This game followed a pattern that I suspect will be one that follows this team most of the year. The scoring is coming from the backcourt and there is a lack of any threat from the big men. There is a lot of potential in Nielsen and Kaufusi but they are freshman and need a lot of coaching. When you look to the future you will see these two and the addition of Mika and Dastrup.

I do believe that if either Aytes or Davis had been eligible (or healthy) to be on this team we would be undefeated right now. Both are scorers down in the post and Davis is an aggressive rebounder and defender.

Worthington has been giving it everything he has but in reality he is just a big body in the middle and does not know what to do with the ball when he gets it. I have been optimistic that he would develop, and he may yet, but at this point he is just taking up space. I suspect that he may force Rose to make a decision at the end of the season. Austin is just slightly better than Worthington in that he is a better rebounder and slightly better defender but has not offensive skills either.

Neilson shows that he is developing faster than I expected. He shows a good basketball IQ and more mobility that I thought he would had. We have always been told that he could stretch the floor and early games have shown he has that skill. I would like to see him get more minutes. Kaufusi is still a project, period. Can defend the rim but nothing more.

Collins worth continues to fill the stat sheet and I was very concerned when he left the game with a slight limp. Nothing could hurt this team more than losing him for an extended period of time. Haws does what he does and to be honest I thought he would knock down the game winner at the end when he got a pretty good open look. I think the only criticism is that there are times in the game when he forces the shot but that is a minor criticism. Fischer looked great one day and then could not hit anything the next. Every shot he took today (2-11) was from beyond the arc and I think he should look to get a bit closer when the jumper is coming up short.

Winder is the sixth man on the team and he brings energy and effort, as well as scoring. I want him to continue in that role and when Fischer is not hitting his minutes will increase. Because the four guards are interchangeable he can fill in for any of the starting three.

Halford should not see any meaningful minutes in any game that is still in doubt.

We say very little of Bartley today and that tells me that Rose is losing confidence in him. He is a great athlete but perhaps he is not a great basketball player.

I was surprised that we did not see Andrus today based on the foul trouble our bigs were in. That should tell you his role on this team. I maintain that he would have been better off going on a mission first. Same for Nixon. Nixon has some offensive skills but he is a real liability on defense. He cannot keep a small forward away from the basket and it not physical enough to really defend a power forward.

The future of the program is still great. When you look at Mika, Dastrup, Emery and TJ Haws you see four good players. You have Braiden Shaw and if we get Frank Jackson that is a strong group.

The officiating in today's game was extremely inconsistent and there is not bigger complaint that can be lodged against officials. They were calling touch fouls at times and at others letting them bank away. BYU got the short end of the inadvertent whistle but it was the correct application of the rule. I applaud the official for admitting his mistake because I am reminded of Lonnie Dixon failing to do so in the New Mexico game years ago, allowing Mark Bigelow to be pilloried in the media for coming on the court and ultimately allowing the Lobos to win the game.