. Good job, Tom and I know that Jim really likes reading your posts:)
Too funny! You would be wrong of course. Whether a team has talent or not, a good coach will get maximum effort and results. A poor coach will take talent and create chaos😳
But, why stress sober this as you haven’t coached at a high enough level refereeing doesn’t count
My little brother Craig was always a better athlete than I ever was, and I’m forever bitter. I try to make up for it with delusional enthusiasm and effort.
I hope Lewis helps. Pope was very well regarded by people who know a lot more than I do.
I am not concerned about KC’s tendinitis. I think he’s faking it to get out of the boom shakalaka and fake warm up games–like ManRam or Miggy Cabrera in spring training. KC has been working REALLY hard, and doesn’t need that junk to get double doubles.
PS Yes, very impressive what LK has done for UofU hoops. There is another good team that beat us because they just slaughtered us in the paint; that won’t happen again like that.
I’m just bitter that all of my boys whom I nurtured and trained can beat me into the ground-I even had s Sister missionary slam the ball down my throat and that made me really bitter:)
