I agree mostly. Though you have to give the man some props for 2 consecutive conference championships and 2 consecutive bids to the tourney. Although we need to learn to win in tournaments

Same...When we had a two point lead with about 8 min left in the game I told my wife unless we opened the lead at that point up to at least 5 there was no way we were going to win.

With 2 min to and down by 4 I told her we going to lose. She said, "No, they will win. I bet the win." JT then chucked up that half court shot and she was like, "Hmmm...nevermind."

If the fans don't believe they are going to win, odds are the players don't either.

My first year at BYU was when Cosic and Fryer were on the team. Cosic was an aggressive "goto" guy when things got tight. Fryer was Mr. Dependable.

After a mission and marriage, I returned to BYU for the Danny Ainge era. He had that same competitive instinct and ability to take over a game.

I don't see that on this current team. I also don't see the coach making the important adjustments during the game - ie. adjusting the defensive rotation to shut down a hot shooter. Waiting until the half is too late. I was disappointed to see that A&M appeared "fresher" in the second half - or maybe they were simply hungrier.

Whining about the "what ifs" in regards to rebounds and free throws is useless. Rebounds, especially defensive rebounds is one of most fundamental aspects of the game.

Players like Plaisted should be out shooting a few hundred free throws (with a shooting coach) during the off season. Just shooting, using his usual poor form, doesn't accomplish a thing other than guarantee continued poor performance. Overall I'm disappointed in Plaisted's lack of progress since his frosh year. Why all the talk about the NBA? I don't see him having any NBA career with his severely limited shooting range. Without significant off-season improvement, I don't see any chance for improvement for his senior year.

BYU needs to schedule a couple more early season contests in tough venues so they can learn how to compete in that sort of environment. A long home win streak doesn't mean squat to me when we can't get past the first round of the NCAA.

Overall, I think we have most of the components necessary for tournament success. Improvements in free throw shooting, boxing out on rebounds, and mid-game coaching adjustments can probably get us into at least the 2nd round of the Tourney, and hopefully even further.

My biggest issue with this team, as it has been mentioned in other threads, is the lack of heart. When I watch other March Madness games, you see the entire team jumping up and down or pumping their fist on the court and the bench after a big shot and then a timeout, etc. However, only one or two times did I see this last night - and both were from Jimmer. The best part about March Madness is watching how much passion these student-athletes play the game with. However, i do not see that passion on this team except for Jimmer and a little with Collinsworth. I would love to see Cummard or Plaisted actaully give out a shout or something after making a big shot, anything to get the team fired up.

Even after the Cougs made their comeback in the first half, I did not see much emotion from the team. I know that winning games is not based on emotion but it can go a long way to pushing a team over the hump. Hopefully Jimmer can instill some of his passion into the rest of the guys this summer. Otherwise I think we might see the same result next year.

I too was disappointed with the finish. Primarily because the first round featured a script we've seen before. Someone on the other team has a record night that leaves the team saying, oh gee, we can't defend it if someone plays out of their head crazy good, how do we plan for that? Meanwhile our team is infected with dry spells where the ball just doesn't seem to go in--that is to say the middle doesn't seem to be open and the three point shots we take under duress don't fall or get rebounded.

But here's the thing. This is not new to Coach Rose. It has been happening for years.

I don't know what the answer is, but I don't think the problem is new to Coach Rose. Can coach Rose solve it? It's his job too, but I think it is more systemic somehow.

Yzzazz wrote:

I too was disappointed with the finish. Primarily because the first round featured a script we've seen before. Someone on the other team has a record night that leaves the team saying, oh gee, we can't defend it if someone plays out of their head crazy good, how do we plan for that? Meanwhile our team is infected with dry spells where the ball just doesn't seem to go in--that is to say the middle doesn't seem to be open and the three point shots we take under duress don't fall or get rebounded.

But here's the thing. This is not new to Coach Rose. It has been happening for years.

I don't know what the answer is, but I don't think the problem is new to Coach Rose. Can coach Rose solve it? It's his job too, but I think it is more systemic somehow.

Good point. 16 years without a tournament win says something much bigger is going on and Rose hasn't been able to change it.