As always, three thoughts and some stray observations on the evening's events:
1. Second Half Renaissance
You wouldn't necessarily know it from the final score, but this game did not start well for the Cougars. Longwood aggressively double- and triple-teamed Brandon Davies in the post from the get-go, which really bogged down Coach Rose's initial game plan. Davies responded poorly and continued to try to force things down low, racking up four turnovers despite having open shooters galore on the perimeter. Things got a little better when Rose pulled his star big man and inserted redshirt freshman Anson Winder at point guard (more on him in a second), but the team still struggled to find a rhythm. As such, BYU took only a six-point lead into halftime.
And then... something happened.
I can't really explain it, but something clicked into place and BYU's engine started firing on all cylinders for the first time this season.
Some may say that the Cougars finally started shooting well from deep. That's partially true, but not the whole story — they actually shot better from three, percentage-wise, in the first half. The defensive intensity definitely picked up, with BYU scoring 13 second half points off turnovers compared to just three in the first. And, as Steve Cleveland mentioned repeatedly on the BYUtv broadcast, the altitude almost certainly took some of the wind out of Longwood's sails as the game went along.
Credit is due to Rose for being willing to mix and match his lineups to try different combinations and allow players to fill different roles. Nearly every player that got on the floor responded with an inspired performance in his own way. The freshman players, previously a big question mark, played confidently and aggressively on both ends; Stephen Rogers found his sweet spot and knocked down shots; Even Nick Martineau hit a garbage-time 3-pointer — when that happens, you know things are going pretty well.
All in all, an encouraging night for Rose's boys. I'm not totally sure how exactly it happened, but it seemed like the team started to realize a bit of their potential and we caught a glimpse of what may be possible in the not-so-distant future.
2. The Brock Zylstra Era is Over
The section header pretty much says it all. After two games of ungodly amounts of turnovers and stunted offensive production, Rose made a change at the point guard position against Longwood, sliding Zylstra over to his more natural position at the two.
It paid off.
Rose chose to start Craig Cusick, the breakout player from the BYU-Hawaii game, in Zylstra's stead, but it was Anson Winder who really made an impression against the Lancers. Winder brings a different personality to this BYU squad. He brings the ball up quickly and frequently makes use of his speed to great effect. That's not to say he is solving the Cougars' transition woes — they still only managed 4 fast break points — but he does get the ball into the half-court offense quicker, which seems to create a greater sense of urgency among his teammates.
Oh, and he doesn't turn the ball over. Winder ultimately finished with 8 points and 5 assists in 25 minutes, but it's his ball security that impressed me most. He was able to push the tempo and play quickly without making the same careless mistakes we saw in the first few games, which is a huge victory for Rose moving forward. Indeed, Winder may have very well cemented his role as the team's interim starting point guard with tonight's performance — at least until something changes again.
One last note: To be fair, Craig Cusick did not play poorly. He started the game and had the poor fortune of running the team when Davies was self-destructing against Longwood's triple-teams. He executed Rose's game plan competently if not excitingly, and he took care of the ball. In fact, Cusick and Winder combined for zero turnovers on the evening. Zero. That's a far cry from the five or so per game Zylstra had been averaging previously.
Right now, Winder gets my nod over Cusick because he seems to have a more aggressive mindset on both ends of the floor, but make no mistake, both players have shown they are more than up to the task moving forward.
Amazing what happens when you play actual point guards at the point guard position...
3. Backwards Shorts FTW
I've already commented extensively on this blog about the enigma that is Charles Abouo. Unlike our good friend Forrest Gump once drawled, you just never know what you're going to get with Chuck. One night he is great, the next he is... well, decidedly not great. Welcome to life as a BYU basketball fan.
Charles really stunk it up against BYU-Hawaii on Tuesday, so Chuck-logic would dictate that he was due for a huge game tonight — and Chuck-logic is seldom wrong. Wearing his shorts backwards (something he said he didn't notice until right before tip-off and apparently didn't feel like fixing at halftime), Abouo got off to a slow start offensively. He turned the ball over, forced a couple of drives he shouldn't have, and took a few bad shots. For the first few minutes, it was all kind of pathetic. (Really, the entire offense was pathetic, so Charles was certainly not alone in that.)
But despite the early adversity, Chuck didn't mope. He kept motoring and fighting on both ends of the floor. He absolutely cleaned the glass, grabbing 9 boards before the half even ended. He flew all over the court, getting to every loose ball. In short, he played hard — and, as these things often happen, it worked out for him. Shots started falling, he got into an offensive rhythm, and it was all gravy from there.
Chuck finished the game with 19 points, a career-high 16 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 blocks. If Rose hadn't taken him out with six minutes left, he could've easily had a 20-20 night. It was a dominating performance. Everywhere you looked, Charles Abouo was there. The man played his tail off for 27 minutes.
This is what makes it so easy to love Chuck — and to forgive the horrendous eggs he tends to lay from time to time. He always plays hard and he always puts forth maximum effort. And if you continually do that, no matter if the shots are falling that particular night or not, things have a way of eventually turning themselves around — but you have to give the effort first.
Chuck does that every night, and tonight was Exhibit A of the benefits. I believe a tip of the cap is in order.
Stray Observations
- Damarcus Harrison started to come into his own tonight, turning in a nice 11-point effort. He had looked listless and lost throughout the first two games, but give credit to Rose for continuing to give the kid ample minutes. As a result, he seems to be sorting out his confidence issues. Of course, things will change again when the opponents get tougher, but for now, Damarcus seems to be in a good place in his progression. He will be an exciting player to watch.
- No need to sugarcoat it — this was not a good night for Brandon Davies. Longwood basically dedicated themselves to making anyone else beat them, and they came at Davies with two or three defenders every time he touched the ball from the opening tip. He didn't necessarily respond very well, as discussed above, but that's a tough position to be put in — one that Brandon hadn't been faced with yet in his career. It will continue to be a bit of an adjustment for him to transition into the alpha dog role and all the added attention that comes with it, so nights like these become valuable teaching experiences.
- Hey, Stephen Rogers! Nice shooting. I knew there was a reason why you were here. I just forgot when you didn't make anything the first few games. Let's try to keep this up, shall we? (Seriously though, Rogers was on fire tonight. He was in one of those zones where you just know everything he throws up is going in. Maybe coming off the bench is, indeed, his true calling. And if that's the case, does that make him the 2011-2012 version of Jonathan Tavernari? I fear what this may mean for the world.)
- I was very impressed with Nate Austin's play in his first significant minutes of the season. Though he finished with just 4 points and 3 rebounds, Austin took 3 charges and ran the floor with an agility you rarely see in guys his size. He also took up a lot of space on defense and altered several shots inside. In other words, he looked like he knew what he was doing. Remember, this is just his third college game. James Anderson never figured that much out in three whole years. I consider Nate's relatively rapid progress a victory for all involved.
- Noah Hartsock was his same predictably awesome self tonight, finishing with a quiet 18 points and 5 boards in 30 minutes. He's been a picture of consistency thus far, and that's something this Cougar team desperately needs with so much youth and game-to-game uncertainty.
- Big loser of the night? Brock Zylstra. His point guard experiment got unceremoniously shelved (making the team a lot better in the process), and then he struggled to find his groove at the two for most of the night. He had only six points and never really looked to score. He played 18 minutes, but it seemed like much less than that. A tough night for Brock, but there will certainly be others. Chin up, etc.
- Problem area moving forward? Free throw shooting. The Cougars were an anemic 13-23 from the strip tonight, a performance they cannot afford to replicate against good teams in close games. This is pretty uncharacteristic for a BYU team, so I expect Rose will right the ship by having them put up some extra shots after practice this week.
- Lastly, this game was a master class in coaching adjustments from Dave Rose. His initial game plan (slam the ball down low) was thwarted by Longwood's aggressive post defense, so he simply retooled it. He took Davies out and went with a series of smaller lineups, mixing and matching personnel to find the best fits. He finally found one that exploded in the first 10 minutes of the second half, rocketing the Cougars to a huge lead and certain victory. Many coaches struggle to change course mid-game; they should all take notes, because Rose just showed how it is done.
UP NEXT: BYU vs. Prairie View A&M, Tuesday at 9:00 p.m. EST
Photo: BYU Photo
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I consistently enjoy and benefit from your analysis. Keep it coming.
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