Let's talk B-ball

[jay santos]

Here's another scrimmage report from CB

http://www.cougarboard.com/noframes/...tml?id=4966184

Again I agree mostly with his take with some differences.

Harstock: he's not a tweener he's a solid 4. He'll struggle playing the 5, but Rose likes to go small.

Abouo: definitely the most improved on the team. He didn't shoot much from the outside, but he did finish inside which he struggled to do last year. If he does get an outside shot, he will be no worse than Mike Hall within a year.

Jimmer: disagree he's best at the 2. Maybe on another team but not this team. He needs the ball in his hands as much as possible.

Davies: good point on the free throw jumpers. He's very confident hitting that shot. I saw him hit that shot in high school as well. That's a big weapon as a post man to be able to come out and hit that shot and force bigs to guard you. He's all potential right now, though, he's just not ready. I doubt he plays any this year.


One thing I like about this team is how athletic we'll be on the wing with Emery and Abouo. We've never been that athletic on the wing. Throw in the way Jimmer and JT are crafty on D with their hands getting steals and I expect this team to generate A LOT of turnovers.

[LiveCoug]

Abouo could be a poor man's millsap if he can learn to consistently finish around the basket.

[jay santos]

Abouo could be a poor man's millsap if he can learn to consistently finish around the basket.

He's only 6'4 so he's going go have a tough time being effective without a perimeter game.

[LiveCoug]

He's only 6'4 so he's going go have a tough time being effective without a perimeter game.

I agree. Millsap is undersized in the NBA, too. He has no perimeter game either, though he has improved some. That's why I say poor man's Millsap. Millsap is a fantastic finisher.

[Clark Addison]

He's only 6'4 so he's going go have a tough time being effective without a perimeter game.

He shot 43% on threes last year, so he can have a perimeter game, I think. Granted, he didn't shoot many, but he shot as many per minute as Lamont Morgan, and 28% of his shots were threes, which was more than Lee.

[woot]

How excited should we be about this team? I've been thinking that this could be our best team in a while. Cummard was really good, but he would disappear for long stretches and never took charge of a game, so I don't know how much he will be missed with the other 4 starters returning and a talented new crop coming in. Are we good enough this year to win the conference tourney in hostile territory (I hate to mention the big dance)?

[jay santos]

How excited should we be about this team? I've been thinking that this could be our best team in a while. Cummard was really good, but he would disappear for long stretches and never took charge of a game, so I don't know how much he will be missed with the other 4 starters returning and a talented new crop coming in. Are we good enough this year to win the conference tourney in hostile territory (I hate to mention the big dance)?

I expect us to be better than last year. Cummard was very good, but he was a role player stuck in a star spotlight. The improvement the rest of the team over one season will more than make up for Cummard, IMHO. I don't expect us to be significantly better than last season, only marginally better. How that translates to post season play? ...we're all too snake bitten to predict anything there.

[Goatnapper'96]

Here's another scrimmage report from CB

http://www.cougarboard.com/noframes/...tml?id=4966184

Again I agree mostly with his take with some differences.

Harstock: he's not a tweener he's a solid 4. He'll struggle playing the 5, but Rose likes to go small.

Abouo: definitely the most improved on the team. He didn't shoot much from the outside, but he did finish inside which he struggled to do last year. If he does get an outside shot, he will be no worse than Mike Hall within a year.

Jimmer: disagree he's best at the 2. Maybe on another team but not this team. He needs the ball in his hands as much as possible.

Davies: good point on the free throw jumpers. He's very confident hitting that shot. I saw him hit that shot in high school as well. That's a big weapon as a post man to be able to come out and hit that shot and force bigs to guard you. He's all potential right now, though, he's just not ready. I doubt he plays any this year.


One thing I like about this team is how athletic we'll be on the wing with Emery and Abouo. We've never been that athletic on the wing. Throw in the way Jimmer and JT are crafty on D with their hands getting steals and I expect this team to generate A LOT of turnovers.

I agree with you on Brandon Davies. I have read many reports (albeit from a metrosexual who is only a counselor in an EQP) that the kid is rawer than a stiff carrot used to satisfy Richard Simmons. I trust that kind of judgement!

In my perspective it boils down to this...BYU has two options at center right now in Miles and Anderson. Anderson is probably the better offensive option and Miles is the better defender. Neither is particularly spectacular at either and Miles is probably better on offense than Anderson is on defense. At the 4 BYU has 3 guys in Tavernari, Hartsock and Logan "Strong Man" Magnusson. Even with Tavernari occassionally going to the 3 and Hartsock occassionally playing the 5, I just don't see the minutes there for Davies to play very much at either the 5 or the 4. While he is arguably the most physically gifted big on BYU's squad he is a year younger than his grade, kid doesn't turn 18 until December I think. He is like that big carrot Ute Star grows in his garden for special occassions as well. Further compounding this is that the most improved player on the squad is Sir Charles Abouo who is looking to take a lot of minutes at the 3 and the newcomer most prepared to play is Marty Haws' boy who is gonna get minutes at the wing. Throw in that I think BYU's toughest and potentially 2nd most indispensable player (behind Jimmer) is Jackson Emery, I just don't see JT slipping down to the 3 enough to need another post player after Miles, Anderson, Hartsock and our World's Strongest Man.

I felt going into this year that either Davies or Abouo would redshirt and I think I was right, uh-gin. I predict Davies redshirts and then starts for 4 straight years as BYU's 5 similar to Trent Plaisted.

Other than that I tend to agree with the assesments folks offer. This team has a good engine with its best 3 players of Jimmer, JT and Jackson. I think BYU hoop teams benefit from an older and more mature leader like Jackson. If Miles can provide 10 ppg and 7.5 rpg, I think this team will finish in the top 25 and get a seed of 7 or 6 in the dance. I am too gunshy to predict an NCAA win though. I think we know what will come from the engine, but the key to move BYU off of where they have been the past 3 years is whether or not Miles forces teams to respect him and what he brings down low.

[BoylenOver]

Who challenges BYU in the MWC this year? Utah is a year away, UNM lost three seniors, UNLV has good recruits (but who knows), and SDSU seems to always be in the mix.

I've got a lot of respect for Dave Rose and his style of play. Also, the MC is where visiting teams go to die. Seems like the Cougars win every stinking game at home in the first 10 minutes of the second half where they get threes in transition, get the crowd into it, and turn the lights out.

[Goatnapper'96]

Who challenges BYU in the MWC this year? Utah is a year away, UNM lost three seniors, UNLV has good recruits (but who knows), and SDSU seems to always be in the mix.

I've got a lot of respect for Dave Rose and his style of play. Also, the MC is where visiting teams go to die. Seems like the Cougars win every stinking game at home in the first 10 minutes of the second half where they get threes in transition, get the crowd into it, and turn the lights out.

I think UNLV might end up better than BYU this year. They have some transfers coming in that are pretty good and generally BYU's reputed perimeter players don't end up quite as good as reputed. At present BYU's best players are its perimeter players.

I think UNLV is going to surprise some teams and win a 1st round tourney game. It wouldn't surprise me if the MWC gets two teams into the 2nd round this year and to be honest if BYU could get that 1st round monkey off their back this BYU team has the horses to get to the sweet 16 as it has two players with the potential to go off in an unconscious like Irish manner.

[jay santos]

the kid is rawer than a stiff carrot used to satisfy Richard Simmons.

crossed the line again

[byu71]

BYU basketball is a lot less frustrating for me. The lows just aren't that bad. I am pretty excited to watch the team this year. I anticipate a championship and yes like every year, a NCAA win.

However, even if we don't get to the NCAA's I won't be crushed. I wasn't that terribly bummed even through the 1-27 year.

I think it might be because I really don't go the extra mile when it comes to BYU BB. I stopped buying season tickets prior to the 1-27 year and so I just listened to the games on radio or watched them on TV. Same now, so it just doesn't feel like I have made a great effort and I don't feel so let down. I do feel like Rose deserves a great deal of fan support and attendance at games, but like I said I got out of the habit a long time ago.

The other thing is it is easy for me to listen to coach Rose talk. The song, "whose on the Lord's side who" doesn't go off in my head while he is speaking. Therefor the guilt meter doesn't remind me of being in Sacrament meeting.

[Goatnapper'96]

crossed the line again

That indicates that at some point in time I jumped back across the line I already crossed. No dice Santos, just like MetroSexual Ute I like my bread buttered on the right side and I stays there, thank you very much!

Big Knockers and double entendres are my President!

[Goatnapper'96]

The other thing is it is easy for me to listen to coach Rose talk. The song, "whose on the Lord's side who" doesn't go off in my head while he is speaking. Therefor the guilt meter doesn't remind me of being in Sacrament meeting.

Ya he is so unoffensive he would offend nobody - including the DEVIL!

[jay santos]

Ya he is so unoffensive he would offend nobody - including the DEVIL!

top form, goat.