BYU basketball 2014-15

[MikeWaters]

I think this season will be a lot like last season. Mediocre, with the sealing being squeaking into the NCAAs.

You ask yourself where the upgrades are. Chase Fischer. Then who?

Any team that plays Worthington significant minutes won't be good. Expect this team to be dominated by teams with good bigs.

Remember we still have Haws, who is a terrible defender. Big question mark is whether Collinsworth will have recovered from his knee injury, and whether he can hit the side of a barn with his shot.

This team last year was AWFUL at defense. Can Rose improve on that? Starting to be some question marks about Rose's ability to coach up defense.

[Archaea]

Originally Posted by MikeWaters

I think this season will be a lot like last season. Mediocre, with the sealing being squeaking into the NCAAs.

You ask yourself where the upgrades are. Chase Fischer. Then who?

Any team that plays Worthington significant minutes won't be good. Expect this team to be dominated by teams with good bigs.

Remember we still have Haws, who is a terrible defender. Big question mark is whether Collinsworth will have recovered from his knee injury, and whether he can hit the side of a barn with his shot.

This team last year was AWFUL at defense. Can Rose improve on that? Starting to be some question marks about Rose's ability to coach up defense.

A lot will depend on KC's health. Given BYU's lack of fortune in this area, I'm not counting on it. But if KC remains healthy, BYU should squeak into the Tourney and be more competitive than they were last year.

As far as defense is concerned, I don't doubt Rose's abilities, but I doubt the abilities of the current players not named KC and Winder. Kaufusi actually looks as if he could be taught to play good defense. He his good running skills, and can block some shots. He needs to belly up in the blocks, but he should be serviceable as a defender. In his sole game, I didn't see any offensive moves. We will lack offensive scoring in the post. In short, there won't be any dependable scoring there.

My general concern is Rose's half court offense. I don't see us having a dependable offense for the half court.

Haws looks slimmer and his shots will help. Winder looks more in control and more confident. Fischer looks to be a gunner.

Nixon might be able to play some defense. We will lose at least two out of three to Gonzaga.

[MikeWaters]

good analysis. But my concern is the defense.

And more generally, lack of quality post play on both ends.

It's hard to space the floor when their big can just park under the rim and not respect the offensive capabilities of the BYU bigs.

[Archaea]

Originally Posted by MikeWaters

good analysis. But my concern is the defense.

And more generally, lack of quality post play on both ends.

It's hard to space the floor when their big can just park under the rim and not respect the offensive capabilities of the BYU bigs.

Until Mika returns, I don't see us having dependable scoring in the post. I agree the lack of post scoring will make it easier for teams like Gonzaga with good post players. Fortunately for us, the college game lacks a lot of good post players. Those who are great go to the pros early. Those who are good make a college team something noteworthy.

BYU will be best when it plays small ball.

[BlueK]

Originally Posted by MikeWaters

good analysis. But my concern is the defense.

And more generally, lack of quality post play on both ends.

It's hard to space the floor when their big can just park under the rim and not respect the offensive capabilities of the BYU bigs.

Improving the defense is the real key to this year's team. The thing some overlook about Mika is that he was a terrible defender, which is a major reason he got into foul trouble so often. The guys coming in this year -- Neilson and Kaufusi for sure I guarantee will be more serviceable on defense inside than Mika was, and it makes a big difference overall when you have someone in the middle who can block and alter shots. They are young, but I think we'll be improved there. Against Gonzaga and St. Mary's we need post defense more than offense. Neilson has the ability to shoot from farther out, which may help pull other teams' big men out of the middle.

Fischer also looked great in the last exhibition. At the very least if he has a bad shooting night he won't hurt the team as much as Carlino did because he's not the PG and will be easier to take out of the game or not give the ball to. Carlino was flashy, but he often hurt the team when he was off, not just from missing shots but by throwing the entire offense out of whack.

[MikeWaters]

that's an interesting point about Mika. Mika didn't get many blocked shots, despite his height and athleticism.

It brings to mind Hartsock...what an underrated defender he was. Guy was like 2nd all time at BYU in blocked shots.

[BlueK]

Long Beach State is an interesting opponent for the first game. They have a 6-9 transfer from the Florida Gulf Coast team that made the sweet 16 a couple of years ago and have some athleticism at the PG and wings and will be more athletic than most WCC teams we'll be facing.

I like the defensive effort I saw in the last exhibition game. They played a tight man with a lot more pressure than I've seen from BYU in a while, along with some full court press, which I've never seen from Rose's teams. 16 steals in a game is not bad. Of course it was against a D2 Seattle Pacific, albeit one of the better teams in D2. I'm looking forward to see how it translates against a D1 team that has some quickness tomorrow night. If tomorrow night the defense looks good and improved from last year, it's going to be a very good sign for the rest of the season.