What's Wrong With BYU Basketball? Part 2

First of all, let's all just take a minute to relive the performance of the year so far from a Cougar, courtesy of Tyler Haws:

And now, just for kicks, let's watch the full court baseball pass from Matt Carlino to Ian Harward, the kick back out to Craig Cusick, and the pass to a cutting Josh Sharp. In case you haven't seen it yet, I'll let you watch the ending so I don't ruin the surprise:

That monster dunk ended up as the number three play of the day in Sportcenter's Top 10. And for those of you who were shocked to see something like that from Sharp, this one came in the Cougar Tipoff game at the beginning of the year and let us all know what he was capable of:

If he catches you sleeping on defense, watch out.

Okay, okay, enough with the videos (I got distracted watching BYU basketball videos for at least the past half hour). Let's get back to diagnosing our BYU Cougars.

After the weekend performance against Virginia Tech, I think the solution is simple: Tyler Haws just needs to score 40 points a night and BYU should be just fine. But since I'm not convinced Haws is Jimmer quite yet, and "You got Tylered" just doesn't have as nice a ring to it as "You got Jimmered," I'm still in favor of finding a third scorer for the team to rely on, and this team needs to find a way to step out of its struggles as conference play is about to strike. Tomorrow in fact. So hopefully the Virginia Tech game gets BYU going, because there were a lot of good things to take away from that win, not just Haws' 42 points.

So here we go again. Today we'll look at the other three returning players from last year's squad, a group which is certainly having it's ups and downs, but overall is hopefully on the rise.

Nate Austin - 6'11" F, Sophomore

2011-12 season: 12.9 minutes, 4.1 points, 54.2% FG, 30.4% 3FG, 3.8 reb., .5 ast., .3 steals
2012-13 season: 14.1 minutes, 4.1 points, 41.5% FG, 33% 3FG, 4.2 reb., .5 ast., .5 steals

Austin had off-season shoulder surgery, and has struggled with several other minor injuries in the early going of the season thus far. As well as limiting his physical capabilities, it seemed to hinder his confidence. His shooting percentages are significantly lower on the year thus far, although he has started to step out and shoot the three a little bit more in the past couple of weeks, so even though he is only 2-of-6, it looks like he is gaining that confidence back, and I would expect him to become a bit more of a force in the paint the remainder of the season. Without a confident Nate Austin, BYU's frontcourt depth takes a serious hit, so he needs to be aggressive on defense and raise his shooting numbers on offense. Despite his injury struggles and limited playing time this season, it's always fun to watch Austin on the bench as he cheers his team on and is always the first one to greet his teammates on their way to the bench for a timeout. In the early going he's been a great teammate, and he should become a great contributor the rest of the year.

Craig Cusick - 6'2" G, Senior

2011-12 season: 16.8 minutes, 3.1 points, 37.1% FG, 37.9% 3FG, 1.5 reb., 2.1 ast., .8 steals
2012-13 season: 22.8 minutes, 4.3 points, 32.8% FG, 31% 3FG, 2.9 reb., 2.6 ast., 1.1 steals

Craig Cusick is perhaps of the players, along with Brock Zylstra, who has struggled the most this year versus his performance last year. That's not to say he is playing terribly (apart from his shooting), but he is not performing at the level he was a year ago. His rebounding, assist, and steal numbers are all up from last year, and while he lacks lock-down speed, he remains a solid defender. He stays active, especially with his hands, and has the ability to disrupt opponents. His rebounding numbers have almost doubled, perhaps as a result of his move to playing off the ball some, rather than strictly running point, and his always aggressive mentality. Not a knock on Cusick, who I believe is a very important leader on this team, but he is being outplayed by just about everyone else on the guard line at both point and shooting guard. He is still an important role player, and will certainly see time on the floor, but his playing time will probably see a decline the remainder of the season.

Anson Winder - 6'3" G, Sophomore

2011-12 season: 16.2 minutes, 4.3 points, 36.6% FG, 29.8% 3FG, 1.6 reb., 1.7 ast., 1 steal
2012-13 season: 6.7 minutes, .8 points, 15.4% FG, 0% 3FG, .8 reb., .6 ast., .2 steals

Now close to fully healthy, Winder should start to make
an impact, especially on defense.

It remains to be seen what Winder will really be capable of this season as he missed the first several games do to an ankle injury and has since seen only limited playing time as he eases his way back into the lineup. He has the capability to be a lock down defender, and has still shown that he has speed, but his lateral movement is still not up to full speed. Probably (and hopefully) as a result of his time off his shooting numbers have been awful, but he has only attempted 13 field goals on the year. He has begun to see time backing up Matt Carlino as the first point guard off the bench, and I would expect that to continue. His shooting numbers will improve, and although he may not be a dominant scorer, he has speed and defensive skills that will likely make him a valuable asset to this team in conference play against guards like Matthew Dellavadova of Saint Mary's, Anthony Ireland of Loyola Marymount, and Kevin Pangos of Gonzaga. Even more-so than Nate Austin, Winder's struggles can be written off to injury and we should start to see some real good things from him the remainder of the year.