Mika East Team MVP

I don't know if Mika will be better than Davis but I think Austin will improve and with Mika and Worthington we'll be good down low. Wing is looking very good and we have a good point situation. I think the team will be better this coming year.

scott715 wrote:
I think Mika is getting too much hype.

28 points and 5 blocks against all star talent is not hype! I know it's easy to be giddy about that and look at him to walk in and own the paint, but look at the facts, he is a stud and may well end up as the best big the Y has ever had. Let him have a freshman season though and not expect a lot of polish though.



L Hatton

Louisville KY

I will bet anyone on this site a burger and fries meal that Mika as a freshman will average more rebounds than a senior Davies.



Will he have better *overall* numbers than Senior Davies as a freshman? I doubt it. But I will take a big that plays like a big (boxes out, contests shots, posts down low, gets offensive rebounds, goes up strong, stays within 10 feet of the hoop on offense AND defense) over a big that could have had dominance against the weak competition of the WCC (and proved it at times) and was either too lazy or too stupid to do so consistently.



Mika as a freshman will be better for the team than Davies as a senior. You don't need to average "better numbers" to do that. Mika is going to beast in the WCC. He is already consistently playing better players than the centers that get walk on scholarships to the WCC.

I'll take a burger & fries. We talking JCWs or McD's?



Davies averaged 7.9 rebounds per game last year. He was BYU's leading rebounder.



'11-12 leading rebounder: Davies 7.7 rpg

'10-11 leading rebounder: Davies 6.2 rpg

'09-10 leading rebounder: Hartsock 5.1 rpg

'08-09 leading rebounder: Tavernari 7.2 rpg

'07-08 leading rebounder: Plaisted 7.7 rpg

'06-07 leading rebounder: Young 6.6 rpg

'05-06 leading rebounder: Plaisted 6.9 rpg

'04-05 leading rebounder: Young 5.6 rpg

'03-04 leading rebounder: Araujo 10.1 rpg



So basically, Erik Mika is going to be the best rebounder Dave Rose has coached and the best rebounder of the last decade - as a freshman?

SpiffCoug wrote:
I'll take a burger & fries. We talking JCWs or McD's?







So basically, Erik Mika is going to be the best rebounder Dave Rose has coached and the best rebounder of the last decade - as a freshman?

Whatever you feel like buying. ;)



Short answer: Yes.



Long answer: The WCC centers and PF's are scrubs, with the exception of a few select teams. Mika will be in full on beast mode, having played equal caliber centers over the last year and a half.



So a caveat to the bet: I would like it to be a "per 40 mins played" portion. So I don't get screwed by Rose doing something weird like falling in love with the second coming of Cusick at center, and leaving Mika on the bench. In that case, I will take that bet, and even raise you a milkshake :)



My algebra is a little shaky... but I have reasoned out B. Davies senior rebounds over 40 mins to be 10.9 rpg.



(40 mins per game x 8 reb per game / 29.3 mpg )

This quote from Mika's Tweet:

Been thinking about it a lot lately and Im pretty confident that I would win both Hunger Games and American Ninja Warrior

I like the confident hint of tough competitiveness. I don't think all of our big men would have this same attitude/confidence.

I'll give him Hunger Games, but not ANW. He's too big. Big guys really struggle on the cliff hanger and other such obstacles. They're simply carrying too much weight.

BYULV wrote:
This quote from Mika's Tweet:

Been thinking about it a lot lately and Im pretty confident that I would win both Hunger Games and American Ninja Warrior

I like the confident hint of tough competitiveness. I don't think all of our big men would have this same attitude/confidence.

Thanks for the quote. I don't know if will be better than Davis or not as a freshman but he has a good chance of exceeding Davis's freshman stats. What is more important to me than the stats of these two is how much better the team is or isn't.

I like the confidence. BYU BBall is going to have a great season. I feel it.

BYULV wrote:
This quote from Mika's Tweet:

Been thinking about it a lot lately and Im pretty confident that I would win both Hunger Games and American Ninja Warrior

I like the confident hint of tough competitiveness. I don't think all of our big men would have this same attitude/confidence.

Humor and sarcasm. He doesn't think he would actually win. I guess it could be fantasy or delusion, but I doubt he's serious. Just feeling one to p of the world.

I met a kid who claimed his brother was related by marriage to Mika. He said Mika was already a starter. Do any of you know anything about this? It seems a little early to me though I wouldn't be surprised that it will come to be.

Yeah, I am sure that he is already starting. I mean, what is his competition at the 4 or the 5?

SpiffCoug wrote:
I'll take a burger & fries. We talking JCWs or McD's?



Davies averaged 7.9 rebounds per game last year. He was BYU's leading rebounder.



'11-12 leading rebounder: Davies 7.7 rpg

'10-11 leading rebounder: Davies 6.2 rpg

'09-10 leading rebounder: Hartsock 5.1 rpg

'08-09 leading rebounder: Tavernari 7.2 rpg

'07-08 leading rebounder: Plaisted 7.7 rpg

'06-07 leading rebounder: Young 6.6 rpg

'05-06 leading rebounder: Plaisted 6.9 rpg

'04-05 leading rebounder: Young 5.6 rpg

'03-04 leading rebounder: Araujo 10.1 rpg



So basically, Erik Mika is going to be the best rebounder Dave Rose has coached and the best rebounder of the last decade - as a freshman?

I'll take this bet too. All of these guys were either soft (Davies, Hartsock, Plaisted) or undersized (KT & Tav) except for Araujo. Mika will match these numbers his freshman year, yes.

Previous arguments regarding Mika's comparative value, talent, productivity will all become very clear when fans realize the cupboards were bare and Austin, nor anyone else (including Harward who was essentially cut) was there to fill the void. Wouldn't be surprised if LeBronson was approached again, but probably has to focus on his football career here and in the NFL. Worthington will also see time at the 4/5.

So, it will not soon be a surprise to fans as to why Mika will be names a starter.

Cougs_Rule wrote:
Worthington will also see time at the 4/5.

So, it will not soon be a surprise to fans as to why Mika will be names a starter.

I am looking forward to see not only what Mika can do but Worthington as well.

Cougs_Rule wrote:
Previous arguments regarding Mika's comparative value, talent, productivity will all become very clear when fans realize the cupboards were bare and Austin, nor anyone else (including Harward who was essentially cut) was there to fill the void. Wouldn't be surprised if LeBronson was approached again, but probably has to focus on his football career here and in the NFL. Worthington will also see time at the 4/5.

So, it will not soon be a surprise to fans as to why Mika will be names a starter.

Some of you Mika doubters need to start outing yourselves. He's not a world beater just yet. But he is eclipsing freshman Davies and I still believe would have competed favorably last year vs Davies. He's faster than BD, not to bag on BD, and in the end would be beaten by Sr Davies but blow away Freshman Davies.

BlueIsBetter wrote:
I will bet anyone on this site a burger and fries meal that Mika as a freshman will average more rebounds than a senior Davies.



Will he have better *overall* numbers than Senior Davies as a freshman? I doubt it. But I will take a big that plays like a big (boxes out, contests shots, posts down low, gets offensive rebounds, goes up strong, stays within 10 feet of the hoop on offense AND defense) over a big that could have had dominance against the weak competition of the WCC (and proved it at times) and was either too lazy or too stupid to do so consistently.



Mika as a freshman will be better for the team than Davies as a senior. You don't need to average "better numbers" to do that. Mika is going to beast in the WCC. He is already consistently playing better players than the centers that get walk on scholarships to the WCC.

Sr Davies - 8 boards/game

Frosh Mika - 5.3 boards/game (still has work to do)



Haws and Collinsworth are averaging more rebounds/game than Mika. Texas showed Mika that he still has a lot of work to do if he's going to bang with the big boys down low. Doesn't help that Rose is running a zone, but a huge part of Texas ability to stay in that game was lack of rebounding from both our bigs.



But I love his game and his potential. Strong, tons of effort, runs the floor like a 5'10" guard. Reminds me a bit of the PF for clippers. what's his name?

Cougs_Rule wrote:

Previous arguments regarding Mika's comparative value, talent, productivity will all become very clear when fans realize the cupboards were bare and Austin, nor anyone else (including Harward who was essentially cut) was there to fill the void. Wouldn't be surprised if LeBronson was approached again, but probably has to focus on his football career here and in the NFL. Worthington will also see time at the 4/5.

So, it will not soon be a surprise to fans as to why Mika will be names a starter.

Some of you Mika doubters need to start outing yourselves. He's not a world beater just yet. But he is eclipsing freshman Davies and I still believe would have competed favorably last year vs Davies. He's faster than BD, not to bag on BD, and in the end would be beaten by Sr Davies but blow away Freshman Davies.

Wouldn't mind having both of them on the team this year.

BroncoBot wrote:

I will bet anyone on this site a burger and fries meal that Mika as a freshman will average more rebounds than a senior Davies.



Will he have better *overall* numbers than Senior Davies as a freshman? I doubt it. But I will take a big that plays like a big (boxes out, contests shots, posts down low, gets offensive rebounds, goes up strong, stays within 10 feet of the hoop on offense AND defense) over a big that could have had dominance against the weak competition of the WCC (and proved it at times) and was either too lazy or too stupid to do so consistently.



Mika as a freshman will be better for the team than Davies as a senior. You don't need to average "better numbers" to do that. Mika is going to beast in the WCC. He is already consistently playing better players than the centers that get walk on scholarships to the WCC.

Sr Davies - 8 boards/game

Frosh Mika - 5.3 boards/game (still has work to do)



Haws and Collinsworth are averaging more rebounds/game than Mika. Texas showed Mika that he still has a lot of work to do if he's going to bang with the big boys down low. Doesn't help that Rose is running a zone, but a huge part of Texas ability to stay in that game was lack of rebounding from both our bigs.



But I love his game and his potential. Strong, tons of effort, runs the floor like a 5'10" guard. Reminds me a bit of the PF for clippers. what's his name?

That would be Blake Griffin and that's high praise...



I think what we're learning from this thread though is that Mika has a higher ceiling than Davies, but comparing Senior Davies to Freshman Mika is probably premature and a little unfair... It's easy to forget that Davies commanded double teams all season last year yet still went for 18 and 8. There is little doubt that Freshman Mika > Freshman Davies ... but Davies was considered a project as a freshman.

If Mika improves at the same rate as Brandon, we have the best big man in the history of BYU, because Mika's starting point is so high.

http://byucougars.com/athlete-stats/m-basketball/game-by-game/15549&ajax=1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;



Davies didn't have a jump shot or a faceup up game his freshman year either... I am drooling just thinking about Mika with that ability.