HB Arnett’s
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1391
West 800 South –
Vol. 33,
Issue 20 – December 17, 2012
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BYU 78 WSU 68
Brandon Davies’s Career High
Leads BYU Past Weber State
Brandon Davies made BYU’s first basket of the game last Saturday
night against
It came early at the 19:45 mark of the first half.
BYU’s last basket of the game came with just 40 seconds remaining
to play in the second half. It was also a Brandon Davies basket.
Both buckets were a nice start and finish for Dave Rose and his
Cougars, but it was what Davies did between those two baskets that gave BYU the
win.
Between the two bookend baskets by Davies, the senior post player wrote
his own personal college scoring history book.
Davies ended with a career high 33 points while hitting 14-of-17 field
goals and adding 5-of 6 points from the foul line.
No Answer
The question that was answered, however, is what would Davies do if he
could stay on the court for an entire game this season?
With just two fouls, the 6-9 senior played 36 minutes and only came out
for an occasional rest when Dave Rose wanted to give him a quick breather.
Davies has had a penchant for personal fouls this season. That seems to
be the best defensive strategy against him. He can’t score on the bench
while nursing foul problems.
Tyler Haws was also instrumental in securing the win for the Cougars.
The sophomore returned LDS missionary ended with 23 points against the
Wildcats. Haws was 6-0f-15 from the floor, but a perfect 10-for-10 from the
free throw line.
If all you saw was the box score for the game, you might deduce that it
was all Davies and Haws. That is true when it came to scoring, but when BYU
needed energy and a boost defensively, the bench came up big.
Extended Bench
Actually, it was an extended bench that came up big. It’s may be
that Dave Rose has realized that he needs help from guys like Cory Calvert and
Raul Delgado on the guard line. Those two did play significant minutes and
produced offensively (Calvert – 9 points) and Delgado defensively.
Next up for the Cougars is Eastern New Mexico this Tuesday in the
There are only two guys over 6-5 on the ENMU roster and both are only
6-8. Only one sees significant minutes. This could be another Brandon Davies
field day.
Jabari Parker
FOR BYU BASKETBALL THIS THURSDAY WILL
BE A JACKPOT OR JACK SQUAT
Recruiting is not like horse racing.
With horses, even if you don’t win the race, there are payouts
for place and show.
It doesn’t work that way in recruiting. You either win or you
lose.
Granted, BYU has had a nice public relations run in their recruitment
of Jabari Parker. Since September, the Cougars have been mentioned with the
elite of college basketball.
Every time a media story talks about Jabari Parker they list BYU in the
same group as Duke,
That has been good, but so far the Cougars are just another Miss
Congeniality.
This Thursday, when it comes to Jabari Parker and BYU basketball, the
Cougars will either have hit the jackpot or come up empty with jack squat.
No Middle Ground
There is no middle ground in recruiting.
The fact that Dave Rose and Mark Pope both were in
Also at the game along with Rose were
In horse racing parlance, BYU is now
in the stretch run for the finish line. Good horse handicappers know based on
history that it would be foolish to bet against proven horses with proven
stretch run accomplishments like Duke and MSU.
Those two schools would be the War
Admiral of this horse race. At best, BYU would be the Seabiscuit in the field.
Come on Seabiscuit. Come on
Seabiscuit. He was the little horse that could.
As a side bar, “Seabiscuit” it was a great
movie, even if you are not a horse racing aficionado like me.
War Admiral has the breeding and
track record. Smart money will all be on him.
Seabiscuit is the long shot in this
race.
Relationships
Not to give away the ending of the
movie but the horse with all the relationships and not the pedigree won the
match race between War Admiral and Seabiscuit.
In Jabari Parker’s most recent
public utterance about his recruitment, he talked about relationships in
recruiting.
That is BYU’s only chance for
this once in a decade LDS prospect. If it was strictly a basketball deal, BYU
would not even get a sniff against the likes of Duke and
That is why I personally thought all
the excess recruiting fluff of tee shirts and videos was useless. If BYU lands
Parker, it will be for reasons other than basketball.
We recommend you check out the
following clip from ESPN
Recruiting Nation.
Then place your own bet. There are
no exotic wagers on this recruiting race. It’s win or go home or as they
say along the rail at Santa Anita, its either jackpot or jack squat.
POINSETTIA ON PAPER LIKELY
WON’T PRODUCE BIG POINTS
When you put two defensive minded head coaches across from each other
on opposing sidelines in a bowl game, it should lead to a low scoring contest.
That’s what this Poinsettia Bowl projects as BYU and Bronco
Mendenhall and Rocky Long and
On paper, SDSU is a very good rushing team. On paper, BYU’s
defensive strength is stuffing the run.
On paper, SDSU is known for bringing pressure on opponent’s
quarterbacks. BYU, on paper has not had great success in protecting the passer.
Throw in the fact that James Lark looks like he will get most of the snaps in
this game and it looks even worse for the Cougars in the passing game against
the Aztecs.
Lark played and passed the ball well in his last outing against
No matter how you cut it, Lark is still very experienced. It will be
interesting to see how he does against the pressure of Rocky Long.
Riley Nelson may still get some action in this game, but barring some
miraculous last minute recovery from an accumulation of injuries, even if he
does play, we don’t look for him to be effective.
This game, in my opinion, will not be won by either team’s
respective passing games.
It will be decided on the ground. On paper, the Aztecs have the better
ground game and better offensive line.
BYU is currently a 2 ½-point favorite in this game, after opening as a
3-point favorite. If they are going to make that favorite status stand and come
out with a win in this game, they will have to do it by rushing for more than
200 yards.
That means that Jamaal Williams and the BYU defense will be the key
figures for the Cougars in this game.
I call it BYU 20 SDSU 17
The game is set for
Thursday, Dec 20 with a kickoff at 6 pm Mountain Time. It will be televised
nationally on ESPN.
FLUFF
AND STUFF
You can’t talk BYU
basketball these days without talking Lone Peak HS basketball.
On the current Cougar basketball
roster there are three LPHS alums. Tyler Haws is the headliner of this group
followed by Nate Austin and Josh Sharp.
You can’t talk the
future of BYU basketball without speaking of three players currently on the
Lone Peak Roster.
Nick Emery and Eric Mika
have already signed with BYU. The current plan is for Mika to play for Dave
Rose and the Cougars next year. Emery is projected to leave on an LDS mission
right after high school in late spring.
T.J. Haws is only a
junior, but he already has committed to BYU.
The Knights of Lone Peak
hit the road this week for an appearance in the City of
The game is set for
Wednesday, Dec. 19 and will tip at 6 pm Mountain Time.
The competition will be
stiff in this event.
Here are some quick
synopses of the 16 teams in the tournament as put out by the tournament
sponsors.
16-TEAM
CHAMPIONSHIP BRACKET
- Highland Lone Peak (Utah)
... 22-3 ... Class 5A champion has
gotten the basketball world's attention with four BYU commits -- guards
6-2 SR Nick Emery, 6-3 JR T.J. Haws and 6-3 Talon Shumway (football),
along with 6-9 SR Eric Mika -- and a selfless style that's sure to be a
crowd favorite anywhere the Knights play.
- Jackson Callaway (Miss.)
... 24-6 ... The Chargers won
Mississippi's Class 5A state title behind 6-7 SR TreShawn Bolden and No.
1-ranked (HoopScoop) 6-4 SOPH Malik Newman, whose 22.9 ppg broke Monte
Ellis' freshman state record and earned him first-team All-State honors.
- Chicago Whitney Young (Ill.)
... 16-10 ... Coach Tyrone Slaughter's
Dolphins feature a mammoth, nationally-touted front line of 6-9 JR Jahlil
Okafor and 6-8 JR Paul White, but transfers 6-4 JR L.J. Peak and 5-10 SR
Ausar Madison have solidified the backcourt and made them one of the Windy
City's most feared teams.
- Fairfax Paul VI (Va.)
... 35-3 ... The Panthers became the
first undefeated D.C. Catholic champion not named DeMatha in 50 years,
ranked No. 12 nationally (ESPN.com) boast dangerous quartet in 6-10 SR Tim
Higgins (Cornell), 6-5 SR Jamall Robinson (Niagara), 6-6 SOPH Marcus
Derrickson and 6-4 SOPH Franklin Howard.
- Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas (Fla.)
... 21-5 ... Coach Steve Strand has had
many talented teams and this is no exception, as 6-5 SR Steve Haney
(Central Florida) leads a group of four returning starters that scared
Class 7A state champ Pompano Beach Ely in last year's regionals.
- Lake Wales (Fla.) ...
28-4 ... The defending 5A state champs
-- who have a new coach, Randy Lee -- made noise in last year's City of
Palms Classic and are spurred by 6-3 SR Doug Brooks, after winning the
USSSA City of Palms qualifier in June for the second consecutive year.
- Long Beach Poly (Calif.)
... 29-3 ... Ultra-talented 6-5 SR
Roschon Prince (USC) and 6-7 SR shot-blocker extraordinaire Jordan Bell
(Oregon) return as No. 40-ranked (ESPN.com) Jackrabbits seek their first
CIF state championship since winning mythical national crown in 1984.
- McDonough Eagle's Landing (Ga.)
... 28-4 ... Class AAA semifinalist
loaded with D1 prospects: 6-5 SR Eric Wortham (Middle Tennessee State),
6-8 SR Desmond Ringer, 6-7 SR Chris Davenport, 6-4 SR Travin Joseph, 6-1
SR Isaiah Dennis, 6-8 JR Jordan Sessions.
- Memphis Southwind (Tenn.)
... 28-5 ... The Jaguars have won
back-to-back titles at the prestigious Rumble on the Ridge and are still
hungry for a state title, led by dunk-contest favorite 6-5 SR Jajuan
Johnson (Marquette), 6-8 SR Johnathan Williams III (Missouri) and 6-4 SR
Payton Hulsey (Lipscomb).
- Montverde Academy (Fla.)
... 23-4 ... Florida-bound point guard
6-0 SR Kasey Hill and 6-10 SR Dakari Johnson are both national top-15
talents, joining forces with 6-8 SR Devin Williams (West Virginia) to make
Kevin Boyle’s team, the No. 1 seed at the City of Palms, a national
championship contender.
- Omaha Central (Neb.)
... 30-0 ... The Eagles -- regarded as
the best team to emerge from Nebraska in decades -- shoot for a
fifth-straight Class A crown behind 6-9 SR Akoy Agau (Louisville), who had
16 points, 13 rebounds, 14 blocks in last year's final, and 6-5 SR Nick
Billingsley (Nebraska-Omaha).
- Orlando Lake Highland Prep (Fla.)
... 28-4 ... All five starters returned
for ex-NBA player Jeff Turner's Class 4A state runnerup, including 6-8 SR
Denzel Davis (Rice), 6-5 SR Landon Stokes (Vanderbilt football) and 6-4 JR
Jay Henderson. But the Highlanders will be without Mr.
- Plano Prestonwood Christian (Texas)
... 27-4 ... The defending City of
Palms and TAPPS Class 5A state champions have been crippled by
season-ending injuries to likely McDonald's All-American 6-9 SR Julius
Randle (broken foot) and 6-6 SOPH Mickey Mitchell (torn ACL).
- Tifton Tift County (Ga.)
... 20-8 ... The Blue Devils added 6-6
SR transfer Brannen Greene (Kansas) to four juniors, including highly
touted guard 6-2 JR Tadric Jackson, and are bidding to become the first
South Georgia team to win a state title since the Peach State expanded
beyond four classes.
- Fort Myers Bishop Verot (Fla.)
... 25-5 ... The Vikings reached the
Class 4A quarterfinals last season and have been one of the state's most
consistent small-school winners under Matt Herting, returning a solid
nucleus that's led by 6-8, 235-pound JR Ricky Doyle.
For more details on the
tournament, including brackets and game results and to follow the future BYU
basketball stars from
Orem HS and Dalton Nixon,
a junior and BYU commit, will also be playing at the prestigious Beach Ball
Classic Tournament in
It also includes some of
the nation’s top prep teams.
Television Timetable
BYU vs.
Tuesday, Dec 18 at
Tipoff: 7:00 pm Mountain
Time
TV: BYUtv
BYU vs.
UC
Tuesday, Dec 18 at
Tipoff: 2:00 pm Mountain
Time
TV: BYUtv
Thursday, Dec 20 at
When: 2:00 pm Mountain
Time
TV: ESPNU
BYU vs.
Seattle (Women)
Thursday, Dec 20 at
Tipoff: 3:00 pm Mountain
Time
TV: BYUtv
BYU vs.
Thursday, Dec 20 at
Kickoff: 6:00 pm Mountain
Time
TV: ESPN
BYU vs.
Baylor
Friday, Dec 21 at
Tipoff: 7:00 pm Mountain
Time
TV: ESPN2
BYU vs.
Thursday, Dec 27 at
Tipoff: 7:00 pm Mountain
Time
BYUtv
BYU vs. Virginia
Tech
Saturday, Dec 29 at
Tipoff: Noon Mountain
Time
TV: ESPNU
BYU vs.
Loyola Marymount
Thursday, Jan 3 at
Tipoff: 7:00 pm Mountain
Time
TV: BYUtv