I heart Chris Miles
 

I've been very hard on this kid Chris Miles. What, seven feet tall, and can't dunk the ball in traffic, or even go strong. I've called him all kinds of names.

Well, come to find out, that HB Arnett has declared Chris Miles to be the best big man in the MWC in the upcoming 09-10 season.

Wow. A guy who is so bad, who gets like 2 rebounds a game despite being a seven footer, who has the vertical of a lump of coal in the bottom of a peat bog, who has actually never taken the ball strong to the rim despite being 1 foot from the basket, is the heir apparent to the KING OF THE PAINT title in the MWC. Wow, just wow.

I'm sorry Mr. Miles, I heart you now.

How bad is the MWC going to be next year? Or is HB Arnett typing his report from a nursing home?

Could it possibly be worse than this year? I guess the possiblities for getting worse are endless.

If Miles will be the best big man in conference, heaven help the conference.

BTW, you and the incompetence of the team have finally convinced me to cease investing in the basketball program, until it starts winning in the Tourney.

IT is based upon some wrong-headed parameters. We look for big bodies first, thinking you can convert a big body into a basketball player. Miles just can't do it at the D1 level. Without athleticism or pure power, you can't play at that level. Miles lacks the power or strength and has no skill. We should not recruit projects any longer. With that said, it looks as if two of the four recruits this year are serviceable, Haws and Davies, with the other two Build-A-Miles.

Cougarguard, one of the few sports message boards whose owners' mission is to convince people that following sports is a waste of time.

Venture capitalists are trying to invest my idea, and want me to expand my product.

Cougarguard, one of the few sports message boards whose owners' mission is to convince people that following sports is a waste of time.

Venture capitalists are trying to invest my idea, and want me to expand my product.

Not a very successful business model, you might note. Skepticism only sells when in Rome.

But both are projects. BYU would be better off to stop recruiting "projects" with no athleticism. If you're going to have a project, why not select an athletic project, instead of somebody who might block out as a senior, play ten minutes and average less then ten points per game.

BYU has had plenty of athletic projects. Just none who could play basketball well.

From my point of view, Hartsock looks as if he could become a serviceable center, which is a bonus on pretty much any level of basketball. He'll need to make the effort to get better and Rose will need to go with him rather than Miles for it to happen.

What hurt BYU - and Utah even more - in the NCAA tournament this year was guard play. Fredette is a baller and will get better, but he'll still need the other guard to not disappear in the big games. Utah's guard play was worse in that there is nobody on the current roster at guard with Fredette's ability.

It's a rare situation when the more athletic team doesn't advance. That is what hurts a team like Utah and BYU more than anything else.