Anyone Willing to Believe me Now?

[Italics]

I got all sorts of rebuttals this season when I talked about how:

- I wasn't seeing anything that would lead me to believe BYU will win a tourney game this year

- Our inside game was absolutely pathetic and would cost us games

- Emery's 3-pt shooting was a fluke, and he cannot perform against teams that are good

- JT is more of a liability than a star

And lo and behold, this is what we're seeing now.

Listen, you can all call me crazy, but I'm going to make a short and true statement: Emery is NOT a good shooter.
Really... he isn't. Getting wide open looks and hitting a good number of them against awful teams does not make you a good shooter. Shooting horrribly, having a horrible shot selection, and being completely out-muscled against every good team you player, however, makes you a bad shooter. Emery is a bad shooter. Sure, I'm sure he can light them up if he goes to a playground and shoots around, but when it comes to GAME time, this kid is not someone you want taking long jump shots. Period.

Our inside game is awful. Not below average, not bad, but probably one of the worst in the country. I've seen plenty of bottom tier basketball teams play on tv, and I'm telling you, their big guys at least know how to:
- Finish strong
- Be aggressive
- Box out
- Get a quick layup/dunk when they are dished to and have an open look
- etc.

Miles cannot even deal with the basic fundamentals of basketball. I'd grade him a D- as a center. Jimmer gets him great looks, and he just freezes up. His movement is so robotic and "deer in headlights"-like that it makes me nauseous to watch him. Hartsock may be the only player on the team who has a good idea at what the role of a big man is, and what a big man's play ought to look like.

JT just doesn't help. He plays the 4 position. I don't care how well he can sometimes shoot, or how many defensive boards he may get time to time... he doesn't play his position. You could have a team of 5 excellent point guards, and that team would get absolutely nowhere. A basketball team needs a 1, 2, 3, 4, and a 5 position. JT is a 4... and does next to nothing that would resemble what his job is.
BYU has no cutters. Just a bunch of guys (besides maybe Jimmer and Hartsock) who can hit open shots against mediocre teams. Even Haws doesn't seem to know how to take it to the hoop. He gets plenty of great lanes and opportunity's, but he always instead decides to do that annoying pull up jump shot - one that just doesn't work against physical teams.

So go ahead, tell me that I'm freaking out over one loss, being too pessimistic, etc...
I'm not saying we aren't a good team. We are just extremely far from elite, and I honestly do NOT see us getting a tourney win this year. We will get a fast, physical, big team who knows how to execute their positions, and players like Emery, MIles, and others will completely flop. 1 or 2 players can't do it all for us. We need a team of players who know their job. Instead, we consistently have 5 guys on the court who want to all play the exact same position.

[bigbluepuma]

No.

[Gunk]

We can't even keep a game close in in an arena we play in at least twice a year.

I never considered Emery an good shooter. Good defender, that's about it.

Always thought our inside game stank.

One thing you are failing to point out, though Italics, is coach Rose. Love the guy and the team. But he has no ability to establish an inside game. No idea how to use a power forward or run back doors. For some reason it isn't even an option for him.

If we can't even keep it competitive against a team we've already beat, then I really don't see us winning a tourney game. Whether we win a tourney game will completely depend on who we're matched up against in the first round. If we happen to draw a team that either has no inside game like us or struggles defending guards, then we could win. Otherwise, we're a one and done.

I think we're looking at most a 7 seed now.

[CDH]

????????????????

[clemdiggitydog1]

I think we're looking at most a 7 seed now.[/quote]
this is perhaps the most salient detail you or Italics mentioned.I watched the Villanova v. Georgrtown game this AM,anyone else watch it?The female analyst said something very smart,when referring to GU's #8 ranking despite the 4 conference losses,she said that GU passes the "eye test",and I think she's correct.BYU sadly isn't even in the same league as those teams,despite the 22-3 record.other than Jimmer we're simply not that good or athletic,which isn't an indictment,but it is what it is.I was nervous before the game for all the reasons that were borne out in the game,and also think it will be harder now to win a game as a 6-7 seed,which is now probably where it shakes out.

[CDH]

What ever happened to giving a good team who just beat your team credit! They played their best game of the year tonight. We got beat by a GOOD team.

[clemdiggitydog1]

What ever happened to giving a good team who just beat your team credit! They played their best game of the year tonight. We got beat by a GOOD team.

absolutely true,but disappointing nonetheless HOW we lost it,and how many questions this raises as to our ability to win a tourney game,don't you think?

[BroncoBot]

BYU lost this game because they came out sluggish from the get-go and UNLV had fire in their bellies from tick uno. Simple as that. BYU, on this day could not match their intensity for whatever reason (homecourt had a lot to do with it) but there were a lot of other things that BYU did not do well.

1. Offensive rebounds. This has been a problem this year. When BYU could have cut the lead to 10 early in the second half, they gave up 2 or 3 big rebounds. I know everyone is going to point at miles and Hartsock for this but it was on LONG rebounds that BYU struggled. That is a team problem, not a center problem.

2. Defense in general just stunk. Instead of reacting to hot hands, BYU felt content to let guys set up and drain 3s.

3. Tried to make something out of nothing. Our fast breaks had a lot of turnovers because of this. BYU did not play their most cerebral game of the year.

Hopefully the team can learn from this and put this bad loss behind them. I feel this was a worse loss than USU. BYU made UNLV look like the 92 dream team today. I don't know what happens, but when Dave Rose has a lot of pressure to get a win (@UNLV, and first round tourney games) his team folds. I can't help but think that his approach to a game is a reflection of the way his team reacts in that game. If he is nervous and a little unconfident, BYU is going to look the same way. Eh, what do I know.

That SHOULD be BYU's last loss of the season. But my confidence in that statement is now seriously rattled. BYU knew exactly what they were running up against in LV and they let UNLV play their game. Credit to UNLV for having the hottest hand I've seen since BYU played Syracuse in the first round. I now feel that the game @utah and vsNM are going to tough games. Something I hadn't even considered yesterday.

[Gunk]

What ever happened to giving a good team who just beat your team credit! They played their best game of the year tonight. We got beat by a GOOD team.

Yes we did, but when did BYU play their best game of the year and who was it against? Odds are BYU's best game of the year did not come against UNLV, UNM or SDSU when it matters most. And that's our point. BYU needs to play their best game in first round of the tournament and routinely we don't. So, when the opposing team does play their best game of the year (most teams put together their best performance in March), we get blown out.

[FurriousCougar]

No, I'm not even close to believing it. -

Again, this is all fairly ridiculous.

I just can't help but think that most people on here don't watch enough college basketball.

As a matter of fact, anyone who watches even a remote amount of hoops, outside of BYU, would know that a 14 pt. loss to UNLV on the road is not a bad loss, does not mean that our team is not "elite", and CERTAINLY does not mean that we won't win a tournament game.

Dumbest thing I've ever heard.