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Let's get out to the hotline. Welcome in. Cougar Sports
Insider representing KSEL dot com. We got d Sean Walker.
Speaker 3: What's up, Sean Walker, Ben, It's always a pleasure to
be alive on a Friday night in Salt Lake City,
counting a little bit of my own seampunk I.
Speaker 4: Know' that means absolutely loving to you. But that was
a nod for Brent Farron for the rest of the
crew over it at ESPN the fan because.
Speaker 1: If you know, you know, yes, indeed, it's a beautiful
the Hey, we got moisture, man, I'm grateful. It is colder,
but we got a ton of moisture, which is great
for our high deserts. I'm feeling grateful right now. Despite
the BYU basketball team not meaning expectations this year. Sean
Lunardi Joe Leonardi now projecting BYU as a seven seed.
Speaker 3: Have we fallen so far?
Speaker 1: We were talking three seed, we were talking two seed,
we were talking maybe even a one seed not too
long ago, maybe six weeks ago. Now seven seed and
may be worse if BYU loses the Texas Tech and
loses in the Big twelve tournament. Where do you stand
with this hoops team?
Speaker 4: Yeah, it's kind of like the current state of the
Utah winter when it rains, its tour is when it does,
and it's nice and sunny, and we think we're getting
a lay with a early screen, and then all of
a sudden, see a little bit of that moisture. You
see a little bit of that trickle, some of those
snowflaer snowflayers maybe, and all of a sudden, you've got
a downpour on your hands. I mean you, a basketball
is going through a downpour at the moment. It's a spiral,
it's a tail spin. It's uh, you know, they've they've
lost uh four of their last five, and it it
doesn't feel very good I think for Kugar Nation right now, Like, yes,
A J. DeVonta is awesome. Rob Ryder's had his moments,
but uh and I think it like because it's evens
starting to come alive a little bit during this streak,
which is certainly a little bit of a silver lining
to see from a freshman. But uh, this this is
a team that is you want to talk about meeting
expectations or playing in the best best basketball at the
right time, I'm not sure if this team is playing
against that basketball as the calendar turns into March, not
just results wise, but just because of the way they're playing.
The defense is playing like the one hundred and ninety
something best team in the country during this run. Granted,
bar tournament dot Com. The offense just slits a little bit. Now,
it's still better, it's still tough fifty offense, but it's
slipped a little bit, and that's kind of natural with
the absence of Virtie Honders. This is a team that, Yeah,
like if you if you had told me two months
ago that this would be anything less than a six
seed in the NCAA Tournament, I would have said, you're crazy.
But as of right now, I think the seven is
probably the ceiling, and I think, justine likely this team
could find itself in an eight nine game come that
opening week in of BINGCAA tournament.
Speaker 1: Sean is, uh, do you feel like what can give
BYU fans hope? Is there what's kind of a silver
lining in all this that is maybe helping this Cougar
fan base have hoped that BYU basketball can get into
the NCAA Tournament and actually win at least one game
and not be a one in with so much hype
entering the season.
Speaker 4: I mean, you mean hope other than the fact that
the end of the season is only a couple of
weeks away. Hey, I'm just saying, what's the what's what's sitting?
Speaker 1: Maybe they want maybe they want to be put out
of their misery and just move on to springball. Maybe
that's for that.
Speaker 3: I don't think they do, though.
Speaker 4: There's an old yellow reference in there somewhere, but I'm
not going to go there because that's probably a little
bit too much even for this program been. But no,
I mean, I think there are a couple of silver
linings on this, Like Dja Debonte is still as advertised,
and I've seen a lot of patterns as day day
online because of the state of the program. But he
has still been at least arguably the best player on
the Big twelve, one of the best players in the
country so far so far, one of the best of
the best freshman class in years, decades, twenty plus years.
I think at least he's he has still been as advertised.
There is still a lot, you know, I think this
fan base needs to really favor and share is what
ad the Boxer brings to this team, because come June,
he's going to be the first or the second big
in the NBA draft. And a a wise woman once
said that you're gonna miss me when I'm gone, and
I think that's kind of the state of a J
right now. But I think there are a couple of
other guys that has stepped up during the shoot. I
think an Alexi Costage. Alexi Costache is a freshman. He's
had his moments, I think, during the year, but those
moments were very human far between. During this run of
four losses in the last five games, I think it's
been He's now back to back to back to three
string games with double digit points. He's shooting the three
ball really well. He's the hype of kitchen shooter that
plays really well with a guy like a J. And
if you're going to get superstars to pro both five
star talent to provo, I think you want guys like
him to surround him, Guys who don't necessarily the amount
of ball a tone, but are really good just off
of that catch spot of three point shooters that sort
of a thing, and I think like those into the
guy that is there are guys that are looking to
earn themselves minutes and a spot on next year's loster
at YU and I think that lift probably starts with
a Leski in a lot of ways, just in terms
of what they can bring not only for this year's team,
but for next year's teams. And again, I hate them
moving on too much to acture because this is still
a team that is going to the NAA Tournament. Despite
all of its folks, guys, BYU is not a program.
They're not a team that is flirting with danger of
missing the NC DOUBLEA tournaments. You know, they still got
six plad one wins. They still got a couple of
wins over top twenty five teams that went over Clemson
right now, and the non conference is aging extremely well
right now for b YU. I mean there is a
there are a lot of positive positives on this team's resume.
There's no reason to believe that they shouldn't be involved
in the NCUBLEA tournament. And once that ball of tips,
if anybody's good, we all know how to manage the
march worth So like, yes, there are some issues, Yes,
there are some things in me deb fakes, especially defensively,
but I think there a lot of them. Are some
first world problems, and maybe some of those first world
problems can get fakes come March, or at the very
least you think or something out for next season and
you kind of live and learn and progress for another day.
Speaker 1: By us issues. Let me give you a stab coaches
or players, main storylines that you've been keeping an eye on,
that you've been intrigued by.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I'm loving the development of bear Bagmyer. I know
it's a little bit looking through to go to the quarterback,
but this is a kid that we just bring to
talk to him the other day and just a little
bit we've been able to watch him, very very very
little bit. We've been able to watch him from where
he's been around the around the weight room in the
off season, we see at some basketball games. We've talked
to him now a couple of times in interviews. I
am amazed that this kid is only a sophomore. The
sky really is the ceiling. I think for bark Bachmeier,
I think he's developing exceptionally well. He was one of
it's not the best freshman quarterbacks in all of college
football last year. I think PFF might have had him
number one among freshman quarterbacks, number one or number two
last year among freshman quarterbacks. I think he needs to
take another step forward in order for BYU to truly
go where do they want to go? And there's really
only one place that they can go, coming in second
in the Big twelve a year ago. But I think
he's absolutely capable of taking that next step up. Like
he just he looks more polished, He looks like he's
connecting very well with his receivers a little bit in springball.
He looks like he's ready to take that next step.
It seems like Aaron Rodgers is willing to kind of
give him the next step in his quarterback development. I
really like what I'm seeing out of bear bog Buyer
early on. It's it's super early in springball. Springball, you know,
is worth the paper you write on it again at
the time. But I really love in the development that
I'm seeing out a bear bock Buyer on that in
that practice facility right now?
Speaker 1: Do you have favorites to step up in that wide
receiver room right now? Have you have you looked at
your projected wide receiver depth chart and rotation yet? I
know it's early, but who are your early odds on
favorites to become bear Bachmeyer, favorites to uh to slean
the pill to.
Speaker 4: Yeah, everybody we've talked to in the program has talked
about Jojo Phillips kind of the next step in his
development and his evolution is to maybe it sounds like
they maybe want him in a a maybe even a
wide receiver one type role with the Parker sinkin departure
now as well. So I'm keeping an eye on Jojo Phillips.
I think Codey Hagen has truly the top end burner
speed to fill that role. Uh. But I really like
what I'm what I'm saying out of some of the
new uh and I won't I won't say wide receivers necessarily,
but some of the new past catchers in general. We
saw what Cars and Ryan could do at the tight
end spot. It sort of hasta make make tight ends
great again. At b YU, I think Carson absolutely did that,
and I think Walker Lions could be the next step
in that for the Cougars as well. Rogers Celiapanga has
also shown some really nice things in his brief time
coming back home to play for b YU uh and
then uh Uh. Kyler Casper the organ cancer I think
has shown very well in limited time limited reps. He's
still figuring figuring things out, getting in all the culture
of the playbook and that kind of thing. But I
think he's shown some really nice things early on. Uh
that you you are kind of starting to see why
b yu win and got these guys. They didn't get
a ton of transfers out of the latest NCAA transfer portal.
They were definitely folded a little bit more on retention,
but they you know, they saw some needs. They went
and were very targeted with some of their needs. And
I think you saw why they targeted some of these
guys to come in and play right away and potentially
not even play some big minutes right away.
Speaker 1: Final thing I got for you, Sean before I let
you go, appreciate you hopping on for a little Cougar
beat broant to you by Central Garage Utah, Central Garageutah
dot com. How about them Lady Kougs and League Kamard
year one guy. You look the men's team, you know,
maybe not meeting the expectation, not meeting quota, but I
feel like right now by women's is maybe meeting the quota.
They could possibly maybe hopefully fingers crossed, maybe they can
get into the NCAA tournament with a run in the
Big twelve tournament. Maybe they got to They gotta win
out right now. The ball that they're playing. Man, there
are many analysts out there that are covering the Big
twelve tournament saying BYU basketball is an NBA tournament team
the way they're playing right now. Give us your feedback
on that. Are they in your opinion? And how far
do you think they get into Big twel tournament. They
got a big game coming up next with TCU, maybe
the best team in the Big twelve.
Speaker 4: Yeah, they're playing the Bress basketball of the year right now,
which is pretty amazing because dating back to probably the
worst loss of the season at home to Cincinnati, they're
on a five game winning streak since then that It
was two wins over Utah, another win over another bubble
team in Colorado. They're one of sixteen teams right now
on the NCAA Women's Tournament bubble. According to ESPN dot
com Charlie cream He Charlie listed them in the first
or in the next four out. Excuse me, so just
outside of the first four out when it comes to
the ESPN bracketology of the group that was rated ahead
of them, BYU had played they had y had played
them eight times and we're seven and one against that group.
They were seven and two against teams the other sixteen
teams that were on the bubble that they've played against,
so they're they're really good against double bubble teams. They're
they're still technically winless in Quad one, which I think
is their biggest knock against them. A top twenty five
win on whatever Texas Tech has an aged super well
or super favorably and even less favorably after a Texas
Tech lost to a fighting test heels in Champias State
in the Big twelve tournament, so that that's probably their
biggest knock against them. But you talk about a team
that's playing as best basketball come March, that team checks
the boxes. You talk about a team that has legitimate
star power, they definitely have that in Delaty Gift. And
you talk about a team that that doesn't have a
a through the back to bring back and breaking series
of losses. I think this team does have that. I
would expect them fully in the conversation this selection Sunday
to be in that NCAA tournament field. If they're not there,
if they happen to not make it, you know they're
they're probably a play in tournament, a play in game
team at this point for the n C Double A
field and if they if they find themselves just off
of that side of the bubble, I think this is
the top four team to the WB I t which
guarantees them home court advantage until those those semi finals
in the Number two tournament postseason tournament. And women's basketball,
which if you had told me that at the start
of the year under a first year head coach and
the first time I coached in Lee Tamard, I think
any by you said probably should have and would have
taken it.
Speaker 1: Sean, best way to support you what you do, how
you do it, and then any articles you're going to
be publishing here shortly that we should keep an eye
out for on kjo dot com.
Speaker 4: Yeah, you know, at Kissel dot com, Cansel dot com,
slash Sports if you want to go booth mark and
check us out support us. There is all free, there's
no payball. Don't worry, guys, uh and we'll get you covered.
As the ninemus of March Shift and over does.
Speaker 1: Let's go Sean Walker, Ladies and gentlemen, thanks so much, Sean,
appreciate you hopping off.
Speaker 3: For a Little cougar Beat.
Speaker 4: Thank guys, boom.
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