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v Goat of BYU Men's basketball and uh, he's gonna
pontificate You're going to discuss this Baya men's basketball, how
far they can go in this NC DOUBLEA tournament, and
what it takes to get to an NC DOUBLEA tournament
in consecutive years.
Speaker 3: By he's on.
Speaker 2: A three game uh three, three year streak right now,
and we're so we're gonna delve into all the knicks
and crannies as it pertains to March Madness and BAU basketball.
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nine that's Central Garage Utah dot com. All right, let's
welcome in the greatest head coach in bou basketball history.
We got Dave Rose on the last Dave, how you
live in March madness, the most wonderful time of the year.
Speaker 5: Well, guys, I'm doing well. We're We're in Saint George today,
the sun shining. It's going to be in the nineties
in the middle of March, which is kind of interesting.
But I'm enjoying, enjoying the game so far. And we
got back from Kansas City. We went to the Big
Twelve Tournament, and that will be pretty hard to top.
I mean, that tournament's as good as any tournament in
college basketball. And I'm that's the second year in a
row I've been to it. I really like going there.
You see some really good teams, that's for sure.
Speaker 2: You make a really interesting point to start off this interview.
There's been talk from certain teams, from certain new teams
right new coaching stats that are part of the Big Twelve.
They say, hey, we're gonna move the Big Twelve Tournament
to Vegas. I say, keep it in Kansas City.
Speaker 3: They do. They do an awesome job there.
Speaker 2: I mean, it's all in on Big Twelve Tournament basketball there.
Speaker 3: But give me your thoughts on it.
Speaker 5: Yeah, I think you'll have a hard time ripping that
thing out of the Midwest. You they've they I think
they voted a renewed that contract maybe a year ago
or so, and I'm thinking there for another eight or
nine years. I don't know that for sure, but that's
kind of what I've heard. You know, Vegas tries to
get them all because they have the attraction to bring
all the tourists to Vegas. But I think I think
that Big twelve may be hard to rip away from
those guys. And I know if you ask the Iowa
State fans and the Kansas fans, they sure don't want
it to move, that's for sure, because the Iowa State
games and the Kansas games, you know, early in those tournaments,
it's amazing how they come out to support their teams,
that's for sure.
Speaker 2: Dave, you have the records, is the head coach of
b YU for most consecutive Burth appearances in in the
NCAA tournament. You know, it's it's a it's a feat
that you know, why may may be able to top.
Speaker 3: Right.
Speaker 2: We're on a bit of a role here right now
with a you know, there's a lot of resource allocation, uh,
not only internally within the staff but also with the personnel.
Speaker 3: It's pretty cool to see that.
Speaker 2: But you know, explain to me what that feat meant
to you to have consecutive year after year after year
going to the Big Dance and not just you know,
just getting there, but winning games as well. What did
that mean to you as a as a head coach
and as a staff that you had put together and
these teams you put together.
Speaker 5: Well, I think that that was one of the one
of the real goals of mind, as you know, became
the head coach of the assistant coach there for eight years,
but I followed obviously BYU basketball for years and and
it's so hard to be really consistent, you know, with
your teams being really good year after year after year
at b YU because of the change, the constant change
of your roster with missions and kids you know, leaving
for a couple of years and then coming back, and
you know, so you're always trying to build that. The
transfer portal was totally different. You know, kids didn't want
to transfer near as much because they hadn't set out
a whole year from playing competitively in the teams, and
so it was hard when you got you got some
injuries or you got issues. It's hard to fix your
roster over the summer, you know, because you're really you
got to do it with young kids or kids that
you're trying to sign out of high school. So I
don't know if you can compare it to today's world
where you can go get your get ahead coaching job
at all, fifteen of your kids leave and you put
your team together and the next thing, you know, seven
to eight months later, you're in the NCAA tournament. Because
you can recruit older old I mean, you get older guys,
you can get younger guys, you can get a whole
mix of different type of players to put your roster
and your team together. But so that that was one
of the things that we tried to do was some
us was win was number one, but to be consistent
winning year after year after year. And I will tell
you this, getting to the NCAA tournament, UH is way
different than winning in the NCAA tournament. I mean we
went to the SCAA tournament three or four years before
we won our first game, and my I goodness that
that that creates more pressure to get in the tournament
and not win year after year more than not getting
into the tournament itself, and that year we ended up
beating Florida and over time, I think we were in
Oklahoma City that year and my goodness, that was a
big win. And I think we got a couple more
wins after that, but that first one was a big
one for us.
Speaker 2: And you mentioned as an assistant coach you were there,
I mean in the rebuild in the Steve Cleveland era,
I think went to you guys went to three n
CUAA tournaments and you lost in the first round in
all three ventures.
Speaker 3: But you didn't get very good draws. I mean, like
you know what I mean.
Speaker 2: It was like, we're gonna relegate you to the most
difficult games, uh, and the most difficult opponents in this
Thursday Saturday type of bracket. It always felt like they
wanted you guys out and and then sometimes they actually
put you in the Sunday bracket, so they really wanted
you guys out ace apps that they didn't have to
reschedule anybody.
Speaker 5: Yeah, the the no Sunday play for BYU is not
any type of advantage in that NAA tournament. They they
don't like that committee does not like being told what
they have to do. And when BYU comes in and
qualifies or or gets close to the you know, get
invited into the tournament, they have asterisk by their name.
They can't play on Sunday, and uh that doesn't make
him happy. I remember when we were when I was
on Steve Cleveland staff, we made the three tournaments. We
played Cincinnati, we played Syracuse, and we played Connecticut. So
they had uh some pretty good traditional powers of the
NCAA tournament.
Speaker 2: Well, let me let me interject here. I think in
when you guys played Yukon, I want to say Syracuse
ended up winning the Natty. It was like inverse right,
they had ameccha Oka for the best player in college basketball, right,
and then I believe it was uh mechnamara that went
off versus that three to H four team.
Speaker 3: And I think.
Speaker 2: Beaheim has listed has has actually said that McNamara is
like one of his favorite players all time. They want
he was like the gimmer for dad of Syracuse at
that time, that's how good he was.
Speaker 3: So you guys got tough for Oss.
Speaker 5: Yeah, Ben Ben Gordon wasn't a bad player either. Kids
for Yukon, and so you know, we I learned a
lot as an assistant for Steve watching how that that
tournament you know, kind of was put together. And I
you know, I mean when I played at Houston or
the number one seed my senior year, and the seeding
really matters. It really matters in your ability to be successful.
Everybody always talks about, well this team did it well,
that team did it well, yeah they did, but four
other teams or ten other teams or twelve other teams
didn't do it that year and the one team did
do it. And so if you're always expected to be,
you know, the one off of ten, twelve, fifteen different teams,
it makes it really, you know, you really tough. And
so I was just glad when we got that first
win and uh, and it it really took a lot
of pressure off, that's for sure.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 2: I mean those three years in the in the Cleveland era,
you got twelve seeds every single time. It's hard to had,
it's hard to survive in advance in those and uh,
in O six oh seven, got an eight seed, and
it was like three consecutive eight seeds, and then you
got a seven seed in nine, eight O nine or sorry,
two thousand and nine, twenty ten, and then finally that
three seed in twenty ten, twenty eleven, which gave you
a better path to get to your your Sweet sixteen
and that regional semi final.
Speaker 5: Yeah, and then I think since then, uh well coach
Pope made it in there a couple of times, but
before nil showed up. But now you know the way
it works now. I think that that really, you know,
you can expect to have a good team every year,
and and and and and put your the seedings decide.
I think that b YU this year, if they wouldn't
have had the injuries that they had, you know that
they could have looked they could have been looking at
anywhere from a two to four seed you know this year,
and uh maybe a number one seeds if they'd have
got hot and things would have worked for them. But
I think that's what's exciting the most exciting about b
YU basketball right now is that I think everybody can
look at this and cheer for their team and cheer
for the Cougars with the real you know, realistically believing
that they and you know, make the Sweet sixteen every year.
If you if you can make that or get seeded
to that, that that spot in the tournament. I think
your chances are making it, uh are obviously much better,
but then your chance to advance from there, you know,
really become a kind of more of a real reality
than a kind of a pipe dream, you know, something
you hope for, you know.
Speaker 2: Dave, outside of that sweet sixteen run, and we all
know that's got to be your most memorable and maybe the.
Speaker 3: Most you know, just enjoyable, uh.
Speaker 2: You know year for you as a head coach, but
you have like a runner up to like most memorable
like season or most memorable morning the nc DOUAA tournament
outside of that that jimmer for that Jimmermania era.
Speaker 5: Well, you know, I think that every year is really
mean to me personally as a coach, as a former coach.
Every year, the end of the year is hard. It's
really hard because we never won the last game that
we played and so but you but when you when
everything sells down a week or two or a month
later and you think back on your team, you're you're
really appreciate, you know what those kids gave you for
that year, and I mean exciting times. You remember, I
remember the the time we got sent to Dayton and
we got down twenty five or twenty six points, you
know before the game started, and ended up coming back
and winning the game. And uh, and then we went
to Dayton again and we you know, we we came
with with no way we're going to get down twenty
five this time, so we got up twenty five and
then we ended up losing the game. And so, I mean,
we've had a lot of different experiences as far as
postseason is concerned. We had a couple of good n
T runs where we made it back to you know,
Madison Square Garden and but you know, the postseason is
a is a really uh special time with your team
because it's it's a reward for how much work you've
put into it and for the success that you've earned.
But also it's it's a pretty sad time because that's
the last once you get beat, that's the last time
that grew is going to be together. So there's a
lot of emotions that you're going to see kind of
come through that TV here in the next couple of
weeks on every team, because it's it's really a it's
a it's just kind of a heart wrenching the you know,
a time of year and only one team is going
to get what they really want, you.
Speaker 3: Know, no doubt about it.
Speaker 2: What are the key differentiators actually winning in March outside
of seating. I think that's a big one, right, But
what would you say, kind of putting your finger on something,
say hey, like this is what allowed us to survive
in advance, uh in in these scenarios and and and
get past at least the first round.
Speaker 5: I think a lot of a lot of what really
is so important is the health of your team. And
there's a lot of teams out there that are playing
right now, uh not at one hundred percent, and they
may have all their players, but their players aren't all right.
You know, they're all and injuries and they're all dealing
with issues. And then you obviously you know the teams
that are you know, down players by us down some players,
dukes down some players. You know, you see, I think
Arkansas Alabama lost the player the other day. I mean,
to have all your players and to be healthy is
a real key. Arizona's down a couple of players. I
think they got a kid hurt in the Big twelve tournament.
So I think that's a really big factor, and it's
it's something that isn't really advertised I don't think your
coaches out go out and advertise, you know, how many
hours a day that this guy's in the training room
and that guy's in the training room trying to get
put together so that he can be out there. But
the healthier team is really important this time of the year.
Speaker 3: Yeah, it's pretty massive.
Speaker 2: Look I look back at you know, some of your
runs and like, you know, health concerns and and it
always seems like there was like this little like a
little injury here or there that that deviated her, or
some roster attrition here there that deviated the course. Right,
And Uh, you gotta have a little luck on your
on your side, is what I'm getting at.
Speaker 5: Yeah, we we we went to UH a turn. I
think I think we played Oregon somewhere, I can't remember
where it was. Well, we played Oregon in the first
round without Kyle Collinsworth, who was our leading score and
are leading assist guy, because he blew out his knee
and UH in the w CC tournament. So but for
the most part, I think for UH to be late
in the year, I think I think we were pretty
pretty healthy. Tyler has got hurt late in the season
among the year kind of limped in with him. But
it's I if you really could sit down and talk
with coaches and they would actually tell you the truth,
you know, which you never will get to that point
because everybody protects themselves. But if they would, they would
I think they would really talk a lot about the
health of their team because going into the tournament.
Speaker 3: Yeah, well, give me some keys to this game.
Speaker 2: I don't know if you've watched any Texas ball or
you're able to catch that playing game with Texas Versidence State,
But what are some of the keys to the game.
Do you think for b YU to come out victorious
over the Longhorns this go around?
Speaker 5: Well, I think the pace of the game will be
really important. You know, b YU likes an up temple
pace and and Texas will they'll try to slow you down.
I mean, we played John Miller a few times when
I was at b YU. One time when he was
at we played him in Kentucky and Lexington in the tournament,
and then we played them when he was at Arizona
and Sean. He's a hard nosed guy. He likes to hell.
They'll guard you really hard, they'll try to really control
the pace. They're playing really fast, this year and uh,
and so I think the tempo of the game, if
we can get the game up and down the floor,
I think that that will be the b why use
advantage obviously, you know, with them playing the game just
twenty four hours ago or forty eight hours ago, their
size will be a real factor. I think that that
that they'll really pound that ball at the baskets or
our three big guys will probably have to use all
their fouls and be really physical and it'll be really
uh uh, you know, kind of a game that's really
tough around the rim. But hopefully that you know, A
j and Rob are both you know, playing well offensively,
because that's those are obviously our two best offensive players.
And we have options besides that. But it's uh, but
those two have to be solid for for for for
us to win all the as many games as we
can win in this tournament.
Speaker 2: Dave Rose the Goat to the Big Dance five times
in a row. He went to the Big Dance, it
seemed every single year as he was coaching up the
BYU Cougars and gives you his keys to the game. Here, Dave,
we're up against the break, but always a pleasure, always
a blessing, talking ball with you, enjoy all the games.
I want to see your bracket. Could you put out
your official bracket for us so we can follow it
like we should be doing like this BYU celebrity bracket
thing where we're following it.
Speaker 3: Did you fill out a bracket?
Speaker 5: By the way, our family has always done one, and
so yeah, I put one together this year.
Speaker 3: Would you post it? Would you post or send it
to me? Send it to me to post. I want
to see this there.
Speaker 5: Last year I got really tricky and I thought I
could outthink the committee, and this year I kind of
I went with the higher seat on every game. So
we'll go. It's quite They do a lot of work
try to put this thing together, and so I trusted
them a lot this year.
Speaker 3: All right, Well it could be chocked this year, no
doubt about it. Dave.
Speaker 2: We salute you, We appreciate you man. Thanks for hopping
on and talking some ball.
Speaker 3: With us today.
Speaker 5: Okay, thanks a lot, guys.
Speaker 2: There you go, there's Dave Rose, ladies and gentlemen, and
that's our show. We got tip off now. VYU men's
basketball taking on the Texas Longhorn first round of the
NC DOUAA Tournament.
Speaker 3: There's already been ups and downs.
Speaker 2: There's been shocks and oz in the NCAA tournament thus far.
Hopefully BYU gets the dub versus Longhorns, Big COUGARO everyone
that joined us. Big Cougar AR to all of our sponsors.
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