Welcome to CrashUtah – Where BYU fans Talk Sports

BYU’s early season success was due in large part to a few basic basketball principles. They played great help defense, they made the extra pass giving up a good shot for a better one, and along those same lines they played with a team first mentality.

Starting with a Dec. 20 loss at Arizona St., they started to drift away from those basic principles. Their defense appeared to get lazy. Their passing was inaccurate, and in short supply, and the cohesion of the team as a whole was lacking.

It was frustrating to see them come so close to knocking off two ranked opponents only to fall short at the end of both games.

It is hard to understand why teams change their style when it is successful, but it is not usually a concious decision.

No one decides they want to play poorly, they simply drift into bad habits that cost them games at the end. You also cannot discount the ability of opposing teams to impose their style on their opponents. Quality teams play their style no matter what, and whatever team holds true to their gameplan is usually the victor.

Luckily for BYU fans, this team has rediscovered their style and it is working to quite beautifully. In today’s dominant victory over TCU, BYU got back to basics.

Their defense was solid, repeatedly forcing TCU to kick it back out and take challenged shots. Chris Miles has really come into his own this season on both ends of the court, but especially on the defensive end. He was consistently strong on the low block and wasn’t giving up anything easy.

On offense they suddenly remembered how to pass the ball again. They were working it inside and out, and all around the perimeter. They were taking quality shots and giving it up when someone else had a better one. I was also impressed with the guard’s penetration, especially from the backups. The benefit of having such a quick, surehanded guard is immeasurable.

It was also nice to see a little fight back in the team. They seem to be playing with a little more of a killer instinct again. It is coming out at just the right time too. Now is the time for BYU to assert themselves on a national level so that when UNLV steals the most biased tournament in the country, they will still make it to the big dance.

It has been very nice of late to hear the names of Mountain West teams being mentioned on national sports shows. I have noticed that BYU is almost always mentioned as a quality win for Wake Forest.

Now I realize that being mentioned for losing a game is not exactly the best press you can have, but it says a lot about how far they have come as a program.

A huge part of that recognition is their dominance at home over the years. It is unfortunate that with their first quality opponent outside of the conference in years that they lost, but at least they put up a good fight. In some ways losing may actually have been good because they may be able to entice other quality schools into the Marriot Center and spring a few upsets.

In looking at early predictions for the NCAA tournament, I have also seen that writers are picking as many as 4 teams from the MWC. The four teams are BYU, Utah, UNLV, and San Diego St. It just goes to show that the conference as a whole is improving greatly, and that the balance of power across the country is being spread more evenly.

I also can’t help but think that the conference’s success in football has an impact on it. While having quality football teams does not directly impact your basketball team, it does lead to more attention for your school in general. The MWC is making a legitimate case for being included in the BCS and I can’t help but think that that is helping their case in basketball too.

So as much as it sucks having to go without a game this weekend, take heart in the fact that the conference is gaining respect, and that, more importantly, BYU is being noticed at a national level.

It has been quite awhile since I last wrote, I can thank my baby and job for that, but after reading a ton of comments about this story I just had to say something.

I am sure most of you are aware of the story. As I understand it Kyle Van Noy, a linebacker that was recruited by BYU, was pulled over for a dui last week. When sending in his letter of intent to BYU he included a letter apologizing to the coaches and the school for his actions.

Bronco offered him the ability to take back his letter of intent and go to a different school, or to wait a year and take care of his legal issues and prepare himself to be admitted to BYU in good standing, which was not required by BYU itself, but by Bronco. Van Noy stuck to his original commitment, and so did Bronco.

I simply cannot believe all of the completely stupid comments that people are making about this story.

First of all, the religious aspect. I have read numerous comments stating that because he violated the honor code he should never be admitted to BYU. What these people are saying is that if you want to be accepted to BYU you have to be perfect. Nevermind the true teachings of the gospel which give all people an opportunity to make mistakes, and then learn from them.

It would be a totally different story if he had tried to hide it and pretend it never happened. Instead he decided to come forward, admit that he was wrong, and in essence ask for help. Bronco did the right thing by offering that help, as long as he really wanted it.

How many other BYU students got DUI’s before they enrolled, but were given the chance to make changes and come to BYU in good standing. So many people want to say that the only reason he is being allowed to come is because he is a football player. I say that the only reason we heard about his DUI and not the DUI’s of who knows how many other students at BYU is because he was a football player. He is not being held to a lower standard, but simply a more visible standard.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not approving of his actions. Drunk driving is one of the most idiotic things you can do. Not only are you risking your own life, you are actually more likely to kill someone else through your actions. But, to say that if you make a mistake, however large, you cannot change and come to BYU is denying the very essence of the gospel.

From a football standpoint, this in no way helps BYU. Anyone who thinks that knows nothing about sports. This is going to force him to take a year away from football, with a whole lot of free time to possibly get into more trouble. Besides all of his free time, it will be a hinderment to him physically, as well as to his football instincts. After any extended time off you start to lose your edge a little.

Now I am not under the delusion that he will not be working out and training on his own, but he will not have the structured workouts that come with being a part of a team, and more importantly, he will not be giving and taking hits. At the very least, it is going to slow him down when he first comes back and has to reacclimate himself to not just the football he was used to in high school, but a faster, bigger and stronger football at the college level.

I also don’t agree with all of the comparisons between Kyle Whittingham and Bronco. Kyle is a good man just like Bronco. He is building a quality program based on whatever standards he sees as right. To say that one or the other has stepped away from those values because of separate DUI incidents at each school is childish. They each had unique situations that they responded to under the given circumstances and not one of us is in a position to judge what they did because we do not know all of the details.

I hope this isn’t digressing, but I also feel inclined to address the comments stating they were at parties where they saw BYU athletes and/or recruits drinking and thus breaking the honor code. My response is very simple: I am sure the athletes were not the only students there so why is it that you choose to single out the people that it would do the most damage too? It also dawns on me that you are probably a BYU student too, so what are you doing at a party like that if you are so perfect that you are in a position to judge other people?

My hat is off to Bronco for his handling of this situation. It would have been easy to simply tell this young kid go away and deal with your problems yourself. Instead he stuck with a guy that was very forthcoming about his problems and made a very clear statement. That the principles of the gospel, including repentance, are right at the top of his list where he says they are. He stuck to his commitment and may very well change this young man’s life forever.

To Kyle Van Noy, you screwed up big time, but my hat is off to you as well for allowing millions of judgemental BYU fans and other members of the church to criticize you for your actions. It says a lot about your TRUE character that you were willing to expose yourself to that in order to make a change in your life. You made a commitment, and when given the opportunity to take the easy way out and run away from your problems, you chose to take the high road and run into the fire head on. I look forward to watching you running into opposing running backs head on in 2010.