2014 WCC Tourney: Time for BYU to Dethrone the Zags!

Anson lays it up and in against the Zags in Provo

March Madness has begun! We're down to the final 4 teams in the WCC Tournament: Gonzaga, St. Mary's, San Francisco, and BYU. The semi-finals are tomorrow evening, followed by the championship on Tuesday. I'm getting new cable installed at my apartment on Tuesday morning... everyone pray for me that it goes off without a hitch because I CANNOT miss that game! I have a cautiously good feeling about BYU's chances of winning this...

Santa Clara came super close to beating Gonzaga last night. I watched about the last 10 minutes or so, and I was vacillating back and forth the whole time about who I actually wanted to win. The game was tied with 9 seconds left, and David Stockton managed to take it all the way across the court to sink a layup with 1 second left. With all their timeouts gone, Santa Clara just had to throw up a half-court prayer that didn't go down (I had brief flashes of the Dellavedagger... which would have been kind of sweet, I must admit, but it didn't happen). The Zags won by 2.

Of course, if BYU doesn't win the tournament, we need Gonzaga to win it, so another team doesn't steal an auto-bid to the NCAA and risk knocking BYU out of an at-large. I kind of wanted Santa Clara to win last night, just because it would increase BYU's chances of winning the tourney. But since the Zags did win, I hope they beat St. Mary's tomorrow because I'd rather have BYU play against Gonzaga than St. Mary's in the championship, if, of course, the Cougs can make it past San Francisco first.

Quadruple team on Tyler? No prob.

The Cougars were ahead of LMU almost the whole game yesterday, but it still wasn't very pretty, and I didn't breathe easy until the clock was almost gone. They didn't make a single 3-pointer, which was really aggravating. Their rebounding wasn't as good as it should have been, either. Kyle Collinsworth had a great game, though, easily nailing a double-double. Anson Winder added 16 points, and Tyler Haws scored a quiet 22. I'm amazed at how he is able to do that game after game. I'm hoping the guys can shake it off and step it up because playing San Fran definitely isn't going to be a cakewalk-- they will need to play much better than they did yesterday to beat the Dons for a 3rd time this year.

I definitely like the new starting lineup with Anson and Luke Worthington. It has prevented them from falling behind too early and keeping Eric Mika out of foul trouble. He has been struggling a little bit off the bench, though-- he needs to work on playing aggressively without committing stupid fouls (I did a figurative facepalm on his behalf a few too many times yesterday...)

We've got a lot of momentum right now-- beating the Zags at home was awesome! It was definitely the game with the most energy from the crowd this season. It was also nice to easily beat Portland in the last home game of the season-- Matty's 3-point spectacle was the perfect revenge for Bobby Sharp's hot shooting in the 3OT game earlier this year.

Tyler Haws was interviewed on BYU Sports Nation on Thursday, and he agreed to moonwalk on the Orleans Arena court if they win the tourney on Tuesday. That would be hilarious-- I want them to win even more now!

That episode of BYU Sports Nation was also quite the embarrassing moment for me... Spencer Linton & Jarom Jordan apparently think I have a "huge crush" on Tyler Haws, which I will neither confirm nor deny. Here's the video and the audio-- they talk about me at about 26:10 and 40:00 on the video or 23:45 and 35:30 on the audio-only version. I must admit it's pretty funny, as mortified as I am by the whole thing. I may as well milk it, right? At least I got a "favorited" Tweet out of Tyler from it.... haha.

I did have contact with Jimmer the night before his 52-point thrashing of New Mexico in 2011, so maybe I'm good luck? I do hope Tyler has an equally awesome performance on Tuesday night. The Zags have been at the top of the conference for far too long, and BYU hasn't won their conference tourney in 13 years-- it's time! But of course, we've gotta get past San Francisco first. Come on, boys, let's win this thing!!!

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!

Changes in the BYU Basketball Roster

Mr. R. D. is transferring from BYU

Hello Cougar fans! Seems like I haven't blogged in forever! In my defense, I've been super busy with work and other stuff, and there's just not much going on in BYU sports nowadays anyway. That dreaded summer lull is upon us . . . Anyways, there has been a little bit of news on the BYU basketball front over the past few weeks.

First, Raul Delgado has decided to transfer to Metro State (wherever that is . . .) Kind of a strange move for a to-be senior, but I guess I shouldn't be terribly surprised. He didn't get a lot of playing time in the one year he had as a Cougar. The good news: that leaves only one senior on the team this next year: Auggie Ambrosino. And, no offense to Auggie whatsoever, but that's not a crushing loss. That means we'll have roughly the same team for 2 years in a row (with the exception of Eric Mica and maybe Luke Worthington, who will probably leave on missions after their freshman year).

Second, Ian Harward has been forced into retirement because of injuries. Sheesh, what is up with all these career-ending injuries? First Steven Rogers & Chris Collinsworth and now Harward? :(

I heart Kyle.

Speaking of Collinsworth, KYLE is back from his mission!!! YAY! I really hope he gets on the phone with Tyler Haws FAST to create a plan and start doing the same training Ty did when he got back from his mish so he'll be up-to-par in October. SO excited to see them on the court together!

With Delgado and Harward leaving, plus Brandon, Brock, Chris, and Stephen graduating and Cory Calvert going on a mission (He received his call to Boston! Congrats to Cory!), that left 7 open scholarships for this coming year. Two will be given to freshmen Luke Worthington and Eric Mika  (who was voted MVP of the West Coast All-Star Classic game this week, by the way, with 28 points and 5 blocks . . . yowza!) Another goes to Collinsworth, and another to SLCC transfer Skyler Halford.

Two more were filled in the last week or so by transfers:

Chase Fischer, from www.ksl.com

Chase Fischer- This news came as a big shock to a lot of people. Chase is a 6-3 guard transferring from Wake Forest, so he'll have to sit out this coming season, but he'll still have 2 years left of eligibility in 2014-15 and 2015-16. He's not LDS, and the only connection he's had to anyone at BYU before was working with assistant coach Mark Pope, who used to be an assistant at WF. Chase didn't play a ton last year at WF (averaging 14.2 MPG), but he shot pretty well-- 39.5% FG and 42.2% 3FG. In other words, he can shoot 3s better than 2s-- that's definitely rare! I hope he can help us put some points on the board.

Frank Bartley, from www.deepshadesofblue.com. I'm sure
Anson is happy he won't be the only black guy on the team! haha.

Frank Bartley- Bartley is also a 6-3 guard is transferring from a prep school in California, which means he'll be able to play immediately and have 4 full years of eligibility. I wasn't able to find much info about him, but hopefully he'll be a good relief off the bench for the likes of Carlino and Collinsworth. Bartley isn't LDS either, but he's a convert to Jimmerism. :) From this article:

“I didn’t know hardly anything about BYU when coaches first contacted me, but I sure knew about Jimmer,” Bartley said. “I became a huge fan of his during the NCAA Tournament and I watch his highlights frequently. I have a link to my computer that goes automatically to just Jimmer highlights and that was long before BYU coaches even contacted me.”

Love this guy already! haha. 

So here's the 2013-14 roster as it stands right now:

• Tyler Haws
• Matt Carlino
• Josh Sharp
• Anson Winder
• Nate Austin
• Auggie Ambrosino
• Kyle Collinsworth
• Eric Mika
• Luke Worthington
• Skyler Halford
• Chase Fischer (red shirt)
• Frank Bartley
• Kyle Rose (walk on)

That leaves one scholarship available . . . Hope they get another big man! We need as many as we can get to have any hopes of replacing B. :(

Is it October yet???

A Bittersweet End to the BYU Basketball Season

I'm calling it right now.
Two years from now, Tyler Haws
will be BYU's #1 all-time scorer.

As difficult as it is to come so close and fall short, I'm generally happy with the way the 2012-2013 BYU basketball season ended. To go from a first-round exit in the WCC Tourney against a team that we were supposed to beat easily to turning things around and making it all the way to the NIT Final Four is definitely something to be proud of. We were one of the last 8 teams in the country to still be playing basketball in April-- awesome! Despite all the heartbreaks that happened in the last few months, the Cougs' post-season NIT run really saved the whole season.

The 2012-2013 season certainly wasn't without highlights. I still get all tingly inside when I watch Craig Cusick's putback against USU, and I loved the show the boys put on against LMU on my birthday. We ALMOST beat the #1 team in the country (it obviously would have been much sweeter if we had actually pulled it off, but it was sweet nonetheless), and we did beat a really, really good team on the road like it was child's play. Tyler Haws started smashing records, Brandon Davies made his way into the top-10 Cougars of all-time in several different categories, Brock Zylstra finally came out of the woodwork to end his career on a great note, and Matt Carlino, despite his frantic play and inconsistency, saved the day more than once. There were a lot of great moments and some great successes this season. But that definitely doesn't mean there's not room for improvement. 

Nate Austin showed a glimmer of hope toward the end of the season, but he has a long way to go before being able to carry the team in the post. We also have 2 incoming freshmen to help in that area (Eric Mika & Luke Worthington), but it's yet to be seen how their games will transition to the college level. I think that's gonna be the most difficult task in the off-season-- figuring out how to make up for losing Brandon.

The #2 task is going to be putting a leash on Carlino, but I actually don't think that's going to be super hard because there's an easy solution-- put Kyle Collinsworth at the 1-guard position and move Carlino to the 2. BAM! Problem solved. Carlino is soooo much better at the 2 because it allows him to get better looks at the basket without having to concentrate on running the show, but we just haven't had anyone else at the 1 to replace him. But with Collinsworth coming back from his mission, that's definitely the logical thing to do. He can run point and let Carlino take a backseat, where he's more productive and less frantic. Hopefully Dave Rose thinks so, too. It would also help to get Anson Winder fully healthy again so he can make up some slack defensively that we will get with losing Cusick.

I'm really looking forward to next season. I think we'll have a better, more mature guard line and hopefully can get Brandon's replacements in the post up to snuff before conference play.

So, now I enter my 7-month period of mourning where there is no BYU basketball to be seen . . .  :( I'll try to wipe my tears now and look forward to another great year. Go Cougs!