That's a Wrap

For me, the BYU Basketball season is never officially over until Dave Rose makes his closing remarks at the team's annual postseason awards banquet.

That event came and went last night, with team, conference and national honors handed out, along with farewells to one coach and four players.

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Three of the departing Cougars are seniors who were previously honored during BYU's final home game of the season. But in addition to Jimmer Fredette, Jackson Emery and Logan Magnusson, James Anderson also received his framed jersey in a senior send-off--a bit of a surprise to those in attendance.

While a junior in eligibility, Anderson is a senior academically, scheduled to graduate this spring. Already considering job offers in his chosen profession, he sat down with Coach Rose after the season and told him he would be leaving the basketball program and moving on.

While Anderson would still have had a year left to play in Provo, he has been around the BYU Basketball program for a long time, having committed to then head coach Steve Cleveland coming out of Page HS in Page, Arizona.

At last night's banquet, Anderson spoke of finding "brothers" at BYU, after having grown up with three sisters. In addition to his senior citation, Anderson received the team's "Coaches' Award" for his contributions this past season and throughout his BYU career.

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The rest of BYU's team awards--

Outstanding Player: Jimmer Fredette

Mr. BYU Basketball: Jackson Emery

Inspirational Player: Noah Hartsock

Competitive Spirit: Kyle Collinsworth

Sixth Man Award: Charles Abouo

Most Improved: Logan Magnusson

Best Conditioned Perimeter Player: Jackson Emery

Best Conditioned Post Player: Brandon Davies

Academic Excellence: Nick Martineau

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Also bidding farewell last night was Associate Head Coach Dave Rice. Following six seasons on BYU's bench, Rice is heading back to his alma mater to be the head coach at UNLV. Rice is already on the job and working hard in Las Vegas, and understandably referred to the Rebels as "my team" during his podium remarks.

Even with his strong UNLV ties, while he was at BYU, Rice was truly a Cougar, and he expressed his deep affinity for the program and his appreciation for Coach Rose, his fellow coaches and the players.

Rice said he would never have gotten the UNLV job were it not for his time at BYU, and he deflected credit for the Cougars' offensive success, saying it was just a matter of "getting the ball to the right guy, and there were a lot of 'right guys.'"

Rice has already made one solid hire in luring assistant coach Justin Hutson away from San Diego State. Hutson is known as one of if not the premier recruiters in the west, and will help Rice immeasurably and immediately. Rice is in conversations with former UNLV teammate and current Denver Nuggets assistant Stacey Augmon about one of the other openings on his staff.

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Rose was emotional as he spoke about Rice's departure, relating a conversation that took place almost six years ago as he and Rice had what Rose said was "about a three and a half hour" conversation as they drove "from Park City and ended up in Wyoming," talking about the possibility of Rice joining Rose's new staff, and the potential of the BYU Basketball program.

Rose says "almost everything" they projected could happen did happen during the last six seasons, with the exception of "maybe winning a couple more games a few weeks ago."

Rose also noted a calendar coincidence: he was introduced as BYU's head coach on April 11, 2005; Rice was introduced as UNLV's head coach on April 11, 2011.

Don't anticipate Rose and Rice facing each other anytime soon on the hardwoods. Neither coach is anxious to schedule the other, and the fact BYU and UNLV will be in separate conferences next season is fortuitous, relative to the coaches' professional and personal relationship.

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BYU had offered a scholarship to Western Nebraska Community College standout Hauns Brereton (who visited campus this past weekend), but the former LDS missionary has committed instead to the University of Hawai'i.

BYU has one open scholarship uncommitted for the upcoming season, with Anderson's departure creating the availability.

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The Cougars will get some NCAA-sanctioned full-squad practice time this summer, preceding the team's scheduled trip to Greece. An NCAA rule change allows incoming freshman to make those trips, so Damarcus Harrison is ticketed for the overseas journey. There is some question whether return missionary freshmen Nate Austin and Ian Harward will be back in time, while the school has yet to hear back on Matt Carlino's eligibility to travel.

Carlino will not be eligible to suit up for BYU until after Fall Semester, leaving his foreign trip participation a bit of a question mark.

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In response to the myriad media reports that BYU has asked Jimmer Fredette to stop attending classes because of his overwhelming popularity, Basketball Media Relations Director Kyle Chilton has issued this clarifying statement to those who have inquired about the situation:

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"BYU basketball player Jimmer Fredette has not been excused from his classes nor has the University instructed him not to attend class. Given his travel schedule, he has been working with individual professors to complete his coursework and prepare for upcoming final exams."

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Here's a funny little story that I hope Coach Rice won't mind me sharing, since I believe the Statute of Limitations runs out when a coach changes jobs :)

We were doing a sit-down interview some time in the latter part of the season, and in his wrap-up remarks during the interview, Rice kindly told me something along the lines of "and it's great having you as the 'Voice of the Rebels...' and continued for a few more seconds until he realized the slip. We both laughed, and he asked if we could please go back and re-start his closing remarks. Of course we did, a convenient edit was made, and it became an amusing anecdote for a later day.

I share the story to show that the Rebels were never too far from Rice's heart, and it's one of the reasons we who admire and appreciate him are so happy for him. Rice is returning to his hardwoods home, and in doing so, he has already done what some would consider unthinkable: he has turned some BYU fans into UNLV Basketball fans.

That, in and of itself, speaks volumes about the kind of person and coach Dave Rice really is. We want the best for him, so we wish the best for his team.

Good luck and so long, Coach Rice.

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