Athlon Sports Projects Cougars to MISS the NCAA Tourney for 3rd straight year

What do you think Cougar fans, are the Cougs a lock to make the NCAA tourney this year now that we've ditched Mika? Or is it another bad year for Cougar hoopsters?



https://twitter.com/RealDSean/status/910629772799152128

hawkwing wrote:

What do you think Cougar fans, are the Cougs a lock to make the NCAA tourney this year now that we've ditched Mika? Or is it another bad year for Cougar hoopsters?



https://twitter.com/RealDSean/status/910629772799152128

Way to get me excited for the upcoming season, hawkwing! :sulk: But sadly I think they're right. However, the great thing about basketball is that every team really does have a chance (with football you can run the table and still not get in). Win the conference tournament and we're in! I got my season tickets and I'll cheer on my cougs each game but no I'm not optimistic that we'll make the tourney.



I do not hate Dave Rose, but I'm at the point with him that many of you were with Bronco: I'm ready for a change. 25+ wins against a soft SOS is not a consolation for not getting into the tourney. Rose has done some great things at BYU but the ship is sinking and needs to be righted...

Bad year.

I certainly hope we go dancing, but I doubt we do.

I'd put money on "miss".



New season, new opportunities (to screw things up. can you tell I'm not optimistic about BYU bball right now). I'm excited already to see BYU basketball again though. Kinda wish I'd have saved my season ticket money for basketball, I bought football this year.

At this point Basketball is starting to look at least as good as football. However with Mika gone it may be a tossup between the 2 sports.

Just curious about the "ditched Mika" comment... was he seen as a problem? Or did I miss something? I thought he was fairly well thought of on the board.

lawngnome wrote:

Just curious about the "ditched Mika" comment... was he seen as a problem? Or did I miss something? I thought he was fairly well thought of on the board.

It was a joke on my part, some people on various other Cougar sites felt like getting rid of our best player would make BYU a stronger team.

With this scandal involving the assistant coaches accepting bribes likely resulting in NCAA crackdowns, BYU could actually make the tournament and make a good run.

mormonrasta wrote:

With this scandal involving the assistant coaches accepting bribes likely resulting in NCAA crackdowns, BYU could actually make the tournament and make a good run.

Hopefully byu isn't involved.

mormonrasta wrote:

With this scandal involving the assistant coaches accepting bribes likely resulting in NCAA crackdowns, BYU could actually make the tournament and make a good run.

The sight www.nytimes.com quotes Louisville interim president Postel with the following, "Effective immediately, coach Pitino has been placed on unpaid administrative leave." It was a meandering article but assistant coaches were mentioned, and prostitution was involved. It said Adidas money was directed to 2 high school prospects. Pitino's contract, which runs through 2026, is said to be the highest in the nation at more than$7.7 million a year. Others at other schools are implicated but nothing specific was given. Hopefully some of you can dig out more about this. There will be more.



Personally I am encouraged by how clean BYU's program is. A lot's been said about the Honor Code and how it restricts recruiting but it is far better than scandals like this.

More coaches will lose their jobs and there will be a shuffle of players. There will be fewer super teams filled with 5 star recruits.



I doubt, though, it will affect BYU all that much. We still have to beat St. Mary's and Gonzaga. Two schools that I highly doubt are affected by this scandal.



NCAA needs to get rid of the 1 year requirement. I'm not a fan of paying players. Let the players good enough to be paid to play go play professional hoops.

Pitino fired now. Auburn, Miami, USC, and Oklahoma State also mentioned as schools of interest.

Man this is a downer of the thread.



Here are a few reasons for optimism:



1. TJ Haws averaged was our second best player last year. He should take a leap forward with a full offseason of training.



2.Our other best returning player Childs was a freshman as well. He should take a major step forward.



3. Seljaas is back as well. He will provide some needed wing defense and of course even more shooting.



4. Think about trying to defend our team. I expect us to go small to finish games with a Haws, Emery, Bryant, Seljaas and Childs team. We are going to be a very good offensive team.

Like how Nick Emery took a step forward?

If we're going small we need to figure out how to shoot the 3 ball and how to defend it.

Mars wrote:

Like how Nick Emery took a step forward?

Exactly what I was thinking.

Hoping they BOTH make some big strides this year. Maybe Mika was holding them back?

Mars wrote:

Like how Nick Emery took a step forward?

I heard rumors that Nick got a divorce. Anyone else hear that? If true, it could explain his poor and inconsistent play last year.

SpiffCoug wrote:

Like how Nick Emery took a step forward?

I heard rumors that Nick got a divorce. Anyone else hear that? If true, it could explain his poor and inconsistent play last year.

He certainly got worse when he got married.



Seriously, though, BYU/Rose doesn't have the best track record when it comes to players making dramatic improvement.

I'll take that bet. BYU makes the tourney. We are going to have a good team this year. We went from having one of the least returning starter's minutes team in the country, to one of the most.



On top of that, we win the WCC this year.