HB Arnett’s
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West 800 South –
Vol. 30,
Issue 31 – March 8, 2010
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BOZOS,
BENCH, BRACKETS AND BUSTING THROUGH
Let's start with bozos.
BYU made
Utah had a little bozo boost
of their own with the post game rants and antics of their coach Jim Boylen, but
BYU certainly gave him plenty to bozo and boohoo about.
The final score, BYU 71
Utah 51, didn't accurately reflect how the Cougars totally dominated this game.
We might as well throw in
berserk into this story. With TCU leading BYU 18-4 after the first four minutes
of the season finale in
Berserk is five steps
below bozo on the basketball coaching spectrum, but Rose, was to say the least,
very animated in two consecutive timeouts called to restore order to BYU's
dismal game-opening play.
It worked. >From that
point on, it was BYU who worked the Horned Frogs en route to a 107-77 win.
Both wins were the result
of BYU's deep bench. Michael Loyd Jr, Charles Abouo and Brandon Davies all had
big games and performances in the final week of the regular season.
Bad Rap
One of the raps on Rose and
his teams is that they aren't athletic enough. That is no longer true when Rose
can look to his bench and find all the athletes he needs.
It is probably a week to
early to really get serious about NCAA tournament brackets, but we expect BYU
to have a 5 seed at worst and a 4 seed at best.
A 4 seed will require a
semi-final win over UNLV in the MWC tourney. As any BYU basketball fan worth
his salt and seeding can tell you, beating UNLV on their home floor is
something that Dave Rose has yet to do as a BYU head coach.
This could be the year.
We have no evidence to back up that statement, but we know special when we see
it and this is a special season for BYU basketball.
For the Cougars to win
when it comes to matchups with the other three good teams in the league,
BYU has to shoot the ball
well from the outside and they have to rebound. In the three league losses this
year, BYU didn't do that.
We have a busting through
feeling that this will be the year that BYU gets UNLV on their home floor.
Better than a feeling, BYU has a Fredette. A big game by the junior guard is
more important than any feelings.
If Fredette is back from
his sub par performances of the last three games, BYU will win.
Even with the rare win
over the Rebels that we are predicting, it won't produce the showdown Cougar
fans are hoping for in a rematch against
We don't see the Lobos
getting by their likely semi-final game against
Regardless of what
happens in the MWC tournament, we still see plenty of special in this season
with BYU in NCAA tourney play. It is all about guard play and BYU should have
enough of it to finally get beyond a first round game.
THE
FUTURES MARKET
Listed below are how BYU's
most recent signees and future prospects fared during the last week. All except
recent signee Anson Winder, are LDS.
Kyle
Collinsworth, 6-6 guard/wing, senior, Provo HS...The season
came to an end for Collinsworth last week as his team lost in the state
championship semi-finals 57-50 to Mountain Crest. He did go out with a bang,
however. Collinsworth scored 30 points, had 14 rebounds, 5 assists and 2
steals. He was the focus of the Mountain Crest defense and was double and
tripled teamed almost every time he touched the ball in the paint. Collinsworth
finished the year with a 23.7 points per game scoring average.
Nick
Emery, 6-0 freshman guard, Lone Peak HS...The talented frosh scored
22 points, but it wasn't enough as Lone Peak lost to Bingham HS 64-53 in the
opening round of state playoff action. Emery finished the year with an 18.5
points per game scoring average.
Anson
Winder, 6-3, guard, Senior, Bishop Gorman HS...Bishop Gorman
captured their second consecutive state championship last week in
Jabari
Parker, 6-5, wing, Freshman, Simeon HS, Chicago...Parker
scored just seven points for Simeon last Friday night, but most came at a
crucial time, according to a report from the Chicago Sun Times. According to
the ST's story, The freshman's clutch scoring at the end of the third period
helped stem an Argo HS wave of scoring and propel the Wolverines to a 61-39
victory over the host Argonauts in a Class 4A regional final. "He made big
baskets in the second half for us," Simeon coach Robert Smith said.
"He's very mature for a 14-year-old."
DeMarcus
Harrison, 6-4, guard, Junior,
Jordan
Chatman, 6-3, guard, Sophomore, Skyview HS,
Jordan
Smoot, 6-10, center, Junior,
Stephen
Rogers...6-8, 190, forward, Freshman,
BASKETBALL
BRIEFS
Cougar Club Snippets...Dave Rose said
last week at the local Cougar Club function that he needs a center that can run
the floor in order for his offense to be effective and good. He also said he
wasn't sure yet if James Anderson, the redshirt sophomore reserve post player
for the Cougars, would be back next season. Don't know why he mentioned that.
It could be that
If that is the case,
since he already has redshirted, he would have to move down a level to be
eligible to play immediately next season.
If Rose is looking for a
post player that can run, he already has one in the pipeline. That would be
6-11 Ian Harward. He signed last season out of Orem HS and is currently on a
mission. He is the most athletic big man BYU has signed in years. You notice we
didn't say he is the strongest big man BYU has signed in years.
Harward is very raw and
missed a year of high school action as a junior with a broken leg, but if he
can somehow bulk up and get stronger, he will fit Rose's description of what he
is looking for.
Speaking of stronger and
playing the post, you can bet that BYU will have Brandon Davies in the weight
room during the off season. He has a nice offensive game that should continue
to get better, but he needs work on his defense and rebounding. He also needs
to get stronger to keep opposing post players from being able to back him down
at will in the low block.
Scholarship Count...BYU, according to
our count, still has one scholarship to give this spring. We expect any
scholarships that are to be given by BYU in April to come from the juco ranks.
Quality big men from
junior college are rare and when they do show up, the are snapped up by the big
name programs. We still expect the Cougars, however, to try and find some sort
of suitable big man to add muscle to the roster for next season. If they can't
find one, we expect to see a juco forward to sign in an effort to replace Tyler
Haws and give more competition at the three spot.
Here are the scholarship
players and their eligibility status for next season. You are allowed by the
NCAA to have 13 players on scholarship. As you can see, BYU only has one
scholarship to give this spring unless
Charles Abouo, 6-5, 210,
Jr.
James Anderson, 6-10,
230, Jr.
Brandon Davies, 6-9, 230,
So.
Jackson Emery, 6-3, 185,
Sr.
Jimmer Fredette, 6-2,
200, Sr.
Noah Hartsock, 6-8, 215,
Jr.
Michael Loyd, Jr., 6-1,
170, Jr.
Chris Collinsworth, 6-9,
225, So.
Kyle Collinsworth, 6-6,
200, Fr.
Anson Winder, 6-3, 200,
Fr.
Nick Martineau, 6-0, 180,
So.
Fredette Back...We included Jimmer
Fredette coming back for next season, despite rumblings that he may be NBA
bound after this season.
We expect him to submit
his name for early entry into the NBA draft. That will allow him to work out for
teams and get a feel for how the pros evaluate him. But, just like Jonathan
Tavernari and Lee Cummard, we also expect Fredette to remove his name from the
early entry list and return to BYU for his senior season.
BYU expects him back.
They are still working on finding an opponent for a possible game next season
in Fredette's home town or close by. That is all you need to know about
Fredette's NBA draft status for this year.
Okay, here is something
else you need to know. Chad Ford, of ESPN, said this recently about Fredette in
one of his columns on the ESPN website.
"Don't
sleep on BYU's Jimmer Fredette as a potential draft candidate this year. If he
were playing at Duke, he'd be mentioned as a potential player of the year
candidate. Much like Duke's own Jon Scheyer, he's not the greatest athlete in
the world, but he's tough, can really see the floor and he shoots the lights
out."
"He's
really tough and he's a fearless kid," one NBA GM said. "He's going
to lead a team. I wish he was a little bit better athlete, but I can't name
five better point guards in this draft. He'll find a way to do it at the next
level."
FULL
CIRCLE...Roger Reid was an outstanding coach at BYU. His
record verifies that assessment. What got Reid in trouble and out the door were
his perceived lack of skills when it came to public relations and recruiting.
Now it's their turn. The
Utes now have their own basketball coach who has a public relations and press
problem. He may be a great coach, but his on-the-court and post-game-press
conference tirades paint him more as a bozo than a bonanza for Ute supporters.
It may be early, but his
recruiting, in our opinion, also looks a little suspect to us.
Only time will tell, but
as they say, what goes around comes around and in our opinion, now it's
TELEVISION
TIMETABLE
MWC Post-Season
Tournament
BYU vs.
TCU
Thursday, March 11 at
Tipoff: 7:00 pm Mountain
Time
TV: The Mtn
If BYU wins:
BYU vs.
UNLV or
Friday, March 12 at
Tipoff: 9:30 pm Mountain
Time
TV: CBS C
If BYU wins:
BYU vs.
Saturday, March 13 at
Tipoff: 5:00 pm Mountain
Time
TV: Versus