BYU REPORT CARD
GUARDS: Rashaun Broadus and Austin Ainge have traded taking the majority of the minutes with mixed results and consistency. Jimmy Balderson, the shooting guard, has also been up and down. As a group, they are not shooting from the outside as well as a year ago and are not getting to the free-throw line as much as coach Dave Rose would like. Their struggles could be linked to their changing roles. C+
CENTERS: Trent Plaisted continues to struggle with fouls while battling double and triple teams, but his flashes of scoring and rebounding have proven key during a 9-0 home win streak. Behind Plaisted, the Cougars have used a committee, including moving over forward Keena Young and bringing Fernando Malaman off the bench. Vuk Ivanovic, who has played in 10 of 14 games, plays better while facing the basket and going up against bigger players. B -
FORWARDS: Keena Young is easily BYU's most dominant player as an undersized 6-foot-6 power forward. He rebounds and scores with regularity. Lee Cummard has become a hard-nosed defender, a great fast-break finisher who rebounds and consistently knocks down shots. Cummard is hatching out to be a floor leader in his sophomore season. Freshman Jonathan Tavernari remains an enigma, a spot player with an undefined value. A -
BENCH: With Malaman, Mike Rose, Sam Burgess and Ainge, Rose has a myriad of choices of hard-working veterans who understand his schemes on both ends. Burgess leads the team in 3-point shooting and Rose can light up zone defenses. Ainge has proven he can deliver double-digit scoring off the bench and is the team's most vocal leader.
What BYU must do to contend
The Cougars should be tough to beat at home. If they are to get a piece of the championship, they'll have to win road games while protecting this home advantage. Trent Plaisted and Keena Young can join Lee Cummard as a competitive trio in the MWC, but they'll need better shooting from the outside to make Dave Rose's offense work. BYU must improve on defense and rebounding in league play and find easier baskets.
MWC BREAKDOWN
Team Record Best win Worst loss Comment
Air Force 14-1 Wake Forest Duke No. 16 highest Falcon ranking ever
BYU 10-4 Oral Roberts Boise State Searching for consistency
Colorado St. 10-3 Kansas State Baylor Still the MWC's tallest timber
New Mexico 11-5 Wichita State UTEP Can they do it on road?
San Diego St. 11-4 Cal Western Mich Heath: 39 games in double figures
TCU 9-4 Tulane St. Marys Still unknown in MWC
UNLV 14-2 Nevada UC Santa Barbara Highest RPI in the league
Utah 5-9 Virginia Albany Beat or lose to anybody
Wyoming 10-5 UAB Nebraska Guard play can take over
2006-07 ROSTER
Name Pos Year Comment
Keena Young F Sr. Deadly fall-away jumper and drives are BYU's anchor
Trent Plaisted C So. Cougars need him to keep out of foul trouble
Jimmy Balderson G Sr. Must get to be a double-digit scorer in this offense
Lee Cummard F So. Effective on transition game fast breaks
Austin Ainge G Sr. Most knowledge and clearly the main leader of the team
R. Broadus G Sr. Needs to get assist-turnover ratio back to junior year
J. Tavernari G Fr. A streak shooter who brings it in bundles
Mike Rose G Sr. Ultimate zone buster who has improved defense
Sam Burgess G Jr. Leads the team in shooting percentage at .618
Vuk Ivanovic C Jr. Will be called upon against CSU and Utah length
F. Malaman F Sr. Active power forward battling to find playing time
Gavin McGregor C So. Yet to see much playing time
Ben Murdoch G Jr. Good shooter awaiting chance to play
BYU STATISTICAL LEADERS
Points per game: Keena Young, 16. 6
Rebounds per game: Trent Plaisted, 7.2
Field goal pct.: Sam Burgess, 61.8
Free-throw pct.: Fernando Malaman, 91.7
3-point pct.: Burgess, 63.2
Steals: Jimmy Balderson, 23
Blocks: Trent Plaisted, 16
Assists: Austin Ainge, 50
BYU RESULTS/SCHEDULE
Nov. 15 at UCLA L, 82-69
Nov. 18 Idaho State W, 84-78 (OT)
Nov. 22 Portland W, 79-50
Nov. 24 Southern Utah W, 80-61
Nov. 29 at Boise State L, 72-68
Dec. 2 at Weber State W, 73-69 (OT)
Dec. 6 San Jose State W, 81-69
Dec. 9 vs. Michigan State L, 76-61
Dec. 13 at Lamar L, 86-77 (OT)
Dec. 16 Utah State W, 75-62
Dec. 22 Western Oregon W, 102-40
Dec. 28 Liberty W, 73-59
Dec. 29 Oral Roberts W, 72-62
Dec. 30 Seton Hall W, 77-68
Jan. 6 San Diego St. 3:30 p.m.
Jan. 10 TCU 7 p.m.
Jan. 13 at UNLV 8 p.m.
Jan. 16 Wyoming 6 p.m.
Jan. 20 at Colorado St. 3:30 p.m.
Jan. 24 at New Mexico 8 p.m.
Jan. 27 Air Force 4 p.m.
Jan. 31 at Utah 8 p.m.
Feb. 3 UNLV 3:30 p.m.
Feb. 6 at Wyoming 7 p.m.
Feb. 10 at TCU 7 p.m.
Feb. 14 New Mexico 7 p.m.
Feb. 21 Colorado St. 8 p.m.
Feb. 24 at San Diego St. 4 p.m.
Feb. 27 at Air Force 7 p.m.
March 3 Utah 5:30 p.m.
March 6-10 MWC tournament TBA