Getting Lohner out of high school was a huge win for Pope - LDS, relatively highly rated, etc. Pope needed him to be the core (or a part of it), especially since Lohner wasn't a mission kid and we needed to bridge the gap until Hall/Saunders/Chandler could get back from missions. You've mentioned that it's hard for BYU to get non LDS athletes, and I agree. If Lohner would have panned out and progressed as I think Pope hopes/expected, then he's your junior star this year and I think everyone else fits into their roles better. But for whatever reason, he didn't progress, and then obviously left. In hoops, one guy becoming a star (or not) can really change things, and I think that set this program back as much as anything over the past 2-3 years.

The fact that he transferred wouldn't have changed much about this season, based upon what he's doing at Baylor. It's the fact that he never really got better, at least as a scorer or an alpha, that in large part put BYU where it's at right now.