The last time the Cougars had a great BB team, someone's misconduct caught up with them in late February. This year, the FB team looked like it had a chance for a storied season, only to lose the heart of the team to injuries. If those kinds of unpleasant risks go unrealized on this BB team, there could be some serious joy in Provo this winter.

Remarkable how similar some problems are for coaches at Gonzaga and BYU. Zags transfers and newcomers are more experienced and more high profile. We'll have to see if they prove to play stronger than BYU's newbies this season. But both have 17 players, with 10-11 worthy D-1 starters, and concern about keeping them all happy.

This season is setting up in such an interesting way for BYU. Zags are a known national power and BYU is an unknown one.

One difference is that no matter how Rose cuts it, two great players lead his team, perhaps two of the best 30-50 players in the nation. Don't know the Zags have lock down defenders who can handle KC and Haws one on one. Should they double, Rose has more than one third scorer available.

Gonzaga may be forced to use several of their bigs against BYU's plethora of unknown but promising post players.

There won't be a hint of concern about BYU's SOS this season and i really like the possibilities about how the stars may line up. Gonzaga is going to have a great team as expected, no question, and be very tough for BYU to beat. But BYU is going to have a great team that is not expected, which is part of what makes this season so exciting.