Passing up Danny Ainge

For all of my life, the only BYU basketball highlight I ever saw run on TV was this Danny Ainge one:

In fact, because of the play it got, as a kid I always had assumed it was for the national title. I even remember telling friends in high school that "BYU has won a title in both football and basketball."

That was obviously not the case.

That Danny Ainge play happened a good eight months before I was born, and BYU's basketball history has not had a lot of things with which fans could compare. Danny Ainge and his tournament run was thebomb.com.

Sure, we've had some things to hang our hats on: Shawn Bradley's (speaking of images of stuff you hang your hat on) NBA career and appearance "in Space Jam," the Rafa years were good, and who doesn't guys like having alumni like Plaisted and Hansen having a cup of hot cocoa in the NBA?

However, nothing had been close to passing up Danny Ainge...until this year.

Quite literally, in fact, as Jackson Emery passed up Danny Ainge has the BYU leader in steals:


Then, Jimmer Fredette passed up Danny Ainge for career points at BYU, while having the best individual statistical season a player at BYU has ever had:


Now the only thing left to do for this team is pass up Danny Ainge's 1981 tournament run. With a win over Florida on Thursday, this BYU team will have gone as far as any BYU team has gone in NCAA Tournament. Could this even be the year that run gets passed, and BYU finds its way into the Final Four?

With everything else that has happened, wouldn't this be the year for it?

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.

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.

Jimmer Fredette on Sportscenter - 1/27/2011

BYU's Jimmer Fredette was on Sportscenter talking with John Buccigross this afternoon. In case you missed it, here is the video clip:

The Great Heaps Mission Debate

This is a subject in which I am surprised such debate exists: should Jake Heaps serve a full-time mission?

It is easy to give the answer of "yes," because we have been taught all of our lives that every worthy young man should serve a mission. So, by that token, the decision is not a decision all, because it has already been made for him.

Except for a little thing called "agency."

For me, the answer was easy. I went and did what was expected of me. It was a decision I had made years and years before acting on it. But there is a different set of circumstances surrounding Heaps' mission decision compared to my circumstances, and I don't think people understand the difficulty of Heaps' decision.

Those in a third-person perspective looking at it, say, "There's no question or decision about it. Just go!"

I would wager a small fortune none of those people were ever the #1 QB prospect in high school as a senior. They were likely not given the starting job at the most visible position on the BYU football team as a freshman - a dream come true for Heaps, I'm sure. The bottom line is they have no idea the sacrifice Heaps would be making.

Heaps has worked so hard throughout his entire life to one day be a QB in the NFL. Two years is an immense sacrifice for anyone, but for a QB, that's two years away from the game. Two years off a possible NFL career.

Saying "yes" to that decision is almost definitely saying "good-bye" to the possibility of being drafted in the first round. Teams like to draft younger QBs to groom them to be their quarterback.

People know BYU as a "QB Factory," but do you remember who the first returned missionary BYU QB to start in the NFL was? John Beck, a mere three years ago. A BYU QB not going on a mission is not a new topic.

Remember former #1 QB prospect Ben Olson? He served - and I give him ultimate props for doing so - and his college career did not turn out how he would have preferred. Not that it is because he served a mission, but if you were in Jake Heaps' position, wouldn't that scare you a tad?

The answer to the question of whether to serve is non-existent, because whether or not Jake Heaps should serve a mission is not even a question - at least not for me or you. It is a private decision between Heaps and the Lord. He is the one going. He is the one that needs to be committed.

Agency is one of the most sacred possessions we have as children of our Heavenly Father, so how dare anyone try to rob him of that?

I understand the thought that Jake Heaps should be an example to the younger kids in the church. However, I am from the Charles Barkley School of Philosophy. It is not Heaps' job to be a role model. Jake Heaps wants to play football, not raise your kids.

Why criticize him for not going on a mission? Why not appreciate him for the good kid he already is? Why try to fit him into a role he may not want to fulfill? There are plenty other people on the BYU football team or other teams willing to be that guy.

For example, here is a video on Utah basketball legend Tyler Haws.

After a very successful freshman season on the BYU basketball team, he chose to serve a mission. Tyler Haws' example screams "Here! Here's a role model!" Why waste time making someone else fit into a role that is already being fulfilled by guys like Tyler Haws?

How to improve a top-10 team

Having been so rarely ranked inside the top 10 in basketball, the hoops team has been a real treat to watch this year. If you haven't figured out by now, Jimmer Fredette and Jackson Emery are special talents; you really should make every effort to attend every BYU basketball game you can this year.

How can a top team improve? A couple of thoughts to watch as the season progresses.

First, it all begins with "D" - Davies, that is. With the news yesterday of Chris Collinsworth's microfracture knee surgery, Davies' role on the team becomes increasingly important. The most glaring problem for Davies is the tendency to pick up quick fouls that should never happen. This probably cuts Davies' effective minutes more than anything else.

Second, it continues with "D" - team defense. If BYU can continue to apply defensive pressure, teams shoot low percentage shots and other defensive indicators like steal % go up. Jackson Emery, of course, can make automatic offense with the steals and layups at the other end, and this will be killer for teams in the MWC that do not have as good of guards.

The emergence of another player will be important down the stretch. If Abouo wasn't struggling with injury and fatigue from playing all summer for the Ivory Coast, he would be the person of choice. He brings great defense and is one of BYU's better on-ball defenders. Of course, height is never a bad thing, and if Stephen Rogers can get his offense on track, his height and lankiness will be helpful against taller teams (SDSU) and should help in rebounding.

If BYU can improve these things, expect good things to come during the tournament.

Next week on Tuesday we will break down the Jan 26 match-up at the Marriott Center between BYU and SDSU.

Jimmer on SC and Highlights from the game

After dropping a phat 47 on Utah on Tuesday night, Jimmer Fredette talked to ESPN's Scott Van Pelt on Sportscenter.


And in case you missed it, here are the highlights from the BYU-Utah game on Tuesday night:

Jimmer and Poll Reactions...

ESPN named Jimmer Fredette the Player of the Week for his 39-point performance AT UNLV last week. Read the full article here.

This is obviously great news. This is kind of stuff we were hoping/planning to see when Jimmer announced he was returning for his senior year. Since he had yet to win at UNLV, an already big performance grew to enormous.

It was exciting to see the nation was paying attention, especially since the nation couldn't watch the game (on The Mtn.), and the news show exactly that. All of the polls for this week have been released, and there was a lot of movement for BYU.

BYU is now #2 in the RPI Rating.

BYU is now #10 in the Coaches Poll and #11 in the AP Poll.

And USA Today's Jeff Sagarin has BYU as #4 in his ratings.

And ESPN's Joe Lunardi has released his latest Bracketology, his estimation of where teams would/should be slated in the NCAA tourney if it was starting today. He has us slated as a #4 seed.

Considering the difficulty BYU has had winning tourney games, it will interesting to see what kind of seed we end up with. Obviously, if BYU keeps winning games, they will have a great seed. If they won the rest of their games, while a #1 seed is not IMpossible, I think a #2 seed is more likely in that scenario.

My gut tells me we won't win all of them. We'll likely lose at least one game, but I think we could still end up a #2 seed but likely a #3.

Either way, things look pretty good right now for the Cougars.

Don't look now...OK, you can look a little.

BYU is now #1 in RPI, check it out here.

I definitely do not claim to know how the RPI system works. I know of some of the factors considered that determine the formula, but I don't know how BYU is #1, when we are not undefeated, and other teams are (like Duke).

The RPI system is a rating system used to rank teams, so, while I do NOT understand it, I have no problem saying, "BYU is #1."