A while back I received a question about Butler (Ben H.). Are they legit? What has led to their success? That kind of a thing. I was in the middle of a three parter on the state of the BYU basketball team, an article I now regret due to their recent woes and probable NIT destination, so I decided to finish that before I did another mailbag. Then I decided that Butler deserved it's own post, but since knocking off top ranked Indiana they had kind of slipped into irrelevancy, not because of poor play, but because they had been playing a weaker schedule. When Butler beat Gonzaga at the buzzer last weekend, without their leading scorer and best player, Rotnei Clarke, I decided this week would be a great time to return to the Butler Bulldogs and give them a full post of their own, but then Wednesday they lost to La Salle. La Salle! Seriously. Consequently, I feel now is not the time to talk about Butler's dominance. I mean, La Salle, guys. They beat top-10 Gonzaga without Clarke, but lost to La Salle? Stunner. So for the time being I'll direct your attention to Mark Titus' Top 12 NCAA Power Rankings: How Butler turns it's irritating style of play into wins over top opponents like Indiana and Gonzaga. I highly recommend the entire article, and in fact you should check out more of his stuff because Titus is hilarious, but if all you care about is the Butler info, scroll down to their section. They come in at number 7 in his power rankings. This is, of course, prior to the La Salle game. I still can't believe it. La Salle?
Rotnei Clarke and Butler are probably still the best team,
but the A-10 is deep and the race to the top is wide open.
While we're on the subject, how about the Atlantic 10 conference this year? Joe Lunardi currently has them slated as a three bid league, with two more teams just barely on the wrong side of the bubble. I could conceivably see four bids coming out of this league, and that's incredible. Charlotte sits atop the conference, with VCU, Xavier, and Butler also all having just one conference loss. La Salle has two losses, just beat Butler and has VCU up next. The Butler win could give La Salle all the confidence they need to take down two ranked teams in the same week. Richmond also has two losses, but just took down VCU in overtime which could propel them going forward as well. Temple and Saint Louis have two conference losses and big wins out of conference and could conceivably make a run the remainder of the season. Last but not least, UMass also has just two conference losses, but lack a marquee win just yet, though they have games against Butler and VCU remaining. Any one of those nine teams could find themselves dancing in March. At most, the A-10 will be a four bid league, but when have we ever talked about nine teams in the A-10 having a shot at the tourney?
Duke and the Hurricanes
Unbelievable. I just can't believe it. Shane Larkin, son of Barry Larkin, who was taught to hit by his father, Tony Perez, and Pete Rose, was actually told by his Little League coach that whoever taught him to hit a baseball taught him wrong? Are you kidding me? He was taught to play ball by three two Hall of Famers and Pete Rose (don't get me started). If Pete Rose, the all time hits leader, teaches a kid to hit a baseball, I'm sure he did just fine.
But thanks to that stupid coach, we saw Miami upset number one Duke in blowout fashion, and it was a fun game to watch. The Hurricanes jumped on Duke from the beginning. Duke played miserably in the first half, and Miami played better that I would have ever predicted. After taking a 42-19 lead into the locker room at halftime, Miami never relented. The second half was filled with deep threes and exciting alley-oops. Duke played better offensively, but their defense never materialized. I'm not necessarily a Duke hater, but that game sure was fun to watch.
Kenny Kadji and Shane Larkin led Miami to a demolition of
Duke and the programs first win over a top ranked team.
The consequences for both teams are interesting. Duke has to learn to play without Ryan Kelly, and this was obviously not a good start. It could be a tipping point for the Blue Devils, and we may watch their season spiral out of control, or this may be a wake up call. They have a tough schedule the remainder of the way, including an opportunity for vengeance against Miami at Cameron Indoor on March 2. If they can learn quickly how to play without Kelly, they should still be a national title contender. If not, and if they suffer some losses down the stretch of conference play, we could see another early exit in the NCAA tourney.
Miami, however, may have just alerted the nation that they could be a serious threat in March. Despite two inexplicable losses against Florida Gulf Coast and Indiana State, they are an incredible team and seemed to hit their stride just as conference play come. If they can continue their run in the ACC, they could be primed to do some serious postseason damage.
BYU and the NIT
Jack Carlino, little brother of point guard Matt Carlino, asked Joe Lunardi this week on Twitter what BYU needed to do to make it to the NCAA tournament. His response? "Stop losing to every tourney-level team they play." Yep, that about sums it up. If they don't steal a good win soon, BYU will be NIT bound.
Yep. That about sums it up.
In the biggest game of the year against a top-10 team on the road, BYU played the worst half of basketball imaginable. Wait, sorry, I just remembered Duke. The second worst half of basketball imaginable. That hole proved to be way too much, but if there's a silver lining to all this it's that BYU actually outplayed the Zags for much of the second half, and that was without any semblance of a contribution from the 7th leading scorer in the country, Tyler Haws. In fact, every Cougar struggled mightily in this game apart from Josh Sharp and Nate Austin who shot a combined 9-11 from the floor with 23 combined points. The rest of the Cougars? 12-48 for 40 points. Absolutely abysmal. For stretches, Carlino looked like he may come alive, and Brandon Davies played a significantly better second half than he did first half, but none of it was nearly enough to dethrone a Gonzaga team that looks destined for run late into March.
I said just prior to conference play that BYU was going to need to go 2-2 in the four games against Saint Mary's and Gonzaga. Having started that quest 0-2, the Cougars are going to need to steal a game on SMC's home floor, and hold court against Gonzaga, both of which are remarkably daunting tasks. BYU will also likely need to avoid any further slip-ups against the rest of the West Coast Conference.
Murray and the Djoker
Andy Murray is seeking his second Grand Slam title Sunday
What a wonder winning Gold did for Andy Murray! He followed that up by winning the US Open, his first Grand Slam title. And now he's made a run in the Australian Open, taking down Roger Federer in five sets. After beating Fed in the Olympics, Murray has been a different man. He was formerly fueled by determination, and with the help of his coach, Ivan Lendl, Murray rode that determination to victories, and now to confidence. Rather than getting shaken and rattled by his opponents if the going gets tough, he thrives on it. He embraces it. And he will now get another shot at Novak Djokovic in an Aussie Open final. He lost to the Djoker in Melbourne two years ago, but took him down in last year's US Open.
Murray has been playing the best tennis of his career since last summer, but Djokovic has been the most dangerous player on tour in the last two years. Djokovic cruised through these championships, including a 6-2, 6-2, 6-1 straight set demolition of David Ferrer in the semifinals. It almost certainly won't be that easy for him against Murray, but with that kind of dominance, you have to wonder if Murray stands much of a chance right now. I suppose we'll find out Sunday.
Manti and the Hoax
The more and more we find out, the more and more I become convinced of Te'o's innocence. I'm still not 100 percent sold, but I still believe him. That being said, I'm becoming more and more annoyed and bored with the story. I've basically lost interest and no longer care who was behind it or who did what. I mean, I'll still follow the story and wait for the whole truth to surface, but in the mean time, I'm just going to focus on sports and pay little attention to conspiracies.
I feel cheated. Lance Armstrong had to work hard to gain my respect. Seriously, he had to work really hard. When everyone else was jumping on the Lance Armstrong bandwagon, I still wasn't sure. I never knew why, but I just couldn't bring myself to like him. Perhaps it was because I was young. Maybe I didn't like yellow as a kid and didn't realize that yellow was a symbol of his dominance in cycling, but I just couldn't bring myself to appreciate him. But slowly, over a long period of time, my mindset began to change. Perhaps it was when my aunt got cancer. As she battled through that exhausting trial, maybe that's when things began to change for me. One way or another he had gained my respect as an athlete who had achieved a great miracle to become the most dominant man in the history of cycling. I genuinely believed him.
But now I'm just a chump like everyone else. Maybe it wasn't the color yellow that caused my displeasure. Maybe it was a feeling inside me. Maybe my instincts were telling me from the beginning, "Don't trust that man. As tempting as it is, don't trust him." I got suckered into a great story line, which seems to be happening a lot lately. It's heartbreaking that millions and millions of people stood behind yet another athlete using PEDs.
Is the main difference between Lance Armstrong and Barry Bonds just that Lance was more of a jerk? -Mike G.
Please understand, my following answer is in no way implying that Barry Bonds wasn't a jerk. I have heard and read far too many accounts to believe he was, by any stretch of the imagination, a nice guy. Ex-wives, ex-teammates, ex-employees of ball clubs have been told numerous stories that he was a jerk. Chalk a lot of it up to roid rage, but from what I understand, Barry Bonds was quite a scumbag.
However, I am inclined to answer this question with a yes. I believe that the main difference between Lance Armstrong and Barry bonds is that Lance has been more of a jerk. He has sued countless numbers of people and ruined their lives. Why? All because they were telling the truth about his use of performance enhancing drugs. All because they were ahead of the curve, condemning him of something that he has now received a lifetime ban from the United States Anti-Doping Agency for. He claimed slander, he claimed libel, and he went after people with a vengeance and destroyed their lives if he could. Only now we find out that those lives were destroyed because of a "ruthless desire to win." Ruthless is right.
Lance's interview with Oprah has been more
manipulative than apologetic so far.
And why is he admitting to it all now? He told Oprah he doesn't have a good answer to that question, that it's too late. He's right, it is too late. He should have done it before he destroyed people lives. Before he sued and harassed them for attempting to keep integrity in cycling. So why now? Because once again he is trying to manipulate life in his favor. He is trying to reduce his ban to eight years. USADA said this interview with Oprah isn't enough. They have said he needs to say it, under oath, directly to them.
His interview seemed to be another attempt to get America to love him. He took personal accountability, but mostly did so as he attempted to distance himself from it by pointing and saying "I see who I was, and he was arrogant." No, Lance, he is arrogant. You are arrogant. He apologized, but without seeming apologetic. He didn't apologize to anybody in particular, he simply apologized for his mistake. All the lives he ruined, the people he accused of slander and then slandered himself, did not receive an apology.
So yes, given the choice between the two, Lance was more of a jerk. And unless in part two with Oprah tonight he changes my mind, that's how I'm always going to view him.
**********
There's not a question about this situation that I don't have, but: a) Did Manti Te'o fake having a girlfriend, or did he have a girlfriend he never met? b) Which of the two is weirder? P.S. If it's a hoax, I'm supposed to believe a Heisman candidate had a girlfriend that he never met in real life? I'm not even that pathetic. -Mike G.
First of all, Mike, I happen to know you're not that pathetic as you recently got married. Although, I've suspiciously never met her. Have you been catfished? I'm kidding, of course. I've seen pictures of the two of you, and you look great together. Congratulations.
But back to Te'o. I couldn't have said it any better. My mind has gone through a whirlwind of questions these past few days since the news broke. If you haven't read the Deadspin article, go read it now so you're up to speed.
At this point, I am still inclined to believe Te'o was duped and had no part to play in this. That being said, there are still far too many inconsistencies and unanswered questions for me to give him my full support just yet. And it just keeps getting weirder.
Did he meet Lennay Kekua after a game at Stanford? Did he meet her online? If he is the victim here, why has he left us under the impression that they met up in Hawai'i? Who was he talking to on the phone? Why didn't they Skype like every other long distance couple in the world? The list of questions could continue forever. My big question is this: if he really was in on the hoax from the beginning, what would his motive have been? When he started telling everyone he had a girlfriend, he wasn't on any Heisman radar, so he wasn't trying to add a story line to his senior season to get sympathy votes for a Heisman campaign. And then when his grandmother passed away, did he just think to himself "Oh, perfect timing, I'll kill off Lennay now." I just can't see that happening quite that way.
A lot of new information has come out after the initial Deadspin article surfaced. An article on SI.com with a transcript of an interview with Manti ten days after Kekua supposedly died. Interviews with people claiming to know the man behind the hoax, and that Te'o knew nothing and truly was the victim. Information showing that Te'o kept the story going even after he learned of its falsehood on December 6. What on earth is going on?
At this point, I'm still with Te'o. After reading the SI.com transcript (very much worth the read) it seems to me that he sounded sincere. He was fuzzy on the details of how they met, but as the article states, if he met the girl online, you can understand why he would want to keep that information private. He also never once explicitly states in that interview that he had met up with Kekua in person. You would think that if this was a fictional tale he created that he would include that to make it sound more realistic. I believe he was genuinely fooled into believing he had fallen in love with a young woman named Lennay Kekua.
Here is where Te'o went wrong, however. After discovering the truth of it all on December 6, he should have gone straight to school administrators and gotten ahead of this thing and issued a statement and apology of his own. I'm sure he felt he was in too deep, and the times he spoke about his girlfriend publicly after December 6 were probably a result of him feeling cornered, trapped by this lie and not understanding a way out. He probably believed he could ride out the wave and it would all be fine. Clearly, however, that hasn't happened. And so he perpetuated the lie and is guilty of at least that.
Back to the original question, with everyone in America digging for the truth on this one, it's only a matter of time before we know the truth. Did he fake having a girlfriend, or did he have a girlfriend he never met? I think he had a girlfriend he never met. Or at least he thought he did. Which one is weirder? Now that's a good question, but in today's world of online dating (weird) I'm going to have to say that having a fake girlfriend is weirder.
I have never gone from that high, to that low, that quickly. Ever.
My senior basketball season at Menwith Hill High School, a tiny division 4 school in Harrogate, England, began against a division 1 school's JV squad. They might have been a bigger school, but we were a varsity squad and we were confident we could win.
But it came down to the wire. We were tied heading into the final possession, and they held the ball. Their guy dribbled around the perimeter, looking for a gap. He couldn't find one. My teammate was quick and kept him from finding a lane to the basket. Time was expiring and it came down to a deep, desperate three point attempt. It went in.
I played in that game. It still wasn't as devastating as what happened last night.
Going into the final minute, BYU and Saint Mary's College were tied. With 34.6 seconds left, tie game, and shot clock off, BYU had possession of the ball. Carlino dribbled the clock down to 10 and the play went into motion. The pass, of course, went to Tyler Haws on the wing. He took his man in, put up a difficult shot, and with two and a half seconds left, it found nylon. The Marriott Center went ballistic. We went crazy. We had won the game in the final seconds and Tyler Haws' star status was becoming more and more clear! Saint Mary's couldn't possibly make a half court shot to win... Wait.
This was not the scene Provo wanted to see last night.
I was crushed. I dropped to my seat and sat in stunned silence. They could review it all they wanted, but it wasn't even close. Matthew Dellavedova got the inbounded pass around half court, took a couple of dribbles, and heaved a 35 foot running desperation shot. Anson Winder, in the neighborhood, made the right decision to back off enough that he wouldn't have a chance at being called for a foul. I would take that shot every time. And my team would win nearly every single one. But not last night. Not against Saint Mary's. That desperate heave went straight through the bottom of the net.
That shot undermined some huge shots by Brock Zylstra. He should be feeling incredibly confident about his game right now, ready for more. Instead, he's likely reeling. It will be interesting to see how he plays going forward. That shot undermined some excellent play from Anson Winder and some nice shots from Nate Austin, who is finally looking confident. That shot negated an incredible effort from BYU's budding star, Tyler Haws. That shot wiped out Haws' game winner, what could have been a defining moment for his season, and for this team's season.
And it remains to be seen, but that shot may end up blocking BYU from the NCAA tournament and sending the Cougars to the NIT.
It will now be a long, uphill battle for BYU to make it to the Big Dance. I said before conference play began that BYU would likely need to go 2-2 in their four games against Gonzaga and Saint Mary's. Now one of those wins will have to take place at SMC or at Gonzaga, and that feels like a stretch.
The game wasn't lost on that shot, however. I kept screaming not to leave Stephen Holt open, because he burned us last year. He hit a shot. Then another. And another. I yelled that we couldn't give him any breathing room, but he kept finding enough space to hit the open look. Dellavedova, cold all night, came up clutch in the last few minutes leading up to that crippling, heart breaking shot.
Coach Rose walks off the court after the loss to SMC.
It wasn't all Saint Mary's good play though. A lot of it was Cougar mistakes. Carlino started hot and Haws started cold. Randy Bennett switched up his defense and pressured Carlino. That turned out to be a wise decision. Carlino kept trying to do too much. He didn't step back and find the open man. He ended up committing six turnovers, more than doubling his previous total from league play thus far. He forced up shots that weren't there. And it cost the Cougars.
Brandon Davies played through foul trouble and ended up fouling out. Were he on the floor in the final minute, would it have been a different outcome? I would guess so, but his play throughout the game was detrimental. He played a little like Carlino. Started well, then got overconfident and started forcing things. He was like a vacuum at times. He sucked the ball into the post and then failed to kick it back out when nothing was there, forcing up bad shot after bad shot.
Then there were the neutral players, the guys who didn't necessarily harm the team's play, but they didn't necessarily add to it either. Josh Sharp hit the first shot of the game, a three pointer, but he practically disappeared after that. Craig Cusick chipped in three assists, but not much else. Agustin Ambrosino played one minute and had one shot blocked.
Haws, Austin, and Winder, as well as Zylstra, deserved to be all smiles after their performances.
And there was some good. Tyler Haws warmed up and the game was his. He deserved that game winner, but he didn't get it. Nate Austin played perhaps his best game of the year. Anson Winder hit his first three pointer of the year and chipped in several hustle plays. Brock Zylstra hit both shots he took, and they were probably the two biggest shots he's taken in his career.
But it wasn't enough. Against the good teams, BYU needs a full team to show up. BYU needs to keep their composure when the pressure comes. They can do it, but they're clearly not quite there yet against the top conference competition.
My little high school team developed into a great squad after that buzzer-beater loss. We shocked everyone, won our conference, and stormed into the European Championship finals. That one regular season game was a turning point for us, and perhaps this game against Saint Mary's College can be a turning point for the Cougars as well.
If the Cougars can use this as a learning experience and a building block and take confidence away from it, they can still make the NCAAs. Admittedly it is a long shot, but so was Dellavedova's.
Now that we have looked at each of the returning players, let's look at the team as a whole and make any further necessary diagnosis.
Conference play has started well for the Cougars, with many of my concerns already being addressed. Matt Carlino seems to be back on track and completing BYU's "Big Three." If he continues to score in double figures, dish the ball to his teammates (5.25 assists per game so far in league play), and take care of the ball (only 1 turnover in the past three games, and 4.2 assist/turnover ration in league play) then BYU can be a dangerous team.
With Matt Carlino coming into form at the right time
BYU could make a run in conference play.
Brock Zylstra had a big game, Josh Sharp hasn't been shooting well of late but he has been rebounding well, especially on the offensive end. Brandon Davies hasn't been the same player since he rolled his ankle, but he has done just enough to make an impact (apart from the San Francisco game where he fouled out. Fortunately Carlino and Zylstra stepped up big in that game). Tyler Haws struggled from the line against San Francisco but has been on a tear the last couple of games, winning his second WCC Player of the Week honors this year. The starters are rolling into form, and despite still having some ups and downs they seem to be playing well as a unit and hitting their stride at the right time.
As for the other returning players, Craig Cusick's playing time has begun to increase again, apart from the Santa Clara game, and he has chipped in nicely. I expect that he will finish the season playing around 15 minutes a game and his contributions will be solid and consistent. Nate Austin remains a curious case and I still don't know what to expect from him the rest of the year. Provided Davies can stay out of foul trouble, it doesn't appear that Austin is going to play a major role the rest of the year unless he can start adding buckets in his limited playing time, but 2 points per game in conference play isn't going to get him more playing time. Anson Winder, however, is coming off a 14 minute, 10 point outing against Santa Clara and seems to be pretty close to full strength, so he could see more minutes through the remainder of conference play.
Depending on Matt Carlino's back, which seized up this week in practice, tonight's starting lineup could include Cusick, with Winder playing significant minutes at the point guard position. They could also play alongside each other depending on Zylstra's performance in the game.
The other role players on this Cougar squad remain the big question mark. I think most people expected more out of Agustin Ambrosino and Raul Delgado. Late in the non-conference schedule it seemed like Delgado may emerge as a lock-down defender, who go transition buckets who could hit the three, which is what BYU recruited him for, but he has averaged just 5 minutes and 1.75 points per game since conference play began. All of his points came in a 7 point performance against Loyola Marymount, and he has failed to score a point in the last three games. Ambrosino has made an almost imperceptible impact on the Cougars this year, prompting a position switch from the 4 to the 3, backing up Tyler Haws, where he will see even less playing time as Haws plays the vast majority of available minutes.
Last year's Colorado high school player of the year, Cory Calvert, had some nice games early in the year, but it appears that his playing time is also diminishing with Winder becoming more healthy. Big man Ian Harward, who struggled with some lower back problems early in the year, has struggled to find a place in the rotation. Even when he makes it to the floor, his propensity to foul (13.2 fouls per 40 minutes played) keeps him from making any sort of positive impact.
Kelly Olynyk (13) and Kevin Pangos (4) will make it tough for BYU - or anyone - to make a run in the WCC.
So where do the Cougars head from here? It will be very interesting to see, and I think we can get a pretty clear indication in the next three games (home against Saint Mary's and San Diego, on the road against Gonzaga). If BYU continues to roll and can go 3-0, or even 2-1 with the one loss being a close game against top 10 Gonzaga, the Cougars can ride that momentum all the way into the NCAA tournament. If BYU drops the Saint Mary's game and the Gonzaga game, BYU could very well be NIT bound. I believe that overall BYU needs to go 2-2 in their four games against Gonzaga and Saint Mary's in order to make the NCAA tournament. These next three days could make or break the momentum that is building up and they could make or break the remainder of the season for BYU.
I believe that this BYU squad is better, albeit slightly, than last year's team, even if they have a lesser result. However, in order to duplicate last year's success and continue the streak of NCAA tournament appearances for, the "Big 3" have to stay strong and consistently put up big number. The role players will also need to contribute, but I still don't see anyone who can be a consistent scorer outside of Haws, Davies, and Carlino. Carlino remains the question mark in this trio, but if he can continue his in conference success and take over games when Haws and Davies get into foul trouble, BYU can be successful.
The concern now is health. Davies sprained his ankle and seems to be recovering, but he has also appeared out of sorts since the injury. He hasn't been as quick with his feet and consequently has found himself in old habits and foul trouble. Carlino is suffering from back spasms, and hopes to be healthy enough to play but his status is up in the air. With this happening just before this critical three game stretch, a lot of things are in doubt, and somebody else is going to need to step up for BYU if Carlino isn't ready to go and Davies gets into trouble. Haws likely won't be able to carry the entire team just yet and is going to need some help.
There are a lot of uncertainties, but watch the next eight days of Cougar basketball to likely see the fate of BYU's season.
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.
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 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.
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.
At 9-4, BYU is looking at an awfully mediocre season. Aside from the Utah game, every game has been decided by 10 points or more this year. They've beaten the soft part of their schedule, and been hammered in all of the meaningful meaningful games thus far. Outside of Brandon Davies and Tyler Haws, this team has nowhere to turn for a consistent scoring option. If the Cougars expect to be competitive in conference play this year, they need to find another go to guy, and they need to find him fast. Some players are starting to develop a little bit and are showing flashes of potential, but we have yet to see any sort of consistency from players other than Davies and Haws. Consequently, Dave Rose has had trouble finding a regular starting lineup. In the latest game against Northern Arizona University he returned to his season opening lineup, and I would expect that to remain the same if player production stays where it is.
In this three part series I will first look at the current starting lineup, then at the remaining players, and then give some general thoughts and impressions on the state of the BYU basketball team this year, including what they need to do in order to see another NCAA tournament and not be relegated to the NIT.
Brandon Davies felt dominant enough against NAU to
pay tribute to Karl Malone with this powerful dunk.
Davies has become a real force in the paint. He is the Cougars' obvious go-to guy, and he has clearly improved nearly every aspect of his game. He is quick and powerful in the paint, which makes him a tough guy to stop, and throughout his career he has slowly increased his range and now has confidence to pull the trigger from beyond the arc, which gives defenders headaches at times. His development as a shooter has allowed for some memorable plays such as a mid-range pump fake leading to a thundering dunk against Utah. Teams have tried to defend him by pushing him off the block so he catches the ball in a bad position on the floor, but he has stayed very effective as a shooter and driver. His post dominance is drawing double and triple teams, which has helped him increase his assist number, however I would still like to see him kick the ball back out more. At times he sets his sights on the basket and misses some open guys as he tries to force the issue against three defenders.
The much anticipated return of Tyler Haws has not disappointed.
Haws started the season absolutely on fire, scoring 20 or more points in the first six games. He has slowed slightly since then, scoring over 20 only once in the ensuing seven games, and watching his field goal percentage go from 50% in the first six to 42.7% in the next seven. Perhaps teams didn't pay much attention while scouting the recently returned missionary until after the first few games, but it seems that opposing teams have ratcheted up the pressure on Haws. He started to force some shots that weren't there and at times try to do a bit to much. But overall his return to the hardwood after two years in the Philippines has been nothing short of impressive. It's not often we see a returned missionary have this much success in his first year back. He has only missed three free throws on the year while shooting at a 95.2% rate, and he has done well in most games to find a way to get to the free throw line. I expect Haws to finish the season with similar averages to what he currently has, and perhaps raise his field goal percentage slightly as he forces less shots and feeds the monster inside. I was on my own mission during his freshman year, so this is my first time seeing him play, and I have been very impressed with how scrappy he is. A lot of scorers and shooters like Haws don't get involved with the dirty work, but it is a frequent sight to see Haws diving on the floor for a loose ball, getting tangled up with his opponents for a rebound, and hustling for the steal on defense. He is a remarkable player with a bright future for the Cougars, and BYU certainly needs him to be a star alongside Davies this year.
Carlino has been perhaps the most criticized players on this roster. After beginning his freshman campaign on an absolute tear, he slowed significantly toward the end of the season and showed a tendency toward making bad decisions and turning the ball over. He was clearly a shoot-first point guard, but with excellent court vision. This season he has been asked to focus on capitalizing on that court vision. I have always been impressed with how Carlino sees the court. As soon as he receives the ball his eyes are up and he is surveying the floor, which often leads to a long pass and a Brandon Davies dunk on the other end. His shooting and decision making struggles lost him his starting spot for a couple of games, until he was BYU's saving grace against Utah with a 19 point performace and five three pointers, including two on back to back possessions that equalized the game and allowed the Cougars to seize momentum and get the win.
In a bit of a sophomore slump, expect to see Carlino turn around
and for him to become a consistent scoring option for BYU.
While all of his offensive numbers have lowered from last season, his assist-to-turnover ratio has gone from 1.53 last year, to 1.86 this year. While not a significant jump, it is a definite and noticeable improvement. He is far more patient this season, and better with his shot selection. In 2011-12 he average 11 shots per game. That number has decreased to 7.8 shots per game as he has focused on being a distributor. He is far from perfect, but Carlino has shown great improvement in his decision making. He has also improved significantly on the defensive end of the floor where his footwork is better and quicker and he is able to stay with his man much better than last year. His shooting numbers may be low, and I believe it is probably a mental problem as he is trying to become a different type of player than he has ever been, but I would expect that over the course of the season those numbers will increase, and he could become a third, consistent scoring option for the Cougars.
Zylstra needs to become more
consistent for BYU to succeed.
I'm not really sure what to make of Brock Zylstra at this point. He started the season well, averaging 9.25 points per game through the first eight games, but he saw his playing time drop off tremendously after a 21 minute, zero point, 0-6 performance against Utah. He really needs to be a consistent threat in order for this team to succeed. I believe that he does not need to average double digits in points, but he does need to become significantly more effective and consistent. He cannot continue to be a roller coaster ride if this team is going to see success. And while he has regained his starting job for the time being, he needs to start hitting his shots if he expects to keep it as players like Raul Delgado are gaining confidence and making a significantly bigger impact than he is in recent games. Along with many other players on the team, Brock's best game was against Cal-State Northridge where he tallied 14 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, and two steals. He doesn't need to have games like that every night, but I would like to see between 8-12 points, 4-7 rebounds, 3-5 assists, and 1-2 steals on a consistent basis. If we see that kind of production out of Zylstra the remainder of the season, the Cougars might pull off some big wins in conference play.
Josh Sharp can catch defenders sleeping and make some big plays.
Easily BYU's most improved player from last year, Josh Sharp is a respectable, right place, right time, scrappy role player. He isn't much of a shooter, but he finds himself in good positions to get a pass as he cuts backdoor to the basket for an easy layup. Defensively, despite his size, he is aggressive and fights hard for everything. I was honestly quite surprised to see Sharp in the starting lineup at the beginning of the year, but he has not disappointed me as he avoids costly mistakes and he works hard to fulfill his assignments. His primary purpose on the floor is to be an aggressive defender and secure rebounds and loose balls, and he has done that effectively for the Cougars. If he can add a mid-range jumper to his game that would help BYU, but he has clearly been effective as he has hit 53.2 percent of his shots this year. He is very good at recognizing openings when Davies is being double teamed and getting himself into position for open looks, and overall he has done well at finishing at the basket. He will likely never be a star for this team, but this year he will make a significant impact as a hustle player with the potential to add a more complete offensive game later. I mean, he's built almost exactly like Lee Cummard, so that shows some promise, right?
I read a great Mayan Apocalypse Mailbag the other day by the Sports Guy. He graciously answered "even more e-mails than usual (over 50 in all), just so you'll always remember plowing through your final Sports Guy column during those final seconds as Earth is collapsing on itself." What a thoughtful guy!
As I read that I thought to myself, "Wow! Over 50! This is going to take me forever to read!" (Seeing lots of words on the page of a sports article? Great! Seeing lots of words in my business finance text book? Yeah, it doesn't get read. Ever.)
Then my thoughts turned to my upcoming mailbag. I didn't have 50. Or even 20. Or 10. Heck, I didn't even reach five! But ya know what, I appreciate these four submissions. From three different people. And one didn't even know it was going to get used. Ah, well. I'll catch up to you one day, Bill Simmons!
It's Christmas Eve, so this mailbag will be filled with gifts (and some coal) from Santa. My wife might even read this one if I tell her it's about Christmas. You know what you should be doing is making some huge movement to get Jabari Parker to go to BYU. -Keith S.
Clearly this is all my fault, and I'm sorry.
This was sent to me 20 December at 2:17 p.m. Many of you will recognize this as mere moments before Jabari announced his decision to go to Duke. I'm not sure what I was supposed to do at that point.
I mean, I met Jabari a couple weeks back. Great kid, went out of his way to say hello to me and ask how I was doing (as did his mother, so great family), but I didn't think to say, "Hey, man. Can I get your number so that when your on national television in a couple weeks, about to declare your decision to attend Duke, I can call you and change your mind and get you to come to BYU?"
I'm sorry Cougar Nation; this one falls completely on me. But gift number one from Santa's bag goes to Duke, getting a terrific young man and an excellent ball player. You're welcome.
Have you talked about Jabari Parker to Duke? You should. -Clayton J.
The next gift is for Jabari Parker: He's getting himself the second winningest college basketball coach of all time to help him prepare for the NBA. He's getting an education from a top 10 university, and even if he only stays there for a year that's pretty good. And he's going to get a shot at a national title. That's not a bad deal.
I've always said that if I had the luxury of a scholarship offer from any school in the country, I would go and play for Coach K. I wouldn't do it for Duke. I couldn't care less about Duke. I would want to play for the greatest coach of all time. But since John Wooden isn't around anymore, I would play for Coach K in a heart-beat. Unfortunately I wasn't good enough to have that option, but Jabari is. And as much as it pain my BYU loyalty to say it, I think he made the right decision.
Look, I would have been ecstatic if Jabari had come to Provo. I really and truly would. I was really hoping for it! But I just didn't see it happening. I saw a possibility of it happening, but we were just up against some heavy hitters. I don't know if we ever had a chance, I don't know if we ever were in the lead, and I don't think Jabari will ever reveal that to us. What I do know, is that he made a choice that will be very beneficial to his future, in all aspects of life, not just basketball. That's not something exclusive to BYU, and Coach K is someone I have the utmost respect for, and it seems that he does great things for his kids out there at Duke.
Perhaps the "safe" choice would have been BYU. Surrounded by people of his same faith in a culture he could thrive. There would be nice Mormon girls for him everywhere. He would instantly receive the Jimmer treatment. In fact he already had when he came for his official visit as BYU fans pulled out all the stops. He would have been the best player on the team, and probably the best player in the conference. Between BYU's ESPN deal and BYUtv national attention would not have been a problem. Coach Rose is a very respectable coach, BYU is a respectable program, and he would have been an instant legend.But the kid chose Duke, and I respect that. He did what he feels is best for him, and that's really what the choice is all about. I wish him nothing but the best at Duke and in the league.
Will you then please do an article on the BYU field goal kicker. Seriously - there's no way a collegiate kicker can be that bad all season. I mean, this is BYU. Sure, we're no SEC team, but we're still a football school. Shouldn't we be able to recruit a decent kicker? I vote we recruit from our own BYU women's soccer team. What's your take? -Ben H.
I'll admit, the kicking game has been awful this year. And last year. But it wasn't due to lack of recruiting efforts. BYU recruited Justin Sorensen to be the go to kicker. In high school he kicked field goals of 59, 61, and 62 yards. That's incredible. But in college he's just never materialized as a consistent and accurate kicker.
He spent his freshman year backing up Mitch Payne and went 1-3, with his two misses coming from beyond 50 yards. He was 2-2 on extra point attempts. Following his mission he had an inconsistent sophomore year, making just 60 percent of his field goal tries. He did however set a BYU record for most extra points in a season without a miss as he went 48-48 on PATs. It was later revealed that he struggled throughout the season with back injuries and he underwent off-season back surgery.
The backup kicker was senior punter, Riley Stephenson, who hadn't so much as attempted a PAT since high school. All things considered, he did a respectable job holding Sorensen's spot making 4 of 6 field goals and 16 of 19 extra points. Obviously this was not an answer, and it was certainly a sub par performance for a kicker, but considering he was actually the punter, I say he did alright. (And a great gift to him for receiving numerous second team All-American honors for his punting season!)
However, Sorensen came back from his injury and still struggled. He was clearly not fully recovered and quite rusty as he made just 50 percent of his field goals and missed the first three extra points of his career, going 27-30. Is he the answer? I'm not sure. I'm not sure he's been given enough of a chance yet. It's a shame there isn't a quality backup for him, but most football teams don't give out a ton of scholarships to kickers. It's also a shame that BYU doesn't have a coach dedicated to the kicking game, and that may be adding to Sorensen's struggles. So a lump of coal to the Cougar coaching staff for that deficiency.
Overall though, I think they played their cards appropriately, just just got hit by the injury bug. And they got hit hard. Hopefully Sorensen will recover and maybe next year he'll develop into the kicker we expected. I feel like BYU fans have been saying that a lot the last couple years. "Maybe next year..."
As for recruiting from the women's soccer team, if she can kick a football as deep and accurately as she kicked this soccer ball, I vote the football team gets Lindsi Lisonbee Cutshall to take over kicking duties until we have proof that Sorensen is fully recovered. (She earned a nice gift of being number three on Sportcenter's Top 10 plays that night).
Also, an article on what the heck happened to the BYU quarterback position this year would be interesting. I'd like to know what really happened (in other words, a few decent theories). Obviously Taysom Hill go hurt on a play called by the communist North Korean coaches that infiltrated our coaching staff. But maybe aliens abducted Brandon Doman and replaced him with one of their own. And I thought Riley Nelson was supposed to be the Moses that would lead us to the promised land? And how the heck did James Lark end up as Joshua? -Ben H.
Ignoring the fact that you called for a few decent theories and then blamed communists and aliens for the quarterback troubles at BYU, I do have a few thoughts surrounding the turbulence these last three seasons. Each of the past three seasons has really been defined by quarterback controversy. You'd think that somehow that would have ended by now, that the coaching staff would have learned their lesson, but for whatever reason, it keeps happening over and over again.
If BYU never got Jake Heaps, we never would have seen one
of the greatest individual defensive performances ever in this
year's Poinsettia Bowl.
First, I hope that three years ago Brandon Doman received an excellent gift from Santa. He recruited the highly touted Jake Heaps to come to Provo. It was quite commendable to get the top quarterback recruit in the country, but that would quickly fall apart (and I'll get to that in a minute). The reason Doman gets a gift for that? Heaps brought Ross Apo with him, who admittedly hasn't quite lived up to his potential yet, but more important than that, Heaps brought KYLE VAN NOY! And BYU got one of the best defensive players in school history out of that.
Bronco Mendenhall and Brandon Doman receive a lump of coal for their handling of Jake Heaps and Riley Nelson in Heaps' freshman season. It was awful, and I believe it severely stunted Heaps' growth as a player. I believe he should have been named the starter throughout his freshman year. He finished strong and went into his sophomore year as the unquestioned starter, and I think he earned that.
Forgive me for being repetitive, and perhaps a bit lazy, but I already voiced my thoughts on Heaps' sophomore year, and I don't really want to get all worked up about it again, so I'm going to repeat what I already wrote about it a couple weeks back.
Jake Heaps, after a promising freshman season, was in a sophomore slump. Was it frustrating? Absolutely. He looked too tightly wound and seemed to be buckling under the hype we had placed on him. He beat the teams he was supposed to though, and that's all that BYU does now anyway, so I don't think it was fair to place all the blame on a young quarterback, as highly touted as he was. He struggled mightily in the game against Utah State, and Riley Nelson came in an led a miracle drive down the field for the victory.
Riley Nelson was a gritty dude but
probably not the answer for BYU.
But hold on a second. The two big plays of that drive were as follows: 1) a fluttering 40 yard pass that was not even sort of on target, and McKay Jacobson made the play of his career by running across the field, getting under the ball, and then holding on for dear life. 2) an inaccurate pass intended for JJ DiLuigi that he reached back for, drew a pass interference call, and then somehow the deflection found Marcus Mathews in the back of the end zone. Nothing about that drive said "Riley Nelson is more talented than Jake Heaps and the quarterback of the future for BYU." Nothing! But for some reason we turned on Heaps and ran him out of town. I still believe he had the ability to be that QB of the future for BYU, so I think we wasted that and threw it away. It's a shame really.
Look at what Notre Dame did this year. Starting QB Everett Golson struggled to close out a couple of games early. In comes Tommy Rees to save the day. Notre Dame wins, the media tries to ignite a quarterback controversy, but they stick with their guy, and now they're set to play for the national championship. BYU should have done exactly that. Riley saved the day against USU, but let Heaps get back to work on Monday.
The reality of it is that we were stuck with Riley Nelson, who last season beat the teams he was supposed to and lost to the rest, and this season didn't even quite look fully capable of that. In his defense he struggled with injuries, but with the QBs on the bench right behind him it's a shame we didn't put in a healthy guy in his stead, because down to our third string we had starting talent.
After a couple weeks of playing through a broken back and giving the opposing defenses points that would in turn win games, he was finally benched to heal and Taysom Hill came in and showed Cougar Nation why they should be excited about the next few years. He would have been a great quarterback to stay in for a few more games, too, if it weren't for a miscommunication that led to Hill running a play rather than lining up in victory formation and taking a knee. On that play Hill blew out his knee and finished his year with season ending knee surgery.
Instead of turning to our third string senior quarterback, who during spring and fall camps was actually pushing Nelson for the starting job, only to be demoted because Hill's style was more similar to Nelson's and to give him more experience for the future, Nelson somehow recovered from a broken back to be ready to play again. I don't disagree with the decision to move Hill up the depth charts. I think it was a smart move to get him ready to take full control (hopefully) of the starting job next year. I do, however, disagree that Nelson should have rushed back into the lineup rather than playing Lark for a week or two to allow Nelson a full recovery. I mean, we're talking about a kid who was in a battle for the starting position in the preseason.
Was James Lark the solution all along?
And then in the last week of the regular season we really were down to our third string, Lark, and he showed us he really does have talent. Holy cow did he show us he has talent. He looked brilliant. No other BYU QB has enjoyed that kind of success in his first career start. Six touchdowns. 68 percent completion percentage. No interceptions. I don't care who you're playing, those numbers are dang good. I admit he struggled some in the bowl game when he got a second start, but the fact of the matter is, he ended his career 2-0 as a starting quarterback. An undefeated college career, and he went out on top. So now, gifts and coal for the handling of the situation the past few years. Brandon Doman: Gift for giving us Kyle Van Noy. Bronco Mendenhall: Coal for using a dual quarterback system in Heaps' first year, or at least for allowing it to happen. BYU fans: A fantastic amount of coal. We hated Nelson and wanted only Heaps when there was a dual quarterback system. Then at the first sign of struggle from Heaps and some late game heroics (as much of a fluke as it was, they were still heroics) from Nelson, we wanted Nelson back. That ended up chasing Heaps out of town to Kansas, the poor kid. Then Nelson starts to struggle and suddenly we want someone, anyone to take over for him. We got Hill. Then he got injured and we wanted Lark. It's just ridiculous. I just hope Taysom Hill can get through next year with a 100 percent completion percentage or BYU fans might just run him out of town too. Jake Heaps: Coal for transferring instead of working hard and waiting it out. But I wish him all the best and I really do hope he succeeds.
Brandon Doman: He can keep his first gift, but he also gets some coal for his role in all the quarterback controversies, the injury to Taysom Hill, and a completely inept offense.
Riley Nelson: Gift, simply for being a gritty dude and a class act in spite of everything that happened.
BYU coaching staff in general: Coal for everything that happened. But a small gift for finally recognizing that Riley wasn't healthy enough to play in the bowl game and letting Lark take the reigns. I feel for Riley and the way his career ended, but it was the right choice.
James Lark: The biggest gift of this group. He fought through adversity. He stuck it out in the cellar of the depth chart, and he did so with class and grace. And when he got his chance he rose up and took it. Good for him.
I think Doman is the biggest problem and probably needs to go. Bronco is fine, for now, but he needs to step in and make sure some of these things don't keep happening. We'll see how the future goes, but the Cougar faithful need to stay patient and support Hill next season or we could go through this whole thing all over again.
