Lot to work on.

I don't know if it's a case of "playing to the level of the opponent", or BYU hasn't gelled, or if the rotations that Rose is using are just for fun OR if Rose is treating these first 3 games as simply extra practice... BUT... I have a lot of concerns for this team.



#1. Who is going to handle the ball??? I haven't seen anyone who I believe is a true PG/game manager. Fischer, while I'm VERY glad we have him, isn't a true PG and his handles have been questionable so far. Winder? maybe BYU's best option. this scares me more than anything about this team.



#2 disorganized play. BYU (with any combo of players) should be curb stomping these teams from tip off to final buzzer. turnovers have been an issue. The offense looks like a church ball game. BYU's athleticism is perhaps at its lowest level in years which has contributed to teams sticking around in games. This team is several notches down from the one that nearly knocked off Iowa state and Wichita state just a year ago. Bartley has some explosion, but when SVU is beating guys off the dribble nearly every trip down the floor, it makes me wonder what Gonzaga or SDSU is going to do with BYU this year. Things could get ugly when when BYU faces a team with a tandem of true guards who pride themselves with defense (SDSU?).



#3 uninspired play. Except for an elbow from Nate Austin when 4 guys were draped all over him, I can't remember a more passionless group of players. BYU has lost a lot of 50/50 balls, maybe that's just my perception (I'm generally only noticing the negative while watching basketball if you haven't noticed from this post). Not a huge fan of Fischer flopping around on fast breaks trying to get a call, JUST TAKE THE BALL TO THE HOOP YOUNG MAN. Haws needs to quit complaining like Kobe after ever call that doesn't go his way.



OK, I'm done. Looking forward to a fun year of BYU basketball. 8) BYU has some very good young players and could make a nice run by years end, but they have a long road ahead of them which will feature some big bumps and growing pains.

Not sure what you were expecting to see tonight? A shutout? We will all know so much more about this team after 3 games in Maui next week. I will reserve initial judgement until then.

For all the talk of Kentucky just blasting Kansas last night, they were trailing Buffalo at half time just 2 days before. A lot of these types of games are close early, any then the better team goes on a 20 to 2 run and it's over.



The LBSU game is the most concerning of the 3, but they got hot from 3. The 3 point shot in college can be the great equalizer.



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I only watched a small part of this game so far but on the general comments about the offense and defense.



When we actually run the offense and move the ball our guard line are very dangerous players. But they doesn't break down anyone one on one. KC when healthy is an exception. And we don't really have a post option other than KC and sometimes Haws.



On D I think our rotations are fine when our main guys are playing. The younger players screw rotations up a lot. I think a lot of our issues will look better when Winder, Fischer, Austin, Haws and KC play the bulk of the minutes.

Here's what I'm worried about: 3's, free throws, and big men.

The lack of handles is glaring. KC does not have them. He never really did and now he's a step behind coming off his injury. Winder is our best bet there. Halford is serviceable. Halford does seem to have a better eye for the open man.



I like Fischer, but as pointed out he is not a Carlino replacement. He's the plug for the hole at the 2 spot we've had for the last half decade. He does jerk his head around. Dellawhatever did that a lot at SMC and it was annoying. Keep that head focused on getting to the rim. He gets stripped A LOT when going to the rim.



Haws needs to let the game come to him. If I had to guess he may be putting a lot of pressure on himself to get 20+ a night. He's forcing shots and when he is off he's grumpy. Said it before, Haws will suffer the most from the lack of a true PG. There is no one feeding him, creating for him.



I actually think we're hustling quite a bit. Guys were diving on the floor last night even when up 25 points.



Our success will come down to defense and transition baskets. Rose needs to start the best defenders on the team.



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I thought the team calmed down when Ellis came in.



I think the team did not have a serious approach to the game. They were clearly not mentally ready to play a team that they should (and eventually did) beat by 50 points.



But props to coaches for getting the players' attention and getting them to focus. That's actually two straight games of good defnsive focus.



I know it's somewhat skewed, but they've forced 40 turnovers and had 28 steals the last two games. And they've held the opponents to a combined .317 from the floor and .231 from three. The last two opponents have only scored .349 of their possible points if they made every shot.

SpiffCoug wrote:
I thought the team calmed down when Ellis came in.



I think the team did not have a serious approach to the game. They were clearly not mentally ready to play a team that they should (and eventually did) beat by 50 points.



But props to coaches for getting the players' attention and getting them to focus. That's actually two straight games of good defnsive focus.



I know it's somewhat skewed, but they've forced 40 turnovers and had 28 steals the last two games. And they've held the opponents to a combined .317 from the floor and .231 from three. The last two opponents have only scored .349 of their possible points if they made every shot.

I appreciate your optimism.

SpiffCoug wrote:
I thought the team calmed down when Ellis came in.



I think the team did not have a serious approach to the game. They were clearly not mentally ready to play a team that they should (and eventually did) beat by 50 points.



But props to coaches for getting the players' attention and getting them to focus. That's actually two straight games of good defnsive focus.



I know it's somewhat skewed, but they've forced 40 turnovers and had 28 steals the last two games. And they've held the opponents to a combined .317 from the floor and .231 from three. The last two opponents have only scored .349 of their possible points if they made every shot.

I really liked Ellis. Really hope he sees more minutes. Team needs a marshal out there keeping the throttle in check and took some gonads coming off the bench and telling the team, "Patience. Patience." He could have easily just gone with the chaos.



Out of all the guards, I think Ellis is the most PG-like.

Gunk wrote:

I thought the team calmed down when Ellis came in.



I think the team did not have a serious approach to the game. They were clearly not mentally ready to play a team that they should (and eventually did) beat by 50 points.



But props to coaches for getting the players' attention and getting them to focus. That's actually two straight games of good defnsive focus.



I know it's somewhat skewed, but they've forced 40 turnovers and had 28 steals the last two games. And they've held the opponents to a combined .317 from the floor and .231 from three. The last two opponents have only scored .349 of their possible points if they made every shot.

I really liked Ellis. Really hope he sees more minutes. Team needs a marshal out there keeping the throttle in check and took some gonads coming off the bench and telling the team, "Patience. Patience." He could have easily just gone with the chaos.



Out of all the guards, I think Ellis is the most PG-like.

What about Frank Bartley IV?? Everybody has said he plays out of control which was true in the past but he has looked pretty good so far at PG this year. His stat line from Wednesday: 4 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists, 4 steals, and 2 blocks. I think Frank looks much improved so far and I would take him over Halford

I don't understand why coach rose feels the need to start Collinsworth at this point in the season. He is not currently one of our best 5 players (though, no doubt will become one of top 3 players as season progresses). Unless he wants to make sure Kyle is warm to start the game, we have numerous players currently playing better than Kyle. Work him back in slowly off the bench and move him into starting position when he's ready.

He is bringing Collingsworth along slowly. He limited him to 15 minutes in the first game, which was close, pushed him a little on minutes in the second game, which was a blowout and rested him in the third game. What would you like him to do? Collingworth needs minutes. However, it would be nice for him to have minutes without creating losses. So far, Rose has done this. In addition to getting him quality minutes without creating losses, he made sure that, for at least one game, the team had to function entirely without him. I expect that, as the strength of opponents goes up, we will see Collingsworth off the floor more than on; however, I'm fine with Collingsworth being on the floor right now for as long as he can against teams like Arkansas - Little Rock.

BYULV wrote:
I don't understand why coach rose feels the need to start Collinsworth at this point in the season. He is not currently one of our best 5 players (though, no doubt will become one of top 3 players as season progresses). Unless he wants to make sure Kyle is warm to start the game, we have numerous players currently playing better than Kyle. Work him back in slowly off the bench and move him into starting position when he's ready.

Tend to agree on this one. Bring him off the bench and keep him away from PG duties. Play him as a 3 to spell Haws or as a 4 when against smaller lineups.



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rblack wrote:
He is bringing Collingsworth along slowly. He limited him to 15 minutes in the first game, which was close, pushed him a little on minutes in the second game, which was a blowout and rested him in the third game. What would you like him to do? Collingworth needs minutes. However, it would be nice for him to have minutes without creating losses. So far, Rose has done this. In addition to getting him quality minutes without creating losses, he made sure that, for at least one game, the team had to function entirely without him. I expect that, as the strength of opponents goes up, we will see Collingsworth off the floor more than on; however, I'm fine with Collingsworth being on the floor right now for as long as he can against teams like Arkansas - Little Rock.

I agree with the need for playing time, but I don't think Collinsworth needs to be starting until he is starting material, especially at point guard. We could be using the starting time to get chemistry built with the backup point guard or the ultimate starting point if collinsworth isn't ready to go full out soon. Collinsworth needs playing time, but not necessarily time with the starters. Other point guards could really use that time with the starters