HB Arnett's 801 372 - 0819 hbarnett@fiber.net 1391 West 800 South - Orem, Utah 84058 Vol. 34, Issue 24 -January 13, 2014 Click <http://cougarclicks.com/product/Order-Cougar-Sportsline?ID=3173> Here To Order Or Renew Your Subscriptions BYU Whips Pepperdine and LMU BIG DOG AND SHORT LEASE NEW PLAN FOR MOVING ON As they say in golf when a big drive is hit, "Let the big dog bark." The Cougar's big dog, Tyler Haws, barked BYU to a couple of convincing wins this past weekend against Pepperdine and LMU. With 35 and 31 points against the Waves and Lions respectively, barking may not be descriptive enough in detailing just what Haws did. He put BYU on his back in the second half of both games and secured the wins for the Cougars. Haws' performance certainly wasn't "barking up the wrong tree" because without Haws' heroics, BYU very easily could have had two losses and certainly "been up the creek without a paddle" in the current WCC title chase. Haws is, without question, the "Big Dog" for Dave Rose and BYU. In my opinion, however, he is not the lead dog on this team. That would be Matt Carlino. After two years, it is obvious that the left handed point guard leads the player pack and performance of this BYU sled and schedule. When Carlino is good, BYU is good. When Carlino is bad, BYU is bad. It really is that simple, especially this year. Good Dog. Good Team. Bad Dog. Bad team. Leash is Leverage I'm no dog trainer or whisperer, but I know that to control most dogs, a good leash is necessary. After the last 3 games, it is apparent that Dave Rose now has a legitimate lease in Skyler Halford to use in controlling his alpha dog Carlino. Halford is the leash that has reigned in "bad dog" Carlino and is going to make "good dog" Carlino, be more productive and assertive in his natural alpha dog role. It is obvious that Carlino is a point guard. The off guard experiment didn't work. What Rose has in Halford is a guy who now gives Rose leverage in reigning in Carlino when he is playing out of control. Halford starting puts Kyle Collinsworth starting at the point. When Carlino now comes off the bench, Collinsworth scoots over to the off guard spot. If Carlino is under control, he stays at the point. If he doesn't, Halford takes over at the two and Collinsworth goes back to the point. Since the emergence of Halford as a productive player on both sides of the ball, Carlino is much more controlled and effective. He also is still racking up minutes. Against LMU he played 30 minutes. Against Pepperdine he logged 22, Last year when Carlino had bad games, there was no alternative but to keep playing him. There was nothing else on the bench. Now that Rose has figured out that Halford can be his leash on Carlino and occasionally also Collinsworth, BYU appears to be back playing decent basketball. Good Stand It was a good three-game home stand for the Cougars. Now that Rose seems to be back in the groove driving this basketball sled, he might be heard saying, "Mush, Mush." That's not a command for his pack of players, but a description of what lies ahead the next two weeks. Mush and slush describes the four-game road trip the Cougars embark on this week when they face San Francisco and Santa Clara in the bay area. The following week it will be both Portland and Gonzaga on the road. A split would keep BYU in the hunt and on the trail for a title. Anything less than a split and BYU will find themselves sinking in the slush and out of contention in the WCC hardware chase. This is BYU's Iditarod test of the season. They will need all dogs doing their share and playing their best basketball the next grueling two weeks or their league season will be sunk in the slush. Basketball Briefs. Haws may be the big dog of this team and Carlino may be the lead dog, but the best groomed dog for a NBA career is Collinsworth. He has what the pros want and look for. He can defend, is a fabulous rebounder, handles the ball and can get to the rim whenever he wants. That sounds like a line and a lawn that any NBA scout would love. But even good lawns, occasionally have some "dog poop" to clean up. Collinsworth's "poop on the lawn" is his shooting. He can't consistently hit foul shots or anything outside of 5 feet. He has the clang factor in his shot. The next time Collinsworth is at the line and there is enough silence to hear, listen to the free throws he misses. You can audibly hear the clang. For every clang, there goes the cash of the NBA for Collinsworth. I'm no financial advisor, but after this season is over, I would be looking to hire a legitimate shot doctor to break down his shot and remake it. It would be money well spent because if he can improve his free throw percentage by just 15 percent, he could be cashing an NBA check in two more seasons. That's my opinion. As mentioned, I'm no financial advisor or Iditarod analyst, but I did have an order of onion rings the Orem Arctic Circle. That should qualify me to comment on slushing, mushing and making money in the NBA. JT or TJ: Regardless of the Order of the Letters, They Both Stand For FS (Future Star) Last Friday was an off night offensively for Jake Toolson, the 6-5 point/post/wing player from Highland HS in Gilbert, AZ. He only scored 30 points. His team still won a big game with his sub par 30 point game. Read about the contest here: Jake <http://www.azcentral.com/sports/preps/articles/20140110jake-toolson-lifts-g ilbert-highland-over-mesa-desert-ridge-double-ot-thriller.html?nclick_check= 1> Toolson. TJ Haws had his best scoring night ever last Friday. He scored 40 points. Read about his record setting performance here: TJ <http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/tribpreps/57380825-190/haws-lone-peak-points.h tml.csp> Haws. Most BYU fans have known about Haws for years. Partly because he is the younger brother of current Cougar Tyler Haws and also for the spectacular record and play of Lone Peak HS last season. Last season, the younger Haws was surrounded by Division I caliber teammates. They included Nick Emery, Eric Mika and Talon Shumway. This year he only has one other Division I guy on the team. That would be sophomore Frank Jackson. He also is a BYU commit while Haws is a BYU signee. Jackson scored 19 last Friday. For the season Haws, after 11 games, is averaging 24.7 points per game. Toolson is a one man show. He has a willing, but woefully talent-lacking team surrounding him. Opponents are now defensively throwing the kitchen sink at him, but he still scores. After 15 games, he currently is averaging 30.1 points per game. Here's the deal with both Toolson and Haws. They both have the COS factor going for them. COS is the acronym for Chip on Shoulder. Here's my evaluation of them. They are both play with a mean streak (In a good way) and with a shade of cockiness. They both know they are good and don't mind showing it. In my opinion a little and occasional cockiness on the basketball court is a very good thing. For those of you who don't like the term cocky, you can substitute the term "extremely competitive". Either way, these two characteristics in both players make them prime prospects for the next level. Many, many years ago, Dizzy Dean, a star pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals, said, "It ain't braggin' if you can back it up". Both JT and TJ are having big time backin' it up seasons. Scout Law Now for most main stream Mormons who follow BYU basketball, mean streak and cockiness isn't what most BYU fans want to hear. The good news is that off the court, they are Boy Scouts. You know the drill. A Scout is Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful, Friendly, Courteous, Kind, Obedient, Cheerful, Thrifty, Brave, Clean and Reverent. Even better news, for BYU basketball fans, on the court they are Chippy and Competitive. You won't find that in the Scout Law, but you will find it as a requisite for winning basketball games. Think Travis Hansen of a few seasons back and you should get the picture of what these two guys will bring in attitude and competitiveness. I also think they will bring more talent to the table than Travis had. The fact that Hansen had a short stint in the NBA made money overseas, also tells you what I think of these two future BYU basketball stars. As it currently stands, both are targeted to serve LDS missions before enrolling in Provo. Haws was always a done deal for BYU because of his heritage and BYU basketball lineage with his dad Marty and older brother Tyler. BYU almost let Toolson get away. Quite frankly, BYU coaches were luke warm on him early last summer. You can thank Randy Bennett, the coach at St. Mary's for getting Cougar coaches to make an offer to Toolson. Bennett offered Toolson and he made a trip to Moraga. He liked what he saw and was originally headed to play for the Gaels. When BYU found out that St. Mary's had offered, they quickly re-evaluated and got on the plane to go see Toolson play. The way I hear the story, the coaches originally thought Toolson would be an undersize front court player. After watching again, they saw that he could play outside and was a deadly long-distance shooter. They also saw that he was strong and crafty enough to also play inside. They offered and thanks to some strong encouragement from family members, Toolson agreed to sign with BYU. ROUND TRIP TICKET TO TCU Turns out Tayo Fabulujue had a round trip ticket to TCU with a long layover in Provo. That pretty well sums up the saga of the 6-7, 315 offensive tackle who tickled the fancy of fans of BYU when he left TCU late last summer and transferred to BYU. The return to Provo, where he originally signed with high school teammates Ross Apo and Teu Kautai (all prepped at The Oakridge School in Arlington, TX) also could be described as Fabulujue's first round trip ticket. Here is Tayo's travel itinerary to date. 2010: BYU redshirt. Did not play. 2011: TCU transfer season. Did not play. 2012: Started 12 games at TCU. 2013: Transferred to BYU. Enrolled. Did not play. 2014: Back to TCU. That is a lot of frequent flyer miles that the Frogs of TCU and Gary Patterson can cash in on. The Frogs need the help. They, like BYU, need help on the offensive line this season and Fabulujue, regardless of his vagabond nature, can help. The story circulating in Provo is that academics, or lack of, are what took Tayo back to TCU. Apparently, as the story goes, he couldn't get in school for the winter semester in Provo. When news broke last August that Fabulujue was back at BYU, one newspaper beat writer, JayDrew, tweeted the following: @drewjay: Mendenhall said he probably won't talk to Tayo Fabuluje about joining BYU football program until January at the soonest. @drewjay: Mendenhall said he has not spoken to TCU transfer Tayo Fabuluje, said Fab has quite a few academic hurdles, etc., to clear. While in Provo he couldn't participate in any practices or workouts with the team, but he did buddy up with plenty of BYU players. Just follow his tweets and facebook for verification of those friendships. When all is said and done, Fabulujue never played a down in Provo, but did get half of his education at BYU and established a bond and relationship with lots of BYU football players. Maybe that will pay off for the program down the road when Fabulujue is in the NFL. The bigger picture here is a description of BYU and BYU football. A friend of mine expressed it this way while we were discussing the situation. He said, "You would think that if Tayo was that good, BYU would have found a way to get him in school and on the team. That is what every other school in the country would do." My response was that BYU definitely isn't like every other school in the country. Both Women and Men Rebound from Losses Both the Women's basketball team and the Men's volleyball teams rebounded nicely from previous tough losses. The men dropped two matches to Loyola and Lewis a week ago on the road. They returned home and defeated No. 1 ranked Long Beach State in Provo 3 sets to 1 last Saturday night in the Field House. The night before the Cougars dispatched Cal State Northridge in three straight sets. After getting hammered and humiliated 68-42 by Gonzaga in Spokane last Thursday, The BYU women's basketball team bounced back with a 75-68 win also on the road at Portland. The Lady Cougars are now 14-3 overall and 4-3 in WCC play. That is good for a tie for second place with San Diego. The Gonzaga women are atop the league standings with a 4-1 record. BYU Television Timetable BYU vs. San Francisco Thursday, Jan 16 at San Francisco Tipoff: 7:00 Pm MST TV: ESPNU BYU vs. Santa Clara Saturday, Jan 18 at Santa Clara Tipoff: 8:00 pm MST TV: Root, CSN Calif and theW.tv BYU vs. Portland Thursday, Jan 23 at Portland Tipoff: 8:00 pm MST TV: TWC, Root, CSN Calif and theW.tv BYU vs. Gonzaga Saturday, Jan 25 at Spokane Tipoff: 8:00 pm MST TV: ESPN2