BYU vs Lone Peak

CDH wrote:
I think Mika is going to be very good. But to say he is Davies right now might be a stretch. Remember Mika is playing against high school kids and is scoring 21.5 a game. Davies is at 18.0 a game against D1 players. I do think Mika can be the best big man maybe ever at BYU. But lets wait and see. Just enjoy knowing we have a good big man now in Davies and another good one coming in Mika. I hope Mika can be as good as Davies has been. I don't understand the hate against Davies by BlueisBetter.

Here is a list of BYU recent big men and there scoring averages.

Davies 18.0 ppg

Hartsock 16.8 ppg

Plaisted 15.6 ppg

Young 17.4

Araujo 18.4 ppg

I believe the other 4 are playing pro over seas right now.

At least tell me that my eyes are not cheating me about his hops. We never get big guys who are actually explosive (Plaisted was a dunker but that was all he could do).

Mars wrote:


BYU's Top 5 vs. Lone Peak's top 5, no substitutions, game half as long- I'll take the high school kids. At least they can hit from the outside.

Thank you Mars for going beyond the normal Din. You got the drift and stated it much better than I, even with your slightly exasperated stab at the Cougs. ;-)

Hate Davies? Nope. He just isn't very good. He beats up on bad teams and that ups his average. He disappears (foul trouble or otherwise) in any of our key games.



I thought he would be better than he is right now. He hasn't developed much over the last few years. That might be more on coaching than it is on Brandon. All I know is, since this became "Brandon's team" it has looked about as bad as BYU bball has looked in a decade.



Not hating, just observing. Call it what you like, though.

I called as I saw it....... This isn't your first post about Davies. I believe you said we would have been better with out him. I think you need to go have a look at his stats against our "key games" as you called them. Some of his best outings have been against Baylor, FSU. IF you go back to last year he had big games against Baylor, VT, St. Marys and Gonzaga.

Florida state? Are you referring to the game that he only played 21 minutes because of foul trouble? Or the 18 minutes that he played the next night against Notre Dame because of foul trouble? Baylor... good rebounds. I wouldn't call 7 for 19 a big game. He did well in free throws and rebounds that game, and wasn't in foul trouble bad enough to where he had to sit for an extended period.





I said that he has regressed since his "suspension" and that "I *almost* think we might have been better off had he not come back."



Bottom line is that he just hasn't been dependable against any quality teams. At least to the degree that we have been successful as a team. He doesn't consistently post low, and isn't a reliable offensive threat when you put someone physical and/or athletic on him.



I like Davies, but he isn't anything more than an okay player. Mika will be a huge upgrade from day one. I'm really excited to see him in the blue.



I'll enjoy Davies while we have him, I just wish that we had seen more progression out of him, and that he had a little more fire/competitiveness in him. Oh well. I think that he played his best ball down the stretch Jimmer's senior year, and that if he hadn't have gotten suspended that we would see a different player here and now than we do. That is part of what being a dad does to you, though. Takes that fire out of you. I understand that.

Look, this is nothing more than BlueIs and others getting all hyped up about potential HS players. HS hype is unproven and untested so it can't be wasted!



Like I said in another thread, if only BYU could find a way to just play High School players we would never lose. This is a fact, because all our best players are freshmen and bench players wallowing away behind untalented juniors and seniors.

I was right about Carlino being a great talent, and I will be right about Mika.



You don't get called the 30th best player in the nation by ESPN for nothing, (and he would be higher if he hadn't commited to BYU. If he was going to Kansas or something he would be rated in the top 20.) He has skills, and will contribute from day one. I am excited to see him play. I would actually like BDavies to have one more year and play alongside Mika. They would be a great, athletic duo.

Why would like BDavies to be back for one more year when you didn't even want him to come back this year?

I don't go as far as Blue, but I can acknowledge the hit and miss games/stats. I feel bad for him, actually, because he seemed to have a higher ceiling than what he's reaching. Another Sr star not hitting a higher level and leading his team to better results.



But I will also say to the context this year, we miss Noah and Charles. Noah's help side D made BD look better than he was. And Charles was the muscle that helped close down penetration and also box out. I love Nate's hustle and our buck-80 springy guy, but neither is much for Defense and BD is left to defend the post and the three point line ;-).

But seriously, Brandon has overcome a lot of his own problems, and he has shown some strong moments. But when I heard the way Rose talked about BD during the coaches show, there seemed to also be almost palpable frustration that Rose is still working on mental errors with a guy who should be playing like his Sr leader, not like a sophomore who still needs a lot of guidance.

BD is still listed as an all-conference, first teamer. So, credit him.

SpiffCoug wrote:
Why would like BDavies to be back for one more year when you didn't even want him to come back this year?

Because Davies is a good complimentary player, and he is certainly better than Austin and Harwood.



He is not a good primary player, or "the man." He doesn't post every single time down the court, rarely posts within 10 feet of the hoop, has no jump shot from the post position... Dropping the ball to him in the post either turns into a turnover, 60% or greater miss chance (depending on whether or not a physical player is guarding him man) or *sometimes* a good up and under move or a sweet pass.



I think that he and Mika would make a good frontcourt, with Mika being the primary offensive focus and weapon. Davies moves well without the ball and would do well without the focus on him, as he did with Noah and Jimmer taking the attention of everyone.



Since that situation is hypothetical, we don't really need to worry about that, though - do we...

For those of you that are commenting not knowing about Mika, he is currently listed as the #3 center in the country and in the top 30 players in the nation (again, committing to BYU, and committing early has lowered his overall ranking. He would be #1 or #2 center prospect in the nation, and top 20 minimum if he were committed to G-town or Kansas, or somewhere known for big men).



Some vids for you:



http://www.deseretnews.com/article/765618559/Video-Highlights-Lone-Peak-center-Eric-Mika-wins-City-of-Palms-Slam-Dunk-Contest.html?pg=all" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nCSAJsevwA" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwPN5nX5uaI" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;



I like his post aggression in this one:



http://www.maxpreps.com/local/team/videos.aspx?gendersport=Boys,Basketball&schoolid=e7badf59-379d-43cc-a875-938bdc607f2d&videoid=482690bc-146a-a044-6a98-19829bfd2cb6" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

BlueIsBetter wrote:

Why would like BDavies to be back for one more year when you didn't even want him to come back this year?

Because Davies is a good complimentary player, and he is certainly better than Austin and Harwood.



He is not a good primary player, or "the man." He doesn't post every single time down the court, rarely posts within 10 feet of the hoop, has no jump shot from the post position... Dropping the ball to him in the post either turns into a turnover, 60% or greater miss chance (depending on whether or not a physical player is guarding him man) or *sometimes* a good up and under move or a sweet pass.



I think that he and Mika would make a good frontcourt, with Mika being the primary offensive focus and weapon. Davies moves well without the ball and would do well without the focus on him, as he did with Noah and Jimmer taking the attention of everyone.



Since that situation is hypothetical, we don't really need to worry about that, though - do we...

This. It has been an odd feeling at times this year feeling like we are in trouble next year without BD if all BYU has is Austin and Harward. and at other times its been "ok, let's reload." So, I will hope for BD to have a great finish to the year. But BYU is on the verge of falling flat for the remainder of the year with one more loss. Maybe they will regroup for a run in the WCC tourney.

I want Davies to succeed, absolutely I do. To do that he needs to be aggressive and smart: Two things that he rarely ever accomplishes in conjunction with each other. Usually whenever he is aggressive he plows through double teams getting a charging foul, and fouls point guards around the 3 point line chasing them around after a ball screen. He needs to use that athleticism for more than getting breakaway dunks. Playing smarter is using others physicality against them with head/pump fakes and making them over commit on defense. He has done little to none of that. That is just one example.



BYU Bball has put almost all of its eggs (developmental minutes, scholarships, offensive focus) into the BDavies basket for this year, and unfortunately the repeated injuries of Ccoll and Rogers put even more pressure on Davies. It might be an issue of coaching... it wouldn't be the first time our coaches have been critiqued for not developing big men.



I don't dislike him. I dislike the situation, and I don't like seeing our team not compete with teams we have no business ever losing to because one player won't man up and take charge. (see what I did there? Take charge... ;) )

Actually, he does a pretty good job taking charges in the paint. Now if we could get him to stop chasing squirrels out at three point line and swatting out wrists, that would help. But that slowing the guy down is Rose's scheme and necessary because our guards are not quick enough. The slapping thing, sophomoric.

Cougs_Rule wrote:
Actually, he does a pretty good job taking charges in the paint. Now if we could get him to stop chasing squirrels out at three point line and swatting out wrists, that would help. But that slowing the guy down is Rose's scheme and necessary because our guards are not quick enough. The slapping thing, sophomoric.

Agreed. He picks up too many stupid fouls. His offensive game has improved over the years, but this habit hasn't.

BlueIsBetter wrote:
For those of you that are commenting not knowing about Mika, he is currently listed as the #3 center in the country and in the top 30 players in the nation (again, committing to BYU, and committing early has lowered his overall ranking. He would be #1 or #2 center prospect in the nation, and top 20 minimum if he were committed to G-town or Kansas, or somewhere known for big men).



Some vids for you:



http://www.deseretnews.com/article/765618559/Video-Highlights-Lone-Peak-center-Eric-Mika-wins-City-of-Palms-Slam-Dunk-Contest.html?pg=all" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nCSAJsevwA" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwPN5nX5uaI" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;



I like his post aggression in this one:



http://www.maxpreps.com/local/team/videos.aspx?gendersport=Boys,Basketball&schoolid=e7badf59-379d-43cc-a875-938bdc607f2d&videoid=482690bc-146a-a044-6a98-19829bfd2cb6" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Not to leave out the fact that Mika did Not even play his Jr year. If he had, based on the amount of travel LP did Even last year, he would have been on Scouts and rating services radar already. So to argue that Mika is just hype, is a little short-sided.



Mika would be a load for Davies. He doesn't like physical posts. And his cutie-dipsie-doodle passes to fake out the defender only work so many times. If Mika could get in BD's head, advantage neutralized.



Again, it starts with Davies. If he is held in check and Emery gets going off the drive and on the perimeter, and if Shumway can keep Haws frustrated, and given BYUs fairly poor perimeter defense, it is not a huge stretch to believe that LP could hang with BYU for longer than most folks think.

SpiffCoug wrote:

Actually, he does a pretty good job taking charges in the paint. Now if we could get him to stop chasing squirrels out at three point line and swatting out wrists, that would help. But that slowing the guy down is Rose's scheme and necessary because our guards are not quick enough. The slapping thing, sophomoric.

Agreed. He picks up too many stupid fouls. His offensive game has improved over the years, but this habit hasn't.

I was pointing out one of the really good things that Davies does (take charge.) ;) :crazy:

It was mildly funny and true. l.i.m.

The Lone Peak game was a bit more entertaining to watch tonight than BYU's was/is.

LP would win this matchup...here's why.

1. Davies is a very mediocre player and can be counted on to get into early foul trouble, so he would ride the bench most of this game and be a non-factor.

2. Zylstra would get whipped by the LP wings, Zylstra is not a D1 player.

3. LP does not rely on one player, and BYU could not defend all their players, but stop Haws and you beat this BYU team.



I'm just glad these LP guys are coming to BYU, they are an instant upgrade.