Recap: Cougar Tip-Off

Photo Credit: BYU Photo

Man, it's good to be back. Even though it was sloppy at times and defense was clearly a mere afterthought for many players, the Cougar Tip-Off gave me everything I wanted — namely, BYU basketball.

There is nothing quite like a fresh new season — full of limitless possibilities and unsullied by disappointment — to make you feel even better than usual about the greatest game ever invented. Nights like tonight encapsulate that feeling. It may not represent the sport at its highest level, but there's just something fun about rolling the balls out for the first time and letting the fans finally get a glimpse of what lies in store in the months ahead. In the words of the great (fictional) coach Norman Dale, spoken at a similar event, "This is your team."

Since this was just an intra-squad scrimmage, I'll forgo a more comprehensive recap and just share some quick thoughts that popped into my head as I soaked in the action.

• Brandon Davies is an absolute beast. He put up 20 points, 7 boards, and 4 assists in 20 minutes of play — and the dude has an injured back. Imagine what he can do when he's fully healthy. He was simply unstoppable on offense, dominating the paint one second and stepping out to drop a silky jumper or two the next. That kind of versatility will be huge if Davies has NBA aspirations, as his size projects best as a "stretch 4" at the next level.

• On the other hand, Ian Harward and Nate Austin did their absolute best to do everything but murder Davies in cold blood. I think I started praying halfway through the first half that he would make it out of the scrimmage in one piece — and my prayers may not have been fully successful. In any event, smart move by the coaching staff to hold him out after the break.

• Two words: Tyler. Haws. In case you forgot during the last two years, this guy is good — and he's still just getting his legs back underneath him. While Davies was certainly the most dominant player on the court, Haws wasn't far behind. He was relentlessly aggressive and he repeatedly put his defender on the wrong foot with his first step, often using the created space to rise up into a picture-perfect mid-range jumper that was splashing home all night. He also ran the floor like a wide receiver, hauling in several pretty passes from his new partner-in-crime Matt Carlino on the way to a game-high 26 points. Very impressive.

• Speaking of Matt Carlino, I'm still driving the bandwagon. This kid has special talent, and he has visibly improved since last season. In the past, Carlino has often felt more like a scoring guard who shot first and distributed as a last resort, but that wasn't the case tonight. He showed great command of the offense and an obvious desire to set up his teammates, particularly Haws. (That half-court bounce pass? Scary good.) To be sure, Matt still got his 19 points, but he also dropped 8 dimes and finished with only two turnovers. Despite a generally sloppy game going on around him, he showed that he is ready to take the next step in his evolution as a point guard.

• It's no secret: I like to give Josh Sharp a hard time — and with good reason. He was pretty terrible last year. I'm not convinced that he could even walk and chew gum at the same time, never mind shoot a basketball. So I've been skeptical of reports coming out of BYU practice raving about how Sharp is among the most improved players. Tonight, we got a glimpse of what they are talking about. I'm not ready to say that Sharp is primed for greatness quite yet, but he's certainly not embarrassing himself anymore. He hustles and scraps. He uses his freakish leaping ability to his advantage in loose ball situations. He even stepped out and hit a jumper or two. Sure, he still moves with all the grace of a drunken elephant when handling the ball, but I would be lying if I said I wasn't pleasantly surprised. Kudos, Mr. Sharp.

• And that skyscraping dunk Sharp threw down over Agustin Ambrosino? Gross. I'm pretty sure that's illegal in at least 40 states.

• The new transfers had their moments, but neither has blown me away yet. Ambrosino finished with a relatively quiet 17 points and 7 boards, showcasing a sweet short-corner fadeaway jumper, but he didn't assert himself in such a way that I see a compelling reason for him to steal minutes from Austin at the four. Similarly, Raul Delgado got hot in spurts offensively, but struggled to guard Haws, who repeatedly brutalized him off the dribble. Considering the reputation he has as a lockdown defender, I'm going to chalk this one up to Haws' considerable height advantage, but I'd like to see a little more in the weeks ahead.

• Craig Cusick is never flashy, but he's always effective. He's always in the right place, doing the right thing. The Cougars will need a steady hand on the wheel when Carlino gets a breather this season (or even when Rose experiments with moving him off-ball), and Craig remains more than up to the task.

• Brock Zylstra was pretty much invisible throughout, but that's not really all that surprising.

• Cory Calvert looked like a freshman, totally overmatched on both sides of the ball. Then again, that may also be because he is, you know, a freshman. He's got plenty of time to catch up.

• I'm a fan of these scrimmages in principle, but I'm not a fan of how physical this one got at times. Davies, Austin, and Sharp all attempted to take hard charges at one point or the other, and limbs were constantly flying everywhere. Don't get me wrong, no one loves a good block/charge call more than I do, but I may love keeping everyone healthy until at least the first game even more. There is a lot to be said for hustle — I just wish we could bottle it for another week or two.

• There are a ton of nits that I could pick with different elements of the team's performance — missed free throws, intermittently poor defensive effort, second-half sloppiness, etc. — but it's not worth going into all that now.  This is a scrimmage and, while it is fun for the fans, it is also a learning experience. Coach Rose will surely spend a great deal of time  breaking down this tape tomorrow and identifying problem areas, and I know those problems will be fixed in short order. Wasting anymore breath here is simply unnecessary.

Overall, it was a fun night that allowed fans to begin getting an idea about who this team is and what it will look like this season. It seems clear that Davies, Haws, and Carlino will function as the team's core offensively, with a rotating cast of characters being called upon to step up as needed. Despite all the injuries, this team is exceptionally deep and should be a fascinating one to watch develop in the weeks and months ahead.

This is our team. Consider me excited.


Follow @PostJimmer