I’ve been away from the board a few days and just catching up. You are looking pretty smart right now after the performance that Baxter had yesterday. You and I and MOST of the guys on this board know this for sure: Bax simply does things that NO ONE else on this team can do. I can’t even give DR credit for playing him now, because I think DR’s stubbornness in sitting Box for nearly 20 games shows that he’s out of touch, burned out, or just playing favorites without any rational basis for doing so.
At least you are coming back to earth. Here, let me help you on your journey by acknowledging Luke for his contributions in yesterday’s game.
Luke W. played 10 minutes and grabbed 3 rebounds to go along with his 3 fouls. He also had one assist to go with his one turnover. He didn’t score but that is a contribution as well because he didn’t take a shot or a free throw which helped maintain the high percentages. Luke contributes in so many ways that even when he isn’t contributing, he contributes.
Tom - The obvious reason Baxter played so few minutes earlier in the season has been mentioned several times. He was not “ready”. Of course this is the ongoing joke of a statement made by the coach and grasshopper, something we all know is ridiculous. Over the last several games Baxter has shown that he is more than ready, then plays like he is not ready, then goes back to being ready, etc. Had he been starting since the beginning of the season it would be the same thing we are seeing now. The truth is he has ALWAYS been ready and the team is and would have been much better had he been the player starting and getting the lion’s share of minutes since day one.
I am okay with Luke getting a few minutes a game to spell Baxter or other players but yesterdays game proved that the overall team is much better with Baxter on the floor because he can do so many things, the intangibles that don’t show up in the box score, that help the TEAM be more successful.
Rose made a mistake but that is something that we have seen in the past so it is no surprise. I am glad he got it figured out before the season went up in flames, which is the direction it was headed before Baxter became a starter and got major minutes.
This is more proof of what we have talked about before, that Rose is a GOOD coach, but not a great coach. That is okay and not a knock on Rose. I like him and think he does a GOOD job, just not a GREAT job.
You are assuming without knowledge or facts to whether Baxter was ready to play early on. The coaches, other players as well as Baxter disagree with you. Of course, I also disagree with you. Why you think against those in the know is beyond me
Hopper - We’ve been through this before. The stuff about Baxter saying he wasn’t “ready” is GBax being classy so it can be thrown out. As far as coaches saying he’s not ready, that can be discarded, too.
GBax was definitely ready to play early on. He’s a 21 yr old RM. He was a monster in HS and was recruited by many Pac-12 schools. He could start on any Pac-12 team now.
Would he had bumps and bruises along the way if he played 20-30 mins a game early on? Definitely. Kind of like the SD game where he fouled out in 20 mins and had no points. But he followed that up with a great game (6-6 fg) at LM including a huge dunk late in the game.
This is something that grasshopper refuses to accept though experience has shown that it is a proven fact. Nobody is saying that he would have been awesome from the start but having him sit on the bench did nothing to help his progress toward being ready. Practice does not get him any closer either. He needed the game experience and the more he gets, the quicker he gets up to speed and is ready.
The delay in this process cost BYU some games early in the season. They have 10 losses and I believe a few of those could have been wins.
Craig:
You are 100% right on the nose. The players and staff all knew Baxter was ready from day one. I was in the practice gym during a closed preseason intrasquad scrimmage–with officials and everything–and it was a joke how high Baxter was flying out there. He was completely dominating everyone on the team except Childs, but even Childs couldn’t even compete with him above the rim for boards and blocks. The other guys on the team made it very obvious that they knew they were running with somebody pretty special, and the kind of athlete BYU almost never gets. The athletic department official who was my host that day told me he hadn’t seen an athlete like Baxter at BYU in many years, and the same guy was telling me three years ago that “if we can convince Baxter to play for us instead of for a PAC12 school, he will be like something we have never seen” because of his combination of ball skills, extreme leaping ability, length, speed, and frame that will be able to hold some muscle. So he and I were both completely shellshocked when we sat and watched BYU struggle for weeks and weeks and weeks with Baxter sitting on the bench. Yes, Rose came to his senses, but you know what? I think he finally played Baxter out of pure desperation–our season was going straight down the crapper, and Worthington and Nixon were doing nothing. So he throws Baxter in there, Baxter turns into a hero and literally saves our season, and what’s Rose gonna say? The only thing he COULD say was “He wasn’t ready.” Anything else would have exposed a really, really terrible decision that was his and his alone. Remember, this stuff all happened right after Rose benched Jashire after Jashire had singlehandedly won the Pacific game for us, then got benched. The other kids on the team KNOW that Baxter dominates above the rim, but they are just as classy as Baxter, and everyone has toed the company line to be good soldiers. I’m not giving Rose credit for this. I think he completely botched it and the pattern is terribly disconcerting. Remember this too: Baxter WAS THIS CLOSE to transferring out at Christmas break. Can you even imagine this program without him and Childs next year?
Not only would he have not been awesome, he would have cost us more losses. Including several in league. His learning curve would not have gotten better sooner. It’s never been about getting bruised and injured. It’s about knowing where to be on the court. It’s about being able to transfer what he learns from practice to the game. In order for that to happen, he has to be able to do it in practice first. He couldn’t do it in practice until recently.
This is substantiated by Baxter himself and the coaches. You try to dismiss the very players who would know. Assuming everything and knowing nothing. I’m going to support those who would know. Not those who would never know
Hopper - We just had an eyewitness account from Tom saying Baxter was awesome in practice during an intrasquad scrimmage. Do you go to practices? You said he couldn’t get it done in practices until recently.
Or do you think Baxter forgot how to jump and play between the pre-season and his recent run of solid playing time?
First of all, Hardnett wasn’t benched. He hurt his hand. Second, it was obvious when Baxter got in early on in games, he was lost. He may have looked good early on in one practice but obviously that was just a fluke. He was totally lost early on with offense and defense. He was slow to react and way out of position. It would have hurt his confidence even more to have played him more.
Somebody could take a watermelon and sit it in the middle of the floor, parade people by it and say “what do you think this is?” 99 people who know something about melons would say “that’s a watermelon” and then the 100th, who would be akin to the grasshopper, would walk by and say “that’s a cantaloupe”. Everyone would know he is dead wrong and has no clue what is going on but he would stick to his opinion because of pride and the inability to admit that although he knows something about melons, he refuses to agree that it is a watermelon because he “doesn’t follow the crowd”.
Everyone knows that Baxter should have been playing from day one. Rose knows it, the players on the team know it, Worthington knows it and Baxter himself knows it. Unfortunately, because that didn’t happen all of those players, coaches, etc. have had to cover up and run interference for the good of the program.
Fortunately for the program there are enough fans like grasshopper that they can pull it off and get away with it year after year. Last year it was Dastrup, the year before it was Chatman… and FB4 and on it goes.
If people were willing to admit and acknowledge the issue we are talking about, things might improve over what we have had for the past several years. But once again, pride and stubborness get in the way and the pattern continues.
It’s unfortunate and sad that grasshopper can’t admit it, for the betterment of the program…
I have been dumbfounded over this. Bax was a rare get for BYU, everyone knew it. I watched about 20 of his HS games. These kind of athletes, you build a team around, they are that good and yet Rose had him riding pine…just like he does with other players who are not his favorites. Makes Rose UNFIT to Coach. This team won in spite of the head coach. The ceiling of 2nd or 3rd place in the WCC is called the Rose Ceiling.
Why did we win on the road? Leadership and veterans.
It’s unfortunate that people also won’t admit that the watermelon was picked 2 years ago and hasn’t been nourished for 2 years. For the watermelon to return to its peak watery former self, it will take a while. Some will recognize this others will become impatient and demand it to be cut and fed to the crowd. But the farmer was firm and patient. And, when the time came, it was the most delicious watermelon of all!
It’s unfortunate that people also won’t admit that the watermelon was picked 2 years ago and hasn’t been nourished for 2 years. For the watermelon to return to its peak watery former self, it will take a while. Some will recognize this others will become impatient and demand it to be cut and fed to the crowd. But the farmer was firm and patient. And, when the time came, it was the most delicious watermelon of all!
This team is just another version of what we see every season. The woulda coulda shoulda boys are at it again. You posted a lot the last day or so. I read a lot of truth in your posts but I don’t think you recognize or realize what you are saying. I think you are a lot closer in opinion to what everyone else believes but your stubborness is keeping you from seeing it. It’s okay though…
