First, the obvious. We have a world class atmosphere for competitive basketball. ROC showed out again. The adults occupying the best seats were a tad late showing up, but they got there. It was loud, it was fun, it was raucous and entertaining.
—What is in the water in Provo? Back-to-back games where someone makes the half court shot for cash. Never seen that.
—The ROC remains 2nd to none. Cosmo occupies the same tier. Game production is excellent. Now we have celebrities showing up and having a good time, working the crowd, etc. I mean, is there anything missing? Anything at all? Maybe someone ought to look into live music at these things?
—Mawot Mag is worth zeroing in on and watching on the defensive end, particularly off the ball. Dude plays with aggression and intelligence in the way he reads and works through screens. I don’t particularly like the way we seem to avoid hedging and helping off screens while in man, but Mag makes them run their pick game excellently well with whoever he’s guarding.
— Ritchie is only slightly behind him on D and is relentless on offense. The hustle/glue guy is playing with confidence and skill these days and is on track to become an all-time BYU fan favorite. Just can’t help but love the way he plays.
—Catchings’ singularly amazing performance helped seal the deal for sure but we overcame average or below shooting performances from Saunders and Fouss. Sign of a good team where someone else goes off.
— Tamika Catchings got a nice ovation after being shown on camera. We have a rather basketball savvy crowd.
— Baker’s craftiness is becoming a steady feature of the second unit. Like Howard Easley on the old Jazz teams, he’s becoming the guy you can count on for some offense as the starters rest and can be plugged in during crunch time too.
—If you like Bombay House, that is a perfectly fine opinion to which I take no offense. But Tandoor, located kitty corner from LES, is better. It just is.
—Now to upset some of you a bit: I have major gripes with our offensive sets and execution down the stretch. Spread the floor and try to create off the drive late in the clock is simply not enough, and it almost cost us the game.
— I’ll also include my voice in the small chorus who is perplexed by Catchings’ lack of PT down the stretch – – those lineups were puzzling. I am not at practice and don’t see what KY sees or know what he knows. If someone has the explanation, boardmail me if you like. I’m more than a bit baffled.
— Like to hear a little bit more J Hill style agitation, as in after the Oklahoma State game from KY. But that’s a bit nitpicky because….
—The program has won three in a row and shows signs of real improvement and some developing continuity. They have been fun to watch of late, something I did not ascribe to them early, despite the obvious talent. More work remains, but that was a very fun game, and there is upside potential for a very fun year from this group.