Young will be here for at least 5 years no matter what, and I expect--and really hope--he'll be here for 20+. I like the guy. His peers speak of him exceptionally highly. It's clear he's intelligent and hard-working.

It's also clear that he doesn't have a good grasp of what it takes to win college basketball games. The most talented roster--and the tallest--in BYU history is giving up 13 offensive boards a night in conference play, and more than 1.1 points per possession, which is criminal. Our hotshot point guard just missed 21 triples in a row, which has to be some sort of record. We turn the ball over under pressure, we've given up double-digit three-pointers to our last three opponents (none of whom average double digits), and the team is boring to watch on offense and dangerously poor on defense.

I'm not calling for him to be fired. I don't call for anyone to be fired, ever. I'm calling for improvement. No doubt he knows better than I do what the problems are, and I hope he can fix them. Meanwhile, I expect this to be a long, difficult, and ultimately really disappointing year. It's a truism that the biggest improvement comes between the first and second tries at something. I expect better things in the future.

In the meantime, I'd settle for three defensive stops in a row. Team chemistry can't be fixed overnight. Experience can't be manufactured any faster than one game at a time. But someone--anyone--can get ferocious and play the game like they can't stand to lose one more time (with apologies to Saunders, who always plays that way). Hustle. Passion. Commitment to detail. The players can take responsibility for that immediately, and the coaches should demand it. If they are, and they're not getting it, we have a long, long bench, and we should use it.

Except we can't, because BYU basketball is currently built on the idea that we're going to be able to get top recruits, who will not come to BYU if we're benching NBA prospects because they're not very good ballplayers. So Young has to play Demin and Catchings, no matter what, as long as they're healthy. It's a rough situation for a young coach, and I don't envy him.