January 2009 - Cougarsportsline - mailman.xmission.com

Cougar Sportsline, Vol. 29, Issue 26
by hb arnett 26 Jan '09

26 Jan '09

HB Arnett's COUGAR SPORTSLINE 801 372 0819 hbarnett(a)fiber.net and hbarnett@xmission <mailto:hbarnett@xmission.com> .com PO Box 50424 Provo, Utah 84605 Vol. 29, Issue 26 - January 26, 2009 Click <http://www.cougarstreet.com/products/index.php?type-450&PCID=450:0:0:0:0> Here To Order Or Renew Your Subscriptions UTAH NEXT BYU SPLITS HOME GAMES WITH UNLV AND SDSU It was a second half meltdown that led to an unexpected 76-70 loss to UNLV last week in the Marriott Center and exposed some chinks in the Cougar armor that opponents can exploit. Despite those chinks and thanks to a subsequent 77-71 win over San Diego State three days later, BYU is still in contention for their third consecutive MWC basketball championship. Heading into the third week of conference action, six of the nine league teams all have two losses. That includes UNLV at 4-2, TCU 4-2, BYU 3-2, SDSU 3-2, Utah 3-2, and New Mexico 3-2. With Utah on deck and waiting for the Cougars in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, either the Utes or Cougars will drop out of the 2-loss six pack. The game against UNLV was bizarre as BYU blitzed the Rebels and almost ran them off the court in the first twenty minutes of action. The Cougars held a 13-point lead at intermission, but went stone cold from the field for most of the second half. That extended dray spell and BYU's inability to get any production from the paint spelled defeat for BYU. Tavernari Jonathan Tavernari led all Cougars with 21 points. Jimmer Fredette had 19 points and Lee Cummard, who was held scoreless in the second half, finished with 10 points. While Tavernari had 21 points, it took 22 shots for the Brazilian junior to get those points. BYU's big men, Chris Miles and Gavin MacGregor were non existent in this game. It was an renewed emphasis by Dave Rose to get more involvement from the BYU big guys that helped the Cougars salvage a home split. That split came thanks to a 77-71 win over San Diego State. Despite 14 points from the triumvirate of Miles, MacGregor and James Anderson, it still took a clutch three pointer from Jonathan Tavernari with just 1:30 in the game to seal the win. From that point on, it was a matter of the Cougars making free throws. The renewed emphasis on post play will get a severe test on Tuesday against Luke Nevill and the Utes. Player of the Year Nevill is on track to be the league player of the year. He is having a big year and a big impact on games. We expect the same against BYU. We don't see any way BYU can contain the 7-1 Australian. As New Mexico, UNLV and SDSU showed, when you take away BYU's transition game and don't have to worry about post touches, BYU is pretty ordinary. Unless Dave Rose can find a way to negate Nevill on both ends of the court, we look for more Cougar ordinary against the Utes. The spotty play in the post for BYU will do one of several things for the future. It will put more of a spotlight on Brandon Davies, the 6-10 post from Provo HS. He was one of three local post players to be signed early in November. The other two, Nate Austin of Lone Peak HS and Ian Harward of Orem HS, both will serve LDS missions before enrolling. That means that any needed post help BYU and Dave Rose needs for next year will have to come from Davies or the junior college ranks. Finding good post players at the juco scene is very hard to do. That leaves Davies as the next best option for improving post play at BYU for next year. We will be paying closer attention to him now and you can bet that BYU coaches will be the same. FOOTBALL FLUFF AND STUFF BOWL GAME TV RATINGS...In real estate it is all about location, location, location. In television, it is all about viewers, viewers, viewers, which in turn, more often than not, translates into money, money, money. Those college football teams that generate the most viewers, consistently make the most money. Here are some of the viewership numbers from this past bowl season compiled by Nielsen TV Ratings Data. It is interesting to see how BYU fared in TV viewership in their Pioneer Bowl matchup with Arizona in comparison to other games. The number of viewers is affected by what medium the game is shown, when it is shown and with whom you are matched up. For example, the Texas Bowl which pitted Rice and Western Michigan was shown on the NFL Network and drew just 186,000 television viewers. The BCS Championship game was shown on FOX and drew almost 27 million viewers. The Rose Bowl was on ABC and had 20 plus million viewers. To more accurately compare BYU's television numbers from their bowl appearance which was televised on ESPN, we will compare those numbers only with other bowl games that were broadcast by the same network. As mentioned earlier, the date, time and opponent are all in the mix, but we found the numbers interesting. Maybe you will too. BYU vs. Arizona drew 3.389 million eyeballs. Fresno State and Colorado State, drew a little more with 3.432 million viewers earlier that same day on the same network. The Poinsettia Bowl, with TCU and Boise State had 5.881 million people watching. Air Force and Houston drew 2.050 million. We found it interesting to see how BYU-Arizona stacked up with other ESPN televised bowl games. The Las Vegas Bowl had more viewers than Wake Forest-Navy, Southern Miss-Troy, LA Tech-Northern Illinois, Rutgers-NC State, Maryland-Nevada and Tulsa-Ball State. BYU-Arizona didn't have more viewers than Florida Atlantic-Central Michigan, Hawaii-Notre Dame, West Virginia-North Carolina, Florida State-Wisconsin, Missouri-Northwestern, Oregon-Oklahoma State, Vanderbilt-Boston College, LSU-Georgia Tech, Iowa-South Carolina and Kentucky-East Carolina. The Utah-Alabama Sugar Bowl drew 13.369 million viewers on FOX. BYU AND BCS MONEY...Speaking of BCS payouts and money, Utah certainly padded their athletic coffers with a nice payout from the Sugar Bowl. All other Mountain West Conference teams also received a nice bonus check because of Utah. Here's the kicker, nobody will officially say so, but based on what Jerry Jones is paying for college football matchups in his new billion dollar stadium in Dallas, the Cougars could be making more from their upcoming game against Oklahoma than the Utes did for their showdown against Alabama. And BYU doesn't have to share with anyone else in the MWC. According to published reports, Jones has put together a ten-year deal with Texas A&M and Arkansas for the two teams to meet annually in his new stadium. The figures released say that both the Aggies and Razorbacks will make $5 million apiece per year. You can bet that Oklahoma will be getting a paycheck in that same range. Who knows if BYU will be getting an equivalent paycheck, but even at half the $5 million figure, BYU would be happy. Word we get filtering out of BYU is that the Cougars are ecstatic with what they will be making this fall on just this game alone. The check certainly will solidify athletic department budgets and have an immediate and positive impact for all sports sponsored by the Cougars. WE LIKE OUR STORIES SANITIZED...When it comes to the BYU football program, since Bronco Mendenhall has taken over, there has not been one single honor code violation. There have been a few violations of team rules that have resulted in players being dismissed from school, but no honor code violations. The good, even great news is that those violations of team rules have been few and far between. The bad news is that when you have 120 players in your program, honor code hiccups or violation of team rules vagaries have always happened and will continue to happen. It is the nature of the beast. It is the frequency of the infractions and severity of those infractions that grabs the headlines. If rumors and reports turn out to be true, we expect to hear more about some "violation of team rules" soon. It won't be the only infractions that have reportedly occurred during a big recruiting weekend of hosting prospective players. Our guess is that if anything is actually publicly made known, we won't hear of it until after national letter of intent signing day. That may disappoint, but it shouldn't diminish the overall character and core of the BYU football program. It is at an extremely high level. This program is loaded with outstanding student athletes. That said, the football program is like any other organization. it has a few kinks that always need to be worked out. It shouldn't surprise that some players don't like certain coaches. That happens at all programs. It shouldn't surprise that some coaches don't always see eye to eye. And just because you coach at BYU doesn't automatically make you a good x's and o's coach or a good recruiter. And it especially shouldn't surprise that with 120 players in the program, you are occasionally going to have some problems that need to be addressed whether they call it honor code or violation of team rules. NEW RECEIVER?...With the graduation of Michael Reed and the departure of Austin Collie to the NFL, BYU's receiving corp looks a little thin. McKay Jacobson is back from his LDS mission to Japan and is enrolled in school and should help. Rhen Brown is also back from a mission and will be a true freshman. Another new missionary on the roster is Collin Fanning. He played baseball for the Cougars in 2006 and 2007 and it looks like after a mission he is changing sports. Others returning to the roster include Spencer Hafoka and Luke Ashworth. Another name to add to the receiver corp might be Stephen Covey. We are hearing that he wants to switch from qb to wr this spring. If that happens, it would open up the backup qb this fall to Riley Nelson, the transfer from Utah State, who will be back from a mission to Spain. We are also hearing that Adam Timo, the running back from Snow Canyon HS in St. George, will sign with the Cougars but serve an LDS mission before enrolling in school. BYU MISSES MANTI BUS The Manti Te'o bus made a stop at BYU, but when it left, the Cougars were still standing on the curb. Te'o is one of the top rated high school football prospects in the nation and BYU thought they were going to sign this LDS athlete. He told Bronco Mendenhall last Saturday that he would not be doing so and now will make his college choice from either USC, UCLA or Notre Dame. While the Te'o news was not good, the encouraging thing is that there will be another LDS top-prospect bus coming by again in just another few months. The LDS prospect pool of football players is big enough now that a bus will be coming along every year. Unfortunately, while the buses keep coming, BYU football keeps standing on the corner. There are plenty of theories and thoughts on why BYU can't reel in the big LDS football fish, but so far the only thing proven is that BYU must be using the wrong bait. Not only did the Te'o bus already come and go, we don't expect the Cougars to be picked up by Xavier Su'a Filo. He was the other LDS national caliber recruit that BYU had hope to sign. There are always excuses and circumstances that seem to explain away the dismal record of the Cougars when it comes to signing the big fish, but the cold hard facts always remain. BYU will be shut out again on the national recruiting stage. While the big fish swim away, the Cougars did reel in a smaller fish this past week. That would be Cody Hoffman. He is a 6-3, 210 pound wide receiver from Del Norte HS in Crescent City, California. He chose BYU over Sacramento State. Here is the current list of verbal commits for BYU. National letter of intent signing day is set for Wednesday, February 4. Terry Alletto, OL, 6-3, 260, Ponderosa HS, CO Trevor Bateman, DB, 5-11, 180, Palm Desert HS, CA Craig Bills, DB, 6-2, 205, Timpview HS, UT Thomas Bryson, DE/LB, 6-3, 215, Layton HS, UT Tui Crichton, OL, 6-4, 280, Timpview HS, UT Jray Galea'i, DB, 6-0, 175, Kahuku HS, HI Anthony Heimuli, RB, 5-11, 225, Mountain View HS, UT Cody Hoffman, WR, 6-3, 210, Del Norte HS, CA Peni Maka'afi, RB, 5-10, 215, Layton HS, UT Mitch Mathews, WR, 6-5, 195, Southridge HS, OR Ryan Mulitalo, OL, 6-3, 285, Hunter HS, UT Riley Nelson, QB, 6-1, 190, transfer from Utah State Remington Peck, TE/LB, 6-5, 215, Bingham HS, UT Brett Thompson, WR, 6-3, 210, Oak Ridge HS, CA Adam Timo, RB, 6-1, 190, Snow Canyon HS, UT Fono Vakalahi, OL, 6-4, 320, Bryan HS, TX Kyle Van Noy, LB, 6-4, 215, McQueen HS, NV Brad Wilcox, OL, 6-7, 240, North HS, OK Richard Wilson, TE, 6-3, 225, Spanish Fork HS, UT MAKING MOVIES AND BASKETS DOESN'T MAKE YOU A DEEP THINKER I am constantly amused how fame and fortune seem to automatically make shallow thoughts seem like deep philosophy. Why is it that fluffy film stars and some fifth-grade educated professional athletes are awarded Socratic status for almost everything that seeps from their mouths? Take away the fame and fortune and you have a better chance of having a meaningful conversation at a truck stop in North Dakota than you would in a professional locker room or on location at a film shoot. I am also amused by seemingly Socratic supporters of BYU football that suddenly go to the shallow end of pool just because an 18 year boy splashed a little water in their face. Speaking of meaningful conversations, when was the last time you had one of those with a teenage boy? Even your own. Even more puzzling is why things an 18 year-old kid says, does and decides causes us so much distress, discombobulation and discomfort, especially when it comes to BYU football? Why can't Manti Te'o be as smart as me? Why can't he see that he can help make the BYU football program better which will then enhance my experience as a BYU football fan and make it easier for me to prove to Utah fans that my dad can still beat up their dad? If he could only see this through my eyes, then he could never say no to BYU. If he could only understand how not signing with BYU impacts me as a die hard BYU football fan, then he would get it. I know my status as a supporter of BYU football is not specifically asked about by ecclesiastical leaders when they quiz me once every two years, but I sure wish it was. I sure would like that question better than the one that inquires about my family. I always sheepishly admit I have a daughter, brother, mother and uncle that graduated from The University of Arizona. Three of the four did go on LDS missions, but none of that made BYU a better football team. Why can't this Te'o kid grow up and see things the way I do as a mature and well grounded grownup? Believe me, If I ever run in to him at a truck stop in North Dakota, I will definitely ask him. TELEVISION TIMETABLE BYU vs. Utah Tue, Jan 27 at Salt Lake Tipoff: 8:00 pm Mountain Time TV: Mtn BYU vs. Wyoming Saturday, Jan 31 at Provo Tipoff: 4:00 pm Mountain Time TV: Mtn BYU vs. Air Force Tuesday, Feb 3 at USAFA Tipoff: 6:00 pm Mountain time TV: Mtn

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Cougar Sportsline, Vol. 29, Issue 26
by hb arnett 26 Jan '09

26 Jan '09

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Acronyms and Apologies
by hb arnett 22 Jan '09

22 Jan '09

I apologize. In a message I sent out yesterday to my subscriber base promoting a film by one of my relatives, I used an acronym that appears to have been in poor taste, as evidenced by some feedback I have received. In hind sight (I also preemptively apologize for that phrase in context of the acronym I used yesterday), I should have been more sensitive. I apologize to any and all that were offended. A pal always, hb

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Cougar Sportsline (I Confess and Baby Boomerang)
by hb arnett 22 Jan '09

22 Jan '09

I CONFESS It's confession time. I have a big A.S.S. problem. A.S.S is an acronym for Arnett Self- Assured Syndrome. I inherited it. My big A.S.S is in my genes (or is it jeans?). I can't get away from it as you may well have noticed as a subscriber to my newsletter. Over the years, as Arnett family members, we have learned that we can't hide our A.S.S or even cover it, so we have learned to share it. There will be some serious A.S.S. sharing going on this Saturday (Jan 24) at the Scera Center for the Arts in Orem at noon. One of the biggest A.S.S.es of them all, and arguably the most talented, Mark Arnett of the Arizona A.S.S. clan, will be screening his latest film, Baby Boomerang, as part of the 2009 LDS Film Festival. The film is very good. Even better, it is only an hour long and the price of admission is reasonable. I encourage you to get there early because there will plenty of big A.S.S. sightings and seats will be amply filled accordingly. Details on the film festival can be seen at: www.ldsfilmfestival.org <http://www.ldsfilmfestival.org/> Thanks, HB Arnett

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Cougar Sportsline, Vol. 29, Issue 25
by hb arnett 19 Jan '09

19 Jan '09

HB Arnett's COUGAR SPORTSLINE 801 372 0819 hbarnett(a)fiber.net and hbarnett@xmission <mailto:hbarnett@xmission.com> .com PO Box 50424 Provo, Utah 84605 Vol. 29, Issue 24 - January 19, 2009 Click <http://www.cougarstreet.com/products/index.php?type-450&PCID=450:0:0:0:0> Here To Order Or Renew Your Subscriptions DISAPPOINTMENT AND DISAPPOINTMENT There is the disappointment of BYU losing its first MWC game, a 62-81 loss to New Mexico last Saturday afternoon in Albuquerque, and then there is the disappointment of UNLV. The Rebels are actually coming off a win over Wyoming last Saturday, but regardless of how you shade or spin it, UNLV has been a disappointment in league play with their current 2-2 record. The disappointment is based on the Rebels being the pre season pick to win it all in the Mountain West Conference race this year only to stub their toe in their first two league road games. UNLV lost to TCU in Fort Worth and then in the big stunner dropped a game to the Rams of Colorado State. Speaking of pre-season picks, BYU's Lee Cummard and UNLV's Wink Adams were selected at co-players of the year by the media. It should be a good matchup between two of the premier players in the league when they face each other on Wednesday, Jan 21 in Provo. UNLV will have plenty of motivation and so should BYU. The Cougars will be intent on redeeming themselves for a lackluster performance at New Mexico and UNLV will be looking to make up lost ground in the road losses at TCU and CSU. The game is set to tip at 8 pm Mountain time and will be televised on CBS C. Regardless of what happens against the Rebels, BYU will still have their feet to the fire on Saturday when they go up against San Diego State. The Aztecs are hands down the most athletic team in the league and that athleticism always seems to give the Cougars defensive problems. SDSU is currently 12-4 on the year and 2-1 in league play. The Aztecs lost 83-79 to Wyoming in Laramie on Saturday. They get New Mexico in San Diego on Wednesday. Speaking of the Lobos and the loss BYU suffered, New Mexico beat BYU at its own game. The Lobos outshot BYU. New Mexico shot 44.8% from the floor, 38.9% from the arc and 88% from the line. BYU's numbers were only 38.9% from the floor, 28.6% from the arc and just 66.7% from the charity stripe. Jimmer Fredette led the Cougars in scoring with 15 and Jonathan Tavernari added 13 points. Conspicuously absent was Lee Cummard. He had just 7 points on 1-of-7 shooting for the night. MISSING INGREDIENT? It was a nice seven-day stretch for BYU-bound Tyler Haws. All the 6-5 wing from Lone Peak HS did was lead his team to three straight wins. He scored 33 and pulled down 19 rebounds in a 94-72 win over Brighton. His numbers and minutes went down against Spanish Fork in a 102-47 blowout. He still managed 25 points and 6 rebounds in about 20 minutes of work. When Lone Peak defeated Pleasant Grove last Friday night, 64-57, it was a match up of two Division I players. C.J. Wilcox, who is headed to the University of Washington, scored 24, but Haws had 38. We bring all of this up because as good as Haws is in high school, we don't expect to see those same prolific scoring numbers at the next level with BYU - at least early in his career. BYU has plenty of scorers from the wing already, but what they don't have and haven't had since Travis Hansen was in the program, is a player that can consistently get to the foul line. Attack the Rim They will get that again with the arrival of Haws. He is a decent perimeter shooter, but not a great one. His game is based on his ability to attack the rim and score from the open court. He is a fixture at the foul line because he can get to the rim whenever he wants. When he doesn't, it is because he has been hammered and mugged and finds himself at the charity stripe. In case you haven't been paying attention, BYU is scoring a lot of points, but in crunch time, they seldom get to the line. We don't think it is a coincidence that in the Cougars' three losses, their opponents all shot more free throws. Against ASU, the Sun Devils had 31 attempts to BYU's 19. Wake Forest shot 36 free throws while BYU attempted just 20. New Mexico had 25 free throw attempts to BYU's 21. In all three losses, Lee Cummard has been a non-factor. He also has been missing in action at the foul line in those same three games. Against ASU, Cummard was just 3-5 while James Harden, the Sun Devil star was 16-21 in the same contest. Jeff Teague of Wake Forest was 12-14 against the Cougars while Cummard was 5-7. The Lobos' Daniel Farris was 7-7 against the Cougars and Cummard was 4-4 from the charity srtipe. As a team you can take it further back to BYU's last three post season games, all of which were losses. Last year against Texas A&M, the Aggies shot 17 free throws and BYU 13. Against Xavier, the previous year, the Musketeers shot 29 free throws to just 13 for the Cougars. Against Houston in the NIT in Dave Rose's first year at the helm, the Cougars of Houston had 28 attempts and the BYU Cougars had 16. Not in Same League Granted, Cummard is not in the league of Teague and Harden, both of whom are sure-fire NBA first round picks. He is also not in the same league when it comes to free throw attempts. Cummard as shot just 65 free throws in 17 games. Teague has 131 attempts and Harden has 149 tries in the same amount of games. A more fair talent comparison would be found in the MWC. Wyoming's Brandon Ewing has taken 142 shots already this season from the free-throw line. Wink Adams, who was selected as the preseason co-mvp, along with Cummard has shot 85 free throws so far this season. Jimmer Fredette, BYU's best penetrator and most consistent player in getting to the front of the rim, has just 51 free throw attempts on the season. If you want to make an in-house comparison, Cummard is currently averaging 3.8 free throw attempts per game in this, his senior season. Travis Hansen attempted 204 free throw attempts during his final year of eligibility which worked out to be 6.4 attempts per contest. Convert To BYU's credit, when Cummard and Fredette do get to the line, they convert most of the time. Cummard is currently shooting .831 from the charity stripe and Fredette converts .843 of his attempts. They just aren't getting there often enough, especially in games against good teams. BYU does get a few free throw attempts from the post, but they aren't productive attempts. Chris Miles has been at the line 43 times this year, but made just 19 free throws for a .442 percentage. Gavin MacGregor has attempted 28 free throws and converted just 16 for a .571 rate. Those both are Trent Plaisted-type percentages. The former BYU post player had no trouble going to the line last season for the Cougars. He was there 260 times, but shot only .542 on his free tosses. Dave Rose is always talking about attacking the basket and getting to the foul line, but from our vantage point, it looks like he will have to wait until a player like Haws arrives to get his wish. Last Thought One last thought. BYU currently has a player on the roster that does get to the free throw line consistently and can covert. It takes some extreme extrapolation to make a case for Archie Rose, but in just 100 minutes of action this season, Rose has attempted 25 free throws and made 21 of those attempts for a .840 shooting percentage. Cummard has logged 510 minutes this year and that works out to a free throw attempt for every 7.8 minutes he is on the floor. Rose gets to the line every 4 minutes. Travis Hansen went to the line for every 5.02 minutes he was on the court. For the record, Jonathan Tavernari, has played 511 minutes so far this season and attempted just 28 free throws. That is one attempt for every 18.25 minutes he is on the floor. Again, it requires some creative extrapolation, especially since complete stats for high school games are hard to come by, but in the two game we personally watched Tyler Haws play this season, he went to the line at an average of once for every 2 minutes he was on the court. We would bet that over the current season he is probably at the 3.75 minute or under ratio for free throws to minutes played. That is an incredible stat regardless at which level, high school, college or pro level, it occurs. NAMES AND GAMES BYU Volleyball...Timing is everything. BYU finally gets a chance to host the NCAA Men's Volleyball Championship in Provo in early May, but likely won't have a good enough team to have a realistic chance to make an appearance in the event that they are hosting. The Cougars are currently just 2-3 on the year. It wasn't much better for the women's program. The Lady Cougars finished with a lackluster 14-12 record and a 7-9 losing resume in Mountain West Conference play. Add another loss to the record. BYU was happy to announce the signing of Kylin Munoz to a letter of intent in November when the highly touted prep prospect from Washington inked with the Cougars. She was touted as the No. 6 volleyball recruit in the nation by prepvolleyball.com. It was a major recruiting coup for first-year coach Shay Goulding to get Munoz from under the noses of Washington, one of the top women's volleyball programs in the nation. Munoz recently sent an email to the media in Washington to announce a change of heart and her intentions of not playing for the Cougars. Here is the full text of Munoz's e-mail. "I have received several inquiries and questions about where I will be attending college next year. I am sending this email to let you know that I have asked for a release from BYU and have decided to not play volleyball or attend the university in 2009. My decision to forego playing for the cougars next year was not made easily, but ultimately something I felt necessary for personal reasons. I wish the BYU program and Coach Goulding the best of luck in their volleyball future. I have applied to, and hope to attend, the University of Washington. As for right now I am focusing and looking forward to my 2009 club season." While she can enroll at Washington, without a release from BYU she would have to sit out an athletic year and would lose a year of eligibility before playing for the Huskies. BYU vs. USC...BYU football fans are hoping that this is the year that the USC recruiting spell over BYU is broken. In case you haven't been paying attention, Pete Carroll and his Trojans have repeatedly whipped the Cougars when it comes to signing the top LDS Polynesian prospects. Hope springs eternal and this year is no different. BYU has offers on the table to Xavier Su'a Filo, an offensive lineman from Timpview HS in Provo and Manti Te'o, a linebacker from Punahou HS in Hawaii. The Cougars and Bronco Mendenhall would desperately love to sign both. As history has shown, however, if USC wants the same recruit, BYU's recruiting success is not good when going head-to-head with the Trojans. USC has already snared one of the premier LDS juco talents when they received a commitment from Hebron Fangupo, a defensive lineman from Mt. Sac JC in California. Peter Carroll was in the home of Su'a Filo on Sunday and Te'o has saved his last official visit for USC later this month. BYU thought they had Unona Kavienga locked up last year only to have USC cast their spell. Others that BYU coveted that signed with USC include Duce Lutui, Kaluka Maiava, Stanley Havili, and Christian Tupou. All are LDS. Fili Moala wasn't recruited by BYU, but he is LDS. Jordan Cameron is also LDS and on the USC roster, but after signing with BYU in basketball, his stay was short lived in Provo because of some reasons that were non-basketball related. Cameron redshirted this past season on the football team and is now working out with the USC basketball team. Because most of us are too caught up in the BYU football scene, we have a hard time being objective when it comes to the BYU-USC recruiting battle. From what we have seen and heard, it appears that those LDS Polynesian players that sign with USC, have a good experience and enjoy their stay in Los Angeles. The BYU fan retort always revolves around LDS missions. They are quick to point out that the chances of these players serving LDS missions are diminished by going to USC. Here is another huge factor, in our opinion. Playing for the Trojans gives these kids an NFL exposure. We aren't talking about actually playing in the league, but are talking about the NFL type adoration and attention these kids receive from fans and the Los Angeles media. Remember, there is no NFL team in Los Angeles. USC is the NFL for the Los Angeles market. Dave Rose was 6-0 against New Mexico until this past weekend, so maybe there is hope that Bronco Mendenhall and BYU can break the USC winning streak this year. We aren't going to hold our breath. BYU BASKETBALL EMPLOYEES...The 19-point loss to New Mexico last Saturday was disappointing, but it happens, even to ranked teams this past weekend. Northwestern took down Minnesota, Syracuse spanked Notre Dame in the Carrier Dome and Stanford took down Cal. All upsets were on the road for the ranked teams. Two ranked teams that didn't lose on the road, actually helped the Cougars immensely this past weekend. Both Wake Forest and Arizona State are working for the Cougars in helping them get an NCAA tourney invite and a decent seed when and if that invite comes. Wake went to No. 9 Clemson and in a battle of undefeated teams, stayed that way. The Demon Deacons are now 16-0 on the year. Arizona State, the No. 15 ranked team, beat No.7 rated UCLA in Pauley Pavilion 61-58 in overtime. Both of those wins will help BYU's strength of schedule and RPI. ONE MORE RECRUIT ON BOARD Thomas Bryson, a 6-5, 215 pound defensive end/linebacker, committed to the Cougars this past weekend. He wasn't even on the BYU recruiting radar until about a week ago. He visited BYU's campus this past weekend and BYU offered. He had other offers from Stanford, Washington State, Idaho, Utah State and Southern Utah. He prepped at Layton HS in Utah and fits the current BYU recruiting profile in that he is LDS. All current commits are members of the LDS Church. Also in for a visit this past weekend was Cody Hoffman, a 6-3, 210 pound receiver/defensive back from Del Norte HS in Crescent City, Calif. He is not LDS and as yet has not received an offer. That may change if BYU isn't able to land their remaining "big three" on their priority signing list. That refers to Hawaii linebacker Manti Te'o, offensive lineman Xavier Su'a Filo from Timpview HS in Provo and linebacker L.T. Filiaga from Bingham HS in Utah. Here is BYU's current list of verbal commits. Terry Alletto, OL, 6-3, 260, Ponderosa HS, CO Trevor Bateman, DB, 5-11, 180, Palm Desert HS, CA Craig Bills, DB, 6-2, 205, Timpview HS, UT Thomas Bryson, DE/LB, 6-3, 215, Layton HS, UT Tui Crichton, OL, 6-4, 280, Timpview HS, UT Jray Galea'i, DB, 6-0, 175, Kahuku HS, HI Anthony Heimuli, RB, 5-11, 225, Mountain View HS, UT Peni Maka'afi, RB, 5-10, 215, Layton HS, UT Mitch Mathews, WR, 6-5, 195, Southridge HS, OR Ryan Mulitalo, OL, 6-3, 285, Hunter HS, UT Riley Nelson, QB, 6-1, 190, transfer from Utah State Remington Peck, TE/LB, 6-5, 215, Bingham HS, UT Brett Thompson, WR, 6-3, 210, Oak Ridge HS, CA Adam Timo, RB, 6-1, 190, Snow Canyon HS, UT Fono Vakalahi, OL, 6-4, 320, Bryan HS, TX Kyle Van Noy, LB, 6-4, 215, McQueen HS, NV Brad Wilcox, OL, 6-7, 240, North HS, OK Richard Wilson, TE, 6-3, 225, Spanish Fork HS, UT TELEVISION TIMETABLE BYU vs. UNLV Wed, Jan 21 at Provo Tipoff: 8:00 pm Mountain Time TV: CBS C BYU vs. SDSU Sat, Jan 24 at Provo Tipoff: 7:00 pm Mountain Time TV: Mtn BYU vs. Utah Tue, Jan 27 at Salt Lake Tipoff: 8:00 pm Mountain Time TV: Mtn

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Cougar Sportsline Vol. 29, Issue 25
by hb arnett 19 Jan '09

19 Jan '09

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Cougar Sportsline, Vol. 29, Issue 25
by hb arnett 19 Jan '09

19 Jan '09

HB Arnett's COUGAR SPORTSLINE 801 372 0819 hbarnett(a)fiber.net and hbarnett@xmission <mailto:hbarnett@xmission.com> .com PO Box 50424 Provo, Utah 84605 Vol. 29, Issue 24 - January 19, 2009 Click <http://www.cougarstreet.com/products/index.php?type-450&PCID=450:0:0:0:0> Here To Order Or Renew Your Subscriptions DISAPPOINTMENT AND DISAPPOINTMENT There is the disappointment of BYU losing its first MWC game, a 62-81 loss to New Mexico last Saturday afternoon in Albuquerque, and then there is the disappointment of UNLV. The Rebels are actually coming off a win over Wyoming last Saturday, but regardless of how you shade or spin it, UNLV has been a disappointment in league play with their current 2-2 record. The disappointment is based on the Rebels being the pre season pick to win it all in the Mountain West Conference race this year only to stub their toe in their first two league road games. UNLV lost to TCU in Fort Worth and then in the big stunner dropped a game to the Rams of Colorado State. Speaking of pre-season picks, BYU's Lee Cummard and UNLV's Wink Adams were selected at co-players of the year by the media. It should be a good matchup between two of the premier players in the league when they face each other on Wednesday, Jan 21 in Provo. UNLV will have plenty of motivation and so should BYU. The Cougars will be intent on redeeming themselves for a lackluster performance at New Mexico and UNLV will be looking to make up lost ground in the road losses at TCU and CSU. The game is set to tip at 8 pm Mountain time and will be televised on CBS C. Regardless of what happens against the Rebels, BYU will still have their feet to the fire on Saturday when they go up against San Diego State. The Aztecs are hands down the most athletic team in the league and that athleticism always seems to give the Cougars defensive problems. SDSU is currently 12-4 on the year and 2-1 in league play. The Aztecs lost 83-79 to Wyoming in Laramie on Saturday. They get New Mexico in San Diego on Wednesday. Speaking of the Lobos and the loss BYU suffered, New Mexico beat BYU at its own game. The Lobos outshot BYU. New Mexico shot 44.8% from the floor, 38.9% from the arc and 88% from the line. BYU's numbers were only 38.9% from the floor, 28.6% from the arc and just 66.7% from the charity stripe. Jimmer Fredette led the Cougars in scoring with 15 and Jonathan Tavernari added 13 points. Conspicuously absent was Lee Cummard. He had just 7 points on 1-of-7 shooting for the night. MISSING INGREDIENT? It was a nice seven-day stretch for BYU-bound Tyler Haws. All the 6-5 wing from Lone Peak HS did was lead his team to three straight wins. He scored 33 and pulled down 19 rebounds in a 94-72 win over Brighton. His numbers and minutes went down against Spanish Fork in a 102-47 blowout. He still managed 25 points and 6 rebounds in about 20 minutes of work. When Lone Peak defeated Pleasant Grove last Friday night, 64-57, it was a match up of two Division I players. C.J. Wilcox, who is headed to the University of Washington, scored 24, but Haws had 38. We bring all of this up because as good as Haws is in high school, we don't expect to see those same prolific scoring numbers at the next level with BYU - at least early in his career. BYU has plenty of scorers from the wing already, but what they don't have and haven't had since Travis Hansen was in the program, is a player that can consistently get to the foul line. Attack the Rim They will get that again with the arrival of Haws. He is a decent perimeter shooter, but not a great one. His game is based on his ability to attack the rim and score from the open court. He is a fixture at the foul line because he can get to the rim whenever he wants. When he doesn't, it is because he has been hammered and mugged and finds himself at the charity stripe. In case you haven't been paying attention, BYU is scoring a lot of points, but in crunch time, they seldom get to the line. We don't think it is a coincidence that in the Cougars' three losses, their opponents all shot more free throws. Against ASU, the Sun Devils had 31 attempts to BYU's 19. Wake Forest shot 36 free throws while BYU attempted just 20. New Mexico had 25 free throw attempts to BYU's 21. In all three losses, Lee Cummard has been a non-factor. He also has been missing in action at the foul line in those same three games. Against ASU, Cummard was just 3-5 while James Harden, the Sun Devil star was 16-21 in the same contest. Jeff Teague of Wake Forest was 12-14 against the Cougars while Cummard was 5-7. The Lobos' Daniel Farris was 7-7 against the Cougars and Cummard was 4-4 from the charity srtipe. As a team you can take it further back to BYU's last three post season games, all of which were losses. Last year against Texas A&M, the Aggies shot 17 free throws and BYU 13. Against Xavier, the previous year, the Musketeers shot 29 free throws to just 13 for the Cougars. Against Houston in the NIT in Dave Rose's first year at the helm, the Cougars of Houston had 28 attempts and the BYU Cougars had 16. Not in Same League Granted, Cummard is not in the league of Teague and Harden, both of whom are sure-fire NBA first round picks. He is also not in the same league when it comes to free throw attempts. Cummard as shot just 65 free throws in 17 games. Teague has 131 attempts and Harden has 149 tries in the same amount of games. A more fair talent comparison would be found in the MWC. Wyoming's Brandon Ewing has taken 142 shots already this season from the free-throw line. Wink Adams, who was selected as the preseason co-mvp, along with Cummard has shot 85 free throws so far this season. Jimmer Fredette, BYU's best penetrator and most consistent player in getting to the front of the rim, has just 51 free throw attempts on the season. If you want to make an in-house comparison, Cummard is currently averaging 3.8 free throw attempts per game in this, his senior season. Travis Hansen attempted 204 free throw attempts during his final year of eligibility which worked out to be 6.4 attempts per contest. Convert To BYU's credit, when Cummard and Fredette do get to the line, they convert most of the time. Cummard is currently shooting .831 from the charity stripe and Fredette converts .843 of his attempts. They just aren't getting there often enough, especially in games against good teams. BYU does get a few free throw attempts from the post, but they aren't productive attempts. Chris Miles has been at the line 43 times this year, but made just 19 free throws for a .442 percentage. Gavin MacGregor has attempted 28 free throws and converted just 16 for a .571 rate. Those both are Trent Plaisted-type percentages. The former BYU post player had no trouble going to the line last season for the Cougars. He was there 260 times, but shot only .542 on his free tosses. Dave Rose is always talking about attacking the basket and getting to the foul line, but from our vantage point, it looks like he will have to wait until a player like Haws arrives to get his wish. Last Thought One last thought. BYU currently has a player on the roster that does get to the free throw line consistently and can covert. It takes some extreme extrapolation to make a case for Archie Rose, but in just 100 minutes of action this season, Rose has attempted 25 free throws and made 21 of those attempts for a .840 shooting percentage. Cummard has logged 510 minutes this year and that works out to a free throw attempt for every 7.8 minutes he is on the floor. Rose gets to the line every 4 minutes. Travis Hansen went to the line for every 5.02 minutes he was on the court. For the record, Jonathan Tavernari, has played 511 minutes so far this season and attempted just 28 free throws. That is one attempt for every 18.25 minutes he is on the floor. Again, it requires some creative extrapolation, especially since complete stats for high school games are hard to come by, but in the two game we personally watched Tyler Haws play this season, he went to the line at an average of once for every 2 minutes he was on the court. We would bet that over the current season he is probably at the 3.75 minute or under ratio for free throws to minutes played. That is an incredible stat regardless at which level, high school, college or pro level, it occurs. NAMES AND GAMES BYU Volleyball...Timing is everything. BYU finally gets a chance to host the NCAA Men's Volleyball Championship in Provo in early May, but likely won't have a good enough team to have a realistic chance to make an appearance in the event that they are hosting. The Cougars are currently just 2-3 on the year. It wasn't much better for the women's program. The Lady Cougars finished with a lackluster 14-12 record and a 7-9 losing resume in Mountain West Conference play. Add another loss to the record. BYU was happy to announce the signing of Kylin Munoz to a letter of intent in November when the highly touted prep prospect from Washington inked with the Cougars. She was touted as the No. 6 volleyball recruit in the nation by prepvolleyball.com. It was a major recruiting coup for first-year coach Shay Goulding to get Munoz from under the noses of Washington, one of the top women's volleyball programs in the nation. Munoz recently sent an email to the media in Washington to announce a change of heart and her intentions of not playing for the Cougars. Here is the full text of Munoz's e-mail. "I have received several inquiries and questions about where I will be attending college next year. I am sending this email to let you know that I have asked for a release from BYU and have decided to not play volleyball or attend the university in 2009. My decision to forego playing for the cougars next year was not made easily, but ultimately something I felt necessary for personal reasons. I wish the BYU program and Coach Goulding the best of luck in their volleyball future. I have applied to, and hope to attend, the University of Washington. As for right now I am focusing and looking forward to my 2009 club season." While she can enroll at Washington, without a release from BYU she would have to sit out an athletic year and would lose a year of eligibility before playing for the Huskies. BYU vs. USC...BYU football fans are hoping that this is the year that the USC recruiting spell over BYU is broken. In case you haven't been paying attention, Pete Carroll and his Trojans have repeatedly whipped the Cougars when it comes to signing the top LDS Polynesian prospects. Hope springs eternal and this year is no different. BYU has offers on the table to Xavier Su'a Filo, an offensive lineman from Timpview HS in Provo and Manti Te'o, a linebacker from Punahou HS in Hawaii. The Cougars and Bronco Mendenhall would desperately love to sign both. As history has shown, however, if USC wants the same recruit, BYU's recruiting success is not good when going head-to-head with the Trojans. USC has already snared one of the premier LDS juco talents when they received a commitment from Hebron Fangupo, a defensive lineman from Mt. Sac JC in California. Peter Carroll was in the home of Su'a Filo on Sunday and Te'o has saved his last official visit for USC later this month. BYU thought they had Unona Kavienga locked up last year only to have USC cast their spell. Others that BYU coveted that signed with USC include Duce Lutui, Kaluka Maiava, Stanley Havili, and Christian Tupou. All are LDS. Fili Moala wasn't recruited by BYU, but he is LDS. Jordan Cameron is also LDS and on the USC roster, but after signing with BYU in basketball, his stay was short lived in Provo because of some reasons that were non-basketball related. Cameron redshirted this past season on the football team and is now working out with the USC basketball team. Because most of us are too caught up in the BYU football scene, we have a hard time being objective when it comes to the BYU-USC recruiting battle. From what we have seen and heard, it appears that those LDS Polynesian players that sign with USC, have a good experience and enjoy their stay in Los Angeles. The BYU fan retort always revolves around LDS missions. They are quick to point out that the chances of these players serving LDS missions are diminished by going to USC. Here is another huge factor, in our opinion. Playing for the Trojans gives these kids an NFL exposure. We aren't talking about actually playing in the league, but are talking about the NFL type adoration and attention these kids receive from fans and the Los Angeles media. Remember, there is no NFL team in Los Angeles. USC is the NFL for the Los Angeles market. Dave Rose was 6-0 against New Mexico until this past weekend, so maybe there is hope that Bronco Mendenhall and BYU can break the USC winning streak this year. We aren't going to hold our breath. BYU BASKETBALL EMPLOYEES...The 19-point loss to New Mexico last Saturday was disappointing, but it happens, even to ranked teams this past weekend. Northwestern took down Minnesota, Syracuse spanked Notre Dame in the Carrier Dome and Stanford took down Cal. All upsets were on the road for the ranked teams. Two ranked teams that didn't lose on the road, actually helped the Cougars immensely this past weekend. Both Wake Forest and Arizona State are working for the Cougars in helping them get an NCAA tourney invite and a decent seed when and if that invite comes. Wake went to No. 9 Clemson and in a battle of undefeated teams, stayed that way. The Demon Deacons are now 16-0 on the year. Arizona State, the No. 15 ranked team, beat No.7 rated UCLA in Pauley Pavilion 61-58 in overtime. Both of those wins will help BYU's strength of schedule and RPI. ONE MORE RECRUIT ON BOARD Thomas Bryson, a 6-5, 215 pound defensive end/linebacker, committed to the Cougars this past weekend. He wasn't even on the BYU recruiting radar until about a week ago. He visited BYU's campus this past weekend and BYU offered. He had other offers from Stanford, Washington State, Idaho, Utah State and Southern Utah. He prepped at Layton HS in Utah and fits the current BYU recruiting profile in that he is LDS. All current commits are members of the LDS Church. Also in for a visit this past weekend was Cody Hoffman, a 6-3, 210 pound receiver/defensive back from Del Norte HS in Crescent City, Calif. He is not LDS and as yet has not received an offer. That may change if BYU isn't able to land their remaining "big three" on their priority signing list. That refers to Hawaii linebacker Manti Te'o, offensive lineman Xavier Su'a Filo from Timpview HS in Provo and linebacker L.T. Filiaga from Bingham HS in Utah. Here is BYU's current list of verbal commits. Terry Alletto, OL, 6-3, 260, Ponderosa HS, CO Trevor Bateman, DB, 5-11, 180, Palm Desert HS, CA Craig Bills, DB, 6-2, 205, Timpview HS, UT Thomas Bryson, DE/LB, 6-3, 215, Layton HS, UT Tui Crichton, OL, 6-4, 280, Timpview HS, UT Jray Galea'i, DB, 6-0, 175, Kahuku HS, HI Anthony Heimuli, RB, 5-11, 225, Mountain View HS, UT Peni Maka'afi, RB, 5-10, 215, Layton HS, UT Mitch Mathews, WR, 6-5, 195, Southridge HS, OR Ryan Mulitalo, OL, 6-3, 285, Hunter HS, UT Riley Nelson, QB, 6-1, 190, transfer from Utah State Remington Peck, TE/LB, 6-5, 215, Bingham HS, UT Brett Thompson, WR, 6-3, 210, Oak Ridge HS, CA Adam Timo, RB, 6-1, 190, Snow Canyon HS, UT Fono Vakalahi, OL, 6-4, 320, Bryan HS, TX Kyle Van Noy, LB, 6-4, 215, McQueen HS, NV Brad Wilcox, OL, 6-7, 240, North HS, OK Richard Wilson, TE, 6-3, 225, Spanish Fork HS, UT TELEVISION TIMETABLE BYU vs. UNLV Wed, Jan 21 at Provo Tipoff: 8:00 pm Mountain Time TV: CBS C BYU vs. SDSU Sat, Jan 24 at Provo Tipoff: 7:00 pm Mountain Time TV: Mtn BYU vs. Utah Tue, Jan 27 at Salt Lake Tipoff: 8:00 pm Mountain Time TV: Mtn

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Cougar Sportsline
by hb arnett 15 Jan '09

15 Jan '09

Jan. 15, 2008 Cougar Sportsline Subscriber, It appears that we may be having problems with some subscribers who have MSN.COM email addresses. We are trying to determine if it affects all with an msn.com address or just a few subscribers. If you have not received any newsletters or other email from us in the last two weeks, please let me know by emailing me at this address: hbarnett(a)fiber.net If you are getting letters as usual, please disregard this inquiry. Thanks, HB Arnett Cougar Sportsline

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Cougar Sportsline, Vol. 29, Issue 24
by hb arnett 12 Jan '09

12 Jan '09

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Cougar Sportsline, Vol. 29, Issue 23
by hb 05 Jan '09

05 Jan '09

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