HB Arnett's 801 372 - 0819 <mailto:hbarnett@fiber.net> hbarnett@fiber.net 1391 West 800 South - Orem, Utah 84058 Vol. 35, Issue 35 - March 23, 2015 Click Here To Order or Renew Your Subscriptions <http://cougarclicks.com/product/Order-Cougar-Sportsline?ID=3173> EEEK! An Exclamation, Used to Show Excitement, or Fear That pretty much sums up my projections for BYU Basketball for the future. Let me spell it out for you. E= Exasperation. How can a team lose a 17-point half time lead to Ole Miss and exhibit such a poor display of defense in the second half? E= Expectation. Dave Rose's history is one of offense and limited defense. In some cases absolutely no defense. Trends, especially those of a ten year record, don't change easily. That gives me just a little fear for the future. E= Excitement. The fact that BYU can score is always exciting. The fact that there will be additional scoring power available to Dave Rose next season makes it even more exhilarating, especially if Rose and his staff can just spell D-E-F-E-N-S-E. We don't expect this team to actually play great defense, but spelling it would be a nice start. K= Keep the faith. As deficient on defense as BYU was this past season, they will get additional bodies that should help that perpetual problem and also add to the scoring power of next year's team. Here are some previous quotes by Dave Rose on new players to the roster next year to keep that hope for improvement and excitement alive and breathing until next season: Kyle Davis: "Kyle is a big, strong athlete who can run the floor, rebound and score. He will be a great addition to our front line and will fit perfectly with the guys we have in our program and the style we like to play." Jamal Aytes: "He's an excellent low-post scorer and will have a positive impact on our front line." Nick Emery: "Nick is a prolific scorer with unlimited range. He's an intense competitor on both ends of the floor. Nick always plays on attack and is great off the dribble. He's a winner in everything he does on and off the court." Zac Seljaas: "Zac fits our program perfectly as a player and person. He can really score the ball, but is not defined by that. He's a terrific passer and tough rebounder. Zac is very competitive on the defensive end and understands team defense and positioning. Zac has had the opportunity to lead his team to a championship at the high school level. He understands what it takes to be successful." Seljaas was named Utah's Gatorade Player of the Year last week. Here's a quote by me: "The only place defense is mentioned by Rose in all of these quotes, and only in passing, is in his assessment of Zeljaas. Until defense is preached and practiced, BYU will be exciting but will always be a team that finishes behind Gonzaga in WCC play and also will always be a one-and-done team in NCAA play. EEEK!: Take your pick. Excitement or Fear. We'll know which it is in just a short 8 months when the 2015-16 season begins again. Turnovers Key for Both Men and Women Women Take a Beating.Literally The BYU women were thumped last Saturday by Louisville 86-53. It was a game of quickness and turnovers. The Lady Cougars didn't have enough of either to withstand the pressing defense of the Cardinals. Just like the men, this game was decided by turnovers. The Cardinals had a season-high 24 steals and earned 38 points off of turnovers, of which BYU committed 30. In the men's game against Ole Miss, the Rebels had 25 points produced off BYU's 15 turnovers. Both games were physical, but it was readily evident just how physical it was in the women's game. Click Here <http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=12535890> to see for yourself. The women finished their season at 23-10. The men finished their year at 25-10. Tyler Haws Finishes with Flair BYU's all-time leading scorer, Tyler Haws, did what he does best. He scored 33 points in his final game wearing a Cougar uniform. Haws led all scorers in BYU's 94-90 loss to the Rebels of Ole Miss in the opening play in round of the NCAA Tournament. He was 13 of 23 from the floor and 5 of 9 from beyond the arc. Chase Fisher also added 23 points for BYU by hitting 6 of 12 from distance. Kyle Collinsworth had a game that screamed if he does play in the NBA, it won't be at point guard. He turned the ball over 5 times to the quick defenders of Ole Miss. He also didn't help his NBA chances by going just 1 of 7 from the floor. He did add his customary 7 rebounds and 10 assists. It will be interesting to see where Dave Rose gets the points next season to replace Haw's steady production. My money is on a combination of Chase Fischer and Nick Emery with most of those points coming from Emery. And if that doesn't materialize, just wait another season until Tyler's brother, TJ Haws, gets home from France and his LDS mission. Annual Public Scrimmage Set For Friday Spring Football Winds Down Here is what BYU's Athletic Department says about what the call "Friday Night Lights." PROVO, Utah - The BYU football team will conduct a "Friday Night Lights" spring scrimmage open to the public on Friday, March 27, at LaVell Edwards Stadium. As part of this special evening event, the team will also conduct a football clinic for kids up to the eighth grade and an autograph signing session for all fans. The festivities begin at 4:30 p.m. leading up to the scrimmage at 6 p.m. Admission is free. Gates 1, 3, 5 (west), 7 and 11 (east) will open at 4 p.m. Concessions will be open for fans on the east and west stands as well as food trucks at Gate 1 (southwest). The kids' clinic and autograph signing takes place from 4:30-5:30 p.m. before the BYU football players go to the locker room to get ready for the scrimmage. Music, highlights on the video boards and on-field promotional events will lead up to the team retaking the field for warmups in advance of the scrimmage at 6 p.m. The clinic is available for schoolchildren up to the eighth grade. The clinic will take place on the field, while the autograph signing will take place just off the field on the sidelines and end zone. Fans coming to get autographs will be provided with a free poster for the players to sign.The "Friday Night Lights" spring scrimmage is one of 15 practice sessions the team will conduct prior to spring drills concluding on April 3. Here is what Bronco says on video about how Spring is progressing and singles out a few players who have stood out to him: Bronco 1 <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gEjMI3ta2s> Bronco 2 <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rvkt1yv8P-I> Here <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InIVMFRC67A> 's what Taysom Hill Has to Say about Spring Here's what I have to say about Spring Football Just like all spring football practices under Bronco Mendenhall, BYU should be ranked nationally based on all the glowing reports. They always look and sound like they will be vastly improved and a national contender every spring. Hope always Springs eternal. The real test for spring football will be how they play in the fall. If you want to judge how spring football went, then wait and see how the Cougars do against Nebraska at Lincoln, Boise State in Provo, UCLA in Pasadena and Michigan at Ann Arbor. Those are BYU's first four contests of the 2015 season. Football Fluff and Stuff It was a busy and productive week for BYU football. The SEC announced that they would count games against BYU, Notre Dame and Army as contests that would meet their non-league scheduling mandate of games against P-5 opponents. Bottom line, BYU is now considered P-5 worthy by the SEC. Not coincidently, Mississippi State and BYU announced jointly a home and home agreement between the two schools in football. The Bulldogs will face the Cougars in Provo on Oct 15 in 2016 and on Oct 14 in Starkville in 2017. Arizona, Utah, Utah, West Virginia, Michigan State and Mississippi State. That will be a tough steak or slate to chew on, especially with a brand new starting quarterback in Tanner Mangum. Spring Sports Rugby.The Cougars remained undefeated and ranked No. 1 in the nation with their latest win, a 76-31 thumping of Utah in Salt Lake City. The match was the 2015 version of the Wasatch Cup. With the win, BYU remains undefeated this season with a 9-0 record. Two more in-state rivals visit the No.1 ranked team this coming week in Provo as UVU and Utah State face BYU on March 25 and 28 respectively. Both games can be seen on BYU RugbyTV <https://www.youtube.com/user/BYURugbyTV> . The Utah Valley match starts at 7 pm on Thursday and the Utah State match is set for Saturday at 1 pm. Baseball.After taking two of three games from Gonzaga in Spokane last weekend, the Cougars find themselves with an overall record of 11-12 and 4-2 in WCC play. That puts the Cougars in a three way tie for second in the WCC baseball standings along with St. Mary's and Loyola Marymount. San Diego leads the league currently with a 5-1 record. The Cougars should have been 5-1, but dropped a game to the Zags by the score of 6-7. BYU led 6-2, but allowed 5 runs in the bottom of that frame to Gonzaga, despite giving up just one hit. It didn't help that they also issued 6 walks. Softball.BYU swept a three-game series in Provo against Oklahoma State this past weekend. In the Friday double header the Cougars took the Cowboys 2-1 and 10-2. The completed the sweep on Saturday also by the same 10-2 score. In a game played later that day, UVU notched their first win ever on the Provo campus against the Cougars with a no hit shutout and a 0-13 score. Next up for BYU is a road trip to face Weber State on Tuesday and then a week later another trip to matchup against Utah State in Logan. The Lady Cougars are now 20-8 on the season. TELEVISION TIMETABLE BYU vs. Utah Tuesday, March 24 at Salt Lake First Pitch: 7 pm MDT TV: Pac 12 Network Radio: KOVO - ESPN 960 Provo (streaming audio) BYU vs. San Diego Thursday, March 26 at San Diego First Pitch: 7 pm MDT TV: theW.tv Radio: Radio: KOVO - ESPN 960 Provo (streaming audio) BYU vs. San Diego Friday, March 27 at San Diego First Pitch: 7 pm MDT TV: theW.tv Radio: Radio: KOVO - ESPN 960 Provo (streaming audio) BYU vs. San Diego Saturday, March 28 at San Diego First Pitch: 2 pm MDT TV: theW.tv Radio: Radio: KOVO - ESPN 960 Provo (streaming audio) BYU vs. San Diego State Monday, March 30 at San Diego First Pitch: 4 pm MDT TV: none Radio: Radio: KOVO - ESPN 960 Provo (streaming audio)