Five for Five

Rivalry Saturday:

It’s always fun to watch rivalry Saturday. It seems to start earlier and earlier each year. This year, it was nice for some teams who have been dominated of late to get wins.

First of all, I have to applaud the Florida State Seminoles. They had not beaten Florida in six years before that game yesterday, and they flat out dominated them. So what if Florida is a bit down this year? Florida State played well. The ACC title game between FSU and Va. Tech will be great! Additionally, FSU beat Florida and Miami in the same season for the first time since 1999. Great job to them!

A big thanks to the Arkansas Razorbacks as well. Thank you for beating LSU. There was talk that the Tigers may sneak in to the National title if certain chips fell. No. That would have been a mistake. LSU has no business being there and thank goodness Arkansas stepped up.

Finally, the Michigan Wolverines got dominated by Ohio State, again. I can’t stand Ohio State. But, Michigan’s defense couldn’t stop a group of second graders. I have to admit though, I want Ohio State to get the Rose Bowl bid. I want them to play TCU and have TCU stomp them flat. After what their president said this past week about TCU, it would be justice served. Someone from Ohio State telling another school that they don’t belong in the title game is so ironic that I doubt he caught it himself.

BYU basketball:

Admittedly, I have been watching a lot of football and have not had a chance to watch too much basketball in the early going. Still, from what I have seen, I have a hard time believing that there is a better starting backcourt in the country than Jimmer Freddette and Jackson Emery.

We all know about Jimmer, preseason all-everything. Last year, he became an ESPN darling during the first round of the Big Dance. This year, he hasn’t disappointed. Picking up right where he left off. I don’t know how Jimmer will do in the pros, but he is a stud college point guard.

Emery is the perfect compliment. He is a dead-eye shooter, a lock down defender, quick, and athletic. All of these things help tremendously. Jimmer does not have to guard the opponent’s top guard, he does not have to put out as much effort on that end.

If Brandon Davies can become a reliable 13 to 15 point scorer in the post, this team has the veterans in the backcourt and the right stuff to really make a run this year. And when I say “really make a run”, I mean Elite-8 type of run.

Utah basketball:

Well, the team started out 3-0, competed for 35 minutes against Utah State, and then had Oral Roberts absolutely shoot the lights out at home.

What can we make of this team?

Replacing Marshall Henderson, Carlon Brown, Luka Drca, and Kim Tillie with Will Clyburn, Josh Watkins, and Antonio DiMaria has been great. Additionally, JJ O’Brien looked awesome before he went down with an injury.

This team has better chemistry than last years. Clearly, this team is building for next year and beyond. But this year still has possibilities.

The offense has improved by leaps and bounds. With Drca running the point, the team often stood around and aimlessly passed the ball around until someone had an open 3, or the shot clock wound down. This year, there is diversity and excitement.

With Watkins, aka “Jiggy” they are really moving better and getting better shots. They are also getting out and running. Clyburn has been scoring in bunches. Utah has not had a dominant wing scorer like Clyburn since the days of Nick Jacobson.

Last season, David Foster and Jace Tavita were in the starting lineup and both played big minutes. Both are outstanding defensive players, but neither could toss a basketball into the ocean from the beach. Having them assigned to come off the bench for specific stretches with specific roles has been beneficial to the team as a whole.

What will we see from this team for the rest of the year?

They will make some noise in the conference play. No one will want to play in the Huntsman center. Probably a third place finish is the best-case scenario this year. There will also be frustrating losses as this team grows together. That, and the fact that that has been a hallmark of Jim Boylen’s tenure as head coach.
Either way, the future looks good for this team.

Get the rebound!

I had a great coach in Junior Jazz. To this day, I can still hear him whenever I am playing and a shot goes up.

“Re-bound it!”

He taught us through the years that you cannot win games if you don’t rebound. You have to get the ball.

The two best rebounders that I have ever seen were short. Dennis Rodman stood at 6’7” while Charles Barkley was listed at 6’6”. (Barkley, by most accounts, was actually 6’4” or 6’5”).

How did they do it, when they were going up against guys half a foot taller? Well, they both had “quick ups”; they could get off their feet quickly. But what really set them apart is that they WANTED the ball more than the other guy. They wanted it; and they went out and got it.

The Jazz are starting to take a lesson from these guys.

Against the Lakers on Friday night, the Jazz found a way to win the rebounding battle. Despite going up against Pau Gasol (listed at 7 feet tall, I have stood next to him and would say that 7’2 is probably more accurate.) and Lamar Odom 6’11”, Utah’s Paul Millsap, Al Jefferson, and Andrei Kirilenko were able to hold their own. Not allowing second chance points was huge and will continue to be huge as this Jazz team continues on this year.

Brandon Burton:

My player spotlight this week is on Brandon Burton. For years to come, when Utah fans and BYU fans debate, the Ute fans will respond to “Harline is still open” and “George is still running” with “Burton is still unblocked.

In case you missed it,here is the link to his game winning play yesterday against BYU.

Truth is, Burton actually saved the season for the Utes against San Diego State. Let’s be honest, Utah was dying slowly. San Diego State was taking it to them. After two straight blowouts, the Utes looked to be going for a third. SDSU was up 27-17 and driving deep in Utah territory.

Burton intercepts a pass and sets up a Utah score to make it 27-24 going into halftime. Without that, Utah would have been dead. With a hit in confidence, they probably would not have beaten BYU, and a once promising season would have gone from 8-0, to 8-4, along with every shred of national credibility.

But “B-Burt” stepped up and gave the team the shot it needed.

On opening night against Pitt, the 6’0” Burton drew the assignment to cover 6’5” All-American John Baldwin. Twice, Burton beat Baldwin when the ball was up for grabs, making Baldwin a non-factor. He wanted it more than his opponent. He did it then, and he’s done it all year.

The junior just might turn pro early. He is better than Sean Smith, Brice McCain, and RJ Stanford, who have been drafted the last two years. If he decides to stay on board as the Utes head to the Pac-12, the whole country will learn that you just shouldn’t throw the ball towards Burton.