HB Arnett's COUGAR SPORTSLINE 801 372 0819 hbarnett@fiber.net and hbarnett@xmission <mailto:hbarnett@xmission.com> .com 1391 West 800 South - Orem, Utah 84058 Vol. 30, Issue 26 - February 1, 2010 Click <http://www.cougarstreet.com/products/index.php?type-450&PCID=450:0:0:0:0> Here To Order Or Renew Your Subscriptions Fredette Fabulous BYU STILL IN CONTROL OF CONFERENCE RACE After BYU's 82-69 win over Utah last Saturday night in the sold-out Marriott Center, here are the facts. Fact No. 1. BYU is still in total control of the MWC title chase. The Cougars are currently 6-1 in league play with a game remaining in the first half of the conference schedule against TCU in Provo. They are 21-2 overall. New Mexico is in second place at the half way point with a 6-2 record. The Lobos defeated BYU in Albuquerque last Wednesday, 76-72. UNLV is currently at 5-2 and San Diego State is at 4-3 in league play. Fact No. 2. Jimmer Fredette is fabulous. He scored 36 on the Utes, despite a defensive game plan designed to shut him down. He had 27 against the Lobos. The 36 points were the most ever scored against Utah by a BYU basketball player. Danny Ainge held the old record of 35 points against the Utes. He did it in 1981. Here's the deal with Fredette. He has played in 21 of BYU's 23 games and started 20 of those games. He is currently averaging 21.2 points per game. That's not bad. Take the away the four games against UNLV, Air Force, CSU and Wyoming, in which he was still suffering from the effects of mononucleosis, but still saw action, and Fredette would be averaging 25 points per game. The closest comparison we can think of for what Fredette is doing is Stephen Curry, the 6-3 guard from Davidson, who averaged 28 points per game last season. He left early after his junior year and is now a rookie for the Golden State Warriors. Fredette, like Curry, has taken a low-profile college basketball team and put them on the map and on ESPN Sports Center. Fact No. 3. Dave Rose owns Utah. Now in his fifth year coaching the Cougars, Rose is 7-2 against the Utes in regular season play. In the only MWC tournament action involving the two teams, he is 0-1, with that loss coming in his first season as the coach at BYU. Fact No. 4. Jim Boylen, Utah's third-year coach, loves his team. In the three short years he has been at the Ute helm, he has been quoted 7,248 times saying, "I love my team". If his team ever matches the dramatics displayed by Boylen on the court, in the press and in facial expressions, they could be pretty good. If Boylen is enamored with his 10-11 team, he will have to have his own television show, "Boylen's Love Boat" if the Utes ever get good. Fact No. 5. Despite Fredette, BYU will go only as far in post season play as their post players will take them. This was the second game in a row where they were non factors. To play with the big boys consistently, especially in post season, you still need a post presence. 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...Collinsworth exploded last week in what we think is his high school career best scoring night with 37 points in a 75-51 mismatch against Timpanogas last Friday night. Earlier in the week he had 19 in Provo's 46-32 win over cross town rival Timpview. According to the most recent state statistics, as compiled by the Deseret News, Collinsworth is having a Mr. Basketball kind of year. After 14 games, he is averaging 22.21 points per contest, hauling in an average of 8.21 rebounds per game, dishing out 7.21 assists per game, averaging 3.36 steals per outing and blocks 2.0 shots per game. It is just our opinion, but Collinsworth is being short-changed in the BYU basketball recruiting buzz among Cougar fans. BYU has had some great success on the court in recent years, but fans have always been looking for the next piece of the puzzle to put the Cougars over the top in the quest to becoming a nationally recognized team. Last year, everybody was waiting for Tyler Haws to come on board. He has certainly lived up to his hype. This year, because BYU is playing so well and because they have a nationally recognized star in Jimmer Fredette, the average fan doesn't have that same, wait until next year recruiting buzz. Based on Collinsworth play this year, we should be buzzed. Like Haws, he will be an integral part of the coaches' plans for next season. What many don't realize about Collinsworth is that during an AAU tournament last spring, he broke a bone in his back that was originally diagnosed as a bruise. He continued to play during the AAU circuit in the summer with lots of pain, but still managed to perform at an extremely high level. After the summer, he had an MRI and the break was revealed. Doctors shut him down from August to November and the start of the high school season to let the break heal. As evidenced by his play during this, his senior season, he appears to be back at full health. Here is another stat for Collinsworth that is very impressive. In his two and a half seasons as a starter for Provo HS, the Bulldogs are 57-6. He was the state 4A Player of the Year as a sophomore and junior and looks like a slam dunk to make it a three-peat this season. It may be time to crank up the recruiting buzz on this signee. BYU had a national steal on this kid, despite the fact that he plays just across the street from the Cougar campus. Nick Emery, 6-0 freshman guard, Lone Peak HS...On a night when Lone Peak HS retired his older brother's (Jackson Emery) number, Nick had 16 points in a 67-62 win over Brighton HS. Earlier in the week in a losing effort, Emery had 29 points in a 71-64 loss at home to Jordan HS. This week Lone Peak has just one game on their schedule, a trip to Alta HS. Anson Winder, 6-3, guard, Senior, Bishop Gorman HS...Winder and his BG team continue to win. In a 97-62 win over Spring Valley HS, everybody on the team scored at least single digit points, including Winder. The following game, a 106-89 win over Western HS, Winder had 20. Jabari Parker, 6-5, wing, Freshman, Simeon HS, Chicago...After coming off a two-loss week, Simeon rebounded with a 56-42 win over Julien HS this past week. Parker led his team in the win with a game high 15 points. He also had 6 rebounds. DeMarcus Harrison, 6-4, guard, Junior, Christ School, Arden, NC...Another week, another two wins for Christ School. Harrison had 7 points, 3 blocks and 3 steals in a 101-41 win over Asheville School. He also was the leading scorer with 15 points in a 102-61 win over Asheville Christian Academy. He added 4 blocks, 3 assists and 3 steals in that game. The competition for Christ Church (23-1) will get considerably stronger in April. The CC team has been invited by ESPN to participate in their second annual ESPN RISE National Invitational Tournament April 1-3. It will include eight teams that the network considers the cream of the crop from the high school ranks. BYU fans will get at least one chance to watch Harrison play as each school is guaranteed at least one nationally televised game on either ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPNU. Jordan Chatman, 6-3, guard, Sophomore, Skyview HS, Ridgefield, WA...Tuesday night, Chatman had 25 points, 18 of which he scored in the second half while leading his Skyview team to a 66-60 win over Heritage HS. Later in the week he had 14 points in a 60-57 loss to Mountain View HS. Jordan Smoot, 6-10, center, Junior, Crown Point HS, Crown Point, IN...Smoot and his Crown Point Bulldogs suffered two defeats last week. In a 64-48 loss to Valparaiso HS, Smoot led his team in scoring with 15 points. He also had seven rebounds. Those stats were reversed in a 68-66 loss to Boone Grove. Smoot had 7 points and 15 rebounds in the loss. FOOTBALL FLUFF AND STUFF RECRUITING KINKS AT KAHUKU...In the good old days, Kahuku HS in Hawaii used to be a gold mine in football recruiting for BYU. Based on the latest results of the past few seasons, it looks like there are some serious kinks in the Kahuku pipeline these days. BYU had two early verbal commits from Kahuku players Hauoli Jamora and Kona Schwenke. Both are defensive linemen and neither will sign with the Cougars this coming Wednesday. Jamora decommitted several weeks ago and just last week, Bronco Mendenhall pulled the scholarship offer from Schwenke when he tripped to Notre Dame and Washington on official recruiting visits. That didn't sit well with Mendenhall who didn't appreciate someone who said he was committed to signing with BYU, still shopping himself around to other schools. There is no word on where Schwenke will sign, but it won't be at BYU. Throw in the Shiloah Te'o episode of this fall and Kahuku and BYU don't appear to be on the same recruiting page anymore. Te'o was dismissed from the team by Mendenhall and is now reportedly enrolled at Washington. He signed with the Cougars out of Kahuku in February of 2008. Here is a list of Kahuku signees since 2000. Saia Hafoka, wr, 2001; Aaron Francisco, db, 2001; Mulivai Pula, rb, 2002; Ferron Fonoimoana, wr, 2002; Spencer Hafoka, wr, 2005; Gary Nagy, db, 2007; Shiloah Te'o, db, 2008 and Jray Galea'i, db, 2009. In the last decade, only Francisco has had a stellar career as a Cougar. NO KINKS IN KURESA PIPELINE...There are no such recruiting kinks in the Kuresa pipeline. Alex Kuresa, a 5-11 junior quarterback and touchdown machine from Mt. Crest High School in Hyrum, Utah, was offered a scholarship by BYU recently. He has since told the Cougars he will sign with them next year in 2011 after his senior season for the Mustangs. His older brother, Jake, was a starting offensive lineman for the Cougars. There has never been any question about Kuresa's talent as a quarterback, just his size. Despite his gene pool, he has always been short. He now apparently has started to grow and projects himself to be at 6-2 - 6-3 as a college player. Kuresa is also the cousin to BYU basketball player Tyler Haws. LATEST LIST...Here is the list of verbal commits that should be signing with BYU this coming Wednesday during the first day of letters of intent. Jordan Afo, DL, 6-4, 300, Cottonwood HS, UT; Jordan Black, OL 6-7, 235, Alta HS, UT; Algernon Brown, RB, 6-1, 205, Skyline HS, UT; Tayo Fabuluje, OT, 6-5, 255, The Oakridge School, TX; Alani Fua, LB 6-5, 210, Oaks Christian HS, CA; Kori Gaines, DB, 5-9, 170, Grayson HS, GA; Toloa'i Ho Ching, LB, 6-0, 225, Alta HS, UT; Jacob Hanneman, DB, 6-1, 190, Lone Peak HS, UT; Jordan Johnson, DB, 5-10, 175, Brooks School, MA; Tuni Kanuch...DL, 6-1, 285, Bingham HS, UT; Bronson Kaufusi, DL, 6-6, 225, Timpview HS, UT; Teu Kautai, LB, 6-1, 200, The Oakridge School, TX; Collin Keoshian, LB, 6-2, 225, Santa Clarita Christian, CA; A.J. Moore...RB, 5-10, 190, Murrieta Valley HS, CA; Manu Mulitalo, OL, 6-3, 305, Granger HS, UT; Joey Owens, LB, 6-2, 215, Pleasant Grove HS, UT; Drew Phillips, RB, 6-0, 185, Boaz HS, AL; Graham Rowley, OL, 6-4, 270, Waialua HS, HI; Bryan Sampson, TE, 6-4, 210, Pleasant Grove HS, UT; Zac Stout...LB, 6-2, 220, Oaks Christian HS, CA; Sae Tautu, LB, 6-3, 215, Lone Peak HS, UT; Travis Tuiloma, DL, 6-3, 290, Washburn Rural HS, KS; Blair Tushaus, OL, 6-2, 270, Notre Dame Prep, AZ. Jake Heaps, qb, Ross Apo, wr and Joshuah Quezada, rb, all signed early in December and are currently enrolled in school. ONE-GAME DEAL...In other football news, BYU inked a one-game deal to play the Texas Longhorns in Austin in 2011. The game is set for September 10. The 2010 non-conference schedule for next season is set for games with Washington in Provo on Sept 4; Florida State at Tallahassee on Sept 18; Nevada at Provo on Sept 25 and Utah State at Logan on Oct 2. TELEVISION TIMETABLE BYU vs. TCU Tuesday, Feb 2 at Provo Tipoff: 7:00 pm Mountain Time TV: The Mtn BYU vs. UNLV Saturday, Feb 6 at Las Vegas Tipoff: 2:00 pm Mountain Time TV: Versus BYU vs. Air Force Saturday, Feb 13 at Provo Tipoff: 4:00 pm Mountain Time TV: The Mtn BYU vs. Colorado State Wednesday, Feb 17 at Fort Collins Tipoff: 6:00 pm Mountain Time TV: The Mtn BYU vs. Wyoming Saturday, Feb 20 at laramie Tipoff: 4:00 pm Mountain Time TV: The Mtn