BYU Cougars ’07-’08

[Jimmy Chitwood]

BYU has already upset #6 ranked Louisville and given #1 North Carolina all they could handle. the Cougars should be a team that has a very successful year, even though they don't start a single black player. in fact, the two blacks who occasionally see the floor only do so during garbage time.

the Cougars have a well-balanced attack with excellent shooters, which is normal with white ball clubs, though they are led by three tremendous players.

athletic forward/center Trent Plaisted has run a 4.6 40-yard dash, and has a reputed 41-inch running vertical. he can score with either hand, usually with his favored jump hook. he runs the floor very well, and finished with authority. he is also an excellent passer and eats glass like a stuntman. he is a threat to have 20 and 10 every time out. sharp-shooting swingman Jonathan Tavernari is lights out from behind the 3-point line, and rebounds well from his wing position. multi-talented wing Lee Cummard can finish above the rim, has a nice mid-range game, and is also a very good rebounder. all three of these talented athletes are averaging double figures in scoring, led by Plaisted.

rounding out the starting five is point guard Ben Murdock and shooting guard Sam Burgess. Ben Murdock doesn't look to score a whole lot, but he does a great job of getting the ball to the right people at the right time. his 4 to 1 assist-to-turnover ratio is testament to that. Sam Burgess doesn't shoot often, but when he does he is deadly accurate, shooting 50% from behind the arc.

freshmen Chris Collinsworth and Jimmer Fredette are the two main contributors off the bench. Collinsworth is an aggressive, athletic forward. Fredette is a sweet-shooting, tough combo guard. Vuk Ivanovic, a senior, and Chris Miles, a sophomore, are role players who can come in and spell Plaisted.

Trent Plaisted with the jam.

Jonathan Tavernari beating the pressure.

Lee Cummard with the denial.

Plaisted in action.

Jonathan Tavernari is pumped!

Lee Cummard finishes in traffic.

Ben Murdock eyeballs the defense.

Chris Collinsworth mixes it up.

Jimmer Fredette surveys the defense.

Vuc Ivanovic swings the ball.

BYU's swarming team defense keeps Hansbrough in check.

 

[Jimmy Chitwood]

BYU should continue their trend of playing a lot of white athletes on the hardwood, as well. two of their three commitments to play next year are white men.

Emery Jackson, an athletic 6-3 wing player, is returning from his mormon mission. Noah Hartsock is a 6-8 small forward who will be an incoming freshman.


A native of Bartlesville, Okla., Hartsock had the third-best scoring average in the state with 27.6 points per game as a senior at Bartlesville High School in 2005-06 while earning 6A Coaches Player of the Year and Tulsa World Player of the Year honors. Oklahoma's Jim Thorpe Award winner and a McDonald's High School All-America nominee, Hartsock added 8.0 rebounds and 3.7 blocks per contest as a senior.

A highly skilled offensive player with strong post moves, the 6-foot-8 Hartsock has a soft touch from midrange and a solid stroke behind the three-point arc. He has excellent quickness and strength to complement his size. An Oklahoma Tipoff magazine Fab 5 pick, he earned first-team all-state honors as a junior and senior.

Known for his competitiveness and clutch play, Emery is a quick player and solid defender with outstanding leaping ability. The Alpine, Utah, native provided a consistent spark for BYU and was a top perimeter defender as a true freshman in 2005-06, playing in 28 of 29 games with six starts. He averaged 2.8 points and 1.5 rebounds while scoring in double figures twice and leading BYU in rebounds and assists once each.

A good shooter from long range, Emery also has the athleticism and creativity to convert inside when going to the basket. The 6-foot-3 guard out of Lone Peak High School was named the top player in Class 4A in 2005 and received the 2005 Mr. Basketball Award (Deseret Morning News), given to the athlete considered to be the top high school player in Utah.

Noah Hartsock

Jackson Emery

 

[Colonel_Reb]

BYU wins the outright MWC title againby starting5whites for the whole season! Congrats to the Cougars, now get win 25, win the MWC Tourney, and make some noise at the big dance.

Cougars Repeat as MWC Champions
by Jay Zwahlen, BYU Athletic Communications

PROVO, Utah (Mar. 5, 2008) -- The BYU men's basketball team clinched the outright regular-season Mountain West Conference championship on senior night with a 78-61 win over Wyoming Wednesday night at the Marriott Center.

The Cougars (24-6, 13-2 MWC) sealed their first back-to-back outright conference crowns since the 1979 and 1980 seasons and became the first MWC team to win two outright titles in the nine-year history of the league.

"It was a special thing to win the Mountain West Conference title on your home court," BYU coach Dave Rose said. "This title has come through great leadership and hard work. These players deserve this title after how hard they have worked all season long."

BYU guard Jonathan Tavernari also broke Andy Toolson's 18-year single-season record of 74 made three-point shots in a season. Tavernari hit four treys on the night to improve his season total to 76.

Center Trent Plaisted notched his eighth double-double of the season with 23 points and 11 rebounds. Guard Lee Cummard had a solid all-around game, tallying 12 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Tavernari was BYU's second leading scorer with 18 points.

Plaisted started the game off with BYU's first five points. Wyoming would respond with a long three-point shot from Brandon Ewing to bring the score to 5-3. The Cougars would then go on a 7-2 run over a three-minute span that ended midway through the half. After the run, BYU was up 17-7.

With 12:07 left in the half, Tavernari made a three-pointer to not only give BYU a 22-10 lead, but also etch his name in BYU's record books. Tavernari hit his 75th three-point shot of the season to give him the BYU record.

BYU would close the half on an 11-4 run starting at the 5:34 mark. The Cougars led 38-27 at the break. Tavernari scored 18 first-half points. Plaisted had 11 points and five rebounds at the break. Wyoming's Tyson Johnson led the Cowboys at the half with 11 points. Brandon Ewing had the more balanced stats with eight points and six boards. Only four Cowboys scored in the period.

The Cougars jumped out to a quick 15-point lead to open the second half, and they would only extend that lead as the half progressed. Cummard and Plaisted tallied six early points that were part of BYU's 19-6 run over the first seven minutes of the second half.

Midway through the period, Plaisted came alive, scoring 12 points and nabbing five rebounds in the first 13 minutes. With a 50 percent second-half field-goal percentage and a 57.1 percent three-point percentage, BYU closed the deal for good.

"Although we had a few slower spots on the offensive end of the court, I thought we were defensively pretty solid the whole night," Rose said. "This was a good win for the team, and we are ready to move on to the next game."

BYU will close out the regular season at TCU on Saturday at 7 p.m. With a 24-6 overall record to date, the Cougars have a chance to become the only BYU team in program history to record 25 regular-season victories.

 

[Colonel_Reb]

http://www.byucougars.com/Filing.jsp?ID=10456


Cummard Honored as MWC Co-Player of the Year
by Mountain West Conference

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (March 10, 2008) -- The Mountain West Conference announced its 2007-08 men's basketball awards Monday. The league's nine men's head coaches, along with a selected media panel, picked the all-conference teams, as well as the coach, player, newcomer, freshman and defensive awards.

BYU's Lee Cummard and New Mexico's J.R. Giddens were named Co-Players of the Year, while UNLV Head Coach Lon Kruger captured MWC Coach of the Year honors for the first time. Additionally, Air Force's Tim Anderson garnered Defensive Player of the Year accolades, Colorado State's Marcus Walker was chosen as the Newcomer of the Year and San Diego State's Billy White was tabbed the Freshman of the Year.

"Lee is very deserving of the award," BYU head coach Dave Rose said. "He has been consistent all year and helped lead his team to the championship. It's a real honor for him and a credit to how hard he has worked as a player."

All nine Mountain West institutions were represented on the 15-member all-MWC teams. Regular-season champion BYU and San Diego State led the league with three all-conference selections apiece, highlighted by unanimous first-team honoree Cummard for the Cougars. UNLV and Utah also had multiple players chosen with two each, while Air Force, Colorado State, New Mexico, TCU and Wyoming had one apiece.

Five players were repeat all-conference selections. Trent Plaisted of BYU and Brandon Ewing of Wyoming are both third-time honorees, with Plaisted moving up to the first team after consecutive second-team selections, while Ewing is a second-team choice for the second straight year, following third-team accolades in 2005-06. Cummard makes the leap to the first team after receiving third-team kudos last season. UNLV's Wink Adams was a first-team member this year after earning second-team honors in 2006-07, while Utah's Luke Nevill moves up to the second team following a third-team appearance last year.

Kruger collected his first MWC coaching honor after guiding the Runnin' Rebels to their second straight runner-up MWC finish (12-4) and back-to-back 20-win campaigns (23-7) for the first time since the 2001-02 and 2002-03 seasons.

Cummard, a 6-7, 185-pound junior guard/forward from Mesa, Ariz., led the Cougars to their second straight and fourth overall MWC regular-season title. He finished with the league's second-best field goal shooting percentage in conference play, converting 54.8 percent of his attempts while averaging 15.5 points and 7.1 rebounds. He was the only player in the conference to rank in the top 10 in nine different statistical categories during league action.

Giddens, a 6-5, 205-pound senior from Oklahoma City, Okla., helped the Lobos to their highest MWC finish (third) in three years while registering league-high averages of 18.3 points and 8.3 rebounds a game in conference action. He was the only student-athlete to register two 30-point outings in MWC play this season, including a career-high 36 against Wyoming.

Anderson, a 6-3, 180-pound senior guard from El Paso, Texas, led the Falcons and ranked second in the conference with 34 steals while averaging 37 minutes a game in league play. He also registered six blocks against MWC opponents.

Walker, a 6-0, 175-pound junior guard from Kansas City, Kan., ranked second in the league with an 18.1 scoring average in conference action. He topped the 20-point mark in eight of 16 MWC contests this season, including a run of six straight.

White, a 6-7, 190-pound forward from Las Vegas, Nev., led all freshmen in scoring (9.1 ppg) and rebounding (6.5 rpg) in conference action. He shot 62.9 percent from the field and recorded two double-doubles against league opponents.


2007-08 All-Mountain West Conference Men's Basketball Team
(Selected by media and head coaches)


First-Team All-Mountain West
*Lee Cummard, BYU Jr. G/F 6-7 185 Mesa, Ariz. (Mesa HS)
**Trent Plaisted, BYU Jr. F/C 6-11 245 San Antonio, Texas (Clark HS)
J.R. Giddens, New Mexico Sr. G 6-5 215 Oklahoma City, Okla. (Univ. of Kansas)
Lorrenzo Wade, San Diego State Jr. F 6-6 228 Las Vegas, Nev. (Univ. of Louisville)
*Wink Adams, UNLV Jr. G 6-0 200 Houston, Texas (Gulf Shores Academy)

Second-Team All-Mountain West
Tim Anderson, Air Force Sr. G 6-3 180 El Paso, Texas (Franklin HS)
Marcus Walker, Colorado State Jr. G 6-0 175 Kansas City, Kan. (Indian Hills CC)
Johnnie Bryant, Utah Sr. G 6-0 180 Oakland, Calif. (Ohlone College)
*Luke Nevill, Utah Jr. C 7-1 265 Perth, Australia (Kell HS-Ga.)
**Brandon Ewing, Wyoming Jr. G 6-2 190 Chicago, Ill. (Julian HS)

Third-Team All-Mountain West
Jonathan Tavernari, BYU So. F 6-6 215 Sao Bernardo, Brazil (Bishop Gorman HS)
Ryan Amoroso, San Diego State Jr. F 6-8 272 Burnsville, Minn. (Marquette Univ.)
Billy White, San Diego State Fr. F 6-7 190 Las Vegas, Nev. (Green Valley HS)
Kevin Langford, TCU Jr. F 6-8 243 Fort Worth, Texas (Univ. of California)
Curtis Terry, UNLV Sr. G/F 6-5 205 University Place, Wash. (Curtis HS)

*Indicates number of previous all-conference selections

Honorable Mention
Chad Toppert, Jr., G, New Mexico
Joe Darger, Jr., F, UNLV
Rene Rougeau, Jr., G, UNLV
Brent Hackett, Sr., G, TCU
Daniel Faris, Jr., C, New Mexico


Co-Players of the Year: Lee Cummard, BYU; J.R. Giddens, New Mexico
Defensive Player of the Year: Tim Anderson, Air Force
Newcomer of the Year: Marcus Walker, Colorado State
Freshman of the Year: Billy White, San Diego State
Coach of the Year: Lon Kruger, UNLV
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[whiteathlete33]

Wow a 4.6 40 and 41 inch vertical for Trent Plaisted. Funny how I never once heard a mention of his athleticism. BYU is a perfect example of a team that plays mostly whites and succeeds. Same thing goes for their football team.