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BYU's Plaisted, CSU's Smith excited to see each other again |
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JaredLloyd | Saturday, January 20, 2007, 12:21 am
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Jason Franchuk
DAILY HERALD
FORT COLLINS, Colo. — Not typical basketball players, but definitely typical communicators for people their age, BYU's Trent Plaisted and Colorado State's Jason Smith have chatted away during the season.
You guessed it — by text message.
Kind of friends — time spent together as roommates last summer at an Atlanta hoops camp made it so — they're set to play each other today at 3:30 p.m. in Moby Arena. It's one of the premier match-ups in the league, though it's unlikely they'll spend the majority of the time guarding each other. Still, Plaisted's looking forward to seeing his fellow camp counselor in a meeting that could be called the most anticipated one for Mountain West Conference big men (apologies to Utah's Luke Nevill).
“We know each other a little, and I definitely respect him as a basketball player but more as a person," said Plaisted, a 6-foot-11 sophomore center of the 7-foot junior Smith. “We don't know each other too well, but we've talked through text message a couple of times. That happened because we both have had a game against Boise State this year.”
The Cougars (13-5, 3-1 Mountain West) are searching for their first road win since early December, and the initial one outside of Utah after winning the only time at Weber State.
Attention will most definitely be on the big fellas. Plaisted, according to a few MWC coaches, has already been a subject of NBA conversation. Meanwhile, Smith is battling a sore knee but has been considered a potential first-round draft pick since the offseason.
What it may come down to, though, is the guards. Both teams will be counting on smaller players to get the ball into the post, and also help out on defense. Air Force mostly, and TCU at times, showed that the Rams (13-4, 3-2 MWC) and their twin towers, Smith and fellow 7-footer Stuart Creason could be vulnerable to smaller players that can step into position at the last second and take charges.
BYU head coach Dave Rose has noticed that trend, but also is wary of Smith's outside game.
“Their guys in the post are good a long way from the basket, a good 15 or 16 feet,” Rose said. “That's what makes them so difficult to defend. We'll have to guard them in a variety of ways. The key is to keep them away from the basket and limit them to just one shot. How we rebound will be a big factor in our success.”
Wherever Smith (team-best 16.1 points per game) and Creason shoot from, they're tough to keep from scoring. Creason (11.1 ppg) is second in the league in field goal percentage (65.7) and Smith is sixth (58.4).
Plaisted is second in scoring for BYU (11.3 ppg) behind 6-6 forward Keena Young. Plaisted also ranks third in MWC offensive rebounding (2.72), right behind Smith (3.18).
Plaisted gives credit to some of Smith's success, as does Rose, to an improved guard line that is making proper inside passes and also taking pressure off the post by finding their own ways to score. It's a healthy team, unlike any recent one for Dale Layer, and also a balanced one. Two Rams besides Creason, guards Cory Lewis and Tyler Smith, are averaging 11 points per game.
“I think their guards are a lot better, and that's probably a difference for the guys like Jason,” Plaisted said. “They take some of that pressure off. I think we're a better team than last year, obviously, but you could definitely say the same thing about them.”
BYU, 1-4 in true road games, is looking forward to this one. The Cougars have fuzzy feelings about Fort Collins, where they snapped a seven-game MWC road losing streak last season. The breakthrough — which led to three more MWC wins away from the Marriott Center — also featured a spectacular dunk by Plaisted, who accepted an off-target half-court pass from Austin Ainge and turned it into an acrobatic alley-oop dunk. Too bad it couldn't be found on television, its only proof being fans or grainy coaches film that hardly does it justice. Rose has called it one of the best dunks he's ever seen.
“I wouldn't mind doing that again,” Plaisted said. “All I remember is having my hand behind my head, catching the ball and then hearing the crowd go, ‘ooh.”
Scouts are probably doing that at times about Plaisted and Smith. It's unlikely many NBA trackers will be in attendance, the game being in cold Colorado in January (there's warmer places to watch good games this time of year). But the next level will be watching for the result, Rose believes.
“No doubt, this game film will make it to some NBA offices real fast,” he said.
Maybe even faster than a text message between the main attractions. |
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