Farewell, BYU Basketball 2015 Seniors

I'm gonna cry . . .

I might be even sadder when this season's over than I was when Jimmer graduated. And that's saying A LOT. Tomorrow night, it will be time to say goodbye to 4 amazing basketball players as they (except in the event of an NIT appearance) play their last game in the Marriott Center . . .

Tyler Haws. Tyler is amazing. There are no words to express how sad I am that he's graduating. He will leave as BYU's all-time leading scorer and someone who was grossly underrated for his ability to quietly score 20+ points almost every single game. I really, really hope he gets a shot in the NBA because I think he definitely has the potential. He's not as flashy as Jimmer was, but he's equally good a scorer and much better at defense. Good luck, Ty! I hope for nothing but the best for you.

Skyler Halford. Although Skyler showed brief moments of Matt Carlino-like frantic insanity, he has been much more consistent than Matty and has always been good at giving a defensive spark and energy when it was needed most. He always seems to have a good attitude and never get frustrated or angry, even during tough times.

Anson Winder. I really hope Anson is able to recover from his injury enough to play at least a little bit on Senior Night. I remember when he was red shirting Jimmer's senior year and I always felt bad for him that he wasn't able to participate on the court during such a magical season. Despite being plagued by injuries, Anson has given the Cougars a great boost in both scoring and defense the last couple of years, and I think he definitely wins my "most improved" award for this senior class.

Josh Sharp. I'm so glad Josh has finally gotten back on the court these last few games to show what he's really made of, and I hope he continues to finish out his senior season in style. The thing about Josh is that his body doesn't really match his skills very well (he's tiny compared to other guys who do what he does), but he makes it work. You'd never think just looking at him that he could throw down the monstrous dunks he gets from time to time. He's also very quiet and unassuming-- he almost looks bored most of the time, even when he's playing, but he's got a great sense of humor and can definitely ball with the best of 'em.

Nate Austin is a senior, too, but the odds are good that he will receive a medical red shirt, so hopefully he'll be back!

Let's go get them Toreros tomorrow night, preferably capped by at least 35 points from Tyler so he can pass Jimmer on the all-time scoring list at home . . . and maybe even a 6th triple double for Kyle.

Thank you, seniors! It will be tough to replace these guys, but the future of Cougar Hoops is bright!

Should Toolson Have Taken That Last-Second Shot?

Jake Toolson hit 5 treys last night,
the last one of which is causin'
some controversy...

You know you're unhealthily obsessed with BYU basketball when you're still stewing about what happened at the very end of a 53-point win almost 24-hours ago.

We were up by 50 points. Literally 50 points. The shot clock was off. The crowd wanted to hit 100 points, but we were 2 points shy of that mark. Jake Toolson had the ball and passed up an open shot. The crowd groaned, and then continued to lobby for one more shot. Jordan Ellis had the ball, then Ryan Andrus, who gave it back to Toolson. Everyone in the crowd was yelling "SHOOT IT!" I thought, "Give it up, guys. They never shoot in the last seconds of an easy win." But then Toolson did the unthinkable-- he pulled up and knocked down a 3, his 5th of the night, and the crowd went wild.

My first thought: "Woah, I can't believe he did it! That was awesome!"
My second thought: "Dang, Coach Rose is gonna kill him..."

Things got awkward pretty fast. Some of these post-game interview comments make me cringe. Since last night, I've been vacillating back and forth in my head about whether that was a good idea for Jake to shoot that shot. I think I've finally concluded my opinion: There was absolutely nothing wrong with taking that shot.

Hear me out. I read this article by Dave Noriega this morning that really gives an interesting perspective, and for the most part, I agree.

If the players had gone crazy and started celebrating excessively after the shot, yes, that's totally unsportsmanlike conduct. If they had done any taunting or trash-talking, that would be a no-no. But just sinking a basketball shot in a basketball game? Nothing wrong with that.

Coaches should start encouraging their players to play every second of every game, no matter what the score is. It wouldn't be taboo to take last-second shots in easy wins if everyone started doing it. I don't see anything wrong with playing hard and playing til the end, no matter what. What kind of coach tells their players to stop trying? I'm sure in Coach Rose's head, that's not what he's doing, but his comment about Jake needing to "learn" implies that he definitely didn't want him to take that shot, which implies that Coach Rose thinks Jake should have given up trying and not done what he's supposed to do-- play basketball.

Obviously, he did it for the fans. But is that a bad thing? They wouldn't be playing without the fans. The fans don't want to just sit there as they pass the ball around in a circle. They want to see shots, they want to see points.

Was Josh Sharp's monster alley-oop dunk (my favorite moment of the night) necessary with 5 mins left when they were already up by 47 points? Nope. BYU could have just stopped and handed the ball to someone on SVU, and we still would have won that game. But no one is criticizing Josh for doing what he does best.

Is it rubbing salt in the wound? Yeah, kind of.
Is it rough to be on the opposing side, sitting with a bad loss that gets made even worse with a last-second shot? Yes.
Is it tacky? Yes . . . But it really shouldn't be.

I'm certainly not angry with or upset about Coach Rose. I love that guy. But it's an interesting thing to think about. The majority of coaches (in any sport) are of the opinion that you shouldn't take last-second attempts at scoring when you're already way ahead. But what if all those coaches suddenly stopped believing that? Would it really be a bad thing? I don't think it's gonna happen, but I think that'd be great if things changed. Then it wouldn't sting so much for the losing team (because it would be expected that they're still supposed to play defense), and it would help the players learn tenacity and, for lack of a better term, enduring to the end. Maybe Jake's shot will get some people thinking about that . . . in just about any sport, every second counts! Let's start playing like it!

Summer Sports News Part 2: BYU Basketball

The new BYU Hoops poster! Love it.

I'm tired of football. Let's talk about BASKETBALL! Next Wednesday is the Cougar Tipoff, and I couldn't be more excited! Merry Christmas to me!

Here's what's been happening since we last met in March to current and a few former players... 

Matt Carlino transferred to Marquette & Eric Mika went on a mission. I hate to say it, but Matty is the Jake Heaps of the basketball team. I hope he finds what he's looking for in Wisconsin, but it was an incredibly selfish move to make, IMO. I don't think he'll find a system that was willing to make such drastic accommodations to make him a better basketball player as BYU. He just wasn't willing to admit it. The only other player we lost from last year's roster is Eric Mika, who is now Elder Mika in Rome, Italy.

We got a zillion new players. There are now 18 guys on the roster. EIGHTEEN. And 17 of them are eligible to play this year (Kyle Davis must redshirt, a la transfer rules. However, he shall be blessed from coming into the light from the darkness up in Logan, I am sure). Notables include Corbin Kaufusi, who shall strike fear into the hearts of Gonzaga players as another former football-playing beast of a man wearing #44, Chase Fisher, who is finally eligible to play after transferring from Wake Forest, and some freshmen I've heard really good things about-- Dalton Nixon, Jake Toolson, Ryan Andrus, Jordan Chatman, & Isaac Neilson. I'd be surprised if a few of them didn't redshirt, though. There's just so many boys on this team! I love the depth, especially in the post. That's gonna be a HUGE relief compared to last year's woes.

Tyler Haws is projected to be the nation's top scorer by Sports Illustrated. BOOM. Everyone chant with me now: please don't get hurt, please don't get hurt, please don't get hurt... Sorry, Taysom's made me paranoid! If Tyler stays healthy this year, I predict some Jimmer-esque Hawesomeness. Fingers crossed.

KC is BACK! I bet if that kid got a nickel for every time he was asked how his knee is doing this summer, he'd probably be making an NBA salary. Every time I've heard him asked that question, he says it's doing great. He's been cleared medically and should be ready to ball when Long Beach State comes to town. (And yes, that is me in the video at 10:10). Also, he's definitely bulked up his arms as promised. Dang. #Don'tJudge. Oh, and also, he saved a woman who was drowning in the ocean in Hawaii. Busy summer for Kyle!

Jimmer got signed by the Pelicans. Speaking of Jimmer, he's on a new team in NOLA, and I think he's got the best chance he's had so far in the NBA. He's doing well in pre-season play and is currently fighting for the backup PG spot. Go Jimmer! So excited to see him finally succeed, which I know he will if he's given the chance.

Craig Cusick's dad passed away. I'll never forget that buzzer-beater vs. USU a few years ago on the day Craig's dad was diagnosed with cancer. I lost my dad to cancer, too, so his story really hit home. I was sad to hear he passed away, but glad he's in a better place. #CancerSucks

Nick Emery came back from his mission, had surgery, then went back on his mission. Apparently he has some disorder called Thoracic Outlet Syndrome, which causes pain in the neck & shoulders. Rumors were flying about whether he would stay and try to play this year, but he ended up going back to Germany to finish up his mission. He should be back ready to play at the regularly scheduled time.  

Boom Shakalaka Part Deux. I thought this event was a little lacking in creativity and entertainment compared to last year, but it definitely had its moments. I thought Corbin Kaufusi's football-inspired dunk, followed by bowling his roommates down with the ball was pretty funny. I also liked the slightly inappropriate moment when Josh Sharp held up his new baby daughter and then commented that last year's kiss with his wife after jumping over her to dunk was so great that they got a baby out of it. haha! He always looks so bored and disinterested with everything, but he's definitely got an attitude and sense of humor hiding under that calm exterior.

Let's play HOOPS! So excited!

BYU Basketball 2013-2014 Season Preview

Matt Carlino shoots over Frank Bartley
at the Cougar Tipoff

This time of year is my Christmas-- the start of the BYU basketball season! I'm stoked for this year. The roster has changed even more since the last time I blogged about it, leaving only 6 of the same players as last year and no seniors on the team. Normally, that means an inexperienced team that's too young to do much, but I don't think that will be the case. I think they definitely have the talent to have a great season this year and an even better season next year in 2014-2015. Tyler Haws, Matt Carlino, and Kyle Collinsworth have been named the team captains. But there's a whole lot more to this team . . . Let's meet 'em!

#00 Eric Mika
He stole Brandon's number and doubled it . . . but that's ok because I think Eric Mika definitely has the potential to be the next Brandon Davies at BYU. He's a true freshman right out of high school, but he's got a very similar playing style to B, and he's got the strength and the height (at 6'10") to stack up to competitors in the big leagues. With a high school Utah state and national championship under his belt, I think Eric will bring great things to the Cougars this year. He won the dunk contest at Boom Shakalaka, and he definitely did it with style. I'm just not even going to think about him probably heading off on a mission next spring . . .

#2 Matt Carlino
Moving up 8 spots on the numerical roster, Matt Carlino hopes to move up in a lot more ways this year, too. Although he is desperately in need of a haircut at the moment (but stick to scissors, Matty-- not a razor!), I really hope Matt can get his act together this year. When he's on, he's on, and he's amazing. When he's off, he can ruin everything. I think working together with Kyle Collinsworth will take some of the pressure off him at point, though, and he won't be forced to be the primary decision maker for the team all the time, which should help A LOT. If he is willing to learn from Kyle, if he can focus on not getting turnovers, and doesn't keep making stupid snap decisions under pressure, I think Matty will improve a lot this year. Unfortunately, I think he's a little overly confident . . . I hope it doesn't turn into cockiness because that could cause problems.

Kyle Collinsworth & Josh Sharp

#3 Tyler Haws
Not much needs to be said about Ty. He's the star of the team, and definitely my favorite on the roster. He played on Team USA this summer, and is back in Provo to do some damage on his home turf. This is just another year in his quest to beat some of Jimmer's records (and I predict by the end of next year, he definitely will pass him on a few).

#5 Kyle Collinsworth
Why did Kyle & Matt have to change numbers this year and confuse me? I still think of him as #31, but Kyle is back from his mission in Russia and will be wearing #5 this year. I'm super excited to see how things go with him. I doubt he will be quite as good off the mish as Ty was last year, but I think he will slowly come back into it. He really struggled at Boom Shakalaka with the dunk contest-- he just ran out of steam, but I guess you've gotta give him props for giving it a shot. As previously stated, I think his primary role this year should be as a mentor for Matt Carlino because what Matt lacks is what Kyle has (control, consistency, and good decision making). If they can develop a good rhythm together, they will be hard to beat. 

Chase Fischer guards Tyler Haws

#12 Josh Sharp
Josh is the only married member of the team this year, which is rather unusual at BYU. He has a quiet & reserved personality, but he can be a monster on the court. He also competed in the dunk contest at Boom Shakalaka by jumping over his wife's head in round one and doing another dunk in round two that Blaine Fowler & Dave McCann concluded just looked "too easy" or he would have gotten higher scores and given Eric Mika a run for his money. I admit I wasn't the biggest Josh fan until midway through last year-- I've really warmed up to him now, though. He gets it done when it needs to get done.

#13 Andrew Johnston
I don't know much about this kid. He is a walk-on who played both football and basketball in high school. As a 6'3" guard, I assume he will be a backup for Haws, Carlino, and/or Collinsworth.

#20 Anson Winder
Anson is finally healthy this year and can hopefully make some significant contributions to the team. I also heard a rumor that he might be the one to replace Brandon in the pre-game circle dancing role, which is obviously crucial to the team's success. :)

Eric Mika throws it down
at Boom Shakalaka

#23 Skyler Halford
Skyler is a transfer from SLCC. I am actually super impressed with him. He beat out Tyler Haws in the 3-point contest at Boom Shakalaka (which is definitely saying something!) and he played really well at the Cougar Tipoff, too. He reminds me a little bit of Stephen Rogers. I think he will be a great addition to the Cougars, especially as an outside shooter.

#24 Frank Bartley IV
I'm also really impressed with Frank. He reminds me a little bit of Charles Abouo. He's strong, athletic, and can dunk super well for a guy who's only 6'3"-- he came in second place in the Boom Shakalaka dunk contest, and his first dunk was make over the top of 6'10" Eric Mika-- it was crazy!

 #30 Chase Fischer
Chase just transferred from Wake Forest, so he'll have to redshirt this year. I'm impressed with him, though-- I even see little glimpses of Jimmer-esque moves in him. I think he'll be a great addition to the roster next year.

Frank Bartley jumps over Eric Mika

#33 Nate Austin
Story time! I was at my stake institute class a few weeks ago, and about 20 minutes into the lesson, I was looking around the room, and lo and behold, Nate Austin was sitting 3 chairs to my left. How in the world did I not notice a 6'11" guy? I walked right past him! He was sitting down-- that's my excuse. Anyway, my favorite moment of the lesson was when Pres. Lewis (my stake president) asked where the Gates of Hell are located and Nate shouted out, "The University of Utah!" hahaha . . . Pres. Lewis also asked Nate at one point how old he was when he was first able to dunk. Nate answered: 9th grade. Pres. Lewis said, "I've never been able to dunk. Does that make you a better person than me?" Nate (with no hesitation): "Yep." He's a funny guy. And an awesome basketball player.

#41 Luke Worthington
Luke had the chance to play football at BYU, but he chose basketball instead. Or, who knows, maybe he'll be the next Bronson Kaufusi? :) I don't know much about Luke, but he is super tall and strong and will make a good backup for Mika and Austin.

#45 Graham Pingree
Graham is a walk-on, along with Johnston, and is planning on going on a mission next spring. He's a 6'8" forward, so I assume he will play backup for Josh Sharp and maybe Mika, Austin, and Worthington.

All in all, this team inspires me. And makes me super excited for the next 4 months. BYU basketball is the only thing that gets me through the winter . . .

The first exhibition game is tomorrow night, and of course, I'll be there in my mediocre season seat . . . but at least I'm not stuck in the student section anymore! Wahoo! Go Cougars!

BYU Basketball vs Loyola Marymount & San Francisco

I'm sure Ty made this shot just for me on my birthday :)

The last 2 BYU basketball games were very different from each other. I had been looking forward to the game against Loyola Marymount ever since the schedule was announced for three reasons-- it was the first conference game, it was a chance to get revenge on a team that beat us last year, and it was on my birthday! At least in my memory, it was the first time I had the opportunity to do my favorite thing on my birthday-- go to a BYU basketball game!

Despite a slow start, the Cougars didn't disappoint me in the end. Tyler Haws had 20 points, Brandon Davies had 12, and the Cougs got more than twice as many rebounds as the Lions, leading them to a easy 92-51 win. BYU football star Bronson Kaufusi even got his first chance to make contributions on the court (I'm planning to write another post about him soon).

On the contrary, Saturday night's game against San Francisco was just plain scary. BYU was behind almost the whole time and just couldn't seem to turn it around. It was very similar to the Utah game-- they had to gradually chip away at the Dons' lead until they finally took a 77-71 lead after a 3-pointer from Craig Cusick with less than 2 minutes left, but almost blew it with missed free-throws by (gasp!) Tyler and Matt. Thankfully, a few more made free throws from Craig and Matt in the very end sealed the deal.

With a few exceptions, the stars of these two games were completely different-- in San Francisco, Brock Zylstra finally found his shot and knocked down some 3s to keep the Cougars close. Ty really struggled in the first half, and Brandon fouled out of the game with only 6 points. Tyler missed three free-throws, including the front end of two one-and-ones (which is completely unheard of from him), but he did still manage to scrap together 22 points by the end.

The one similarity between these two games was the play of Matt Carlino and Josh Sharp. Matt was amazing-- if he can just develop more consistency and stop committing stupid turnovers, he will become a real force to be reckoned with. He scored 21 points against Loyola and 22 against San Francisco and played really well defensively, too. He also proved he is capable of making amazing passes that don't end up in the wrong guy's hands. Josh was a huge defensive force, especially against San Francisco, when it came down to the end. He was a rebounding machine! He also continues to throw down sick dunks and never ceases to amaze me when he does-- I still can't figure out how a super quiet, skinny guy like that can slam the ball through the hoop and get such an insanely high vertical leap to almost hit his head on the rim. He makes it look easy-- it's totally nuts!

I hope the Cougars can hold on and remain undefeated in conference play through this week-- next up, Pepperdine on Thursday and a tough road test at Santa Clara on Saturday.

BYU Basketball Exhibition vs. Southeast Oklahoma State

Dunkin' Davies

Oh basketball season, how I have missed you. Friday night's game against Southeast Oklahoma State (who???) was quite interesting. I was a little bit surprised at two members of the starting lineup: Of course there was Brandon Davies, Matt Carlino, and Tyler Haws . . . along with Josh Sharp (his dunk at the tipoff was amazing, but was it really THAT amazing?) and Craig Cusick. Hmmmm . . . Winder is injured (he wasn't even in uniform), so I can understand leaving him out, but what about Zylstra? Ambrosino? Delgado? Granted, they all got playing time, but I'm super curious why Sharp and, to a lesser extent, Cusick were on the starting lineup. It will be interesting to see how that changes as the season goes on.

Haws for 2

My second big surprise was true freshman Cory Calvert. He actually played a lot, and that kid can PASS. THE. BALL. He kind of blew my mind. He was attempting passes similar to the crazy ones Carlino did way too often last year . . . except he actually succeeded in getting them to their target without a turnover. (No offense, Matt. I still love you.) Behind-the-back, no look, or cross court, Cory was doing it all. And of course, the crowning moment of the evening was an awesome alley-oop to Davies (see the video below).

Now for the down side-- despite the blowout win (103 to 57), play in general in the first half was really sloppy. Wild passes were going out of bounds, several feet away from or above the intended receivers, and there was a whole lot of rolling around on the floor, fighting for the ball. It was just messy. I think maybe they had too much adrenaline. Matt Carlino was also looking eerily similar to last year, with his frantic scrambling around the court and behind-the-back passes to himself that don't go as planned. I'm not sure what happened at the half, but there was a definite shift in the second as the BYU boys got into more of a rhythm and seemed to be much more in sync.


Now we must check out some awesome Brandon dunks. The one in this video I actually got a really cool picture of from my perspective (see above, right):

And the second one in this video below was just AWESOME. There are no other words. As I said before, Cory Calvert has some mad passing skills!

I LOVE Brandon's scream, too! He gets so into it!

I'm glad we're starting out with a few easy games because, as the first half showed, I think they need the practice to get up to par before they start playing the big dogs in November and December. But mark my words-- they'll get there. And, unlike most of the "experts", I think they've got a definite shot at the WCC title this year. Yes, it would help if Elias Harris, Kevin Pangos, and Matthew Dellavedova (and his gigantic hideous mouth guard) would go away, but you've got to play the best to be the best. So I say bring it on!!! Go Cougars!!!

BYU Basketball Cougar Tipoff 2012

It's my favorite time of the year!!!  The BYU Basketball Cougar Tipoff last night was AWESOME. And I must begin my commentary by admitting that I take back what I said about Josh Sharp being boring and not contributing much to the team. He definitely proved me wrong by providing the most exciting moment of the evening. Check out this sick dunk:

 

Well played, Josh. Well played. As Davies said about the dunk: "He catches you sleeping. He'll put one on your head." True dat.

Matt Carlino from downtown

Unfortunately, it looks like Stephen Rogers is officially done with his basketball career. I'm really sad about that, but not too surprised, considering all the injuries he has had. But the thing that made me saddest of all is that he wasn't even at the Tipoff last night. So on my autographed poster that I got after the game, the picture of Stephen is the only one without a signature to go with it. :(

The thing that scared me the most about last night was how many injuries appear to already be plaguing the team, and the season hasn't even started yet. Is Brandon Doman calling their plays? Just kidding . . . But they've completely lost Chris and Stephen, and Anson Winder didn't play last night because of an ankle injury. After the game, Nate Austin had two gigantic ice packs strapped to his shoulders, and Ian Harward put a big brace on his leg. Heck, even one of the cheerleaders left the court in tears, cradling her arm after a fall. I also had two heart-stopping moments when Matt Carlino and Brandon Davies hit the court hard and didn't pop right back up. It looked like Carlino smacked his left elbow really hard because he was rubbing it for a few minutes, but thankfully, he kept on playing and seemed fine. Brandon, however, sat out the entire second half after falling on a hard foul. He claims he's fine, though, and it was just a precaution. It seemed really rough for an exhibition game-- I hope they were just full of too much adrenaline and can play safer now that it's out of their systems.

Tyler & Brock

Tyler Haws was definitely the overall standout of the evening. He led the winning blue team with 26 points and made all his free throws, of course. :) He now dons jersey #3, which totally threw me off . . . although maybe that means he's just planning to channel his inner Kyle Van Noy. haha. Tyler looked good. Really good. He has even been named one of the team captains (along with Brandon and Brock), despite being only a sophomore and fresh off the mish. Mark my words: He is going to have a really special year this year. He may even have Jimmer-like potential. I'm stoked!

Raul Delgado & Craig Cusick

Matt Carlino still seems a little bit rushed and frantic on the court, but he has improved. I think his play is a little bit more controlled, which is really good. He had 19 points and 8 assists last night. If he can keep up those kind of numbers consistently throughout the season, he (and the team) will be in really good shape.

Our two new JC transfers, Auggie Ambrosino and Raul Delgado, both looked really good, too. They seem to fit in with the team well and both had some great moments on the court. They are definitely fun to watch.

My other highlight of the evening came when I was in line getting an autographed poster. Craig Cusick was first at the table. He thanked my niece and I for coming and asked me if I am a BYU student. I said, "No, I'm an alum." He seemed surprised and said, "Really?" I said, "Yeah, I graduated a long time ago" (Looking back, that probably made it sound like I'm about 50 . . . but in my defense, it has been a really long 4 years!) He said, "Well, you definitely don't look like it!" I just laughed and said, "Thanks." So thank you, Craig, for making me feel like I'm not an old maid for at least one brief moment. We should be friends. :)

First exhibition game is tomorrow! Can't wait!

Brandon for two!

Tyler takes it in while Brock imitates an alligator. Very intimidating.

BYU Basketball 2012 Season Preview

Cougar fans, it's time!

In preparation for the BYU basketball season just around the corner, I've been trying to catch up on all the interviews that happened last week for BYU Basketball Media Day, and I've been doing some research on our new and returning players. I think we've got a good team shaping up, and I can't wait for the season to begin!

For starters, we've lost several players since last year. Charles Abouo and Noah Hartsock graduated, Chris Collinsworth retired because of injuries, Damarcus Harrison transferred to Clemson, Nick Martineau lost his scholarship and chose to leave the team, redshirt Michael Boswell left the team because of problems recovering from a surgery, and redshirts Jaren Sweeney and Austin Nelson have departed on their LDS missions.

Anyway, that is quite a lot of shoes to fill. Let's see how this year's team is shaping up:

Seniors: 
Brock Zylstra- Brock the rock is Brock with vengeance! Bad puns aside, Zylstra really grew on me last year. In his media day interview, he said he feels the team is better prepared for this year. They're more comfortable on the court and with each other. It will be hard to fill the void left behind by Noah and Charles, but the new seniors are ready to step up and take over with a solid team effort on both offense and defense.

Brandon Davies- I'm already depressed that this is Brandon's last season. He's my favorite. In his media day interview, the first thing out of his mouth was, "I can't wait. It's been too long!" Amen, Brandon. He said this is his last shot, his senior year, so he's going to give it everything he's got. Woah boy, I'm excited. 

Craig Cusick- Craig is one of the most underappreciated members of the team, IMHO. He's got a great shot, and has improved drastically since he first transferred to the Y. Brock mentioned that Craig has especially improved in the off-season, so I'm excited to see what he brings to the court in his senior year.

Stephen Rogers- According to Coach Rose, Stephen is having a hard time recovering from the surgery he had to repair his torn meniscus last year. He still has a lot of issues with pain and swelling, so he may or may not make it on the court this year. I hope he at least gets to play a little bit. I really like that guy and the way he plays under pressure. I feel bad for him and all the injuries he has had the last couple of years.


Juniors:
Both juniors on the team are JC transfers.

Raul Delgado- This guy is getting a lot of hype in the pre-season. Originally from Mexico, he's got a cool accent and a lot of swag. In his media day interview, Raul said he is impressed with the team's dedication, strength, and tenacity. He believes his role will be to make shots and be a good representative of the team both on and off the court. The interviewer mentioned that Raul is already becoming known as a showman. Raul's response: "It's all about having fun. Basketball is fun!" He's also very resilient-- he dislocated his elbow the day before school started this fall, but he's already way ahead of schedule on his recovery and is ready to go. Coach Rose says the fans will really enjoy watching him play. He's fast. He can score in a variety of ways-- a good driver and a good finisher. I'm really excited to see him in action. 

Agustin ("Auggie") Ambrosino- A transfer from SLCC and a devout Catholic, Auggie grew up in Argentina and Spain. He is fitting in well with the team, according to Coach Rose. He said he chose BYU over his other offers because he likes their fast-paced playing style and the coaching techniques of Dave Rose. He's also a big Jimmer fan. I like him already. :) He's a 6-foot-8 power forward who averaged 9.6 points and 5.3 rebounds per game at SLCC last season. He also has 44% accuracy on 3-pointers. His playing style has been compared to Noah Hartsock-- I certainly won't complain about that!

Sophomores:
Nate Austin- Nate had shoulder surgery in the off-season, but he has been cleared to play. He's a good back-up for Davies and brings a lot of strength and good defensive skills in the paint.

Matt Carlino- According to Coach Rose, Matt has been working really hard on being more consistent and improving his pick-and-roll skills lately. He should be much improved this year, especially since he can play the whole season now. He is dedicated and wants to be good ALL the time, which is something a coach and fans love to hear. I think he'll bring great things to the team this year and in the two years after that.

Tyler Haws- I'm sooo excited that Tyler is back from his mission and ready to play again. He's one of the best free throw shooters I've ever seen. In fact, he has a current streak of 48 consecutive free throws made-- a school record-- that he can continue building on this season, despite his 2-year hiatus. He was getting teased about it a little bit at the commercial shoot in May-- Brandon accused him of forgetting how to play basketball while he was gone, and everyone was saying he'd better not miss that first shot back on the court (Tyler admitted that is one of his biggest fears). In his media day interview, he said the biggest strength of this year's team is unity. Everyone gets along on and off the court. They're competitive-- they want to win and they will be a tough team to beat this year. Tyler is a solid addition to this team and is expected to be a starter and a team leader, a role he is very excited to have.

Josh Sharp- This might sound harsh, but if I had to pick a "least favorite" member of the BYU basketball team, it would probably be Josh Sharp. He just doesn't seem to do very much or contribute to the team on the court, and he's always back in the shadows off the court, making it hard to feel a connection to him. But maybe he'll change my mind this year and come out swinging! I hope so.

Anson Winder- At the basketball commercial shoot in May, Anson really impressed me with his friendliness to the fans and his sense of humor. Toward the end of the shoot, the crowd was starting to thin out and they were having a hard time making it look like there were a lot of fans in the background, so Anson came over during one of the shots that he wasn't in, stood right behind me, and started cheering with us, shouting things like, "Hey Brandon, nice shot! I'm a fan! Can I have your autograph?" He's a cool guy, both on and off the court. I like his ability to keep cool and deliver under pressure. I think he's got a great season ahead of him.

Freshmen:
Cooper Ainge- Son of the legendary Danny Ainge, Cooper is a walk-on on this year's team. Since he will be leaving on his mission next summer, he might redshirt.

Cory Calvert- Cory originally planned on going on a mission before enrolling at BYU, but he has decided to play for a year first instead. He's 6-foot-3, was the 2012 5A MVP in Colorado, and plays both point and shooting guard.

Kyle Rose- Coach Rose's nephew Kyle redshirted in the 2009-2010 season (which means he had lots of practice guarding Jimmer and Jackson in practice during their junior year) before his mission in Salt Lake City. Now he's back and is ready for his first regular season on the team. He said it's not that strange to be playing on his uncle's team because at family reunions, Uncle Dave is the one joking around and making everyone laugh, but "when it comes to basketball, he's Coach Rose."

Ian Harward- Ian decided to redshirt last year (I heard they were originally going to redshirt Nate Austin, but when Harward got injured (I'm not sure what the injury was, though), they switched places), but this year, he's ready to go. I don't know much about him, but he's really tall (6-foot-11) and hopefully can do some damage in the paint like Nate Austin.

Coach Dave Rose:
In his Media Day interview, Coach Rose said he likes the way the team looks, both physically and mentally, but admitted they need to be more confident and become more prepared through repetition and consistency. The new NCAA rule that coaches can practice 2 hours per week with the team during the summer has helped a lot. The pre-season non-conference schedule is "one of the best we've ever had" and he's excited to get started.

It will take some getting used to (for both players and fans) with the student section behind the hoop and the players' benches on the other side of the court this year, but they're ready to go. And so am I!!!

The Cougar Tipoff is one week from tonight!!! Let's get ready to rumble!!!