The better team won. And Smith out coached the marvelous Kevin Young.
His 2 5* did not look good. Demin can’t shoot—please Jazz do not draft him. And Catchings just looks lost. Hard to believe he is a first round pick.
Richie Saunders should ask for a raise or swap checks with Catchings.
Utes big men dominated. Not sure why Cougies were guarding them with smaller players.
Gabe Madsen was way off—but his last 2 shots were forced by he shot clock.
He has a “normal” shooting night & Utes hit their free throws & it is blowout.
Why does AJ Whatever want to play for Kevin Young??
The stats are interesting and also instructive, because I wasn’t seeing this on the court. Reminds me that I am not really a basketball mind, just a fan.
By the way, I didn’t realize BYU had a technical foul. What did I miss?
He was the key to the game. He gave us an inside presence, especially in the second half. Lovering wasn’t giving us that, although he seemed to get better as the game went on. Both he and Ezra need to spend some time on free throws, however.
BYU’s coach, Young, got more unwarranted buzz and hype before the season than any first-time college coach I have ever heard of. It was crazy. So far, I am incredibly underwhelmed. Now, the guy might end up doing very well. I don’t know. But how hilarious would it be if he face-planted despite all of Ryan Smith’s money?
Seeing Ausar and Keita on the same floor really highlighted what a major upgrade we got in Ausar.
Also: In fairness that was the first time I’ve seen Byu since last year when we played 'em but… I’m told that they paid that Denim guy millions. Wow just wow, talk about money down the drain.
It seemed to me that Smith said something effective to the team at halftime. They attacked the paint much more effectively in the second half, And Lovering seemed almost like a different player after the break.
Definitely. Smith has his own manner of speech, it’s kind of amusing how he blends his rambling, lazy Gen-Z kind of English with revealing some technical aspects of the game and the plan. (With expectations and after a loss, not so amusing, of course.)
When asked to speak about Ez, Smith gets emotional. Serious connection with that kid and his family.
Also reveals the coaching staff is pretty tight, the whole team is very tight “no cliques or anything like that”. They’re making the adjustments to the more physical league via buy-in, not hard coaching.
What those stats show me is two mediocre teams that can’t shoot from anywhere on the floor and win games through a battle of attrition.
What those stats don’t show is the fight the Utes had in them. I love the fire that Lovering showed, especially in the 2nd half. I loved it when he lowered his shoulder and drove his defender into the tunnel. I loved it when he fought for the ball and landed hard on the other guy. Not great basketball plays mind you, but over time that kind of play can really wear an opponent down. I thought BYU wore down under the physical play.
If the Utes shoot as poorly as they did last night from outside, and are as awful from the free-throw line, they will struggle to be a 500 team this year.
At some point in the second half, keba rejected ezra pretty hard and started in on the utah bench (who all appeared to be laughing at him) until Dallin Hall yanked Keba away before he got a tech also.
Best I can gather, Byu is not a very good or cohesive team. Nor are they particularly talented or well-coached. Utah probably had the edge on at least two of those three things.
I figure BYU fans and the local media are learning and will continue to learn that being a good NBA assistant coach doesn’t necessarily equate to being a good college head coach. Heck, look at Jim Boylen. He was well-respected in NBA circles as an assistant. As Utah’s coach, he was a clown, and he appeared completely clueless most of the time. I get the same vibe from Young.
I’m surprised nobody is talking about all the TDS flops. My goodness, every shot ended with someone flat on their back, trying to draw a foul. The best was the three pointer where the shooter kicked the Utah player in front of him on the way up and got called for an offensive foul. Priceless.
