The Hold that "never happened"

Hold #1

 Hold #2

 Still Hold #2

 And finally he raises his hands up and tells the official, "I wasn't holding him, I promise!" So he must not have held.

Getting Alexsi ready for some Bball!

So today I decided to make my future daughter a BYU basketball jersey so she'll be ready to watch when she comes! Check 'em out!

Whatcha lookin at?

Fall Preview: QB

This isn’t your typical spring preview position break down. Instead of blabbering about how well he performed in spring ball etc. I’m going to try and use some stats from last year to predict  how well BYU’s Quarterback Jake Heaps will perform against this year’s opponents.  For this preview I’m going to use Passing Efficiency Defense (What QB rating does the defense hold the opposing QB to?)

Ole Miss: Last year the Rebels had the 109^th best Opp. QB rating of 151.00 against a SOS of 35^th in the country (according to teamrankings.com) that’s 109 out of 120 FBS teams. Ole Miss is young on defense and lost one of their best LB D.T. Shackelford to a season ending injury. So there may be some improvement due to better team chemistry etc. from last year but nothing drastic so we’ll compare them to an opponent from last year who had an opp. QB rating of about 151.00. New Mexico had an opp. QB rating of 153.17, good for 111^th in the nation. Against New Mexico last year Heaps went 18-32 with 2 TDs and 0 Int. and a QB rating of 137.5. Jake has had some time to mature and he returns his whole starting line from last year so (as with the rest of the predictions) I’m going to assume that he shows improvement in each game and as he gets deeper into this season. It is hard to accurately predict this year’s stats because BYU’s offense has changed a lot and has a new offensive coordinator. But if we know that Ole Miss has a New Mexico caliber passing defense  then we can put together a good guess.  Here’s what I think the box score will look like after the game: 25-35 for 300 yards with 2 TDs and 1 int.

Texas: The Longhorns finished 2010 with an opp. QB rating of 118.94, good for 36^th in the country. Texas’ strength of schedule last year was 76^th in the country.  That number is very similar to BYU’s 116.91 mark. The closest opponent from last year is Nevada who finished 39^th with a 119.80 rating. Texas lost their defensive coordinator Will Muschamp who left to take the head coaching job at Florida. I think then it’s safe to assume that their defense won’t get any better than last year, at least not before the second game of the season.  Last season against Nevada Jake went 24-45 for 229 yards, 0 TD’s and 0 Int. and a QB rating of 96.1. Anyone who watched last year’s game against the Wolfpack will remember a certain coach’s propensity to only throw deep fades and run the ball. Under the new regime I expect Heaps to be much more efficient in this game, but Texas will have a very athletic defense. If he gets lax at any point in this game then he could throw a pick or two. 28-41 for 280 yards, 2 TDs and 1 int.

Utah: Utah’s pass efficiency defense last year was only slightly better than Wyoming’s. The Utes ranked 88^th in the FBS. Those numbers were compiled with the 22^nd SOS in the country.  Last year Heaps went 22-37 for 228 yards, 1 TD and 1 int. against Utah.  The Utah game was interesting because Heaps didn’t really seem to settle in until the final drive where he went 4 of 4 for 50 yards to set his team up for a chance at a game winning field goal. I’m trying as hard as I can not to delve into the poor play calling on that final drive. The only way I’m going to avoid it is to give my prediction now:     22-34 for 250 yards 2 TD 0 int.

UCF: Central Florida had the 18^th best Opp. QB rating of 113.00 with a SOS that ranked 84^th.  San Diego St.’s numbers compare nicely with UCF’s. SDSU had an Opp. QB rating of 113.41 (20^th) and a SOS of 67^th. These numbers would suggest that UCF’s passing defense is slightly worse than SDSU’s. BYU did not pass the ball very much last year against the Aztecs. That game was run, run, and run some more with a few short passes sprinkled in. Heaps was very efficient in that game despite the Cougars not stretching the field at all. He went 15-22 for 126 yards, 0 TD’s and 1 int. Jake should fare much better against UCF and BYU will stretch the field which should help him out considerably: 25-32 for 300 yards, 3 TD’s and 1 int.

Utah St: The Aggies opp. QB rating last year was 128.43, 60^th in the country. I expect the Aggies defense to continue to improve under head coach Gary Andersen. But make no mistake about this game. The Cougars are out for revenge. They were embarrassed last year by the Aggies and they don’t want that to happen again. Heaps won’t throw 50 passes in this game and his stats will show marked improvement from last year when he went 27-54 for 270 yards 0 TD’s and 2 int. This year he’ll go 25-35 for 295 yards, 3 TD and 0 int.

San Jose St: SJSU has the 90^th best opp. QB rating of 138.02 with a SOS of 94^th. SJSU’s passing defense is not very good and that will show in the stats. Wyoming and Utah are right around the same rankings as SJSU for opp. QB ratings but with much tougher SOS. Against Wyoming last year Heaps went 10-18 for 81 yards, 1 TD and 1 int. He really only had 1 really bad pass that was picked off and returned for a TD. Fans remember that former offensive coordinator Robert Anae went into hiding after that pass and the Cougars went almost exclusively to the run (which to Anae’s credit was working very well).  Wyoming’s defense is much better than SJSU’s so I think Jake goes  19-25 for 270 yards, 2 TD’s and 0 int. in a Cougar’s blow out.  It will be tough for him to rack up stats in this game because he’ll be on the bench for the 4^th Quarter.

Oregon St: OSU ranked 100^th in opp. QB rating (142.74) and a SOS of 7^th. So their defense is probably better than these numbers show. Wyoming and New Mexico are on either side of the Beavers in the rankings but Wyoming’s numbers are much better and the Lobo’s numbers are much worse.  This would lead me to believe that Heaps performance could lie somewhere between the Wyoming and New Mexico.  He’ll go 20-30 for 280 yards with 2 TD’s and 1 int.

Idaho St: The Bengals ranked 105^th in the FCS division with an opp. QB rating of 145.16. I don’t think I can accurately compare them to anyone on last year’s schedule because I don’t think we played anyone this bad. UNLV was BYU’s worst opponent according to pass efficiency defense and they were way better than ISU.  Heaps will put up some ridiculous numbers in 3 Quarters (maybe 2.5). 23-25 for 390 yards 4 TD’s and 0 int.

 

TCU: The Horned Frogs had the best defense in the country last year. Lucky for BYU they lost some players from last year’s team. Unfortunately they will still be near the tops in the country.  Last year against TCU Heaps was 14-30 for 91 yards, 0 TD’s and 2 int. This year should be much better as BYU’s offense as a whole is much improved. With the ability to stretch the field and an offensive coordinator who is willing to do so, Jake should have an easier time throwing the ball. BYU’s offensive line is very experienced and should allow him plenty of time to operate. He’ll still have a tough game though: 22-35 for 260 yards, 2 TD’s and 2 int.

Idaho: They are FBS that makes them a step up from ISU. Their opp. QB rating is slightly worse than USU’s with an almost identical SOS. Heaps will go 30-40 for 380 yards with 3 TD’s and 1 int.

New Mexico St: NMSU ranked 105^th in the country in opp. QB rating. Their defensive ability is similar to New Mexico, Colorado and UNLV. Heaps will be in line for another big game. 25-30 for 310 yards 3 TD’s and 0 int.

Hawaii: Hawaii ranked 52^nd in the country and had a similar defense to Utah St. Playing on at Hawaii will be tough for BYU and Jake Heaps but with a full year of seasoning Heaps will be near the top of his game. BYU vs. Hawaii games have always been high scoring this one could be the same.  37-45 for 395 yards, 4 TD’s and 1 int.

Looking at this year’s schedule, if Heaps can minimize his mistakes in the big games vs. tougher opponents, then he will have lots of opportunities vs. weaker opponents to pad his stats. If you add up all the stats from these games, it comes out to an electric year for the sophomore QB. It adds up to 304-367 for 3,710 yards, 32 TD’s and 8 int.

Bidding Adieu to "The Jimmer"

I wrote the following blog piece as an application to write for a local sports blog. Let's hope they like it! (I hope y'all like it too)

With seven minutes to go in BYU’s sweet 16 matchup, the Cougars were down 55-61 to the Florida Gators. BYU hadn’t scored in over 3 minutes. Cougar fans across the nation were on the edge of their seats. Three free throws and a layup later, BYU found themselves down just two points. Then after two missed Florida shots, Kyle Collinsworth pulled down his 11^th rebound and threw the quick outlet to Jimmer, who quickly sized up his opponent.  The whole arena held its breath as Fredette did what he does best; pulled up on a dime and with a flick of his wrist, drained a 30-foot jump shot to tie the game at 63-63.  Florida called a quick timeout. The Cougars finally had what they looked for all game. Momentum. Fredette finished regulation by scoring 11 of the Cougars final 13 points to send the game into overtime. The extra period began much the way the game did. The Cougars struggled to make shots. The Gators burned up the nets and shot 5-7 from the field and 2-3 from 3pt range. In the waning minutes of the game, Jimmer turned the ball over and then missed a three point shot.  His eyes showed his competitiveness. He wasn’t giving up. After another turnover and another missed 3-point jumper, the wheels to the Jimmer Fredette bandwagon finally wore off. The eventual player of the year skidded to a stop in New Orleans. Coach Dave Rose subbed out Fredette, who left the court to a standing ovation. The final buzzer in The Jimmer’s college career sounded.  

      Four years earlier Jimmer Fredette was just a kid from a small town in New York.  Many fans jumped on the Jimmer bandwagon before he even got to Provo. They hailed his uncanny ability to score and his New York Section II scoring record of 2,404 points. Others were unsure if his abilities would transition into the tougher college game. During his freshman year he proved he could play and BYU fans got their first glimpse of what he would become. He set the stage for the rest of his career when he came off the bench during BYU’s 1^st round NCAA tournament loss and played 30 minutes.  His fearlessness kept the Cougars close until the final minutes. This was just the beginning.
            As a sophomore Fredette started 32 of BYU’s 33 games and went on to win 1^st Team All-MWC honors, the first BYU point guard to do so since Marty Haws in 1990. Fredette’s status of “just a kid” changed as he wowed fans with games like his 23 point 9 assist performance against nationally ranked Wake Forest. There, he nearly out-dueled feature NBA point guard Jeff Teague.  Later, Fredette would further up his status with 28 point performances against Wyoming and then on the road against SDSU. Jimmer was so new to the scene SDSU player Lorenzo Wade said, "There is no excuse for letting Jimmer Fredette come in here and score 28 points; that's impossible.” Jimmer later showed SDSU and Mr. Wade that not only is it possible, it’s possible to do it multiple times and in SDSU’s own house.
            Jimmer’s junior year was by all means a breakout year. Fredette hit the National scene by scoring a BYU record 49 points at the McKale center in Arizona. Jimmer started the conference schedule scoring 30 points almost every night until his toughest defender of the year, mononucleosis, slowed him down for a few weeks.  On March 11^th it looked like he’d regained his strength as he scored 45 points in the MWC semifinal to beat TCU. One week later he captured America’s attention by scoring 37 points in the first round of the NCAA tournament and beating Florida in double overtime, giving BYU its first NCAA tournament win since 1993.
            By the time Fredette began his senior year, the whole country knew name. He was a first-team, preseason All- American.  BYU students camped outside the Marriot center in the freezing weather just to see him play. When he scored 33 points in the first half of a road game against Utah his name became verb. His stoic look as he turned to face the camera after nailing a half-court shot at the buzzer is the stuff of legends.  His 43 points against rival SDSU at home put him squarely atop the NPOY race.  One BYU student dared to accuse Jimmer fans of “idol worshiping” and she was greeted with hundreds of comments on her Facebook wall the next morning.

After beating SDSU again on the road, tragedy struck the Cougars and it seemed as if all was lost. Star Center Brandon Davies was dismissed from the team for honor code violations. BYU fans everywhere thought the sky was falling. The team stumbled through the end of the season, losing to New Mexico at home before recovering against Wyoming.  After a close game against TCU in the MWC quarterfinals, BYU fans found themselves wondering if their chance at the sweet 16 had passed them by. Seven three pointers and 52 points later, Jimmer reminded the fans to “doubt not.” That day in Las Vegas Fredette went from super-star to hero. Later he led his team to the Sweet 16 and cemented his legend in BYU lore by taking home every major Player of the Year award.
            Jimmer Fredette may be a college super-star and even a legend in Provo, but if you happen to see him on the street, he’s just a kid. His humble, kind attitude will win you over in a heartbeat. That’s why Jimmer is Jimmer. Not just because of his super-human ability to can three pointers from the half court logo or break ankles with his cross-over, but his super-human ability to make you like him. It’s his smile when he waves to the camera after getting knocked over on national television.  We love Jimmer because he was the best college basketball player in America and the biggest star to play basketball for the Cougars since Danny Ainge 20 years ago. But we also love Jimmer because he’s still the same kid who stepped on campus 4 years ago. He’s the same guy who works his tail off every day because he loves the game.

      So if you’re still sitting on your couch thinking about the last time you saw The Jimmer put on his Cougar blue and you wonder if it will be another 20 years before you see it again, as the anonymous proverb states, “Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.” 

Good March Omens

If you're superstitious like me then you're always looking for good omens. This is especially true in March, not only because of the NCAA tournament but of course baseball season is right around the corner. So what's the good omen this time you say?
Well in 1979 a white kid named Larry Bird (you might know him) led a small school in Indiana to a Final Four and National Championship game appearance. Indiana St. was a 1 seed that year and BYU is a 3 seed. BYU's first opponent, Wofford, is located in South Carolina, just a couple of states south of Indiana St.'s first opponent Virginia Tech. In 1979 Indiana St. played Michigan St. in the finals, Michigan St.'s mascot is the Spartan, Wofford is located in Spartanburg S.C. . Larry Bird wore number 33. Jimmer wear's number 32.  The 1979 final four was played in Salt Lake City, Jimmer dropped 47 points on the Utes in Salt Lake City.  In Bird's senior season he averaged 28.6 ppg. very similar to Jimmer's 28.5 ppg.
One last good omen, BYU coach Dave Rose's last final four appearance was as a player for Houston's Phi Slamma Jamma, this year's final four will be in, you guessed it, Houston.  So there you have it folks, if you believe in superstition, (and miracles) then you'd better believe BYU is going to the Final Four on the back of NPOY Jimmer Fredette.

Fredette Silencer

Smaller poster

Jimmer Poster

BYU vs Utah "The Gift"

The terrible call that handed Utah back the ball with time to score the game winning touchdown didn't "cost" BYU the game. Unfortunately it was the absence of a 42 yard field goal that could have easily been a 25 yard field goal. But it would be naive to think that game winning touchdowns handed to the home team on their final drive of the game don't help tremendously. With that having been said here is a still frame from the television coverage to help you decide if it was the right call. Remember that the replay officials had this same view.

Ball in arms: Check, Knee on the ground: Check,  On field official with a great view of the play: Check, By some miracle the mountain actually has a decent view of the play: CHECK

How did the replay officials miss the obvious call?survey software

Why Heaps is struggling...

Some stuff from Friday's game.

So after watching the first game of the season on Friday I thought I would jot down a few notes on each player.

Jimmer Fredette: Well he's Jimmer and he's a pre-season all American and all I can say is he is every bit that. He will score at will and is will once again take this team on it's back and carry it when they are having trouble scoring. From the looks of it he has also improved his defense. He's been working all summer on getting quicker on D and it looks like it's worked you could tell he was really putting forth the extra effort on D. He only got a few minutes on Friday but I'm not sure I remember him missing a shot. I know him and Jax combined for something like 10-11 shooting. As coach rose said  that won't happen often but if it does then watch out.

Jackson Emery: Still a great spot up shooter and a great on ball defender. He didn't play much so I didn't get a chance to see what he has worked on in the off season but I seriously don't think he'll miss very often when he's open.

Charles Abouo: Very very strong. Just like last year he can really get to the rim and is explosive when he gets there. He also didn't get much time but he got to the rim well and on one particular play got a pass and went straight up for the dunk. This is what I want to see whenever he goes in there, too often he gets to the rim and doesn't finish. I'm excited to see how he has improved to see if he finishes better this year. He will carry the load some times this year. Also another great defender.

Chris Collinsworth: Was a beast on the boards had some good post moves and was aggressive going to the basket. Didn't really get challenged on the interior on defense but he moves well and he is big. He took a couple of shots and they looked good but were no where near the basket. I'm sure this will get better as the season goes on but regaudless he will be invaluable  on the defensive and offensive glass.

Brandon Davies: Also didn't really get challenged. No big men so he didn't really do much. He had a really good block and looked like he will pick up where he left off last year.

Kyle Collinsworth: Very impressive debut. He kind of struggled from the line but as I remember correctly Haws missed his first ten from the line and had a slow shooting start as well. I don't really want to compare him to Haws too much though because they are two very different players. Kyle is extremely athletic and can get to the rim with a variety of moves. I was very surprised with two of his spin moves at how easily he rose up and got to the rim to finish. Very pretty. He was very calm and didn't look like he was in a hurry to shoot. I'd like to see him take a few more shots but he is very smart and knows that his job is to distribute the ball. His chance to score will come but he is a very good passer. The thing that impressed me most about him was his defense. He got up so quickly to block shots that he actually blocked 2 three pointers! I think the shooters were very surprised that he got up so quick. He didn't just tip them he got a full hand on them. Very quick reflexes, I really like this guy.

Brock Zylstra: If you are looking for a surprise guy to get minutes this year then look no further than Brock. He looked very smooth with his J and was very good on defense and was hustling all over the court. He will give this team some instant energy and offense when he is in. We didn't see much of Brock last year but I have a feeling we will see a lot of him this year.

Logan Magnuson: Played very well off the bench. He's very good on the defensive glass and works very hard when he's in there. He's kind of a tweener in that he doesn't really have the size of a 4 or the offense of a 3. Whatever he lacks in size he makes up in hustle.

Those were the guys that sort of stood out to me. This is a very good basketball team that is looking to build off of last years success. I think we will win the MWC handily and Jimmer will give us the sweet 16 run we've been waiting for. This is the year folks!

PI or not PI?

So there has been some discussion over a supposed missed call on 3rd down during last weeks game so I decided to post a still motion picture of the play with the Pass Interference rule per NCAA rule book and whether or not the refs missed the call in this occasion.

So here is the rule:

Defensive pass interference is contact beyond the neutral zone by a
Team B player whose intent to impede an eligible opponent is obvious
and it could prevent the opponent the opportunity of receiving a catchable
forward pass. When in question, a legal forward pass is catchable.
Defensive pass interference occurs only after a legal forward pass is
thrown. It is not Pass interference if:
1 . When, after the snap, opposing players immediately charge and
establish contact with opponents at a point that is within one yard
beyond the neutral zone.
2 . When two or more eligible players are making a simultaneous and
bona fide attempt to reach, catch or bat the pass. Eligible players of
either team have equal rights to the ball (A.R. 7-3-8-XII).
3 . When a Team B player legally contacts an opponent before the pass
is thrown

Now by the rule I believe that the correct call was made because:
1. There is no obvious intent to impede the receiver. Simply putting an arm on a receiver does not mean PI.
2. Both players were making a bona fide attempt to reach the pass. (Although it looks like in the replay that the UW receiver didn't try to go at the ball he just tucked his arms and and fell over when he saw he couldn't get to it).

Some will argue that "Bradley is all over him". But once again that doesn't mean PI necessarily. In this case it looks like (from the picture and the replay) that the receiver stops to try and catch the ball and Bradley runs into him as he is making a play on the ball. Not PI. If Bradley would have used the receiver to propel himself closer to the ball then it would have been PI. Again that is just my opinion based on the rule and what I see in the picture and the video replay.

I think it was a tough call to make in live action and to say the ref absolutely blew the call is to not understand the rule. To be honest I thought it was pass interference until I read the rule and there have been lots of plays this season that I have complained about being PI that actually weren't and indeed there have been a few calls that were called PI that shouldn't have been.

So there you go hate or love it I don't think that call was missed.

Here is the video too so you can get another angle. The back angle looks pretty bad like the call was missed. But I'm going to play devil's advocate here and say that the contact resulted because the TE stopped to catch the ball. Unless you believe that Bradley picked up the TE with his right arm then it looks like the contact on the back side occurs as both players jump towards the ball.

Wonder why BYU wants to go?

This is courtesy a mathematically inclined fan (not me):

For the past couple of days, I've been trying to work out a model that would show - in very clear terms - what BYU's opportunity cost is to stay in the MWC. Along with that model, I wanted to show our poor MWC little brothers just how much we've been carrying them over the past 4 years.  Here's the first draft that I wanted to get everyone's feedback on.

Fanbase model:  I took the total # of enrolled students, divided by 4, then multiplied by the expected remaining lifespan of a college graduate (40) then multiplied by the average number of children than the demographic has (1.83 for the general population and 3 for Mormons).  The outlier here was AFA, so I included ROTC #'s from other schools to get their total enrollment to 18,000 instead of 4,500.

Revenue Share & Opportunity Cost model:  I took the mtn contract payout today ($12M/year divided by 9 = $1.3M/school) and then subtracted what the BYU subsidy essentially is if we were to calculate what a proportional revenue sharing arrangement would look like.  The numbers below will make this clearer.

Annual

Univ. Fanbase   %Share  (Subsidy)/OppCost

AFA     329,400   7%    $(1,062,737.26)

BYU   1,478,370  30%     $6,666,666.67 

CSU     455,213   9%      $(959,384.59)

UNM     634,534  13%      $(812,075.09)

SDSU    537,178  11%      $(892,051.26)

TCU     159,137   3%    $(1,202,605.36)

UNLV    531,963  11%      $(896,335.70)

UofU    514,779  11%      $(910,451.80)

WYO     228,677   5%    $(1,145,479.52)

Historical

Univ. Totals

AFA   $(5,313,686)

BYU   $33,333,333 

CSU   $(4,796,923)

UNM   $(4,060,375)

SDSU  $(4,460,256)

TCU   $(6,013,027)

UNLV  $(4,481,679)

UofU  $(4,552,259)

WYO   $(5,727,398)

That's right folks... that's a $33M opportunity cost for BYU since 2006 with the inception of the mtn.  Even calculating the Yewt's and TCU's BCS winnings after these #'s (which effectively netted BYU about $2M total between the two appearances) all schools are still heavily subsidized by BYU.  We should start sending out bills to the different schools in the MWC and call it the 'keep the conference together tax.'

Guard Marsha Henderson leaves Utah, taken 5th in WNBA draft

According to a recent press release University of Utah guard Marsha Henderson has left the school in order to pursue a professional basketball career. According to inside sources Henderson has indeed declared for the WNBA draft. Henderson made his decision after he was told by WNBA scouts that he would be a first round draft pick. Marsha was selected with the 5th overall pick by the San Antonio Silver Stars. (Above: Henderson gets ready for WNBA play) San Antonio GM Dan Hughs said that Henderson's 1-20 shooting would be "a big boost" for the Silver Stars. The news was announced this morning during the WNBA draft but due to the fact that no one was watching or paying any attention, it took a while for the news to get out. According to the Silver Stars coach Sandy Brondello, "It will be great to have someone like Marsha on the team. With the way he er I mean she raises her hand in the air with three fingers when she finally makes a shot, that is impressive. Between Marsha and that one Olympic runner that got caught using steroids, we should have a pretty good team." Coach Brondello who was still crushed after finding out Joakim Noah would not be available for the WNBA draft also commented on Henderson's ability to make shots when no one is guarding her saying "He er I mean she certainly has that ability to score points when no one is around to block her shot so she should do very well in this league." WNBA Commissioner David Stern responded to criticism by saying "No one watches the WNBA anyway, and even if someone does I'm sure they won't notice, he hits like a girl and he whines like a girl. Most of the girls playing look more like men anyway". Henderson will begin practicing with the Silver Stars in June.

Cougar fans bid Farewell to Seniors

This Saturday will mark the last home game for BYU Seniors Jonathan Tavernari, Lamont Morgan, Jr. and Chris Miles. All three players hold a special place in the heart of BYU fans. Saturday will also be the last time for most fans to witness live the heart, determination and skill that these three have shown us throughout their careers. I will be at the Marriott Center on Saturday at two to bid farewell, but this is why I will miss each one:

Jonathan Tavernari: Watching Tavernari play is like riding on a roller coaster. Their were highs and there were lows, but the highs were so fun that you get right back in line to see if you can take another ride. BYU will miss JT's three point shots but they will also miss his rebounding ability and his quick hands. When JT arrived on campus he was a three point shooter with a quick and a pretty turn-around J. As teams put more focus on the former MWC Freshman of the year he was forced to become a more complete player and that he did. JT is an excellent rebounder and there aren't very many people in the conference that can get their hands into the passing lane as well as JT does.

Best Game: November 23, 2007 BYU took on and beat then #6 Louisville. JT lead the Cougars with 29 pts on 5-11 shooting from behind the arc. He also brought in 7 rebounds and a team high 2 steals.

Why you will miss JT: First of all you won't find a better team player than JT. He has caught a lot of flack from some very uneducated fans for his streaky shooting. Even he will admit that he has had some rough patches, but what he has done this year should gain the respect of every Cougar fan. Early in the season when JT was struggling he suggested that the team would benefit from him coming off the bench as a sixth man. That is something only a team player will do. So just how good is JT right now? Well he's 13-26 from behind the arc in the last 4 games and has come up with big shot after big shot. Yes, "JT for 3" will surely be missed.

Lamont Morgan Jr.: Lamont's quickness and maturity at the back-up point position has been fun to watch over his career. Had he not been behind possibly the greatest point guard in BYU history, he might have been even better. It is hard to explain to most people why Morgan is so important to this team. To the untrained eye he looks like a run of the mill back up point guard who averaged a mere 3.4 points per game and to go along with 1 assist. The one thing that can somewhat explain how popular Lamont is among his teammates is that he was elected team captain his senior year. Lamont has an infectious personality that is hard not like. You've got to love his smile and his work ethic. From Cougar fans every where: Thanks and Good Luck Lamont!
many

Chris Miles: If you've watched any games this year you will quickly realize that Miles is the glue to this teams defense. One of my favorite moments this year was watching Utah's Foster catch the ball on the low block and then end up taking a 15' turn around because Miles completely owned him. When Miles is on the low block I don't worry about anybody being a post scoring threat. He didn't block shots, but nobody has the footwork and positioning that he does. Miles is a very good defensive player who works harder than anybody else on the court. In case you don't watch very much basketball I just want to point out some of the little things that Miles does that helps the Cougars win and that will be missed when he leaves: Miles gets up and down the court like no other big man in the league. This wears down opposing big men because they are forced to sprint up and down the court in order to keep up with Miles. Chris is very good at boxing his guy completely out of an area. This allows every one else to get the rebound and often shuts down the other teams best rebounder. Miles gets the crowd going too. I can remember many times when the fans seem to be asleep or reading the newspaper. Miles' energy was so infectious that those fans had no choice but to get on their feet. A lot of the things that Miles does don't show up in the stat sheet but I hope Miles knows how much fans appreciate his work ethic. Good luck Chris, you will be missed.

Oh yeah and one more thing that these guys will be remembered for by the end of the year: 4 MWC championships in 4 years. 'Nuff Said.

Henderbaby

This photo is brought to you courtesy of my wife... pretty funny stuff.

What to Watch for: BYU vs New Mexico

First and foremost you should watch out for the snake.----->

But that goes in the category of watching out and not watching for...

1. Secret Weapon Elizabeth Lambert. Ok so this might also fall in the category of what to watch out for, but unless you have a pony tail and you're attending the game, you should be safe. The Lobos are likely to suit up Lambert in an attempt to slow down Fredette. If Fredette can stay away from the kicks to the face he should be fine as the Cougars have already preempted the Lambert move by making all their players wear short hair cuts. Thank you Honor Code.

2.Watch for Tyler Haws to have another big game. I think opposing coaches are playing the percentages and allowing Haws to get open looks while trying to shut down Fredette and Emery. The thinking is that a Freshman is less likely to hit big shots than a seasoned veteran. The problem is that Haws does not play like a freshman. New Mexico plays an extended man to man defense that opens up the mid range jumper. The Lobos will try to shut down the three and the drive to the basket and that will leave Haws with his bread and butter mid range J.

3. The Lobos will focus their whole defensive game plan on Jimmer, but it won't work. Fredette will once again put this team on his back and carry them when they need him most. I'm seeing another 30 point outing from the Junior superstar.

4. Jax will break out of mid season slump and hit some big shots for the Cougars. Emery started out the season on fire from behind the arc but defenses have started focusing on him more and as a result his shot percentage has gone down. He will once again pick up some of the scoring load and have somewhere around 15 points.

5. BYU will establish themselves in the low post before they look for the outside shot. Look for one of our big men (Miles, Hartsock, or Davies) to score in the double digits this contest.

6. BYU 72 New Mexico 67