Against OU, TTU, and Duquesne we saw teams play small, run us off the three point line, and force BYU to finish in the paint. Unfortunately this was a major struggle for us, and I don't see Fouss turning into an elite punisher down low or expect Dallin or Richie to become incredible finishers around the basket.

The good news?

Well for starters all three of those teams relied upon Khalifa missing three pointers (or not playing in the case of the OU game), and I'm not sure that is sustainable for them. Khalifa shot us into a couple of games (Baylor and Houston come to mind) earlier in the year, and I think that TTU and Duquesne especially got a little lucky as Aly was injured and fasting. The fasting part won't go away but I think a healthy Khalifa can handle it better and will shoot a better percentage from three on the year overall next season.

The other reason for optimism is who is coming in-- Adams and Baker off of injury and Chandler and Davis as true freshman. Baker has the type of game where he can put up 15-20 points against an extended defense like we saw. Great touch/finishing ability in the short midrange, is a tough guard 1v1 on that part of the floor. Adams might be an even bigger add though as he gives us a 4 who can really punish teams for going small because he has better handles than Waterman and is bigger than Richie. Chandler is also a guy who profiles as a productive slasher with high end athleticism.

I really think the key to being a top 4 seed and winning some games in the tournament next year is getting Aly into the best shape of his life, and finding a balance of what we did this year and with a more traditional style of offense. I'd guess Pope will set the standard of threes a bit lower (we'll shoot ~30 per game) and hopefully we'll be able to handle the small, pressure style of defense thrown at us better.