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| Photo Credit: Getty |
It's only
natural for a BYU fan like myself to be cautious in my expectations of BYU Basketball. I had high
hopes for this team, but after some ugly losses to the better programs on our
non-conference slate, I returned to my status quo pessimism.
So it was no surprise that I was worried about
this road contest against the Broncos of Santa Clara. After all, they had
played Duke down to the wire in Durham and given Gonzaga all they could handle.
Also, BYU has been troubled by teams that shoot well from outside and Santa
Clara's Kevin Foster is the WCC's all-time leader in three-pointers made. So
factor that with BYU's slow starts in the last two conference games and you
have the reasoning behind my worries.
These concerns were replaced with a new-found sense of
optimism as the Cougars were able to pull away in the second half and score an 82-64 victory. I came into the game a Debbie Downer and left seeing the glass
half-full. What was the reasoning behind my change of heart? It was the
reminder that Dave Rose is a very good basketball coach.
I could talk about his X's and O's, but what impressed me most in this game is that Rose has the ability to instill confidence in his players regardless of their recent struggles. I look at how he handled players like Matt Carlino, Brock Zylstra and Anson Winder, all three of which played pivotal roles in today's victory.
All three of these players at some point in the first half of
the season were heavily criticized for their inconsistent play
and inability to produce on offense. Many were calling for a reduction in
playing time, if not complete banishment from the basketball program.
Today, we saw all three of these players contribute in a big
way. Even though Carlino shot 5-for-14 from the field, he did just about
everything else. He dished out 8 assists, grabbed 5 boards, had 3 steals and not one single turnover. Big Z was lighting it up from outside,
shooting 3-for-4 from behind the arc, and Anson played some quality minutes that
included some great defense on Kevin Foster.
I give credit to these guys because they have
worked hard to improve their play, but I love that Dave Rose was able
to instill confidence in these players so that they were able to make
significant contributions. Too often when a player struggles, he will see his
teammates lose trust in him and the coach will waver in his support. Rose
understood what these guys were capable of and knew they would come
around.
Overall, this was a quality conference road win
against one of the stronger teams in the WCC. It probably won't show up on
our tournament resume as a good win, but it's a great place to start
as we head into the heart of the conference schedule.
Stray Thoughts:
• To continue this love letter to Dave Rose, I just hope everyone recognizes how well he draws up in-bounds plays. Every game, without fail, BYU will in-bound the ball from underneath the basket and run a play that results in an easy bucket. A lot of teams will settle for jump shots or a corner three, but Dave gets us layups. Gotta love that.
• It just wan't Brandon Davies' day. He had a hard time keeping possession when the double team came and he couldn't get to the basket as easy. I love the fact that he kept at it and had some key baskets down the stretch, but any way you look at it, seven turnovers is bad news.
• I love Tyler Haws and his offensive approach. I feel like most guys who put up big offensive numbers are chucking up a lot of threes or taking it to the basket. Instead of going for volume, Haws will be crazy efficient and take high percentage shots. Just compare his line with that of Kevin Foster. Haws had 24 points on 10-for-14 shooting (1-for-2 from three), while Foster got 22 on 9-for-19 shooting (3-for-8 from three).
• I'm 37 percent positive that Craig Cusick and Ben Wyatt from Parks and Recreation are the same dang person.
• In the second half, I was really mad that Brandon didn't come give defensive help when Evan Roquemore had a clear path to the basket until Roquemore was absolutely stuffed by the front of the rim. It made me smile. It will be the only time I was glad Brandon didn't give help defense.
• I saw Bronson Kafusi clear someone out from underneath the basket on a box out like it was nobody's business. I'm curious what kind of role he will play next year (assuming he comes back) when Davies is gone. Unless Ian Harward can prove he is not James Anderson 2.0 or Nate Austin can break 140 pounds on the scale then I think we will want him on the hardwood.
• The starters got a lot of minutes again and with a stretch of tough games coming up next week we probably won't see that change anytime soon.
UP NEXT: BYU vs Saint Marys, Wednesday, 9:00 p.m. MST
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