HB Arnett’s
COUGAR SPORTSLINE
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372 0819
hbarnett@fiber.net and hbarnett@xmission.com
1391
West 800 South –
Vol. 30,
Issue 22 – January 4, 2010
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SCOUTS
ARE SOMETIMES RIGHT
Here is what some
AAU coaches and scouting services said about Jimmer Fredette in 2007 after his
announcement that he would be signing with BYU
Jim Hart, the
program director of Albany City Rocks, Fredette's AAU team, said, "Jimmer
can shoot the ball really well. He's going to be an impact player for them
(BYU) eventually." Hart continued by saying, "I see Jimmer playing
the point guard position. He's shown with us that he can do that."
Mike Sullivan, the
publisher of ScoutNewYorkPreps.com, saw plenty of Fredette in high school. Here
was his assessment of him in college.
"Fredette can
make himself a consistent threat by taking his dribble to the rim. He should be
able to produce plenty of points on the college level. He is a hard worker and
someone that can dent a zone with his perimeter shooting."
Based on
Fredette's latest outing against
Lighting up
The final score of
BYU 99 Arizona 69 would seem to indicate that
Fredette's
performance was phenomenal, but it will become even better with time.
That is because so
few BYU fans actually saw it.
The game was
basically blacked out across the country. Unless you had Fox Sports Pacific or
Fox Sports Arizona (tape delayed) or Comcast, Dish or Direct TV sports tier
packages, you were literally in the dark.
As of yet, there
have been no announcements from BYU for plans on trying to rebroadcast the
game.
The rights are
still owned by Fox Sports and they will have to give those rights to BYU to
make that happen.
If the game ever
becomes available for replay, it will likely become the most-watched BYU
basketball video ever. It could even someday surpass the famous Danny Ainge coast-to-coast
game-winning dash to defeat Notre Dame.
Speaking of Ainge,
his best scoring outing was 40 points against Oral Roberts in
It was a good
enough outing for then ORU coach
Sean Miller,
THE
FUTURES MARKET
Listed below are
how BYU's most recent signees and future prospects fared during the last week.
Kyle
Collinsworth, 6-6 guard/wing,
This the 31st
annual list produced by the paper. It is selected by college coaches and from
scouts who operate recruiting services or report for web sites that cover
recruiting. Selections are from high school seniors from
The first team
selection list, of which Collinsworth was chosen, consists of 15 players.
In the bio
published by Best of the West, here is what they said about Collinsworth:
"His skills are such that it is hard to project the position he is best
suited for in college. His mump shot is much improved and has to be honored to
the 3-point arc. And he passes and handles well enough to spend a lot of time
at the point for his prep and traveling teams. But he is also a dependable
rebounder and determined defender (in the post and on the perimeter), with an
advanced low-post offensive game. Considering the caliber of programs that
pursued him, Collinsworth will be the most significant recruit landed in a
while by the Cougars. He is rated as one of the best passers in the nation. he
is a true pass first guard with excellent floor vision. His one game high for
the season was 16 assists. Collsworth is also an excellent penetrator and
proved during the summer that he can get to the basket and finish against the
best players in the country. he has excellent leaping ability and was recently
measured at jumping three inches above the square on the backboard."
Other BYU players
that have made this coveted first-team list include Danny Ainge, Steve Trumbo,
Mike Smith, Ken Roberts and Shawn Bradley.
While we are
dropping names, the list also includes such recent players who were first round
NBA draft picks. They include Spencer Hawes, Brook and Robin Lopez, Jerryd
Bayless, Austin Daye, James Harden, James Johnson, Kevin Love, DeMar DeRozan
and Jrue Holiday.
Nick
Emery, 6-0 freshman guard, Lone Peak HS...He apparently
didn't play based on the box score of Lone Peak's 76-42 win over Westlake HS
last Wednesday. Don't know the reason why. Maybe an injury?
Anson
Winder, 6-3, guard, Bishop Gorman HS...His team played in the
nationally prominent Beach Ball invitational tournament in
Jabari
Parker, 6-5, wing, Simeon HS,
DeMarcus
Harrison, 6-4, guard,
Jordan
Chatman, 6-3, guard, Skyview HS, Ridgfield, WA...BYU sent a
coach to Portland to watch Chatman on Wednesday as his team faced North Eugene
HS in a game played at the Rose Garden. He led his team with 12 points, but
they came up short in the game 40-45.
FLUFF
AND STUFF
SEAN MILLER KNEW WHAT WAS COMING...BYU
tried and thought they had three different teams lined up to play the Cougars
in basketball this December before they were able to sign
Dave Rose and his
staff thought they had done deals with
They didn't want
to play in
The story we get
is that Sean Miller, the new UA coach saw the schedule for this year and called
BYU and said he would like out of the contract.
BYU told him that
there was a $100,000 non-cancel clause in the contract and as soon as
A DOMAN DEJA VU?...It will be a nice
spring battle to see who will be the starting BYU quarterback for this coming
fall.
Many are
discounting Riley Nelson because they think he isn't a great thrower.
In our opinion, he
has as good an arm as Brandon Doman had when he led the Cougars to a 12-0
record out of the 2000 gate. Nelson also runs as well if not better than Doman.
With a little
tweak of the offense to implement the running game of Nelson, BYU could still
have a top notch offense next year.
BYU will return a
very good and experienced offensive line to complement the running game of a
quarterback.
The only the thing
the 2010 offense would lack that Doman had is a premier running back. Luke
Staley was a game breaker. BYU won't have one next season.
Unless Jake Heaps
is super natural, we see Nelson as the logical starter for next season.
EVEN WITH SACCHARIN, SAGARIN NOT SWEET ENOUGH FOR SOME...Here
is an email we received a few days ago after the BYU win over
As I write this,
Sagarin ranks BYU #13 in the nation.
I have noted in
the past that no MWC basketball team has ever finished the season ranked in
Sagarin's Top 20 - an astonishing statistic and a real indictment of the
conference when it comes to men's basketball. (MWC football teams have many top
20 finishes.)
It's also true
that BYU, under Dave Rose, tends to start the season blazing hot and finish the
season weak. Will that trend continue? BYU has yet to play an outstanding team
this year. (The Cougars have played the 248th toughest schedule in
I am impressed
with the Cougars so far, though (once again) their post play is weak. But I
have learned not to get too excited at this point in the season.
Name withheld
U.S.
ARMY ALL AMERICAN BOWL...The game, which features premier
high school football prospects from around the nation, will be played next Saturday,
Jan 9 and will be televised live on NBC. Kickoff is set for 11:00 Mountain
time.
Two BYU signees
and a potential signee for the Cougar will all be playing on the West team.
Jake Heaps and
Ross Apo have both already signed with the Cougars and will be enrolled in
school this coming week.
Ricky Heimuli is a
big defensive tackle from Brighton HS in
Here are the bios
of these players as written up by the U.S. Army All American bowl web site as
they explain why they were invited and the special strengths they bring to the
all-star game.
Jake
Heaps...Quarterback, Skyline HS,
Ross Apo...Wide
Receiver, the
Ricky
Heimuli...Defensive Line, Brighton HS, Salt Lake City,
UT...Heimuli has the size and strength to bull rush his way back to the
quarterback, as well as impressive speed to help chase down the ball carrier.
He gets a good jump on the snap and uses quick hands to help him maintain
separation. In his sophomore year, he recorded 57 tackles (seven for losses), 4
1/2 sacks and one interception. As a junior, he totaled 40 tackles (ten for
losses) and five sacks. "Heimuli is one of the best defensive players to
come out of
TELEVISION
TIMETABLE
BYU vs.
Saturday, Jan 2 at
Tipoff: 7:00 pm Mountain
Time
TV: none
BYU vs.
UNLV
Wednesday, Jan 6 at
Tipoff: 8:00 pm Mountain
Time
TV: The Mtn
BYU vs.
UTEP
Saturday, Jan 9 at
Tipoff: 7:00 pm Mountain
Time
TV: CBS C
BYU vs.
Air Force
Wednesday, Jan 13 at Colo
Springs
Tipoff: 6:00 pm Mountain
Time
TV: The Mtn
BYU vs.
Saturday, Jan 16 at
Tipoff: 4:00 pm Mountain
Time
TV: The Mtn