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West 800 South –
Vol. 30,
Issue 26 – February 1, 2010
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Fredette Fabulous
BYU STILL IN CONTROL OF CONFERENCE
RACE
After BYU's 82-69 win over
Fact No. 1. BYU is still in total control of the MWC title chase. The
Cougars are currently 6-1 in league play with a game remaining in the first
half of the conference schedule against TCU in
Fact No. 2. Jimmer Fredette is fabulous. He scored 36 on the Utes,
despite a defensive game plan designed to shut him down. He had 27 against the
Lobos. The 36 points were the most ever scored against
Here's the deal with Fredette. He has played in 21 of BYU's 23 games
and started 20 of those games. He is currently averaging 21.2 points per game.
That's not bad. Take the away the four games against UNLV, Air Force, CSU and
The closest comparison we can think of for what Fredette is doing is
Stephen Curry, the 6-3 guard from Davidson, who averaged 28 points per game
last season. He left early after his junior year and is now a rookie for the
Golden State Warriors.
Fredette, like Curry, has taken a low-profile college basketball team
and put them on the map and on
Fact No. 3. Dave Rose owns
Fact No. 4. Jim Boylen,
If his team ever matches the dramatics displayed by Boylen on the
court, in the press and in facial expressions, they could be pretty good. If
Boylen is enamored with his 10-11 team, he will have to have his own television
show, "Boylen's Love Boat" if the Utes ever get good.
Fact No. 5. Despite Fredette, BYU will go only as far in post season
play as their post players will take them. This was the second game in a row
where they were non factors. To play with the big boys consistently, especially
in post season, you still need a post presence.
THE FUTURES MARKET
Listed below are how BYU's most recent signees and future
prospects fared during the last week. All except recent signee Anson Winder,
are LDS.
Kyle Collinsworth,
6-6 guard/wing, senior, Provo HS...Collinsworth exploded last week in what we
think is his high school career best scoring night with 37 points in a 75-51
mismatch against Timpanogas last Friday night. Earlier in the week he had 19 in
According to the most recent state statistics, as compiled by the
Deseret News, Collinsworth is having a Mr. Basketball kind of year. After 14
games, he is averaging 22.21 points per contest, hauling in an average of 8.21
rebounds per game, dishing out 7.21 assists per game, averaging 3.36 steals per
outing and blocks 2.0 shots per game.
It is just our opinion, but Collinsworth is being short-changed in the
BYU basketball recruiting buzz among Cougar fans. BYU has had some great
success on the court in recent years, but fans have always been looking for the
next piece of the puzzle to put the Cougars over the top in the quest to
becoming a nationally recognized team.
Last year, everybody was waiting for Tyler Haws to come on board. He
has certainly lived up to his hype.
This year, because BYU is playing so well and because they have a
nationally recognized star in Jimmer Fredette, the average fan doesn't have
that same, wait until next year recruiting buzz.
Based on Collinsworth play this year, we should be buzzed. Like Haws,
he will be an integral part of the coaches' plans for next season.
What many don't realize about Collinsworth is that during an AAU
tournament last spring, he broke a bone in his back that was originally
diagnosed as a bruise. He continued to play during the AAU circuit in the
summer with lots of pain, but still managed to perform at an extremely high
level.
After the summer, he had an MRI and the break was revealed. Doctors
shut him down from August to November and the start of the high school season
to let the break heal. As evidenced by his play during this, his senior season,
he appears to be back at full health.
Here is another stat for Collinsworth that is very impressive. In his
two and a half seasons as a starter for Provo HS, the Bulldogs are 57-6. He was
the state 4A Player of the Year as a sophomore and junior and looks like a slam
dunk to make it a three-peat this season.
It may be time to crank up the recruiting buzz on this signee. BYU had
a national steal on this kid, despite the fact that he plays just across the
street from the Cougar campus.
Nick Emery,
6-0 freshman guard, Lone Peak HS...On a night when Lone Peak HS retired his
older brother's (Jackson Emery) number, Nick had 16 points in a 67-62 win over
Brighton HS. Earlier in the week in a losing effort, Emery had 29 points in a
71-64 loss at home to Jordan HS. This week
Anson Winder,
6-3, guard, Senior, Bishop Gorman HS...Winder and his BG team continue to win.
In a 97-62 win over Spring Valley HS, everybody on the team scored at least
single digit points, including Winder. The following game, a 106-89 win over
Western HS, Winder had 20.
Jabari Parker,
6-5, wing, Freshman, Simeon HS, Chicago...After coming off a two-loss week, Simeon
rebounded with a 56-42 win over Julien HS this past week. Parker led his team
in the win with a game high 15 points. He also had 6 rebounds.
DeMarcus Harrison,
6-4, guard, Junior, Christ School, Arden, NC...Another week, another two wins
for Christ School. Harrison had 7 points, 3 blocks and 3 steals in a 101-41 win
over
Jordan Chatman,
6-3, guard, Sophomore, Skyview HS, Ridgefield, WA...Tuesday night, Chatman had
25 points, 18 of which he scored in the second half while leading his Skyview
team to a 66-60 win over Heritage HS. Later in the week he had 14 points in a
60-57 loss to Mountain View HS.
Jordan Smoot,
6-10, center, Junior,
FOOTBALL FLUFF AND STUFF
RECRUITING KINKS AT
KAHUKU...In the good old days, Kahuku HS in
BYU had two early verbal commits from Kahuku players Hauoli Jamora and
Kona Schwenke. Both are defensive linemen and neither will sign with the Cougars
this coming Wednesday.
Jamora decommitted several weeks ago and just last week, Bronco
Mendenhall pulled the scholarship offer from Schwenke when he tripped to Notre
Dame and Washington on official recruiting visits. That didn't sit well with
Mendenhall who didn't appreciate someone who said he was committed to signing
with BYU, still shopping himself around to other schools. There is no word on
where Schwenke will sign, but it won't be at BYU.
Throw in the Shiloah Te'o episode of this fall and Kahuku and BYU don't
appear to be on the same recruiting page anymore. Te'o was dismissed from the
team by Mendenhall and is now reportedly enrolled at
Here is a list of Kahuku signees since 2000. Saia Hafoka, wr, 2001;
Aaron Francisco, db, 2001; Mulivai Pula, rb, 2002; Ferron Fonoimoana, wr, 2002;
Spencer Hafoka, wr, 2005; Gary Nagy, db, 2007; Shiloah Te'o, db, 2008 and Jray
Galea'i, db, 2009.
In the last decade, only Francisco has had a stellar career as a
Cougar.
NO KINKS IN KURESA
PIPELINE...There
are no such recruiting kinks in the Kuresa pipeline. Alex Kuresa, a 5-11 junior
quarterback and touchdown machine from
He has since told the Cougars he will sign with them next year in 2011
after his senior season for the Mustangs. His older brother, Jake, was a
starting offensive lineman for the Cougars. There has never been any question
about Kuresa's talent as a quarterback, just his size. Despite his gene pool,
he has always been short. He now apparently has started to grow and projects
himself to be at 6-2 - 6-3 as a college player. Kuresa is also the cousin to BYU
basketball player Tyler Haws.
LATEST LIST...Here
is the list of verbal commits that should be signing with BYU this coming
Wednesday during the first day of letters of intent.
Jordan Afo, DL, 6-4, 300, Cottonwood HS, UT; Jordan Black, OL 6-7, 235,
Alta HS, UT; Algernon Brown, RB, 6-1, 205, Skyline HS, UT; Tayo Fabuluje, OT,
6-5, 255, The Oakridge School, TX; Alani Fua, LB 6-5, 210, Oaks Christian HS,
CA; Kori Gaines, DB, 5-9, 170, Grayson HS, GA; Toloa'i Ho Ching, LB, 6-0, 225,
Alta HS, UT; Jacob Hanneman, DB, 6-1, 190, Lone Peak HS, UT; Jordan Johnson,
DB, 5-10, 175, Brooks School, MA; Tuni Kanuch...DL, 6-1, 285, Bingham HS, UT;
Bronson Kaufusi, DL, 6-6, 225, Timpview HS, UT; Teu Kautai, LB, 6-1, 200, The
Oakridge School, TX; Collin Keoshian, LB, 6-2, 225, Santa Clarita Christian,
CA; A.J. Moore...RB, 5-10, 190, Murrieta Valley HS, CA; Manu Mulitalo, OL, 6-3,
305, Granger HS, UT; Joey Owens, LB, 6-2, 215, Pleasant Grove HS, UT; Drew
Phillips, RB, 6-0, 185, Boaz HS, AL; Graham Rowley, OL, 6-4, 270, Waialua HS,
HI; Bryan Sampson, TE, 6-4, 210, Pleasant Grove HS, UT; Zac Stout...LB, 6-2,
220, Oaks Christian HS, CA; Sae Tautu, LB, 6-3, 215, Lone Peak HS, UT; Travis
Tuiloma, DL, 6-3, 290, Washburn Rural HS, KS; Blair Tushaus, OL, 6-2, 270,
Notre Dame Prep, AZ.
Jake Heaps, qb, Ross Apo, wr and Joshuah Quezada, rb, all signed early
in December and are currently enrolled in school.
ONE-GAME DEAL...In
other football news, BYU inked a one-game deal to play the Texas Longhorns in
TELEVISION TIMETABLE
BYU vs. TCU
Tuesday, Feb 2 at
Tipoff: 7:00 pm Mountain Time
TV: The Mtn
BYU vs. UNLV
Saturday, Feb 6 at
Tipoff: 2:00 pm Mountain Time
TV: Versus
BYU vs. Air Force
Saturday, Feb 13 at
Tipoff: 4:00 pm Mountain Time
TV: The Mtn
BYU vs.
Wednesday, Feb 17 at
Tipoff: 6:00 pm Mountain Time
TV: The Mtn
BYU vs.
Saturday, Feb 20 at
Tipoff: 4:00 pm Mountain Time
TV: The Mtn