Monday, February 28, 2011

The #1 Seed Debate...

Here is a video of Doug Gottlieb and ESPN Bracketologist Joe Lunardi talking about the teams that should get the #1 seeds in the upcoming NCAA tournament. I honestly don't care about BYU's seed as long as it is a #1 or #2, but it's fun to watch/listen to the debate.

Saturday, February 26, 2011

Jimmer post-game interview with Clark Kellog...

In case you missed the post-game interview and CBS wrap-up, here are the videos. We'll post a less-immediate reaction later on. And by the way, we're really excited!



Reasons for BYU fans to be optimistic...


As excited as all us BYU fans were after the Cougars beat SDSU at the Marriott Center last month, there were some extenuating circumstances which may have occurred to some of us.

1. Kawhi Leonard was definitely not 100 percent, suffering from the flu before the game. The dude is a beast, and if he's not all there, it makes a difference.

2. Jimmer Fredette went off. While it is something we've come to expect from him, he doesn't do it every game, and it is likely harder to do it twice against the same opponent, especially a quality team like the Aztecs. Sure, Jimmer gets up for the most of big games, but is that something we should always expect?

But at the same time, we had a lot of things not go our way in that game, so what sort of things could play a role in a possible BYU win today?

1. Supporting cast - Yes, Jimmer had an awesome game last time against SDSU, but outside of him and Brandon Davies, there wasn't much. The rest of the players combined to shoot 5-for-24, including 0-7 behind the arc, and score 14 points. If we get some more from the non-Jimmer and non-Brandon players, we should be good.

2. Breakout players - As has been mentioned in the past on this blog, BYU was going to need better play from Charles Abuou and Stephen Rogers to be an elite team. Our wish was their command. Lately, those two players have really stepped up, and I expect them to be a major asset in this game.

3. JIMMERTIME - Yeah, I know I mentioned earlier we can't always expect Jimmer to keep having all of these big games and big moments, but until he doesn't produce, why can't we? SDSU fans having been messing with him and even his girlfriend on Facebook, all in order to get inside Jimmer's head. In Jimmer's four years, have we ever seen him play like someone was in his head? Not really. In fact, it has been A LOT more frequent to see him go off against someone because of crap like that. I'm expecting a big game from him today.

BYU wins 78-71, and Jimmer scores 30+ points and gets a lot of people involved.

***Also, I stumbled onto this Jimmer photo blog entry from Ed Shoots. Very awesome pics. Check them out.

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Alone with Rome

Jimmer was interviewed on the ESPN program "Jim Rome is Burning" the other day. Also, Rome talked with Andrew Siciliano afterward about Jimmer's NBA prospects. In case you missed it, here it is:

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Redshirt Feature from KSL

Here is a little feature from KSL on the two BYU basketball players redshirting this season: Anson Winder and recent transfer Matt Carlino:

Video Courtesy of KSL.com


Of course, since he transferred in December, Matt Carlino won't be able to come in at the beginning of the season. He'll have to wait until December, but looking at guys like the Collinsworth brothers, Davies, Winder, Carlino, and remembering we still have Tyler Haws coming back in 2012, it is exciting to think of the potential of BYU basketball over the next four years or so.

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Welcome Home, Ben

BYU officially announced that Ben Cahoon has been hired to coach the receivers at BYU.  He brings with him his receiving records from the Canuck Football League and years of professional experience.  While the Canadian Football League has some messed up rules, the game still involves catching and throwing.  Ben is a complete stud at catching the football.

So, will Ben be able to translate his skillz to a receiving corp that consistently dipped their hands in butter?  Absolutely.  Catching a football can be learned, just like table manners or driving.  You don't have to be athletic or especially gifted to learn to catch, you just have to practice, concentrate and focus.  These are three things that Ben excels at, and they can be taught.  They are also three things that BYU struggled with with this past season.  These guys are very talented, but they need somebody who can help them reach their potential.  Ben is just that guy.  Drops will no longer be tolerated, and players will have to up their game if they want to contribute.

Bronco's offensive staff is in place and filled with high energy, positive coaches that are very good at teaching the game.  Bronco has to be praised for not being complacent with success that they have enjoyed.  Instead he went out and improved the team in a big way.  Unfortunately, there is one downside to all of this good news: it makes September feel even further way.  Only six more months until fall camp opens...six long, lonely months.

Go Cougs!

Jimmer was Jimmered



Jimmered got snubbed.

Jimmered rightfully deserved the MWC Player of the Week award again, and he got snubbed.

I am not the kind of guy who likes to entertain conspiracy theories, but this seemed to have anti-BYU sentiment written all over it. The same thing would have happened to Utah or TCU if either team had a player in Jimmer's neighborhood (bless their hearts, they just don't).

Last week, with Jimmer's performance against SDSU - and especially his stat line in a loss at New Mexico - solidified his status as the leader in the National Player of the Year race. How does he lose the MWC Player of the Week on the same week?

It would be one thing if it was one player given that award, but it's something different altogether when the MWC selects two players as "Co-Players of the Week." That's saying TWO, not just one, but TWO players had better weeks than Jimmer, when not even one did.

Andy Ogdie, CSU, had 21.5 ppg, 6 rpg, 1 bpg, 1 spg last week in beating TCU and Air Force.

Drew Gordon, UNM, had 13.5 ppg, 11.5 rpg, 2 bpg last week in beating #9 BYU and TCU.

Jimmer, on the other hand, had 37.5 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 3.5 apg, 2.0 spg in beating #4 SDSU and losing to UNM.

A few things jump out to me:

1. Jimmer had more points than those two players combined. Points win game, thus, should win awards.

2. Even if everyone of the rebounds from the other guys resulted in 2 points, Jimmer's points were STILL more than the each guy, never mind he had 4.5 rpg and 3.5 apg.

3. Ogdie stats were against two teams that have lost more games than they've won.

4. Drew Gordon played both of his games at home at The Pit, a place nationally known for being difficult for visitors to play, including one of them against TCU.

No rational-thinking human being can actually compare those stats and say one of those guys had a better week, let alone TWO of those guys. It is ridiculous.

The only possible explanation is that conference officials weren't able to watch BYU's games this week because of the crappy MWC TV deal.

And people still wonder why BYU is leaving the conference.