There's no question that the goal for this group is to get back to the NCAA Tournament. – BYU men's basketball coach Dave Rose
PROVO — If something's broke, you fix it.
It's a relatively simple philosophy to understand, yet not always easy to go about doing. But it's exactly what BYU basketball has worked earnestly to accomplish after completing a second straight season without an invite to the NCAA tournament.
Playing through the season and then not receiving the coveted invite isn't good enough, and no one understands this more than BYU coach Dave Rose.
"There's no question that the goal for this group is to get back to the NCAA Tournament," Rose said during BYU basketball's media day on Thursday. "In (my) 12 years as a head coach this is the first that we've experienced back-to-back years without going."
Rose's stated fact has left a bitter taste in his mouth and perhaps galvanized a resolve to change certain things during the offseason.
As for the stated changes, there's several of them.
Rose emphasized throughout the media session changes from how the Cougars play defense to the execution during half-court sets. Both critical aspects of the game were lacking last season, with BYU incurring a 22-12 record, another third-place finish in the West Coast Conference, and yes, no NCAA tournament invite.
"We made a real commitment to becoming a better half-court offensive team," Rose said of the offensive focus this offseason, much of which has come about due to the loss of Eric Mika. "I think there will be a lot more space on the floor, just because of the personnel...you'll see a lot more pick-and-roll."
Regarding the defensive side of the equation, a lot of the changes were addressed with the new faces that will be part of the team for the coming season. Rose hired Heath Schroyer as an assistant, along with bringing in transfers Jahsire Hardnett and Kajon Brown from the junior college ranks.
When asked what impact both Hardnett, who is a 6-foot guard from Chipola JC, and Brown, who is a 6-5 swingman from Lee JC, could make, Rose immediately began discussing defense.
"We want to eliminate 3-point attempts. We have to become a better 3-point defensive team," Rose said. "Teams didn't shoot a very good percentage against us, but they shot so many of them, that the math just killed us in a lot of games...They were making 3s and we were making 2s, and by the end of the game we couldn't catch them."
The hope is Hardnett and Brown, along with other newcomers such as freshman Rylan Bergersen (6-6), will be able to help close out and eliminate 3-point shots.
Players have noted the changes and are excited to implement them during real game situations.
"We're going to come out and just punch teams in the mouth," said sophomore forward Yoeli Childs. "I think the biggest things you guys are going to notice is on the defensive end, with how we're getting after it. We love defense, and I know that's something you really don't associate with BYU as of late. But we're a team that wants to get after it and get stops."
As for Childs, Rose lumped in the 6-8 Bingham product with three other leaders he termed as being, "The core four," with the other three comprising of junior guard Nick Emery, sophomore guard TJ Haws and junior swingman Elijah Bryant.
Both Haws and Emery were able to see good contributions last season, while Bryant, a 6-5 guard from Elon College, saw a lot of frustration in having to battle a nagging knee injury. The good news is Bryant feels like he did pre-injury, as of about a month ago.
"I'm feeling back to myself," Bryant said. "Last year I was playing with (my knee) being super sore, but now it's back to where it needs to be. So now I'm ready to get with these guys to win a championship."
Other strides players and coaches believe were made in the offseason involve getting in better shape with some players dropping some much-needed weight. Case in point is 6-10 sophomore Payton Dastrup, who claims to have shed 40 pounds off of his frame since the end of last season.
"These guys have kind of really put their heads down and have really worked," Rose said. "When they come in you'll see their bodies and you'll see the determination. This is a focused group to this point and that's why I'm really excited to get going with them on Monday."
Monday marks the first official practice for the team, prior to the first exhibition game of the season, Nov. 1 at home against Westminster College.
Email: bgurney@desnews.com
Twitter: @BrandonCGurney