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Speaker 3: This is Cougar Sports with Ben Kretel, and it's time
for the Cougar Beat. Getting the dish from the local
reporters that cover Cougar athletics.
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Speaker 1: Let's get out to the hotline.
Speaker 2: Welcome at Cougar Sports in saturbenty KSL dot com. We
got d Shawn Walker was up Sewan Ben.
Speaker 3: It's always a pleasure to join these airways with a
man who I like to refer to as the A. J.
Deponta of the o U Sports Media and his producer,
the real R W three Ronald weeverm.
Speaker 1: Third AJ No, I'm telling you AJ see bons. Uh.
Speaker 2: There's not an AJ to Bonds and our ESPN the
fan crew, Nope, unfortunately, Uh, but we I mean Ronald,
It's pretty close to to Rob Wright the third. I'll
give him that like he's uh, he's he's a great
point are a great architect of our offense.
Speaker 3: He's also great when he gets you. When he when
he gets you going downhill. If you know, no, I
won't think no doubt.
Speaker 1: No doubt about it.
Speaker 2: Hey, uh, Sean, let's talk. Uh, let's talk a little
hoop for a moment here. B Wi, you finally got
a dub. They got to win.
Speaker 1: Uh.
Speaker 2: When you're looking at the remaining schedule for BYU basketball, okay,
you hope that they're they're on the right track. They
can get back to their winning ways right now. Okay,
we have Colorado. You're at U of A, you take
on Iowa State at home, U c F at home.
Speaker 1: Then you're at West Virginia at Cincinnati.
Speaker 2: Then you welcome Texas Tech uh to the friendly confines
of the Marriage Center.
Speaker 1: Seven games left.
Speaker 2: What will the record be for the coops in these
final seven games?
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, I don't. I don't think I'm speaking
out of turn as if I say that without some
series defensive adjustments, and I think you saw some of those,
particularly in the second half Baylor, it's going to be
some more tough setting for BYU, Like they've got to
play better defense. I've got a lock in a little
bit better. If this is a team that has incredible lengths,
I think on the defensive side of the basketball, when
they utilize it, I think they're a good defensive team.
They've gone away with that for the past couple of games.
Now that being said, I think, speaking to your point,
something that was overlooked a little during this four game
losing skid was the quality of competition that BYU face.
You know, yesterday at Baylor was a game that BYU
quite frankly had to win for morale reason, for vibes reasons,
in addition to the fact that they had just lost
four in a row, like they needed to be able
to put something together to prove that they weren't just
going to get run over by the rest of the
Big twelve schedule. But the previous four games before that,
and I'll even include Oklahoma State to an extent, and there,
I mean, these were four very good teams, certainly three
of the four all rings in the Top twenty five
Top twenty, Top fifteam now through them in uh In, Arizona, Houston,
and Kansas. Like, I don't think there's any shame necessarily
in b what you losing to those three teams in particular,
unless you really want to get into kind of the
manner of sort of how they how they lost to
some of them. Certainly that Houston game comes to buy
with how they lost to them, But losing to a
top ten Houston team coached by Kelvin Sampson teams and
climbing is going to be a lottery pick in the
NBA draft whenever he decided to leave college. Quite frankly,
whether it's this year or in the future. Uh So, Like,
I don't think by you had necessarily any bad losses
in that four game stretch, But going on the road
to a hostile environment, uh you know, there weren't as
bad a chance that popped up as what we heard
about and wrote about and talked about everything. Uh In
still out of Oklahoma, but there was still some pretty
hostile chants that came out of out of Foster Pavilion man,
and I think BYU just proving that they could overcome
that should help should have fans feeling a little bit
more confident for the rest of the schedule. Now that
being said, there are still some very good teams and
they got to go You mentioned they got to go
to Arizona. That right now doesn't feel like a game
the by you can necessarily win right now. And I
say that knowing that it didn't feel that way when
BAU went to Arizona last year. And looks what happened
to Tuza, right, it's the Big twelve. The surprises happened,
shocks happens. But I think being able to write the
ship and prove that they can right the ship, you
got to feel a little bit better about BYU at
least splitting the rest of the league season and getting
into the conference tournament with one of those top half seeds,
and then you kind of see where it goes from there.
This is an NCAA Tournament caliber team. Finishing out the
rest of the season is what's going to determine if
this is like a six to seven seed and I'm
going the meme right now, so or if it's more
like a four seed.
Speaker 1: I like it. Where are you predicting right now?
Speaker 2: So let's say they go four and three in the
final seven games, right, and that would put them I
believe lease, you know, I think around like five hundred,
a little above five hundred in Big twelve play there,
you know, what type of sheeting do you predict they'll
get if they if they.
Speaker 3: Go that route, I think that would put them probably
right around the middle of the pack in the Big twelve.
I think somewhere seven, eight, nine, somewhere in there. I mean,
I think that's probably I think this is a team
that's in the top half of the league. How high
into the top half of the league, I think is
is where the question is, like there is a and
again with the caveat that it's the Big twelve and
things can change literally in a matter of a weekend,
because that's just how good and how deep this league is.
All but one team ranked in the top one hundred
of the net. Every team in the league ranked in
the top I think it's one forty or one fifty
of the net. Like this is. This is a very
good league. So things can change on any given weekend.
But I think you're starting to see a little bit
of like a top four kind of stratify in itself
right there, and I think the UYU is just outside
of that. So they're probably somewhere in that sort of
that we're going fourteen tiers. They're probably somewhere right around
the edge of that second tier of fourteam, you know,
right in that seven, eight, nine range, somewhere in there,
which gives them a vibe and on the plan the
first day of the conference tournament. That'll help, and maybe
that's even better for their NCAA tournament helps because then
they can get into a game, get into get into
a little bit of a rhythm in Kansas City to
try to take over into the NCAA tournament as well.
Speaker 2: Sean Walker here on your Utah ESPN Radio Network representing
KJLKJL dot com. Sean, this, this Bway basketball team, I
think is still a very good to great team.
Speaker 1: The big three are who they are. Who do you.
Speaker 2: Expect from the supporting cast to step up and finally
make an impact?
Speaker 1: Here, Hadeem stepped up. You see the guy.
Speaker 2: We've seen maybe flashes from others from time to time,
but who who's going to be the guy or guys
that are gonna step up consistently down this stretch.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I thought Heideman move actually had a very good
game against Baylor. He did a lot of journey works
that doesn't always get notice. Uh, scored a bucket here
and there. I mean, he was good. He's he's just
he's so versatile. He can rebound for you, he can
guard a little that use the langl on the perimeter defensively,
like he's he's the kind of guy who I think
is maybe the easy answer right now again with recency
bias and all of that, uh, in terms of of
something that this team needs, Like they've got role players
besides that big three. You know, Quebe Kita's not coming
out of the starting lineup because he's the team's leading
rope rebounder. He's uh, probably I think their best rim protector.
You can maybe make an argument for for the do
but it's it's probably Kida and I don't think there's
too much of an argument there. But dude's got a
nice little role uh defensively as well. I think I
think Hadem gives you a little bit of that pop
again some size on the edge. He can play. I mean, really,
he could play them all well five if he wants to.
But at the very least they know we're two to
four a little bit interchangeable as well. Doesn't why I
have a shot needs to work on a shot some
but again we're talking role players, and I think most
importantly what this team needs out of the supporting cast.
Out of those role players. Kevin Young's brought it up
over and over again, especially during that four game skid,
is they need shooters. They need a just spot up
three point shooters to come off the bench and provide
a little bit of a spark and a little bit
of extra energy. That's what they were lacking when they
lost four in a row. Quite frankly, he didn't totally
get it back. They didn't totally get it back last night,
but you saw Rob Wright kind of play that role,
fill that role a little bit. I'd like to see
something come from maybe like an Alexi Coastitch or Mihailo
Boskovich who can do a little bit of that. I'd
like to see that will out of one of them
to step up. And I think if that, if they
get that, then this team suddenly becomes a little bit
more of what we thought they could be in preseason
and non conference play.
Speaker 1: Sean, let's pivot.
Speaker 2: Let's talk some BYU football Cougar's in the pros. Jack Kelly,
Chase Roberts invited to the NFL Combine which of the
Cougar football players eligible for a Combine invite? Can you
make an argument got snubbed they should have got the invite.
Speaker 3: I think you can make a pretty serious argument for
a lot of linemens that are coming in offensively or defensively.
I would really like to see what a guy like
Weyla ma Blahu does did at the Combine. I know
combine spots are sometimes a little bit different for offensive
linemen in particular, but this is the guy that I
think could be a very solid rotational piece in an
NFL system, and he's a great locker room presence. His
teammates love him. They all raise about Whatalen I think
that could have been. I think that probably could have
been a pretty good one. But I've got no argument
going against Chase Roberts or Jack Kelly. Like both of
those guys should hear their names called in the NFL
Draft next April. I think going to the Combine, a
good pro day experience, a good you know, good round
of the interviews, that sort of thing will only help
them significantly. I'll even go out on a limb and
I'll say I think Jack Kelly could wind up in
hearing his name called somewhere in the first two days
of the draft. He's a guy that if an NFL
team really gets to know who he is, really dies
in his name. She's what he did both at Weaver
State and in his time at BYU. I don't think
you want him slipping into like one of those you know, fifth, sixth,
even seventh rounders, and there you want to go in
and grab him up with with some kind of surety
and certainty because he's I won't pretend like he's a
game changing linebacker in the NFL, but I think he's
kind of that next level where you want to make
sure you go out and get him.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think Jack is.
Speaker 2: A fantastic prospect. Chase robertson intriguing prospect. If he tests
out well with this productivity, with his size, with his tangibles,
I'd imagine he'd be a mid round draftable prospect obviously,
Chase Roberts giving me a synopsis of where you think
Chase could go if he tests well.
Speaker 3: Yeah, and I think Chase could be a very reliable
NFL receiver just because he does a lot of things well.
He does you know, he performs well in a lot
of areas route running, hands, speed wise, knowledge of the
game again, kind of that locker room component as well.
I think there are a lot of things that he
just does well. His challenge is going to be proving
to NFL teams that he can be elite in at
least one area of the game. You didn't always see
that out of Chase Roberts. I think if he can
show that he's an elite route runner or has elite hands,
or or he didn't always have that over the top
burner speed, maybe he can show a little bit more
of that through a good combine and pro day and
individual workouts that kind of thing. Then I think he
suddenly catapults himself into a guy the teams have to
go chase down to get rather than a guy who's
just kind of there and they bring him into to
see what they have out of him.
Speaker 2: One last thing hot or not. A little throwback from
the mid two thousands, hot or not. The big twelve
glass digital basketball court hot or not.
Speaker 3: Oh, I'm gonna look, I've got nothing against this led
lighting glass court. I think it could be cool. I
think there are some really neat things they could come
from it. I saw how it worked actually during a
euro League game last summer. I can't remember it was
who was playing, but it was a random middle of
the night came on ESPN Plus that I just happened
to come across. So I think it could be cool.
But I have to give it a knot because of
the way Brett your ease this announcement, the way the
Big Twelve didn't want to announce anything, but they teased
that an announcement was coming today. This this is not
the kind of announcement that you piece. This is not
game changing, This is not something that every league is
going to have to have. This is not changing the
caliber of college basketball the conference tournaments as we know it. Like,
what are we doing, guys? This is an announcement that
you roll out your press release when it's ready. You
don't you don't try to overhype it. You don't try
to tease it for more than this. Uh, Because I
think there are a lot of people that, quite frankly
right now, are less very disappointed because there were there
were some rumors about, you know, maybe the conference tournament
is going to move, which, by the way, it was
never leaving Kansas City for twenty thirty long guys tay
to bring it to you. But there was there was
some talk about like, well, maybe they'll change the format
of the tournament, you know, put in an extra advis
system or you know, there there were all sorts of things.
Maybe they stopped the tournament because I think we've had
this conversation before. Ben Conference tournaments and power leagues are
kind of appointments right now when it comes to in
CA tournament selection. So there were there were a lot
of rumors that like maybe this announcement could be jumping
a lot more than it was. Just announce just announce
it an thing, like we don't need to tease. This
is not something that we can tease. So again, is
it a cool concept? Sure? Is it a great idea?
Uh yeah, I mean we'll see. Like I'm I'm willing
to give it a try and give the But in
terms of an oldment, it's it's a myth. It's one
percent nod, it's a myth. It's I could have done
with getting this press release in my press box in
my you know, boxing today and seeing seeing some videos
and photos floating around Twitter, and oh yeah, that's kind
of cool. But to tease, to tease the announcement of
an announcement. No, that's that's a miss. That's a no.
Please don't ever do it again.
Speaker 1: Don't do it, not do not do it. Sean.
Speaker 2: We appreciate you man, best way to support to what
you do, how you do it. Thanks for wropping up
for a Google beat.
Speaker 3: Yeah, appreciate it guys now as always, Kids dot com
Sports dot kis dot com or kids dot com slash Sports.
If you want to check out our Olympic coverage, we've
got a metal tracker over there now that's working. TV
USA is making a nice little push a lot of
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so we'll give us give us a look over at
dot com.
Speaker 2: There you go, Sean Walker, Ladies and gentlemen, thank so much.
Sewn always appreciate our time. Thanks guys, boom shot a
lock on that or cougar Beat under our belts. That
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