No, this is not all because the football team
And if you buy that, I've got a bridge to sell you.
Nonetheless, BYU Basketball Media Day legitimizes a small peek at the upcoming season before the major preview comes down the line. Coach Dave Rose's Cougars start their first practice of the year this coming Monday October 5th, and the watch word for the 2015-2016 version is 'balance'.
With the loss of all-time leading scorer Tyler Haws, the question of who will be the go-to guy in the clutch hangs in the air, but unlike the guard-heavy line-up of last year, the Cougars show promise of a variety of sizes and depth at all positions.
Mr. Triple Double, PG Kyle Collinsworth, returns for his senior year looking to break the NCAA record for which he gets his nickname, and is flanked by prolific (if at times inconsistent) scorer SG Chase Fischer and all-time hustle-man PF Nate Austin. Nate returns via a medical redshirt for a final year, and has opted to essentially be a walk-on---foregoing scholarship status to add his 6'11" frame of pure competitive verve to the front court lineup.
The other big returner from last years squad (and one of those pegged by Coach Rose as having most likely locked down a spot) is Corbin "found money" Kaufusi. Last year's unexpected (and, by the end of the season, vital) addition to the 5-spot continues to draw raves from teammates for his athleticism, bolstered by reports of improvement in fundamentals. Rose did also note in his press conference, however, that the lineman-turned-basketball-center is still "a really aggressive player, and he'll have to play major minutes and figure out how to stay out of fowl trouble."
Also returning, SF/SG Jake Toolson saw only spot duty his freshman year, but has all the signs up making a big leap for this season---as many do after a year in the program.
Other than that, to one extent or another, everyone else is a fresh face. Those with prior D1 experience include PG Cory Calvert fresh off his mission (and a little banged up from the Cougars' Spain trip) who played his freshman year for the Cougars in admirable backup duty, and transfers PF Kyle Davis and PF Jamal Aytes. Both Davis and Aytes should bolster the Cougars' inside scoring that was so mediocre for the 2014-2015 season.
Highly-touted guard Nick Emery makes his debut in a Cougar uniform this year, and appears to be the heir apparent at point guard. When Collinsworth is getting rested, there's a good chance Emery will be getting minutes, and may also see some SG duty. Zack Selijaas was the Utah Gatorade Player of the Year as a senior, and with his length and shooting touch, could be a good option at the 3, but is fresh out of high school. Redshirt freshman guard Jordan Chapman showed some smooth three-point shooting during the team's trip to Spain---he just may be Fisher's back up for when the senior's inconsistency streak shows, and is yet another option for the backup point.
Lower on the list in terms of experience and accolades, forwards Jakob Heartsock and Braden Shaw and PG Cooper Ainge have the right genes, as does walk-on Alan Hamson, a 7'3" center of whom Coach noted, "You can't teach height." At least one or two of these will likely step up, but time will tell who among them will become solid contributors.
So to summarize, with good options at up to 6-deep for the guards and 5-deep for the forwards, the Cougars can and should have a more even distribution of points and points of a attack than last year. Additionally, Coach Rose hopes this will lend itself to better defense---forwards guarding forwards instead of guards matching up against superior height and weight. And who knows, among those looking to get some minutes, there may be another Josh Sharp waiting to emerge.
As the season draws closer, keep an out out for a complete breakdown of every player---their style, prospects, strengths, and weaknesses.
Until then, lets enjoy the fall sports---as much as we can.
Quick Hits
Football
Ugh. We're going to just pretend last week was a bye, the Cougars are now magically 2-2 instead of 2-1, and move on from there. The University of Connecticut has shown some ability on defense, and less on offense, but the friendly confines of Lavell Edwards Stadium and a powerful thirst for points by the BYU offense (for some reason) should put them in good stead. UConn will be by far the weakest team on the schedule so far, so trouble here would be very troubling for BYU's remaining games for the season. Thin depth at running back is a concern with Adam Hine and Algie Brown merely "possible" for Friday, but its hopeful Riley Burt and Francis Bernard can step in and provide at least some option for the run to take pressure off of Tanner Mangum. Nate Carter really hasn't been effective, but its hard to tell on his limited touches.
Women's Volleyball:
Conference play really is a different ballgame. The Cougar's experienced their first big upset of the season, falling to Santa Clara for the second year running. The Broncos clearly have the Cougars' number, as they have been less impressive (but by no means bad) in their other matches this season with at 10-4 record. Thankfully, BYU had a nice bounce back win at home against LMU Tuesday, although it was by no means easy. After dropping the first set, the Cougars battled close with the Lions, but took the match 3-1 on the strength of 13 blocks, 7 aces, and a strong night from Cosy Burnett (12 kills) and Amy Boswell (6 blocks, 9 kills).
The Cougars' blocks seem to come in spurts, one minute lost and the next setting up a phone booth at the net. Alexa Gray has had some early season consistency problems (12 kills but 7 errors vs LMU), as she is scoring well but committing more errors than the team's star should. On the bright side, her digs and defensive presence overall has improved from last year, and it showed against the Lions (13 digs). Hopefully, she can put her offense back on pace with her defense and isn't trading one for the other.
Women's Soccer:
The Cougars allowed only their third goal of the season, but took the game against Long Beach State 2-1. Her pair of assists garnered Michele Murphy Vasconsalos WCC Player of the Week honors, and Ashley Hatch and Elena Mederos both got on the board. This was an important improvement after tying (*sigh* soccer) Cal Poly 1-1 last Thursday. The 6th ranked BYU team in the nation starts conference play at Gonzaga Thursday this week (who shouldn't pose too much trouble for the Cougs) and Saturday at Portland (who traditionally pose a whole lot of trouble). Neither have had stellar seasons to start, but as noted earlier, conference play is a different animal.
Quote of the Week:
I don't think its out of the question to say that we'll be a more balanced team.---Chase Fischer
Upcoming Games:
| WSOC | Oct 1, 2015 Thursday | at Gonzaga | 4:00 PM PDT | ESPN960 / Cougar IMG Sports Network | TheW.tv |
| FTB | Oct 2, 2015 Friday | vs Connecticut | 8:15 PM MDT | Cougar IMG Sports Network KSL 1160 AM / 102.7 FM | ESPN2 |
| WVLB | Oct 2, 2015 Friday | at San Diego | 7:30 PM PDT | TheW.tv | |
| WSOC | Oct 3, 2015 Saturday | at Portland | 7:00 PM PDT | Cougar IMG Sports Network KSL 1160 AM / 102.7 FM | TheW.tv |
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