Speaker 1: THC.
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are in the middle of it. It's time to talk
some college basketball on Cougar Sports with Ben.
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stopped a little college basketball. Second kind of welcome in
a former b YU head coaching great, the greatest head
coach in bi basketball history to talk to some Cougar
basketball as well as Jimmer for Dead as he's getting
his jersey hung in.
Speaker 1: The rafters, and I wonder, yeah, I wonder.
Speaker 2: I've chatted with Jimmer about this before was Jimmer for
that capable of playing and making it impact in both
football and basketball at by if you would have been
a dual sport athlete, you wonder, Robb, We know a
lot of guys could have probably played too, Smot. We
saw Jared Hall do it baseball football. I think Taysom
probably could have done baseball football. We've seen Corbyn and
Bronson do the football basketball deal. You wonder if Jimmer
could have done it as well. We'll discuss it in
this segment. The segments gonna be brought to you by
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You won't be disappointed. Let's get out to the hotline.
Will come in former BYU head coach, the greatest head
coach in BAU basketball history.
Speaker 1: We got Dave Rose, the goat on the line. Dave,
how you living.
Speaker 3: Good? How are you doing today? I'm doing fine.
Speaker 1: I'm doing awesome. Brother.
Speaker 2: Love talking ball with you here. What do you think
you saw Jimmer play in high school. He was a
ball He was all state wide receiver. I don't know
if he ever did any running back. I think he
was just the wide receiver.
Speaker 1: Skill guy.
Speaker 2: Do you think he could have played an impactful role
on the football field as well at b YU, Well, I.
Speaker 3: Sure wouldn't put it past him, just simply because of
how hard the kid worked. I mean, he he he
was so committed and so dedicated. But I mean he
was so goal oriented. I mean this kid when he
when he decided that, you know, this was what he
wanted to work on, I mean, it just it just
became a reality. And so I wouldn't put it past
him that he could, you know, put a football uniform
on in college. And I don't think it would be
the most physical position on the field, Okay, but I
think it would be a pretty skilled position, which he was.
He was that for sure.
Speaker 1: See.
Speaker 2: I actually think Jimmer is more physical than some people realize,
especially like senior Jim Er. I felt like I felt
Jim or his senior year, like I thought, we saw
a little bit of what I deem. And hopefully this
is not disrespectful. I've said it before, but it's kind of.
I think Chubby Jimmer is the best Jimmer because he
was so physical, his broad shoulders, you know I'm talking
about he could get anywhere on the on the court.
Speaker 1: It's like, you know, like Chris Paul is like a
thick dude, right.
Speaker 2: Like you look at some of these point guards in
the NBA, they're not as like they're not like the
Russell Westbrook like you know, weaving through and utilizing you know,
Kyrie Irving.
Speaker 1: These thick point guards.
Speaker 2: That last a long time in the NBA as distributors,
and they can just get anywhere on the court using
those broad shoulders in big bodies.
Speaker 1: Jimmer, Chubby Jimmer was the best Jummer in my opinion.
Speaker 3: Yeah, well he was. He was really physical in college
kind of kind of a different way. He took a
lot of blows. Yeah, and and and he and he
still was didn't they didn't have a way to guard him,
so most people tried to rough him up and uh,
and he could handle that because of how he I mean,
he's the size that he played at.
Speaker 1: What do you what did he way his senior year?
Do you know?
Speaker 3: You know, I don't know, but but he was a
he was a guy that no one messed around with
in practice because if if if they if they you know, collided,
usually the other guy got the worst of it, you know.
And uh so I do. I do think that if
he would have decided, you know, to be a football player,
he he could have carried a lot more weight. I
don't know if you've seen pictures of him when he
was a young kid, you know, in his early teens,
and you know what, he was a chunk, you know,
and so you know, if he was staying in that
football path, you know, maybe he would have looked like
a linebacker. You know, who knows.
Speaker 1: I'm just saying.
Speaker 2: I mean, he's quick, obviously that first step. I'm sure
he he made a lot of guys mission in the
open field as a wide receiver, but he.
Speaker 1: Was, uh you know, we got to check. I told
him I.
Speaker 2: Need to see the mixtape of the high school film,
the all state wide receiver film.
Speaker 1: Yeah, some day I need that in my life.
Speaker 3: Hey, it was it was really impressive. I mean the
fact I watched a lot of our players over the
years play high school football. Luke Worthington as the guy
I watched went up in Wisconsin and watching and play
they It was interesting to me to watch each one
of them with their style and then how it how
it defined on the itself on the basketball court. You know,
Luke was such a physical guy and a guy who
took blows and delivered blows. And you know, Jimmers was
one of those guys who tried to stay away from
the contact and but but be really skilled, you know.
And uh he was fast, and he was had good size.
He could get himself open and he he didn't miss
anything throw and thrown near him. You know.
Speaker 2: Yeah, you know, you got to see a couple of
these guys that could play football and basketball, the Calfusi,
the Kafusi crew, you know, and and uh, you know,
there's not that many of those guys that that can
truly play ball two sports at the same time at
a fairly high level.
Speaker 1: Uh, it's it's truly unique.
Speaker 2: What did you make of Like, did you believe that
that Bronson and Corby could make the impact that they
did while they were playing basketball?
Speaker 1: And and uh, you know, I.
Speaker 2: Know Corbyn started off in hoop and then went to
football and Bronson I think was football then to basketball.
But give me your perspective on those dual sport athletes.
Speaker 3: Yeah, we we had. We had a really interesting time
in both of their the way they fit uh in
in our our on our rosters. And I don't think
either one of them came to be why you thinking
that you know that you're promise that this is going
to happen, and then this will happen, and then this
will happen. They they just made it happen. And and uh,
you know, Corbyn's situation kind of developed because the position
that they wanted him to play in the position that
he was asked to play wasn't you know, on the
same page. And so he came to play basketball, and
we really needed a big kid with that could move
and and not necessarily an offensive guy, but a guy
who could just really help us physically down low. And
and then Bronson was was later. It was after the
year we had a couple of a couple of injuries
and then he came in and helped us and and
he was so good that that year that he he
played the next year we kind of held the spot
for him. So I think I think that Bolton were
a little bit different, but it is amazing. You've got
to be pretty dedicated and uh, you know, a pretty
significant athlete as far as your uh, your skill level
is concerned. That they were both really fun to coach
and really really great competitors. You know, Corvenstein was uh
you know, we we those were the teams. He still
has the distinction of being the only b y U
player uh to play in Spokane and not get beat.
And uh so that the years that he was on
our team was in that run when we won three
in a row up there.
Speaker 2: So yeah, I want to say Kelly olinek never wants
to see a CAFUSI ever again.
Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I think Kelly's done pretty good
for himself, hadn't he?
Speaker 1: Yeah, yes, he has no doubt. We wish him well. Uh.
Speaker 2: Talking with Dave Rose here on your Utah ESPN Radio
Network Greatest Coach and b with you basketball history, when
did you know going back to Jimmer, when did you know,
like You're like, Jim Er is going to be special.
He's going to be like he's going to have a singular,
iconic type of career at b YU. At what point
did you did it kind of clicking You're like this
kid's going to be special.
Speaker 3: Well, you know, I knew he was going to be
a good player for us. And you know, I didn't
know when that would be every kid, you know, back
in the day when you recruited your kids that you
thought that he could keep them around for a year,
then maybe they'd go on a mission, then maybe come
back to their juice sophomore year and help you, and then
their junior senior year that'd be real players for you.
And that's kind of how had gone for a while.
And and then then it just broke the mold. I mean,
you get you know, guys like Tyler Hawes that played
their freshman year and Kyle collins Worth placed his freshman year,
and they turned out to be really good players. But
they really helped us early in their careers, I mean
when they first got there. And uh and Jimmers was
you know, he really helped us his freshman year, but
he never started a game. Uh. You know, Ben Murdoch
was our was our point guard. And in today's world,
I think if a coach did that to a kid
like Jimmy, you'd probably lose them. You never see him
again after his freshman year. And we were lucky enough
that Jimmer came back and then his sophomore year, he
just proved everybody on our staff that he was the
point guard of the future. And he started the first game,
and I think he started every game except for one
maybe he wasn't able to play, Uh, maybe a game
in Texas El Paso or something like that. But he
we were lucky to have for three straight years of
our starting point guard, and those records were all pretty good. Man.
Speaker 1: It was great watching him, There's no doubt about it.
Speaker 2: And Uh definitely Uh one of the most unique players
in bau basketball history. And bas Uh has another most
unique basketball player right now with a J. D.
Speaker 1: Bontsa. Uh, He's gonna be one and done.
Speaker 2: He may be the first overall pick in the NBA draft,
the best draft bi Boas produced all time, with Sean
Bradley at number two. I believe that in the ninety
three NBA draft after he returned home from his mission,
Uh and Uh obviously Yegor went in the top ten.
Jimmer was a top ten pick as well. And Uh,
Byu has AJ. Now what what do you what do
you seeing?
Speaker 1: AJ?
Speaker 2: I mean, how special is it what we're watching at
Byu and what AJ is capable of being and doing well?
Speaker 3: I mean just when you consider his age, he's so
young man, and he's just so dominant. Uh, And you know,
I think that uh, you know, the top the top
this part is we have those young young players, is
they're experiencing all this for the first time, and so
somebody else has really happened to to be the you know,
the maybe emotional or intellectual, spiritual leader of this group,
you know, because Aj has experienced so many things. But
the physical leader of this group obviously is is AJ's
ability to get to the rim and to score points.
And he's a really good defensive defensive player. And I
think the fact that you've got him, you know, and
uh the other two, well you got the point guard
and then.
Speaker 1: And then Richie Saunders, that.
Speaker 3: Is the key that I mean. He's a fourth year
guy and the guy who's kind of been through all
the all the steps of a of a traditional you know,
b y U star and UH is really carrying a
a leadership role on that team as well as a
real scoring though too. And defensively he's gotten better. He's
a really good rebounded for a size and his position.
I mean, I really like to make up those three
guys and as the one thing coming out of the
of the Arizona Arizona game the other night. The loss
was really obviously disappointing to everybody, but to have some
other guys show up and really help and contribute late
in that game to really help, you know, b why
you down the stretch and as they as they continue
to play on and we just need a few more
guys to to make some baskets for him, that's for sure.
Speaker 1: You know.
Speaker 2: The bench scoring right, bench productivity. I put out a
poll today on social media. I asked who's the fourth
leading scorer on this BYU basketball team? So if I
asked you that question, Dave, Now, I'm not trying to
get trick you here.
Speaker 1: You know, it's just a question. I'm not trying to
make it look bad, right.
Speaker 2: Because you're not pulling all these data points like I
didn't know.
Speaker 1: I had no idea.
Speaker 2: I guessed it right, luckily because I knew it was
a trick question the person who asked me.
Speaker 1: But you got capa keda.
Speaker 2: You have Cannard Davis, Junior, Dawson Baker and Mihilo Boskovic.
Who's the who's the fourth leading score on this bo
basketball team?
Speaker 3: Well, it's a it's a it's a pure guess from me. Okay,
but I say, Dawson Baker, it is, It's.
Speaker 1: Right, exactly, No, it's Dawson, dude.
Speaker 3: No way. Is it really that he had some big
games early in the year and we really really missed
those points.
Speaker 1: He played in six games, Dave, only six games?
Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, yeah, that was a big blow to us.
You know, everybody was came out of that, you know,
feeling good, and we won that tournament and everything was good.
But the fact when we found out his season was over,
that that was a big blow. And I know it
obviously is a big blow to the coach staff and
there you know, these new guys that have jumped in
there in their role. It seems to be a game
by game situation thing. And at home you can get
away with you know a lot of guys who are
still trying to figure it out. But on the road
it really shortens your rotation and you really you really
need to have more guys or you get tired. And
you see what happened at Texas Tech. I mean, the
damage was all done in the last ten minutes. And
to me, it has to do with a lot to
do with fatigue and the fact that you know and
not that they're playing too many minutes or so many minutes.
But playing on the road is a different animal than
playing on the road, I mean then playing at home.
And we've got some really tough road games ahead of
us here and obviously when coming up this weekend.
Speaker 2: Yeah, the bench scoring, bench productivity, you wonder where it's
going to come for that's been a question on our minds,
and so let me ask you this. You know, there's
a component of practice. You've seen so many hours of practice,
you feel like you know your team, You feel like
you know your team, and you have your rotation. But
in answers the game scenario, and a guy like Alexi
Coastick all of a sudden comes in off the bench,
hits two threes and actually plays with a good defense.
Speaker 1: But up to that.
Speaker 2: Point you kind of had him on the outskirts. It's like,
how do you figure out when's the time for a
guy like Alexi Coasti to see more minutes when practice?
Maybe not, maybe it's not the key indicator of how
he's going to play in the game.
Speaker 3: Yeah, And I think that sometimes when you just look
at it, you think well, if he can do it
in this game, he can do it in that game.
And sometimes with those younger guys and the newer guys
trying to get experienced, it really is matchups. And if
he's the guard line is maybe a little bit big,
a little bit slower, uh than that lends itself to
this guy maybe being able to play a few more
minutes compared if it's a small, quick, really athletic group
but not a great scoring group, then you can get
away with maybe more of a defensive guy. And so
I think that's what you know, coaches trying to figure out, Well,
he's got to figure out he knows what he wants
to do and what he wants to do. But that's
what the fans are trying to figure out. Why some
guys are playing this game and then in that game,
and this guy hit two three his last game, why
doesn't he play the same amount this time? And and
and matchups? I think, really, really, and you're talking about
uh when you talk about you know, college coaches, they're
they're they're they're kind of match up guys. But NBA
guys are match up guys. You know, times ten, it's
all it's all about matchups and how you know you
guys fit in certain situations and uh, you know, so,
I think you're seeing a lot of that. But you know,
our depth on the bench, especially defensively and physicality and
files is a lot deeper than our you know, our
depth on the perimeter. And I think that we get
more minutes out of our perimeter guys at home than
we get out them out of them on the road,
and that needs to kind of switch, you know, it
just needs to equal out a little bit more.
Speaker 2: I think, well, what's should as to you about this
BAU basketball team in these three games?
Speaker 1: Right, you're down? What were they down?
Speaker 2: Like twenty two versus Yukon, They stormed back, They made
it into a one position ball game. Clemson they were
down twenty something points, they storm back, they find a
way to win. Uf A they're down nineteen, they storm
back at the Marriage Center and they have the last possession.
What does that tell you about this BOE basketball team?
Speaker 3: Well, I think I think it's kind of, you know,
a cliche. And then you know, all the announcers talk
about their streaking team, they're you know, not as good
in the first half as they are in the second half.
I tend to just look at at it like this,
this is a really good team throughout the entire game,
but it's it's it's really really good in the second half.
It's a great second half team. I think that that
they're they're lit. They play a little bit cautious in
the first half, and I'm and I don't know if
that's the right word, but to me, just as a
fan trying to look at it, is that they are
really concerned about getting themselves in foul trouble or not
getting themselves in foul trouble in the first half, those
three guys, And it may be I have a little
bit to do with that, but their physicality. I think
the way they play in the second half is what
lends them to be such a more dynamic second half team.
Is because they realize the game is a lot shorter
and they they you know, their minutes. You know, they
don't have to play thirty five minutes. You only got
to play whatever portion of those twenty minutes in the
second half they're going to play, and I think they
play with a lot more freedom with their intensity level,
if that makes any sense.
Speaker 2: Yeah, Pet, we've been trying to diagnose you know, why
is it? Why is it that this Boa basketball team
is the seventieth best first half team and they are
literally the best team in college basketball in the second
half of games. You partitioned it their efficiency, their productivity,
their defense, their offense.
Speaker 1: They are number one in the nation in the second half.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think that has a lot to do with
with coach and his ability to to kind of rest
those guys. I mean, to me, that part of the
game is really fun for me to watch. I was
there at court courtsight at the Clemson game, and you know,
at halftime, every BYU fan that you know I talked
to or talk to me, you know, they they thought
the game was over and we had no chance, and
you know, you just you just refer them to the
Yukon game. Now. I believe that every b y U
family watches this team believes, no matter what the score
is at halftime, that we're still in it and we
still got a chance. But you're talking about real three
really special guys as far as being able to score
the ball at the collegiate level. I mean, these three guys,
they're all prepared at a different point. You know, Rischie
with his experience and Robert Wright with his ability to
hand the ball, get to the basket, you know, shoot
three point shots, get to the free throw line of
an age is just a generational talent, you know. And
so I I really, uh, you know, I just love
watching the team. I think it's fun, and I think
coach has done a terrific job managing that group. And
it gets tough now. I mean, you played the second
half of your league schedule and then you go to
the league tournament and then the NCAA tournament. It's been
kind of, you know, really fun and enjoyable at this point.
But it's going to get pretty stressful here going down
the stretch, that's for sure.
Speaker 1: I mean, you've been around so much basketball.
Speaker 2: There's a certain element of talent, there's a certain element
of tenure.
Speaker 1: They get old, get old, stay old. Mantra. You've gone
to Sweet sixteen.
Speaker 2: You had the potential probably to go to an Elite
eight or maybe in the final four of some of
the talent that you had at b YU. I've always
said you need at least two NBA players in order
to get to their to the Sweet sixteen. If you've
got three NBA players, you're you're Elite eight or even better. Uh,
you got three NBA players right now, what's the ceiling
do you think of this boy basketball team?
Speaker 3: Well, I think that I mean you said it before.
I think I think what we're going to really determine
how far they go will be the their chemistry and
how they just how they continue to jail together or
if they've hit their best, you know, the best time
as a group, you know, in chemistry. Because because physically
Ballent wise is going to be good enough to get
him through a lot of games, most games, but when
you get into in a real you know, elite to
the top, you know fifteen, top twenty group in college basketball,
I mean, it takes way more than just you know,
your physical ability and it's going to be a group
that's together and it's you know, playing for the same
thing and tugging on the rope all the different things
that you want to you know, everybody has their own
way of you know, quantifying it, but basically it's, you know,
you've got to have great talent and great chemistry and
obviously you know they've they've got to have a really
good experience.
Speaker 2: Dave Rose. Ladies and gentlemen talking to bau basketball. Final
thing for me, Dave, appreciate your time. Thanks for talking
some ball with us today on this Cougar Sports show.
Uh how does uh? How does uh?
Speaker 1: You know?
Speaker 2: B what you bounce back after that that loss versus
you of a h They they they're taking on Kansas
in uh in fog Allen, Darren Peterson, one of the
best scorers in college basketball.
Speaker 1: Going to be head to head with A J. D. Bonts.
Speaker 2: How do your bets back off to after a loss
like that on your home court?
Speaker 3: Well, I, you know, I hope that it's it's a
you know, a really kind of a runaway game, kind
of like the way that we got them at our
place last year. But I don't think that that's what
we're looking into. I think it's gonna be a really hot,
hard fought game. You got to the best young players
you know in collegiate basketball that are playing against each other.
And I mean I saw I think today that it's
a one thousandth game in uh hug Allen the field House,
and so I think that you're going to have a
real real battle and if the visitor can come out
with a win on Saturday night, they're capable of winning
any game anywhere, anytime, so hopefully we can get that done.
Speaker 1: We appreciate you.
Speaker 2: Thanks so much for joining us, Thanks for talking some
gym or some ball, some football and basketball. You you
probably could have been a pretty good tight end, right,
which one would it have been?
Speaker 1: No?
Speaker 3: My high school coach my senior year tried hard to
get me to come play football, and I was living
in Texas, so obviously I was waiting to him on
the on the basketball floor and h I tried to
make a deal with him, if you know that, come play,
if if I could still play your workout with the
basketball team during football season. He said no, no, so
he didn't deal with we did I did play baseball.
I convinced the baseball coach, so I played. And I
actually played baseball and basketball at Dixie College when I
was in junior college. So they u but the football
was not going to share anybody with anybody.
Speaker 2: But wouldn't it been great if you would have You
would have done two things. I would have put you
as a specialist. You block field goals right just running
up and jumping in the middle. It's your vertical and
your length and your height. And you would be a
goal line receiver tighten just split off, you know, we'd
throw the fade route, maybe a slant every now and again. Uh,
a little little fade stop to the back shoulder.
Speaker 1: That's it.
Speaker 2: You would just be a specialist. They got specialists everywhere.
Why not be a specialist. If that was case, you
would have done it right.
Speaker 3: Oh yeah, that's how the that's how the the the
youth used Kta Blona. I know it's your senior and
Ed the Broncos even drafted him to do it, you know, yes,
so uh yeah, it's it's a real thing nowadays. If
all you have to do is hike five times in
the game, and you can be the long snapper.
Speaker 1: You know.
Speaker 3: I love it.
Speaker 1: And what what was your? What was your? Because you pitched,
didn't you?
Speaker 3: I was a pitcher in junior college, and uh I
didn't pitch a lot in high school. I Uh, I
don't know. I just I played baseball for fun.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 3: Basketball was what I always really wanted to do, and
I loved it and and baseball was kind of a
and I think that if I would have played baseball
like serious, I probably wouldn't have been as relaxed and
probably wouldn't have been as good. But uh, I do
think that, uh, you know, playing two sports is is
pretty healthy for guys, and guys can really get caught up.
It's just so hard nowadays, you know, because everybody's so
skilled and there's so much time put into your physical
strength training and your you know, your diet and everything,
and for every sport it's just a little bit different,
and so uh you know, guys are are. I think
that's why they're so much better. I think we're watching
a product on the floor that is so much better
as far as five athletes on one team against five
really as a lot of guys on another team that
are really skilled. And uh that's why these these games
are so exciting, so so uh you know, just fun
to watch.
Speaker 1: Dave Rose, Ladies and gentlemen. Dave, thanks so much for
joining us. Brother. We'll catch up at the end soon.
Thanks so much.
Speaker 3: All right, thanks, guys, we'll see you there you go.
Speaker 2: There's Dave Rose, the goat of head coaching at BYU
for b A men's basketball Great segment. Guys always love
learning from Dave. Great insight, great knowledge they're bestowed upon us.
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One of three, nine ninety eight point three