PROVO — More than a few eyebrows raised last spring when BYU coach Steve Cleveland announced the signing of guard Terrell Lyday.
Lyday is a product of Fresno City College, where Cleveland spent seven seasons coaching prior to coming to Provo. Cleveland's previous two recruits from FCC, Ron Selleaze and Michael Garrett, were dismissed from school for Honor Code violations involving marijuana possession in 1998. The loss of Selleaze and Garrett was devastating to Cleveland — more for personal reasons than for basketball reasons. After that incident, Cleveland reaffirmed his goal of bringing the best LDS players in the country to BYU.
One year later, Cleveland had a major void to fill with freshman, and leading scorer, Mark Bigelow departing on an LDS mission. He decided to take a chance on Lyday — another FCC player who, like Selleaze and Garrett, is black and non-LDS. The question was: Would Lyday fit in?
The answer is: Quite nicely, thank you. Fourteen games into the 1999-2000 season, eyebrows are raised again — this time, in response to Lyday's dazzling play. The 6-foot-3 junior is the center of attention as 12-2 BYU hosts 12-3 Utah today at 1 p.m.
Lyday (averaging 17.6 points per game) has scored 35 and 30 points in his last two outings against Utah State and UNLV, converting 11 of 19 shots from 3-point range. At UNLV on Monday, he also tallied 11 rebounds and six steals. Utah coach Rick Majerus said this week that Lyday may be the best player in the Mountain West Conference right now.
Cleveland had to wait a long time for the chance to coach Lyday, whom he originally recruited out of Fresno's Hoover High, but it's been well worth the wait.
"I watched Terrell his entire high school career because I was the community college coach," Cleveland said. "I just assumed I'd be at the community college level for another 10 years. I developed a relationship with him. He was the young man I was recruiting all winter. Then all of the sudden I got into the mix of this position (at BYU) and was on my way to Utah. I knew Terrell couldn't qualify at BYU so I had to walk away from it."
But Cleveland followed Lyday's career closely at FCC. Last year, Lyday and Garrett were playing there together and Cleveland had only one scholarship to offer. He was looking for someone to replace Bigelow's scoring ability and Lyday was the one Cleveland wanted.
"I felt I needed someone to come in and take some of the load Mark had," he said. "I think Terrell has done that and probably a little more."
For Lyday, the decision to attend BYU wasn't easy. But it wasn't as tough as one would think.
He had narrowed his choices to BYU, Alabama-Birmingham, Hawaii and Auburn. While he knew about BYU's rigid Honor Code and the situation with Selleaze and Garrett, he didn't allow those factors to deter him too much. "I came here on my recruiting trip and I really liked the atmosphere," he said. "(Selleaze and Garrett) told me how great it was here. They said they would come back if they could. They told me how fun it could be sometimes. I had to see that from myself. I came here from Hawaii (on a recruiting trip) and it was fun."
Of course, his long-time relationship with Cleveland influenced him, too. "Cleveland's a pretty cool guy. My mom liked him," Lyday said. "My mom and I talked about it. We felt this was the best decision for me and we went with it. (Cleveland) told me how it would really be, things you could and couldn't do. He told me I'd fit in. It seems like I can. I'm doing it now."
Lyday is the type of player BYU has been sorely lacking — someone who can shoot off the dribble and create his own shot. Utah's best defender, 6-7 forward Alex Jensen, will probably draw the assignment to guard Lyday, who has been red-hot of late.
Even his teammates are surprised by Lyday's recent performances. "Yeah, it's surprising a little bit," said fellow 3-point sharpshooter Todd Christensen. "Anytime anyone scores 35 points at Utah State and 30 in Vegas, it surprises you. We all knew Terrell could do it. He's played like an All-American, no doubt. He's been our go-to guy. Some of these games, we might not have won them without Terrell."
"He's in that zone everyone wants to get in," said forward Mekeli Wesley. "If a guy is hot, why not milk it?"
Not that this current scoring tear is anything new for Lyday. At FCC, he was a two-time All-Conference selection and averaged 17.5 points per game. Last season, he made 102 3-pointers. Now, he's doing it at the Division I level.
For Cleveland, it's not Lyday's scoring that pleases him the most. "The thing I'm most proud of about Terrell is that he's our best defender," he said. "He has the best understanding of anyone on this team about what we're trying to do defensively. Hey, he's going to have nights where he won't score 30 or 35, but he's going to be just as valuable to us. He's been an impact player. Terrell being a part of this program has made us a better team."
Even when some doubted the wisdom of bringing in another FCC recruit, Cleveland did what he thought was best for the program. And today, he looks like a genius.
"I'm never going to let perception dictate anything I do, relative to recruiting or coaching," he said. "You can really set yourself up for a lot of trouble as a coach when you worry about the perception of a player you recruit. You have to believe in what you are doing. I believed in Terrell Lyday. I spent quality time with him and his mother. I made it very clear (about what was expected at BYU).
"Do I have apprehension when a non-LDS young man comes to BYU? All the time, because it's such a different environment. It's a challenge. It's a struggle. But Terrell made a commitment to me that he could do it. And that's all we can really ask.
"If they make a mistake and it doesn't work out, it doesn't work out. That's part of life," Cleveland continued. "I'm never going to let the fear of failure stop me from recruiting or coaching a certain way here. But you have to use intelligence. I'm not going to get involved with a young man unless they have the desire and ability to be successful here. There's still no guarantee."
But Lyday, who is making the transition at BYU, has been very close to a guarantee on the court for the Cougars.