My bold prediction on the future of BYU basketball: In one of Matt Carlino's remaining three years, BYU will earn its first trip to the Final Four in school history.
Allow me to explain.
First, I am quite the optimist. Without the Brandon Davies suspension two seasons ago, I believe BYU may well be national champions. Without the injury problems this past season, BYU my prediction of a second consecutive trip to the Sweet Sixteen may have been a reality. And so, I am going to take Journey's advice: "Don't Stop Believin'" in Cougar basketball. At least I think that's what they said.
Second, look at the recruiting pipeline the Cougars have in the upcoming years! BYU has a new Emery and a new Ainge destined for Provo. (Though it should be noted that Cooper Ainge has not been highly recruited and will be coming in as a preferred walk on.) There will be two Haws boys, two Collinsworth's, and another Hartsock (who may not be here until Carlino is gone, but I'm still excited.) The Washington state high school player of the year of 2011-2012 is leaving on a mission but will be back for the 2014-2015 season. And these are only the players with family connections to the Cougar basketball program. BYU will also be acquiring the services of JuCo standout Raul Delgado, who should help rid the team of those three point shooting woes that may have contributed to BYU's late season downfall.
Third, look at who is returning. Brandon Davies, Brock Zylstra, Stephen Rogers, and Craig Cusick will all be seniors. Two of those will likely start, and two will likely be asked to play major roles coming off the bench, though Cusick's playing time may diminish significantly with Tyler Haws returning from a mission and some potential development from Anson Winder and Matt Carlino. Tyler Haws will quite likely step off the plane when he returns from the Philippines in a week and hit the hardwood with intensity preparing to be a probable starter and scoring force for this next year's team. Anson Winder, Matt Carlino, and Nate Austin were all freshman this past year and they showed tremendous potential to become stars.
With the balance of seniority, youth, incredible depth, and wealth of talent and potential, I would guess now that if my prediction is to come true, it will likely come in this upcoming season when Brandon Davies stands poised to become a star, Matt Carlino is itching to show his true potential, and Tyler Haws may well just come home and take over this team. Even if it doesn't occur this next season, I'm sticking with it. It's going to happen.
Regardless of when it happens, in Matt Carlino's time at Brigham Young University this team is Final Four bound. Will Matt Carlino be the star that carries them there? Perhaps. It seems more likely that it will happen when a team of stars appears on the court, which looks like a real possibility in the coming years.
And let's not forget the most important reason of all: Coach Dave Rose. He is one of the best coaches in college basketball and is showing a real talent for recruiting. If this keeps up there is a real possibility he will bring basketball glory to Provo.
Let's take this one step further shall we? If Jabari Parker miraculously decides to commit to BYU, I'm predicting a "National Champions" banner will be hanging from the rafters of the Marriott Center. How's that for optimism?
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