Summarizing the Maui Tourney

[Qman]

KC looks to be about 85% of himself. Though his improved free throw stroke appears to be here to stay.

Winder is making a bunch of positive plays happen and play mostly good D.

Haws is doing his thing.

Fischer really struggled with athletic pressure defense. He couldn't get open and he couldn't effectively drive the ball. I think we should consider starting Winder.

Halford played very little and was terrible.

Neilson was the eye-opener. He as finishing plays with contact around the rim. He blocked a few shots. He hit a few 3's. He gave a pump fake at the 3's line and drove to the rim with a finish. If he as stronger he would be the starter several times over. And he might be the starter soon anyway.

Worthington was okay. And we need someone with enough lower body strength to battle.

Austin did his normal thing against big-time competition- he wilts against the physically of the game. Though he defensive rotations/help and rebounding are vital for us.

I can see all the pieces to an effective 'stretch' 4 in Nixon but he hasn't put it all together yet. He is fairly athletic and has a nice shooting stroke. Defensively he just always seem to end up in bad position. Maybe by the end of the year he will be ready to play more.

Kaufusi really would have benefited from a red-shirt year. He needs to get stronger--especially in his core. His basketball skill needs are too numerous to list. But I believe better core strength will help him dominate some space in the paint, so he can stop losing the ball all the time.

I still don't understand why Bartley isn't playing a few minutes a game.

Overall I am encouraged-- we will be able to battle Gonzaga in the paint. Fischer needs to get his stuff together. KC looks mostly healthy. Rose needs to find another guard to put into the rotation. Haws and KC looked worn down.

[Cougs_Rule]

Interesting thoughts.
I'm not sure with 30+ points in a game that was the third in as many days! constitutes worn down. The third game was his best game. And yes, a jumper to win, albeit a tougher step back jumper, did come up short, so I suppose that could be worn down legs.
Fisher, though not a lot of scoring vs Purdue, got their attention and kept one more defender from easily leaving and doubling on haws. So there is that.
Maybe our bigs will be able to compete vs a Gonzaga--if the freakin high school refs don't call every touch foul when our boys do try to play physical.

[Gunk]

Winder should be starting. Fischer is inconsistent and has no off the dribble, penetrating skills. Winder and KC were the two most consistent players in the Maui tournament.

I think Neilson should be getting more of Kaufusi's minutes. I am not sure in the logic of playing Kaufusi, especially in late game scenarios.

Overall, I think the tournament was a good experience for our guys. But if intensity that will hopefully motivate them and pay dividends down the road.

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[Wolverine]

Winder should be starting. Fischer is inconsistent and has no off the dribble, penetrating skills. Winder and KC were the two most consistent players in the Maui tournament.

I think Neilson should be getting more of Kaufusi's minutes. I am not sure in the logic of playing Kaufusi, especially in late game scenarios.

Overall, I think the tournament was a good experience for our guys. But if intensity that will hopefully motivate them and pay dividends down the road.

[ Post made via Mobile Device ]

I thought it strange to sub in Kaufusi for Neilson after KC's free throws tied the game in OT. He bit hard on the fake on the game winning shot. The upside is these bigs are young and will only get better.

[craigoscarson]

can't redshirt Toolson, Nixon, or Kaufusi. They're not on scholarship... however, with the recruits we have coming in and the missionaries we have on the way, we couldn't afford to redshirt anyone that had a chance to play this year because there is going to be a huge scholarship crunch in the next few years. Jordan Chatman is being redshirted though, because he's on scholarship and he physically wasn't ready.

[craigoscarson]

btw in comparing last year to this year...

the moment Mika and Austin fouled out against Purdue (and they would have) we would have then lost by 10-20, yet with this team we take then within 1 point of winning in regulation, and winning in OT. Our big men depth has been crucial in staying competitive in all games...

I don't get even the slightest bit of negativity about this team. We basically played to a draw against two very good teams in Purdue and SDSU and both teams had what would have been our achilles heel last year... elite athleticism and elite size

Considering many of expected to struggle mightily until december when Jamal Aytes would be available at the 4... our team has been a wonderful revelation. Go back and look at the preseason predictions on this board and you'll seem doom and gloom spelled out until and if KC was healthy and when Aytes was available.

Some stated that KC would never fully recover and may have needed a redshirt and almost none of us expected that Aytes wouldn't play at all this year

[frdbtr]

btw in comparing last year to this year...

the moment Mika and Austin fouled out against Purdue (and they would have) we would have then lost by 10-20, yet with this team we take then within 1 point of winning in regulation, and winning in OT. Our big men depth has been crucial in staying competitive in all games...

I don't get even the slightest bit of negativity about this team. We basically played to a draw against two very good teams in Purdue and SDSU and both teams had what would have been our achilles heel last year... elite athleticism and elite size

Considering many of expected to struggle mightily until december when Jamal Aytes would be available at the 4... our team has been a wonderful revelation. Go back and look at the preseason predictions on this board and you'll seem doom and gloom spelled out until and if KC was healthy and when Aytes was available.

Some stated that KC would never fully recover and may have needed a redshirt and almost none of us expected that Aytes wouldn't play at all this year

Different players, same result. Last year we were also just good enough to lose close games to good teams as well. I want to start winning these games, not losing in overtime and saying "well last year we would have lost by 20" because last year we didn't lose by 20 to these good teams, we lost close games. I am tired of moral victories, I want real victories.

[scott715]

Yes I want wins too. But consider that SDSU lost by 2 to #3 UA. This team can compete with anyone. If Rose and team can do their job of coaching the young kids, this team could do some damage in the tournament.

[craigoscarson]

btw in comparing last year to this year...

the moment Mika and Austin fouled out against Purdue (and they would have) we would have then lost by 10-20, yet with this team we take then within 1 point of winning in regulation, and winning in OT. Our big men depth has been crucial in staying competitive in all games...

I don't get even the slightest bit of negativity about this team. We basically played to a draw against two very good teams in Purdue and SDSU and both teams had what would have been our achilles heel last year... elite athleticism and elite size

Considering many of expected to struggle mightily until december when Jamal Aytes would be available at the 4... our team has been a wonderful revelation. Go back and look at the preseason predictions on this board and you'll seem doom and gloom spelled out until and if KC was healthy and when Aytes was available.

Some stated that KC would never fully recover and may have needed a redshirt and almost none of us expected that Aytes wouldn't play at all this year

Different players, same result. Last year we were also just good enough to lose close games to good teams as well. I want to start winning these games, not losing in overtime and saying "well last year we would have lost by 20" because last year we didn't lose by 20 to these good teams, we lost close games. I am tired of moral victories, I want real victories.

I had higher hopes for this team than most, and I still worried that we'd get run in Maui because we wouldn't have Aytes and KC would be 75%... not only did we not get run, we were just short of a couple very big wins.

The expectations for a team losing Mika, losing Carlino, having KC return from serious injury, finding out Aytes will not play this year and no history of bigs that can play in big games, were so low that I can't believe people aren't more optimistic that this team is competitive against top notch competition.

This team to many was a sub 15 win team destined to make the NIT. I see a team that will steamroll all but Gonzaga in the WCC, a schedule where our big games are at home for a chance, and youth that is improving every day. Sure I wanted to beat SDSU and Purdue and I agree the refs didn't help us, but I'm encouraged. This team is good not great, but they're not as bad as many suggested they would be.

KC will get healthier and the young guys will get better... and barring injury we'll be a much improved team by tournament time.

This is not the future of BYU hoops, but we're getting to see the future and I like it very very much. Nielsen is 3 times the true freshman that Austin was, Kaufusi was playing at the end of close games against Purdue and SDSU, Worthington is suprisingly improving, Nixon as a true freshman had quality minutes against Purdue.

I'm not into moral victories either, but I see what this team can be now and that's exciting. If we can do this in Maui, imagine what we can do at the Marriott Center against some very good teams this year!

[craigoscarson]

btw in comparing last year to this year...

the moment Mika and Austin fouled out against Purdue (and they would have) we would have then lost by 10-20, yet with this team we take then within 1 point of winning in regulation, and winning in OT. Our big men depth has been crucial in staying competitive in all games...

I don't get even the slightest bit of negativity about this team. We basically played to a draw against two very good teams in Purdue and SDSU and both teams had what would have been our achilles heel last year... elite athleticism and elite size

Considering many of expected to struggle mightily until december when Jamal Aytes would be available at the 4... our team has been a wonderful revelation. Go back and look at the preseason predictions on this board and you'll seem doom and gloom spelled out until and if KC was healthy and when Aytes was available.

Some stated that KC would never fully recover and may have needed a redshirt and almost none of us expected that Aytes wouldn't play at all this year

Different players, same result. Last year we were also just good enough to lose close games to good teams as well. I want to start winning these games, not losing in overtime and saying "well last year we would have lost by 20" because last year we didn't lose by 20 to these good teams, we lost close games. I am tired of moral victories, I want real victories.

In another thread I summarized 7 games where our frontcourt depth this year would likely have translated to wins last year. Even if we win half of those, we're on the fringe of the top 25 going into the dance... though did it matter after KC was hurt?