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DICKSON: End-of-season production will show just how good Cougars are |
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JaredLloyd | Friday, February 23, 2007, 5:42 pm
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Hey, I’ve got a question ... Just how good is this BYU men’s basketball team?
Just thought I’d throw it out there, since the Cougars are making a pretty nice run through the Mountain West Conference. After Wednesday’s 76-67 victory over Colorado State, BYU has now beaten every team in the league at least once.
That’s a notable accomplishment, considering how good the MWC is this year. Three, possibly four bids to the NCAA tournament? Three teams that have been ranked in the Top 25?
Unbelievable.
Enjoy it while you can, because who knows if the conference can maintain it. That’s the very reason why the MWC is considered mid-major — inconsistency. One year it’s Andrew Bogut leading Utah into the Sweet 16, and another year it’s J.R. Giddens costing New Mexico’s Ritchie McKay his job. (Goodbye, J.R., we hardly knew you.)
But that’s a discussion for another time. Let’s look at the original question.
BYU is gooood.
Keena Young may be the league’s MVP with his silky smooth touch and leaping ability. You’d get arguments from San Diego (SDSU’s Brandon Heath) and Laramie (split between Wyoming’s Brandon Ewing and Brad Jones) but Young is, at times, simply unguardable. He’s shooting 56 percent from the field, 80 percent from the foul line and averaging 17.4 points per game.
Every night he’s packing his lunch and getting it done. He’s the best player on what is right now the best team in the conference, if you like that sort of thing.
Trent Plaisted demands attention on the block with his athletic ability. Austin Ainge is a downtown threat and the team’s best passer. Lee Cummard is BYU’s junkyard dog, cleaning up the mess, taking out the trash and making all the little plays that count. Jimmy Balderson can stroke the three and drives well to the basket. Jonathan Tavernari and Mike Rose can be instant offense off the bench. Sam Burgess, Ben Murdock and Vuk Ivanovic all provide important depth.
There was a time this season — oh, right about when the Cougars were barely escaping Idaho State and losing at Boise State — that I wondered if this team would be able to approach even last season’s success. They seemed disjointed and no one seemed to know just exactly what they should be doing.
When Rashaun Broadus was suspended from the team, Ainge settled into the point guard spot and everybody else seemed to find their role. The Cougars have won eight straight since losing at CSU on Jan. 20.
BYU is 21-6 overall and 11-2 in the MWC with three games to play. A win on Saturday at San Diego State would clinch at least a tie for the conference title.
It would seem — barring a collapse — BYU, Air Force and UNLV have earned a spot in the NCAA tournament with San Diego State capable of making a run a getting a bid.
The next step for BYU, even beyond playing well in the UNLV Invitational — er, I mean the MWC Tournament in Las Vegas — is to win an NCAA tournament game. Seems like a pretty modest goal until you consider it hasn’t happened since 1993.
Bottom line, BYU needs to go the NCAA tourney and get a win.
Then I’ll be impressed. |
