BYU Hoops 2014-2015

[LiveCoug]

Some skinny Indian nerd named something like taysom is lighting us up.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Some skinny Indian nerd named something like taysom is lighting us up.

That EQ Pres on the CSM team is pretty good too.

[LiveCoug]

That EQ Pres on the CSM team is pretty good too.

The bald nerd that dunked over our dude?

[Commando]

So we got a PG named Jordan Ellis that looks just like Carlton Banks!

[Commando]

Schneikies- this Nixon kid looking head and shoulders better than anyone expected. Glassed a layup and then drained a 3 on the other end.

[Green Monstah]

Fischer likes to shoot from wherever.

His demeanor reminded me of Carlino. I think he'll be a good addition to the team.

[TripletDaddy]

Had a cup of graham canyon last night. Wow!

[Goatnapper'96]

I watched the exhibition

I was really pleasantly surprised by Isaac Neilson and Dalton Nixon. I think that Neilson could be a really good player in another year. Big man with touch out beyond the arc, surprisingly athletic, really active under the basket with a keen ability to block or disrupt shots. Clearly he needs more meat on his bones to defend the post but I actually think he ability to use his length to defend bodes better for him as a 4 than a 5. While many 4's will be more athletic than him, he is no stiff and I think can compensate for disadvantages with footspeed by using his length. I was not expecting him to look that capable. Still he doesn't help much with a back to the basket scorer in offensive sets but when you are almost 7 feet, can get up and down the court capably, block and alter shots and have to be defended out to 21 feet you can influence a game and help your team.

Dalton Nixon is another big who has the ability to shoot. I think he can also put it on the court to create a better shot as well. His defense struggles a bit but given the injury to Aytes and concerns about how Austin's back will be all year I think he is going to have to play this year. It seems from my memory that often lower back injuries never really get better and I expect Nate to be day to day all year long at best and perhaps hanging up his shoes early at worst.

I wasn't really surprised by Chase Fischer. I like his demeanor and confidence but he really isn't that good. He isn't that bad either. My hope is he is the offensive sparkplug off the bench but with Aytes injury BYU might have no choice but to play him more than Rose was planning 3 weeks ago. If he were BYU's 4th option (behind Haws, KyleC, and Aytes) and 1st option off the bench I would think the role perfect for him. He just could be disruptive with his "confidence" shall we say. Time will tell but he strikes me as a kid who dominated inferior players in high school where he was as good if not better an athlete than others but once he started playing athletes better than him he has been exposed. Now WCC competition will not result in him being enormously outathleticized, but good teams on BYU's schedule will. He is a solid addition but the loss of Aytes will result in him having to be relied upon too much. Good for Chase but my prediction is bad for BYU.

I think Halford has settled into a decent role as a pass first PG off the bench who shoots when the shot is there. I like the PG situation this year with him off the bench and that 3rd string walkon who isn't a huge liability from what I could tell.

I really like Jake Toolson and think he will be a 3 year starter starting next year. He looked a little lost on defense as he acclimates to the game. But I loved his one dribble drive penetration on the play he hurt himself. I will be interested how his defense improves over the year. He doesn't strike me as a total stiff but he will be on the losing end of an athleticism deficiency when we play good teams, but if he develops into the offensive player I think he can be opponents are going to have to exert enormous amounts of energy to cover him. His high school stats were pretty spectacular across the board so that leads me to think he can be better than a liability on the defensive end while still being able to score consistently on offense.

I worry about Frank Bartley being lost this year in the reality that Toolsen likely has a brighter future because of his offensive potential and the reality that BYU is likely to need Chase's and likely Toolsen's offense this year. Given Aytes' injury and Austin's back problems and BYU might play a lot of small ball with Kyle at least defending the opposing 4, so there could be plenty of perimeter minutes available but with Haws, Winder, Fischer, Toolsen and Halford I still wonder how much will go to Bartley. Haws is going to be on the court 32+ minutes and I think Halford and Ellis will get any minutes at the point that Kyle doesn't. Winder and Fischer will both get 20+ minutes each so I am not sure how much that leaves for Bartley.

Winder will be more of the Winder of the final part of last year, BYU for Anson to be effective it will need somebody other than Tyler and Kyle to be a scoring threat. I expected that to be Aytes from the middle of December on this year, and that ain't happening. I don't think it can be Isaac Neilson this year. Perhaps it will be a bit more Jake Toolsen and/or Dalton Nixon. I go back to Toolsen's impressive numbers across that board in high school as an indicator - along with how much he was used offensively in the exhibition game. But it is frustrating that we will continue to be so perimeter focused. I really thought that with Tyler and Kyle the only thing BYU needed was a legit threat out of one post player such as Brandon Davies was as a sophomore. I believed Aytes could be that player but I don't see one on the team anymore. I think that the roster and role juggling that will ensue as result of this injury is likely to hurt Winder's minutes.

I think Chapman and Andrus should and will redshirt. Perhaps Austin's injury might result in Andrus playing this year as an emergency option if Luke, Neilson and Kaufusi all get in foul trouble or hurt. But Chapman is a no brainer. Between returning from a mission this summer and a couple of small injuries it will be a waste not to play him and it would take catastrophic foul trouble or injuries to get to him on the depth chart.

I love Luke and think he will be a better defender and I believe his offense is improved. But I think Neilson will be a better all around player soon if he isn't already. I hope Kaufusi is as well. Looking forward to watching Kaufusi play.

In short I think without Aytes we will be a bubble team unless KyleC is significantly improved offensively. I have no feel on that and coming off an ACL injury leads me to say in the immortal words of Sir Charles Barkley: "I doubt it."

[imanihonjin]

I watched the exhibition

I was really pleasantly surprised by Isaac Neilson and Dalton Nixon. I think that Neilson could be a really good player in another year. Big man with touch out beyond the arc, surprisingly athletic, really active under the basket with a keen ability to block or disrupt shots. Clearly he needs more meat on his bones to defend the post but I actually think he ability to use his length to defend bodes better for him as a 4 than a 5. While many 4's will be more athletic than him, he is no stiff and I think can compensate for disadvantages with footspeed by using his length. I was not expecting him to look that capable. Still he doesn't help much with a back to the basket scorer in offensive sets but when you are almost 7 feet, can get up and down the court capably, block and alter shots and have to be defended out to 21 feet you can influence a game and help your team.

Dalton Nixon is another big who has the ability to shoot. I think he can also put it on the court to create a better shot as well. His defense struggles a bit but given the injury to Aytes and concerns about how Austin's back will be all year I think he is going to have to play this year. It seems from my memory that often lower back injuries never really get better and I expect Nate to be day to day all year long at best and perhaps hanging up his shoes early at worst.

I wasn't really surprised by Chase Fischer. I like his demeanor and confidence but he really isn't that good. He isn't that bad either. My hope is he is the offensive sparkplug off the bench but with Aytes injury BYU might have no choice but to play him more than Rose was planning 3 weeks ago. If he were BYU's 4th option (behind Haws, KyleC, and Aytes) and 1st option off the bench I would think the role perfect for him. He just could be disruptive with his "confidence" shall we say. Time will tell but he strikes me as a kid who dominated inferior players in high school where he was as good if not better an athlete than others but once he started playing athletes better than him he has been exposed. Now WCC competition will not result in him being enormously outathleticized, but good teams on BYU's schedule will. He is a solid addition but the loss of Aytes will result in him having to be relied upon too much. Good for Chase but my prediction is bad for BYU.

I think Halford has settled into a decent role as a pass first PG off the bench who shoots when the shot is there. I like the PG situation this year with him off the bench and that 3rd string walkon who isn't a huge liability from what I could tell.

I really like Jake Toolson and think he will be a 3 year starter starting next year. He looked a little lost on defense as he acclimates to the game. But I loved his one dribble drive penetration on the play he hurt himself. I will be interested how his defense improves over the year. He doesn't strike me as a total stiff but he will be on the losing end of an athleticism deficiency when we play good teams, but if he develops into the offensive player I think he can be opponents are going to have to exert enormous amounts of energy to cover him. His high school stats were pretty spectacular across the board so that leads me to think he can be better than a liability on the defensive end while still being able to score consistently on offense.

I worry about Frank Bartley being lost this year in the reality that Toolsen likely has a brighter future because of his offensive potential and the reality that BYU is likely to need Chase's and likely Toolsen's offense this year. Given Aytes' injury and Austin's back problems and BYU might play a lot of small ball with Kyle at least defending the opposing 4, so there could be plenty of perimeter minutes available but with Haws, Winder, Fischer, Toolsen and Halford I still wonder how much will go to Bartley. Haws is going to be on the court 32+ minutes and I think Halford and Ellis will get any minutes at the point that Kyle doesn't. Winder and Fischer will both get 20+ minutes each so I am not sure how much that leaves for Bartley.

Winder will be more of the Winder of the final part of last year, BYU for Anson to be effective it will need somebody other than Tyler and Kyle to be a scoring threat. I expected that to be Aytes from the middle of December on this year, and that ain't happening. I don't think it can be Isaac Neilson this year. Perhaps it will be a bit more Jake Toolsen and/or Dalton Nixon. I go back to Toolsen's impressive numbers across that board in high school as an indicator - along with how much he was used offensively in the exhibition game. But it is frustrating that we will continue to be so perimeter focused. I really thought that with Tyler and Kyle the only thing BYU needed was a legit threat out of one post player such as Brandon Davies was as a sophomore. I believed Aytes could be that player but I don't see one on the team anymore. I think that the roster and role juggling that will ensue as result of this injury is likely to hurt Winder's minutes.

I think Chapman and Andrus should and will redshirt. Perhaps Austin's injury might result in Andrus playing this year as an emergency option if Luke, Neilson and Kaufusi all get in foul trouble or hurt. But Chapman is a no brainer. Between returning from a mission this summer and a couple of small injuries it will be a waste not to play him and it would take catastrophic foul trouble or injuries to get to him on the depth chart.

I love Luke and think he will be a better defender and I believe his offense is improved. But I think Neilson will be a better all around player soon if he isn't already. I hope Kaufusi is as well. Looking forward to watching Kaufusi play.

In short I think without Aytes we will be a bubble team unless KyleC is significantly improved offensively. I have no feel on that and coming off an ACL injury leads me to say in the immortal words of Sir Charles Barkley: "I doubt it."

Even with Aytes, the ceiling of this team is being a bubble team. Especially if your concerns over Fischer are legit. If we can't spread the floor more with consistent three point shooting, this team isn't going anywhere. The future of BYU basketball is bright, but this year, I am not seeing how BYU could be any better this year than they were last. There is a significant chance they are going to be worse this year than last.

[Goatnapper'96]

Even with Aytes, the ceiling of this team is being a bubble team. Especially if your concerns over Fischer are legit. If we can't spread the floor more with consistent three point shooting, this team isn't going anywhere. The future of BYU basketball is bright, but this year, I am not seeing how BYU could be any better this year than they were last. There is a significant chance they are going to be worse this year than last.

If Aytes could have forced teams to respect his back to the basket play this team would have been much better than last year. Trust me on that one. BYU had no post offense last year, Mika scored because he was a much better athlete but in half court sets we were Tyler, KyleC getting to the rack or Carlino. I think Fischer will be better than Carlino playing as a wing scorer. This year we will be the same in half court sets but with more options to bring off the bench on the perimeter. So I think we will be deeper and hopefully somebody can get hot other than Tyler.

I agree that the future is bright. To be honest I came away from watching that game thinking it is brighter than I originally thought. I really like Toolsen and Neilson and think they will be really good players as juniors and seniors.

[smokymountainrain]

Is Aytes out for the year?

[imanihonjin]

If Aytes could have forced teams to respect his back to the basket play this team would have been much better than last year. Trust me on that one. BYU had no post offense last year, Mika scored because he was a much better athlete but in half court sets we were Tyler, KyleC getting to the rack or Carlino. I think Fischer will be better than Carlino playing as a wing scorer. This year we will be the same in half court sets but with more options to bring off the bench on the perimeter. So I think we will be deeper and hopefully somebody can get hot other than Tyler.

I agree that the future is bright. To be honest I came away from watching that game thinking it is brighter than I originally thought. I really like Toolsen and Neilson and think they will be really good players as juniors and seniors.

I just hope expectations aren't going to be too high for this team and impatience sets in. There are going to be a lot of frustrating moments this year as there will be stretches where BYU struggles to score. This year is what it is; a lull in the program where some younger players are hopefully able to get some solid experience for what is to come in the next few years.

[Goatnapper'96]

Is Aytes out for the year?

He has 3 months of no pressure on his foot from his ankle surgery. Apparantly, after getting inside they discovered some ligament damage worse than they anticipated. That puts him back into being able to practice and work out again in mid-January. I doubt he is ready to play until early February. I don't think they have made a hard decision about redshirting him in case he miraculously heals quicker than anticipated and BYU could get him on the court in January but it sounds to me like he will end up redshirting this year and start his eligibility at BYU as a RS Sophomore on the 15-16 club- which allows him to play en entire sophomore year.

[Commando]

I agree that the future is bright. To be honest I came away from watching that game thinking it is brighter than I originally thought. I really like Toolsen and Neilson and think they will be really good players as juniors and seniors.

I was quite impressed with the young'uns in the post. That's usually the source of frustration watching BYU basketball, but they all looked pretty crisp out there for the most part. That may have been the competition, too, but you could see the moves, footwork, and the athleticism is there. SO much more than in years past with all the stiffs we've had the pleasure of cursing out on the TV on Saturday nights. Also, I didn't have all my chips on Aytes like you seemed to have, so I'm not all that disappointed with the surgery. Toolson looks like a beast, though-- like a KC stunt-double out there but with a way better perimeter shot.

Haws is just incredible. Suuch a solid, solid, player. No, not as dynamic as Jimmer, but a dude that would have taken us to another level Jimmer's senior year. He and KC are going to rock it this year.

I pretty much agree with your assessment of Chase Fischer. He's not going to set the world on fire, but he's got a great attitude, a leader on the court and a pretty dangerous shot. Kind of a Matty Carlino step-in of sorts.

I think Frank Bartley's defense was killer, too. He's got quick hands and a super quick first step to go with it. I think he'll see some good minutes.

[cougjunkie]

I am not sure I watched the same game as GN or Commando.

I didn't see a single post move from our bigs down low. In fact I think I remember 2-3 entry passes that were immediately kicked out. Neilson looked ok against 6'7 competition. Nixon I was not impressed with in high school but he did prove he is good enough to play D-II ball. Toolson has an effortless shot that will help this team. Haws is a beast and he does it quietly. Fischer is fun to watch but turns it over way to much. The PG situation is a huge concern. The fact that Rose has been giving Bartley PG minutes scares the hell out of me.