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The last time BYU played a basketball game that counted (v. Oregon in the NCAA tournament back in March), head coach Dave Rose had nine roster players in uniform.
Friday night, as the Cougars open the regular season with Long Beach State at the Marriott Center, Rose will have dressed and ready for action 15 players, all of whom are scholarship or scholarship-committed players.
The sudden depth is an unusual luxury for Rose, who has decided against additional trimming of the roster for the time being. With Kyle Davis sitting out the season after transferring from Utah State, and Jamal Aytes out indefinitely following ankle surgery, only freshman Jordan Chatman is projected to redshirt, giving Rose 15 guys ready to roll.
"We're going to go with a pretty deep roster," Rose said after practice on Wednesday afternoon, "at least right now, to start the season."
Returning players Tyler Haws, Kyle Collinsworth, Nate Austin, Anson Winder, Luke Worthington, Skyler Halford, Josh Sharp, Frank Bartley IV are joined by newcomers Chase Fischer (redshirt in 2013-14), Isaac Neilson (redshirt in 2013-14), incoming freshmen Jake Toolson, Dalton Nixon, Ryan Andrus, and Corbin Kaufusi, with former practice player Jordan Ellis joining the active roster as a junior.
While the roster is stacked, Rose still plans to rely on the veterans to get the ball rolling in the early part of the campaign.
"The guys who have been around probably have a little bit of an advantage," said Rose, "but we'll see after the first couple of games. The guys who are playing well and fit together, kind of flow together...we'll find that starting lineup soon."
"I don't think that anything is set too far in stone right now, but you'll see our more experienced guys start for a while.
"How we get all those (new) guys in the game, I'm not nearly worried about that as much as I am January, February, March, when you need those guys, and you need the depth and they'll all be ready to play then, so we'll see how it works out."
BYU senior Tyler Haws says a deep roster can be both a benefit to the coach and a challenge for the bench players, who will have to battle for even more limited playing time. He reflected on his time as a reserve on Team USA during the 2013 World University Games in Russia to describe the situation some current BYU players will experience.
"When I got in (for Team USA), there were a few games I tried to do too much," said Haws on Wednesday. "I think I'll be able to help some of the younger (BYU) guys and some of guys who aren't seeing as many minutes as they want to."
"Everything has got to be about the team, and you've just got to let the game come to you. As long as you're playing hard, there are enough opportunities for everyone to contribute and help."
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BYU enters the season with an All-America candidate in Haws, two all-league players in Haws and Kyle Collinsworth, and an NCAA tournament history that has seen the Cougars dance the Big Dance seven times in Rose's nine seasons as head coach. Preseason projections from noted NCAA tourney prognosticators have BYU slated to participate in March Madness again in 2014-15.
"I feel really good about this group," says Rose. "We have five seniors coming back, so that gives you a little more confidence in how (the team) is going to perform, because you've been to battle with that group of guys. I love the energy from the new players on the roster."
"I'm really excited about the depth of our team. I think the (new) guys are ready to play. This is a really important year. We don't need to wait to have players be ready four or five years from now. We need to go."
"I think we're ready, as ready as we wanted to be," said Haws of BYU's season-opening prospects. "We're excited to start playing some games. We feel like our preparation has been right. We're chomping at the bit."
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Long Beach State was a third-place finisher in the Big West Conference last season; the 49ers compiled an overall record of 15-17, after recovering from a 1-9 start. Dan Monson's team features two All-Big West honorees from 2013-14 in guards Mike Caffey and Tyler Lamb. 6'9" Florida Gulf Coast transfer Eric McKnight is expected to step into the starting lineup.
Friday's game tips at an early time of 5:00 p.m. MST. You can hear the game on KSL Newsradio starting with pregame coverage at 4:00.
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