Projecting Strengths and Weaknesses

This team is going have size inside and on the wings that BYU hasn't ever had in my memory.



We have a number of excellent 3 point shooters and a serious post threat in Davies. We should have a consistent offense. Abouo is a good second post threat. Off the bench Harrison and Winder should provide some scoring punch.



Defensively I think we will be very good. Hartsock is a good help defender as is Rodgers. Abouo is an excellent perimeter defender. Winder has shown some sign of a becoming another very good defender. But out total length on the court should be able to challenge shots all over the court.



My major concern with this team is how we are going to handle full-court pressure. Zylstra is a good ball-handler but I doubt he is going to be able to beat the press on his own. Rodgers and Abouo are not players you want to handle the ball against full court pressure. Hartsock and Davies aren't good options either. So we need to have a good plan in place to beat the press via the pass.



A full court press also might require a shift in personell with Harrison, Winder and once he is eligible Carlino.

Qman wrote:

We have a number of excellent 3 point shooters...

I'm actually really worried about this, and the last two preseason games haven't done a whole lot to alleviate these fears. Of our returning players, Abouo and Rodgers are probably the two that I KNOW can knock down 3s, and both are streakier than Fredette and Emery. (Granted, EVERYBODY is going to be worse at the 3-pointer than Fredette.) Rodgers was particularly streaky last year. It wasn't until midseason last year that he did anything to validate his sharpshooter reputation.



Zylstra and Abouo both looked pretty good against NWSU, going 2-for-3 each. Prior to this season, all I ever saw from Demarcus Harrison was highlight footage, so I know he's made a 3-pointer, but he was 0-for-4 on Saturday night. Hope that's just a slump.



Interested in seeing how Carlino shoots. I wasn't really impressed with his scoring ability in the Cougar Tipoff game (granted I was impressed with pretty much every other aspect of his offensive game).



I'm actually hoping that the offense flows inside this year as opposed to the perimeter camping team we've been the last couple of years. At least for the first 1/3 of the season while our guards get some playing experience. At this point, I like the ball in Hartsock's and Davies' hands more than anyone else's on this team.

Dcr36 wrote:

We have a number of excellent 3 point shooters...

I'm actually really worried about this, and the last two preseason games haven't done a whole lot to alleviate these fears. Of our returning players, Abouo and Rodgers are probably the two that I KNOW can knock down 3s...

Did you forget about Noah Hartsock?

Schmoe wrote:


Did you forget about Noah Hartsock?

His 3-point shooting? Good point. Guess I was thinking more along the lines of sharpshooting smaller guys. Plus, I don't like Hartsock as a volume distance shooter - he only attempted 2 a game last year. But maybe that will change this year.

Dcr36 wrote:

Did you forget about Noah Hartsock?

His 3-point shooting? Good point. Guess I was thinking more along the lines of sharpshooting smaller guys. Plus, I don't like Hartsock as a volume distance shooter - he only attempted 2 a game last year. But maybe that will change this year.

Having a little more length on the floor may give him more opportunities, I dunno, I was just pointing out that he was pretty accurate from beyond the arc last year.