CougarCorner

I figure that we don't need a new topic for each individual basketball game. So I'll just start a new one and continue to post in here for the duration of the season.

First up, the Idaho St. game. Wow, how we struggled. Someone is going to have to step up and make some shots. And I'm going to say this early and often: Traore is not a C/5. In a half court offense against the better teams he is really going to struggle there. I think that he would absolutely thrive at the PF/4 position. But it is what it is. Johnson and Hall really stepped it up late and it'll be interesting to see how they do against San Diego St and later in the season.

Below is my statistical analysis of the game. Dallin Hall is my Player of the Game. 4 assists, 2 steals, and zero TOs! He was the go-to PG down the stretch in the 2nd half. Of those who played at least 15 minutes Rudi Williams had the lowest PER score so he gets my Struggled to Perform award. 22% from the field and 4 TOs. We had 23 team TOs and we want to be around 12 or below...
Oh and Lee didn't play very well either. 0 points and 2 TOs. With his height advantage he should have been able to get a double-double against us...

And at least we aren't Oklahoma or USC...they both lost to teams that they should have crushed...ouch...

byufan4ever wrote: ↑Tue Nov 08, 2022 11:06 am
And at least we aren't Oklahoma or USC...they both lost to teams that they should have crushed...ouch...

I missed the game due to work and my fist thought on seeing the score was "ouch" there's a problem here. Then I saw those two scores (And the Florida State score) and thought - "OK this thing is going around"

Wiilliams was the biggest disappointment of the night. The Barcello heir apparent was benched in favor of a freshman who hadn't played for two years prior to practices that began this past summer. That said, I expect him to bounce back and be phenomenal moving forward.

The other two disappointments: George, the future (?) NBA player, and Stewart, the player expected to make the biggest jump in production this year.

jadesroom wrote: ↑Tue Nov 08, 2022 1:35 pm Wiilliams was the biggest disappointment of the night. The Barcello heir apparent was benched in favor of a freshman who hadn't played for two years prior to practices that began this past summer. That said, I expect him to bounce back and be phenomenal moving forward.

The other two disappointments: George, the future (?) NBA player, and Stewart, the player expected to make the biggest jump in production this year.

Yep, George disappointed too. Honestly, he's nowhere close to NBA ready. And he's also being played out of position at PF/4. He really needs to be at the SF/3, but we are just so short on bigs. Stewart, I think needs PT to get better, but if he plays like this he won't get more PT. I think that maybe by the time that conference play has rolled around he will have developed some and gotten better.

byufan4ever wrote: ↑Tue Nov 08, 2022 11:06 amTraore is not a C/5. In a half court offense against the better teams he is really going to struggle there. I think that he would absolutely thrive at the PF/4 position.

byufan4ever wrote: ↑Tue Nov 08, 2022 2:22 pm Yep, George disappointed too. Honestly, he's nowhere close to NBA ready. And he's also being played out of position at PF/4. He really needs to be at the SF/3, but we are just so short on bigs.

Are we going to suffer through another year of people having to play out of position? I understand there were multiple injuries/illnesses that forced Pope's hand last year, but I was really hoping we'd be past that. It just sucks for the players put in that position and limits their potential, and it makes for a frustrating viewing experience for the fans.

tmoney35 wrote: ↑Wed Nov 09, 2022 7:13 pm

byufan4ever wrote: ↑Tue Nov 08, 2022 11:06 amTraore is not a C/5. In a half court offense against the better teams he is really going to struggle there. I think that he would absolutely thrive at the PF/4 position.

byufan4ever wrote: ↑Tue Nov 08, 2022 2:22 pm Yep, George disappointed too. Honestly, he's nowhere close to NBA ready. And he's also being played out of position at PF/4. He really needs to be at the SF/3, but we are just so short on bigs.

Are we going to suffer through another year of people having to play out of position? I understand there were multiple injuries/illnesses that forced Pope's hand last year, but I was really hoping we'd be past that. It just sucks for the players put in that position and limits their potential, and it makes for a frustrating viewing experience for the fans.

The problem is the only true center we have is Atiki. If we start him then there's no sub for him. I think that George can guard the 4 position, but so far he has shown zero inclination to play deep and post up. Offensively he's playing like a SF wing guard. 4 guards and a forward/center can be done, but with the right players and the right offense.

Pope gambled with the transfer portal and lost. Think how BYU's inexperience and lack of size would be different if BYU had Antoine Davis (NCAA scoring leader), 6'10" Mo Njie (transfer to SMU), 6'10" Fredrick King (Freshman at Creighton but reportedly much more advanced than Atiki).

For the game against San Diego St if you don't have Direct TV I heard that you can possibly stream it for free from the Mountain West Channel on your Roku. I've downloaded the channel and I guess I'll find out at 8:30...

San Diego St. game thoughts. Well, my first comment is about the crappy MW network. The 90s called and they want their broadcasting technology back. My eyes almost hurt from the visual quality. There were almost no replays shown probably because there were no good shots/angles to show them from. At one point the camera zeroed in on a player's face during a FT and it just stayed there not even showing if the shot went in. On another FT the camera went to the wrong basket. BYU TV broadcasting is 100x better! And the commentator! At least our BYU TV guys somewhat try to be objective, but this guy was a 100% homer. At one point he said "San Diego State is not getting the whistle." Excuse me??!! BYU had 26 fouls to 19 and SDSU shot 21 more FTs. 21!!

Ok, now on to the game. Despite losing BYU showed a lot more energy than against ISU. But TOs and our inability to drive into the lane are killing us. And going cold shooting in the last few minutes. Rudi is so frustrating to watch. He obviously has talent, but his slippery fingers and decision making are making me pull my hair out. He had an inbound pass where he just gently threw the ball up into the air right to two SDSU players. No BYU player within 10 feet.

Spencer Johnson gets the Best Performer award. He shot efficiently, hit 3s, and actually led our team in rebounds! I really feel that he will be at his best when someone else is being doubled and he can knock down open shots, but no one else is proving worthy of being doubled so he's gonna have to be a little more selfish and create his own shot more often. Hall goes from hero to zero and gets the Struggled to Perform award. He went from 4 assists and 0 TOs to 1 Ast and 4 TOs. This team is going to struggle against anyone if they can't hold onto the ball better.

With as many turnovers, as this team had, I was amazed the score was as close as it was. Johnson played outstanding. Williams and Hall collectively had 12 turnovers! Hard to win a game when your point guards do that. I was disappointed we could not defend the rim and how many second chance points San Diego State had. Pleasantly surprised to see the team play a top 20 team that well though. So there is hope yet.