As the start of basketball season looms ever closer, Post-Jimmer is running a three-part series examining this year's team, position-by-position. Up next: the crucial unit almost no one is talking about — the wings.
No one seems to want to talk about Stephen Rogers. Or Damarcus Harrison. Or even senior captain Charles Abouo, for that matter.
Maybe that's because BYU's wing players aren't the sexy story right now — everyone would rather speculate about who will fill Jimmer's shoes at the point, how the freshly reinstated Brandon Davies will adapt to being a go-to guy down low, etc. And in that sense, this new crop of wings isn't much different than their predecessor.
I'll go to my grave believing that Jackson Emery is the most underrated player in BYU history. Always overshadowed by the folk hero that was Jimmer Fredette, Emery was one of the best defenders in the country for three straight years — something many Cougar fans took for granted. The man didn't set the school steals record for nothing. Jackson was an absolute terror in the passing lanes, and he was a shut-down on-ball defender to boot. He routinely drew the assignment of guarding the other team's best guy and always ate them alive. Throw in the fact that he worked hard to turn himself into the lethal second offensive option the team needed beside Fredette and it becomes hard to overstate his significance. How many fewer games would the 2010-2011 Cougars have won without Jackson Emery on the floor? A lot fewer.
Yet it felt like he never really got the credit he deserved — not really, not with The Jimmer Show in full swing. Jackson always kind of flew under the radar, so I guess it's fitting that the next wave of BYU wings are (as of now) doing the same. However, just like Emery, the quality of their play will determine a lot about the Cougars' upcoming season.
There's talent on the wings, to be sure — but there are also many question marks. With Jimmer's exit, coach Dave Rose has plenty of shots that need to be allocated elsewhere, and the wings are likely to get a good portion if the proper players can step up.
Stephen Rogers will be key to any success on the perimeter this season. Rogers came to BYU with the reputation of a hot-shooting junior college superstar, but his first year in Provo was marked by inconsistency. He had a couple nice flashes of potential, but he played sparingly and never really seemed to settle into a groove from deep.
There will be ample opportunities for Rogers to assert himself offensively in 2011-2012, and even a starting spot for the taking. His 6'8" athletic frame gives him a distinct advantage with the ball in his hands, allowing him to easily shoot over smaller defenders and attack around taller ones. Based on his preseason performance, Rogers seems to finally have his stroke working — he averaged 17.5 points in two exhibition games — and his continued success will be key to BYU's offensive plans moving forward.
Charles Abouo should also be an important piece of the wing rotation. Over the last few years, Abouo has been one of the most simultaneously exhilarating and frustrating Cougars. "Charles In Charge" has the capability to take over a game on either end of the floor with his strength and athleticism at a moment's notice, but his play is often maddeningly inconsistent. It's usually feast-or-famine with Chuck and, with so much uncertainty and inexperience at both wing positions, BYU desperately needs that pattern to change this year.
Abouo will see a large share of the minutes at both shooting guard and small forward, and he'll be called on to provide more reliable production on both sides of the ball. He will most likely become Rose's first choice to guard the opponent's best player, a task that Charles cannot take lightly. How he lives up to this more demanding role will tell us a lot about the ultimate success of this team.
As mentioned above, while BYU's wing players are certainly promising, they are also young — very young, in fact. (Other than Abouo, none have played significant Division I minutes.) Nowhere is that more evident than in true freshman Damarcus Harrison, who is one of the program's highest profile recruits in quite some time. After a prestigious high school career, many Cougar fans have exceptionally high hopes for Harrison and, after watching him play a few times, I'd say such hopes are appropriate.
Damarcus quite obviously knows how to play the game and he has the physical abilities to translate that knowledge into on-court success. He is a smooth operator on offense, with a silky mid-range jump shot and the athleticism to get to the rim — something far too many BYU teams have lacked in recent years. However, it's also clear from watching him that he is still just a freshman, and he so far lacks the confidence and experience necessary to consistently produce at a D-1 level.
Case-in-point: the Dixie State game, where Harrison took only one shot and was largely invisible. That can't happen if he is going to play a significant role on this team, which he clearly has the potential to do. He will need to find some level of consistency that his coaches and teammates can rely on. It's possible that this might just take some time and a little adjustment to the faster, more physically punishing college game. And that's to be expected, I suppose. But for those of us (Coach Rose included, I believe) who want to see Damarcus be a key cog in the lineup this season, that maturation process can't end soon enough. And when it does, look out — we'll be seeing something special for the next few years.
I largely consider Rogers, Abouo and Harrison to be the three main pieces in this year's wing corps. As mentioned in Part 1 of this review, Brock Zylstra will also play significant minutes once he can move off the ball in December, and he will add even more depth to the rotation. Anson Winder will likely also see spot time at shooting guard, and Utah transfer Josh Sharp could also swing up to small forward as part of a larger line-up.
To be honest, there is plenty of room for everybody. With 80 available minutes each game between the two wing positions, each of those six individuals will get a huge opportunity to prove themselves before the really important games start in January. The players who step up most consistently will end up playing the most. Abouo and Rogers are probably a nose ahead of the rest of the pack right now — Rogers because of his shooting, and Abouo due to his defensive skills — but that could change in a heartbeat if Zylstra (post-Carlino's return), Harrison, or someone else surges.
And that's maybe what's most exciting about this group of guys. True, there's no Jackson Emery out there — not even close — and that's quite a drop-off in and of itself. But there are some legitimately talented players here who will get to compete to earn their playing time. Ideally, such a scenario will bring out the best in everyone, ultimately creating the best possible situation for the team as a whole. (Invisible Hand, Adam Smith, yadda yadda yadda.)
At the very least, it should be a fun process to watch, especially because I have no clue what will happen or what the wing rotation will look like come March — or even tomorrow. It may not be the sexy story, but I kind of like it that way.
UP NEXT: Season Preview, Part 3: Posts
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