Posts Tagged ‘basketball’

I watched the BYU-Utah game again last night to take a closer look at the youth on the team. It was an exciting win for the program. We don’t get those often enough in the current state of the program so I was forced to rev up my handy DVR.

A few of my impressions:
1) Maybe the Cougs should play 2 games in 3 days more often. It seemed that Coach Rose was preparing cougar nation for a loss by publically stating his displeasure towards the leagues scheduling. I sometimes wonder if athletes are over-prepped prior to competition.

2) Rose is making the right choice by playing his freshmen over the experienced players. BYU has struggled in past years and we don’t have the star players that deserve to be locked in the starting lineup. I do think that potential stars could come out of the freshmen class.

3) Brocker Reichner, although a walk-on, will be missed next year more than expected. His defense is impressive. I think BYU beat Utah simply because the Yewt’s leading scorer was shut down. Normally, BYU does not have the type of athlete necessary to be a “stopper” and it could be some time before we get another.

4) Plaisted and Cummard have the potential to be the real deal. Presently, I think Plaisted is much more of an impact player, but if all of the hype surrounding Cummard is warranted he could be a more valuable asset to the team in the end.

Overall, the game was a blast to watch, but I’m not predicting a Moutain West Championship by any means. I think the Flacons have this year locked up. After Air Force though the league is wide open. Could a possible 2nd place finish be possible for the young Cougars?

The verdict is still up in the air but at this point in the season the BYU Cougars have a winning record. Ok ok, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Yes, they are only 2-1. The schedule however could provide for an interesting year. The team is young so the weak schedule could help boost confidence for the future. Unless of course the team completes the season with a record matching last year. Let’s face it, we all know the guys aren’t good enough at this point to compete for the MWC title. So we’ll take what we can get.

Seniors - 1
Juniors - 7
Sophomores - 0
Freshmen - 5

Notes on some of the potential freshmen studs:
Plaisted appears to have the most potential in my opinion. The guy is a freak. 6-11, 240 and can run like a guard.
Lee Cummard was hyped so much that I hope he can just live up to 1/10th of what was projected. Talented shooter and can disappear on the court because he may just be the skinniest college player in the country.
Jackson Emery from my understanding will be the only Frosh heading on a mission at the end of the season.

Go cougs.