PROVO — Back in late September, BYU forward Gavin Baxter suffered a serious shoulder injury in practice.
It was the latest setback the Cougar basketball program had faced amid an offseason filled with changes and challenges.
Baxter’s injury came after Yoeli Childs had been suspended for the first nine games of the season by the NCAA and after Zac Seljaas had suffered a broken foot during the Cougars’ tour of Italy in August — but before Arizona transfer Alex Barcello was ruled eligible by the NCAA.
On top of that, BYU entered the season with a new coaching staff and it was facing a tough nonconference schedule.
Who would have guessed that by early January, the midpoint of the season, BYU would boast a 12-4 record overall, including a road victory against Houston and two wins at the Maui Invitational, sit at No. 32 in the NET rankings and be projected as a No. 9 seed in the NCAA Tournament by ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi?
Well, first-year coach Mark Pope may not have guessed it, either. But he’s an eternal optimist and before the season, in early October, he focused on the positives. He called Childs’ return to BYU instead of turning pro “a watershed moment in the history of this program over the last 10 years,” adding that “the fact that (Utah Valley transfer) Jake Toolson chose us over Duke and Virginia, that’s a historic change.”
When asked before the season started about managing adversity, he called it “a gift.”
“When you forge a team, you want guys to learn how to respond. The more opportunities they have to learn how to respond, the better they’ll be,” he said. “This game asks every day, ‘What are you going to do? You got punched in the mouth. What will you do about it?’ Everybody gets punched in the mouth. … When you rise up out of those moments and you take all those doubts and answer them, you come back as a more solidified team and more confident individuals. That’s how you make a team.”
“When you forge a team, you want guys to learn how to respond. The more opportunities they have to learn how to respond, the better they’ll be. This game asks every day, ‘What are you going to do? You got punched in the mouth. What will you do about it?’ Everybody gets punched in the mouth.” — BYU coach Mark Pope
Pope also said this group of players would be defined by their resiliency.
That resiliency will be tested Thursday (9 p.m., MST, ESPN2) when BYU visits Saint Mary’s in its first West Coast Conference road trip of the season. The Cougars are 1-7 in Moraga since joining the WCC in 2012.
Pope often talks about working to have “the best locker room in America,” which includes togetherness and everyone making contributions. How does Pope assess how his team has handled adversity so far this season?
“I love this group. I’m really, really proud. We haven’t been perfect and I’ve been far from perfect but I do think that we are growing every day. We are still focused on growing every day. Sometimes we get distracted from that,” he said Tuesday. “Sometimes we look at the NET and we get caught up in that for a day. Then we’re like, ‘It doesn’t matter. We have to get better.’ I’m proud of this team’s commitment to try and get better every day. That’s really hard to do and this group is trying to do that. In terms of the resiliency and the setbacks we’ve had this year, I think our guys have responded brilliantly. Not just setbacks in terms of a loss here and there, but also losing guys from the roster, all the other changes and a difficult schedule. These guys have come every day like champs and they’re just trying to get better.”
Speaking of adversity, Childs left Tuesday’s practice early after suffering an apparent injury to his right index finger. When asked about it later, Pope said Childs would be “fine.”
Senior guard TJ Haws is impressed with the way his team has responded to challenges this season.
“We’ve had a lot of things happen. This team has done a really good job of taking things day by day,” he said. “Adversity happens, whatever it is. We bring it every single day, no matter what. That’s been a staple for this team and that’s what’s helped us win games. I’m sure our adversity is not done. But that daily mentality is going to continue to help us.”
Haws added that the fact there are seven battle-tested seniors on this roster has helped significantly.
“Guys know what it takes to win, especially in league play. There’s something you can’t really teach about experience. We have a lot of it.”
Has BYU met, or exceeded, his expectations this season?
“Looking back, I’ve had high expectations every year I’ve played here and that hasn’t changed with this team,” Haws said. “Coach Pope recruited me here before he left for UVU. I know him and I trust in him and the guys that he’s brought here — and getting Yoeli back. I have high expectations for this team and we’re not done yet. We have a ton to improve on and I’m excited for our future.”