Due to the tardiness of this recap (Thanksgiving travel conspired against its timely completion), I'm going to forego the usual format and scrap my three longer thoughts in favor of a list of shorter observations. The full recap will return for tomorrow's game against Nevada. Now, without further ado...
Stray Observations
- Mark my words, these sluggish starts are going to come back to bite BYU in the butt — perhaps as soon as this weekend against Nevada and/or Wisconsin. Against the Longwoods and Prairie View A&Ms of the world, coming slow out of the gate isn't really a problem. Against good teams? It's fatal. If the Cougars turn in a first-half performance in Chicago like they had Tuesday (sloppy offense, bad turnovers, all-around mediocrity), they will get blown off the floor. Clean it up, boys.
- Noah Hartsock continues to prove that he is the real deal. He almost always looks like he is the best, most well-rounded player on the court. Noah has always been efficient offensively — in fact, he was ranked in the top five nationally for PER his sophomore year — but he has added more tools to arsenal this season, including a killer back-to-the-basket post-up game he didn't have before. Combine that with some much improved defense and his always reliable mid-range game, and Noah is easily the team's MVP thus far. He brings his best stuff every single night.
- Brandon Davies continues to struggle settling into his new role as BYU's go-to guy. He had some nice moments against Prairie View where he showed flashes of potential, but he tends to either make poor decisions (he added four more turnovers to his team-leading total Tuesday) or just fade into the background altogether far too often. Davies needs to demand the ball on the block more than he does, and then make smarter decisions when he gets it there. Sometimes that will be drawing a double-team and immediately kicking it out to an open shooter, and sometimes it will mean executing an aggressive post move to score himself. Either way, he's not getting enough touches right now, and when he does they are often away from the basket and result in misguided mid-range jumpers. That won't cut it. Continued improvement is needed. It will be interesting to see how he fares this weekend against stiffer competition.
- Stephen Rogers shot the ball extremely well for a second straight game, netting 18 points on 6-for-9 shooting. I like Rose's decision to bring him off the bench, because it provides some offensive kick to that second unit. At this point, it seems Rogers is filling a Jonathan Tavernari-esque gun-for-hire role. He comes in solely to jack it up — and if his shots aren't falling, there's not a lot else he adds to the team. The difference, I think, is that Rogers has more of a conscience than Tavernari ever did, and he knows when it's time to stop shooting. Similarly, I think Rose has a shorter leash on Rogers than he did with the Brazilian bomber, and he tends to pull him fairly quickly if he looks cold. So far, this has been — predictably — feast or famine (some nights you just aren't feeling it, sometimes you are on fire), but I think this is the right spot for him.
- The young point guards continue to impress. Both had nice games against Prairie View, splitting the minutes fairly equally. Anson Winder played well again, scoring 11 points and adding 4 assists. He's certainly the flashier of the two, and he pushes the tempo quickly off misses and turnovers. On the downside, he had two turnovers, which Rose would obviously like to avoid moving forward. Craig Cusick isn't quite as much fun to watch, but he is an extremely solid, competent point guard. He doesn't really look for his own shot, but he runs the offense effectively and takes care of the ball, which is essential on a team that's been plagued by turnovers so far. In fact, Cusick has yet to commit a turnover in four games this season. That's extremely impressive stuff. I know most BYU fans are currently enamored with Winder's athleticism and quickness (and rightfully so), but we also can't dismiss what Cusick brings to the table. We are very lucky to have both of them, albeit for somewhat different reasons.
- Brock Zylstra played a little better Tuesday, but he continues to get lost in the shuffle. He is yet to have a really good breakout performance where we see the guy the coaching staff fell in love with in Greece over the summer. I keep hoping that moment will come, and I think the potential is there, but right now Brock seems to be deferring to the other guys around him. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but I would like to see him get off more than four shots a game.
- One thing this team does really well? They take a ton of charges, particularly the big guys. A lot of this comes from great backline rotations when BYU is in their zone defense, so kudos to Brandon Davies, Nate Austin and Josh Sharp (among others) for being willing and able to slide over and take one in the chest for the team. Besides a slam dunk, there is no play in basketball that has the potential to shift the momentum of a game like a charging call does. They may not show up on the stat sheet, but you can't overstate their importance. These little plays will continue to play big dividends for the Cougars the rest of the way.
- You know what this team really doesn't do well? Make free throws. Dave Rose's teams are usually excellent from the stripe, but they are only shooting about 65 percent so far this season. As a result, they are essentially leaving anywhere from 7 to 15 points per game on the floor, which could really end up killing them in close games. It's imperative they figure this problem out sooner rather than later.
- Lastly, a question: How badly does Damarcus Harrison want to throw down a breakaway jam? He got close once against Prairie View (he was fouled at the rim), but he spent pretty much the entire second half standing near the 3-point line on defense, waiting to leak out down the wing as soon as BYU corralled the ball. This isn't necessarily a criticism (they were up by 40 after all), just a funny observation. I'm really looking forward to the time he does get a clean path to the basket — and I don't think we'll have to wait too much longer for that moment.
UP NEXT: BYU vs. Nevada, Friday at 6:00 p.m. EST
Photo: BYU Photo
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