|
BYU's mission again this season is to take one of its best men's basketball players and put him in a spot where the other team has to decide how to adjust.
Unorthodox worked last year. Keena Young was selected as the Mountain West Conference's best player despite being somewhat undersized at his spot.
Power forward is where the Cougars will try to gain their biggest advantage this season, too.
Jonathan Tavernari, the reigning MWC freshman of the year as an off-the-bench outside shooter, has bulked up and worked to expand his game so that he can carry the brunt of the minutes as the 4-man. Like Young, he is 6-foot-6.
"Playing the 4 (power forward) is a position where Jonathan has the best advantage," BYU coach Dave Rose said. "I've always been a believer that the position you put a player in doesn't determine how he plays. I think a lot of times coaches and fans say he's in that spot so he can't do this or he can't do that. My philosophy is that you put guys out there and try to make the other team figure out what position he's really playing.
"And let them deal with it. I think you kind of help the player's confidence level that way."
Not that Tavernari needs much instruction with the esteem of his game. But he's tried to advance his game beyond that of a catch-and-shoot mercenary, as he was last year. He started dreadfully slow before catching fire in league play.
Rose concedes that Tavernari is an extremely valuable player because of that self-assuredness, but that trait can come back to bite player and coach if not harnessed correctly.
Tavernari's sure that if he misses 10 shots in a row, the 11th is destined to go in. But can a team afford such a risk?
It's one of the top issues for a team that has its starting rotation set but not a whole lot of experienced depth heading into Saturday's opener at Long Beach State.
The Cougars also play a final exhibition game tonight (7 p.m., Marriott Center) against Bryant University, a Division II team from Rhode Island whose head coach, Max Good, coached at UNLV with Cougar assistant Dave Rice.
Tavernari believes he has developed into more of a threat, one that won't be easily contained just because opponents know his name now.
"I worked a lot on my post moves, catching the ball in the block," Tavernari said. "I worked on my 10-to-15 foot (shots), turn around, face the basket ... pump fake and going by defenders. I know a lot of teams will have tape of me from last year that they'll use, because they didn't know anything about me before. But it's two-dimensional. My job has been to work on my game so that I can do more new things they haven't seen."
BYU has loads of ambition, if not experience, at power forward. Tavernari's backup is 6-9 Chris Collinsworth, the former standout at Provo High. He was the first off the bench in last Friday's exhibition against Laval. He will likely be high in Rose's rotation despite not needing to score like he did as a Bulldog.
"I guess I work hard, I go out and play defense and I rebound," Collinsworth said. "And that's something every team can take into its program. I've learned a lot also by guarding J.T. (Tavernari) the last few months."
BYU has its starters pretty much figured out. Seniors Ben Murdock and Sam Burgess make the guard line, with Murdock looking exponentially more comfortable running the offense compared to a year ago, as a junior-college transfer.
Lee Cummard will be counted on for all of the little things that make big impacts, like steals, offensive rebounds and putbacks, and the toughness that permeates the roster.
BYU needs Trent Plaisted, a junior center, to continue to improve his scoring capability with his back to the basket. He'll also need to improve on his free-throw shooting percentage, which has hovered around 50 percent (he was 2-for-3 in the first exhibition game).
The rest will take time to work out with possibly six new players. Rose said that freshmen James Anderson and Matt Pinegar will redshirt, and there could be others.
"As far as the actual roles on this team, we'll take a couple weeks or three to try and find out how that's going to fit," Rose said. "I think right now we have just established kind of a first team and a second team, if you will. So there's a guy behind each guy in each position, but we're not set on those being the groups that will be together."
Rose has already had to make a move on his roster because of an injury. Recently returned missionary Chris Miles won't be an option to redshirt because of the fractured foot of fellow big man Gavin MacGregor, who could miss the first eight games of the year.
STARTING FIVE: Ben Murdock, 6-2 senior PG; Sam Burgess, 6-3 senior SG; Lee Cummard, 6-6 junior SF; Jonathan Tavernari, 6-6 sophomore PF; Trent Plaisted, 6-11 junior C
Off the bench: Lamont Morgan, 5-10 junior PG; Chris Collinsworth, 6-9 freshman PF; Chris Miles, 6-11 sophomore C
Cool moment: Going to Las Vegas -- albeit the same weekend the Cougars play Utah in football -- in getting a chance against big-time Louisville. A win would likely mean a next-day (Nov. 24) meeting with another national title contender, North Carolina (a rematch of the 2004 blowout at the Maui Invitational).
Be wary: Already, an injury has forced BYU to make a roster move. Chris Miles, who returned from an LDS mission in Portland, Ore., over the summer, is expected to play. Coach Dave Rose didn't want to be without proper depth among his post players, as Gavin MacGregor could be out for around the first eight games because of a foot stress fracture. It'll be interesting to see if Miles gets minutes that makes the year worthwhile, because he could've been sat out this year.
The season's a success if: BYU can hang in there through a difficult non-conference stretch that includes Michigan State along with the Vegas trip and a visit to Wake Forest. The Cougars, assuming their top guns stay healthy, are poised to be a high contender in league play.
It's a long winter if: Injuries to the starting five, like any team, or if this group can't find a rhythm. Go watch one practice, and whatever you see could be totally the opposite the next day, as far as consistency. Effort is there, but there are a lot of head-scratching moments for coaches, too.
|
