Ya, I was going to say something. But I thought everyone was partying with Trump and too excited about BO leaving to post 
How does 25 point home advantage help anything?
Rose has the identical record of WCC play over the past 5 years. We are 5-2 for the 5th straight year, does not seem to matter if BYU is a veteran team or newbies. Rose owns the Marriott, always has but always loses on the road. We could be playing bo diddily high and we would lose, itās in his DNA.
BYU should only lose to Gonzaga on the road consistently and that is it. All other road teams should be close to a 100% win rate, maybe SMC 50% of the time. But if you look at a 5 year window BYU has lost on the road to WCC bottom feeders every stinking year, its 100% coaching and lack of defense.
We will talk after the next two games. If BYU can win two in a row on the road, I would then have hope that we are rounding the corner.
Okay, Iāll throw out my 2 cents. It is a little hard to get too excited about stomping the worse team in the league on your home court. In spite of that, I saw some very encouraging things. As Fish pointed out, the game started out with both teams playing tentative and more or less sizing each other up and trying to figure out how to attack. As I recall, Elijah Bryant made a nice play and hit the āand oneā free throw and that seemed to open the flood gates for BYU. You can tell when Mika is unsure of his inside game when he starts shooting āfall-aways.ā I wish he would be more patient and work for a better shot until that fall-away is perfected. I was impressed with the inside game of Reyes the first half. He was aggressive and tough down low and was keeping Pepperdine in the game along with Murray in the first half. Dave Rose noted that BYU needed to defend him better and was going to make adjustments during the break. Credit Rose and his staff because Reyes was hardly a factor the second half.
Dastrup had some good minutes. I think he will become a good shooter that can stretch the defense but heās not knocking down outside shots well enough to merit more PT. The most impressive play I saw from Dastrup was when he got the ball deep in the key and put together a series of drop-steps and step-throughs and then scored. If he can develop that part of his game, he will make a real impact. Brandon Davies had great footwork and showed how effective it can be in getting a good shot. Dastrup and Mika would both be better if they could develop that part of their game more.
Maybe my favorite moment of the night was the interview with Bryant at half-time. In todayās world where so many people are becoming apathetic about religion, it is always refreshing to hear young adults talk about the values and faith and how it played such a big role in wanting to come to BYU. I was very impressed with Bryantās interview and I was impressed with the way he played. Rose is having him post up defenders at times. Bryant was 2-2 from the 3pt line. He knocked down his FTs and scored 15pts on 5-8 shooting. Heās taking better shots and showing that he can have a big impact on this team.
Yoli Childs just quietly makes his presence felt. He still makes some freshman mistakes. I donāt think Rose wants him shooting 3pt shots this year. But, what a beast on the boards! He had 5 offensive and 9 defensive boards (14 total) in 23 minutes of play.
Overall, BYU was stellar in shooting; 8-19 for 42% from 3pt range and 52% overall. The defense was better overall holding Pepperdine to 2-11 for 18% from 3pt range and 41% overall. It was a nice win at home. The question is, āCan we replicate that in away games?ā Once we start playing better on the road, weāll be pretty formidable.
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I will be very happy when Mika emulates Dastrup and now, Childs in how to defend the pic and roll. Childs gets to the pic first and makes sure to deflect the opposing guard out and away, taking away any chance of the dribbler from making a pass into the roll or get around Childs. Mika is been abysmal at this and His fade away shouldā¦fade away. Just donāt do it. Has a lot of things to work on but he is a NBA talent all day long.
Emery goes for the steal and his guy makes a pass to a breaking wing that draws a Mika foul. Donāt leave your feet and stay in front of your guyā¦defense basics.
Home is usually where any team plays best especially less experienced teams. That they play so well at home bodes well for the future as they play closer to their best on the road.
That 5-2 is identical this year as to the last years is also very encouraging. Every single one of the players except for LJ will be back next year, and likely the following year. Roseās players tend to improve year on year. So next year is likely to be better.
It has been a long time since Rose has had virtually every major player back for the following year. Gonzaga will be losing players next year. SMC will be losing most of their major minutes next year. Rose will be getting back improved players.
Yes I know next yearā¦ but you asked.
Agreed.
I watched the game but we Trumped them the rest of the way. And BO who?
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Not much hype beating a cellar dweller in the WCC!
A couple of other mid season observationsā¦
The loss of Davis has to be devastating to BYU basketball. He was a double double machine and you just canāt replace that. When you are trying to get the job done with Childs, Shaw and Aytes that Davis once captained, youāre going to come up short.
We should know more about Emeryās injury by the end of today but losing him is as big a blow as losing Davis. Emery is one of 3 legs to BYUās core of the LP3 foundation. These guys provide 60% of BYUās total point production night in and night out. Couple that with Roseās history of injury and BYU is very thin at guard. Trying to band aid with Beo and maybe Frampton will be a big challenge.
Enter Bryant and Haws. These two guys can get a shot any time they choose and they are both great at drawing fouls or getting the ball in to Mika or Childs. Neither guy is on the level of Emery in terms of defense so we will probably see more of Guinn because of his defense but you get little from Guinn on offenseā¦Coach Rose has got his hands full.
Iām glad you said something about Davis. Iād Childs had a year to learn more about the game, school and life he would be better off. And, Davis was a double double where we would have always had a very good 4 man on the court and fresh.
Emery will be impossible to replace unless Rose steps it up which he is capable of doing. Kaufusi can keep getting better that will help too against SM and GU.
Per Jerod Jordan:
LaComb said Nick Emery took a knee to the quad, but āshould be fineā and will be in some pain but should be able to play Thursday vs. SCU. No structural damage
Glad Emery is okay and more likely he wonāt be playing too many minutes. Dave Rose going to have to put more minutes to other guys with more defense involve.
scu will max out our guards. we will need all hands on board. They get the 3s to fall, and they will at home, BYU will be in for a long night.
"Nick Emery took a knee to the quad, "
Ouch!..
The only way BYU is going to move past losing on the road and losing the big games is to replace Coach Rose.
Replace him with who? And will that make a difference? We may end up with another Reid. Careful for what you wish.
In my opinion such an opinion is simply execrable.
Rose was one horny talented forwardās self control away from an elite 8 and had beaten elite competition that year.
Better than any other coach at BYU ever. period. Simple fact.
That alone buys him more timeā¦This year is not yet over. . .they beat the number one team in the nation this year for portions of that gameā¦in fact large portions of time in that gameā¦next year BYU will be improved Gonzaga will be tooā¦looking forward to it.
Wonder how well the Kennel will feel if they can win on their own home court for the first time in three yearsā¦On the road at Gonzaga has been two straight years of road victoriesā¦you know the games that Roseās teams ācanātā winā¦
I put to him be careful what you wish for. We might end up with another Reid or Crowton type if coach.
Yet they were never really in a position to win the game. Likewise, they came out in the next home game vs. the worst team in the league that had lost 9 straight and ālostā to that team for large portions of the game. Honestly, if not for some overzealous officiating in their favor, the Cougars were doing everything they could to lose to Portland.
Nah, not really games they ācanātā win. I would characterize those games as games the wcc hoped would give BYU the extra push they needed to have a shot at a post season ncaa bid. Alas, they ended up being meaningless games because it didnāt help. Once again, BYU failed to come through in the games that had real meaning. It has been their calling card since entering the wcc 6 years ago. They are on track for a third place finishā¦ again.
[quote=āJimHawks, post:98, topic:7246ā]I would characterize those games as games the wcc hoped would give BYU the extra push they needed to have a shot at a post season ncaa bid.
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Iām confused you state a meaning and yet say [quote=āJimHawks, post:98, topic:7246ā]BYU failed to come through in the games that had real meaning.[/quote]
My conclusion/understanding of you position then, is that the BYU team doesnāt win the games you care about. Just the games, or perhaps some of the games that you perceive the conspirators , whoever they are at the WCC, think are important. Further it appears to me that you donāt think that winning games that get the Cougs into the dance are important.
Which leaves me with two questions.
Who, names would be nice, do you think is actually conspiring?
What is your definition of meaningful? Specifically?
If Iāve explained it once, Iāve done it a thousand times. Actually, I have been through this more than once and you already know where I am coming from and what my position is.
You are like the patient predator who sits and waits for his prey to slip up or, in my case, to say something that isnāt exactly correct, to your liking, or what you believe and then you pounce and ask me to explain it again.
Sorry, not going to spend the time and effort to do it again. Especially not going to do it for someone who is only interested in criticizing or tearing it down to fit his own perspective. Like I said, Iāve been through it numerous times.