With his team on its second two-game losing skid of the season, BYU head basketball coach Dave Rose on Thursday said that "sometimes adversity can really strengthen your team, if everybody approaches it right and has the right attitude."

*******

Losses at San Diego and home to San Francisco all but mathematically took the Cougars out of contention for the conference crown and at the same time removed BYU from the NCAA Tournament bubble, but Rose observed after Thursday's practice that "the guys have been positive, and I think that's the most important thing right now, is for our guys to continue to believe in our team and believe in each other and I think from what we've seen, that's a good sign."

One month and one day ago, the BYU basketball team was flying high.

The Cougars had just earned an 82-64 road win against a potent Santa Clara team, holding the Broncos to their lowest point total of the season. The victory was BYU's fifth in a row, and improved the Cougars to 4-0 in the West Coast Conference.

"That was probably the best game we've played (in league competition)," says head coach Dave Rose of that win. "We made great defensive plays; we made really good offensive plays that were within the flow and context of our game. And from there, we've hit some tough times…"

BYU basketball head coach Dave Rose talked about a rough week and what's next for the Cougars on Monday night's KSL Newsradio broadcast of Rose's weekly show at Legends Grille.

Guard Matt Carlino was also on the program and talked about how BYU can bounce back from last week's two difficult losses.

You can hear the entire show in "Cougar Cuts," left.

Jay Monsen, who for a generation of BYU fans was the television "Voice of the Cougars," passed away on Sunday afternoon, in Mount Pleasant, Utah. He was 79 years old.

Monsen, who had previously overcome three battles with cancer, succumbed to a fourth bout with the disease after a recent round of treatment.

Funeral services will be held Tuesday, February 19th at 11:00 a.m., in the Mt. Pleasant 3rd Ward building (295 South State, Mt. Pleasant, Utah). There will be a viewing at the church one hour before the funeral, as well as the prior evening, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the Rasmussen Funeral Home (96 N 100 W, Mt. Pleasant, Utah). Interment will be in the Mt. Pleasant City Cemetery.

The basketball season continues to march forward to the big dance and BYU has another important week of conference games; facing San Diego at the Jenny Craig Pavilion on Thursday and then hosting San Francisco at the Marriott Center on Saturday. After practice on Wednesday, head coach Dave Rose, guard Tyler Haws, and guard Matt Carlino commented on Thursday's visit to San Diego; you can hear their media sessions by clicking on "Cougar Cuts," to the left.

****

Haws talked about what the Cougars have to do to keep San Diego's prolific guards in check.

BYU Head Coach Bronco Mendenhall announced the Cougars' 2013 recruiting class on Wednesday. BYU signed 26 players; 19 of whom are high school players, with the remainder from the JC ranks. In terms of offense and defense, BYU inked 12 players on offense and 14 on defense. In addition to the new signees, two mid-year enrollees and eight-scholarship players returning from their LDS missions will be joining the program.

***********

The biggest focus of this class was shoring up the offensive line. While the Cougars did their due diligence signing lineman out of high school, BYU focused on bringing in several junior college players to give immediate help to the offense.

Tyler Haws went more than two years without scoring a basket for BYU. He is clearly making up for the gap in time.

Returning after two seasons of overseas missionary service to contribute is difficult enough, but Haws has not only become a key contributor, he has established himself as the Cougars' go-to marksman and one of the most prolific scorers in the country.

Haws is pacing BYU at 20.7 points per game, a number that ranks 10th nationally. He is second nationally in total field goals made, behind only Creighton's Doug McDermott-—a player viewed as the front-runner for National Player of the Year honors. Combining field goals and free throws made, only three other players nationally have seen more of their shots go in the hoop this season.

BYU basketball head coach Dave Rose talked about last week's two-win performance and the Cougars' upcoming games during Tuesday night's KSL Newsradio broadcast of Rose's weekly coaches' show at Legends Grille.

Also on the program were assistant coach Tim Lacomb and forward were Nate Austin; you can hear the entire show in "Cougar Cuts," left.

*******

Since West Coast Conference play got underway, BYU point guard Matt Carlino has done more than raise the level of his game; he has played like an all-league performer.

Carlino has scored in double figures in every conference game, and is among the league leaders in scoring, assists and steals. Monday, he picked up his first-ever WCC Player of the Week award, coming off of two games in which he was both a game-sealer (final five points of BYU's two-point win at Pepperdine) and wheeler-dealer (season-high 28 points, 6 assists in the homecourt blowout win over Santa Clara.

Carlino's pre-conference stats pale in comparison to his WCC-play numbers:

PROVO — John Wooden defined competitive greatness as follows: "A real love for the hard battle, knowing it offers the opportunity to be at your best when your best is required."

Legendary rock band Rush laid it on the line this way: "Show me, don't tell me."

*******

The BYU basketball team finishes up a a three-game West Coast Conference road stretch on Thursday, visiting the Pepperdine Waves.

After an 80-minute Tuesday practice at the Marriott Center, assistant coach Terry Nashif, center Brandon Davies and guard Tyler Haws all discussed the game; you can hear their media sessions in "Cougar Cuts," left.

*******

BYU basketball head coach Dave Rose talked about the ups and down of the preceding week during Tuesday night's KSL Newsradio broadcast of Rose's weekly show at Legends Grille.

Reflecting on a last-second home loss to St. Mary's and a comfortable weekend win over San Diego, Rose said it was a "good week," but only "a couple of seconds from being a great week."

*******

The question was tweeted in to ESPN's Bracketology guru Joe Lunardi last Saturday, from none other than Matt Carlino's little brother Jack. The question was this: "What does BYU need to do to get in (the NCAA Tournament)?" Lunardi's answer was brief, perhaps a little cold, but to the point: "Stop losing to every tourney-level team they play."

Lunardi's response represents the slightest of exaggerations, since BYU owns a win over projected Big Sky Conference tourney rep Weber State, but his point underscores the importance of tomorrow night's game at Gonzaga, particularly in light of last Wednesday's last-second loss to projected tourney entrant St. Mary's.

Of the 68 teams in Lunardi's latest bracket projection, BYU has played five, going 1-4 in the process (win at Weber State, losses at Iowa State, at Baylor, v. Notre Dame and v. St. Mary's), with at least three more games scheduled against the Zags and Gaels. Had the final 2.5 seconds against St. Mary's gone just a little differently, the "no big wins" rap on BYU would have been somewhat muted, and the Cougars would of course have retained their solo lead atop the West Coast Conference. In those respects, Matthew Dellavedova's desperation three-pointer had significant ramifications, but a BYU win in Spokane would all but erase the effects of that shot.

Noting that "their size is an issue...their depth is an issue," BYU head basketball coach Dave Rose met with the media on Tuesday and framed his team's challenge when facing the Gonzaga Bulldogs on the road Thursday night.

Following a 90-minute Marriott Center practice, Rose told reporters that it's as important that his players play well as it is that they play hard.

"This is a really good basketball team," Rose said of the tenth-ranked Zags. "I think our guys are excited to play them."

With apologies to The Spinners, you can just call Dave Rose the "Rubberband Man," for as often as his teams bounce back after setbacks.

Saturday night home to San Diego, the Cougars again demonstrated the resiliency that has been a hallmark of Rose' program since he assumed the head coaching responsibilities in 2005. Three nights after a soul-sapping last-second loss to St. Mary's, BYU welcomed in the WCC-leading Toreros, who despite beating the league's weaker teams, came into the Marriott Center unbeaten in conference play and on a five-game win streak.

After falling behind 10-5 early, the Cougars went on a 34-10 run that essentially closed the deal before halftime, with BYU cruising to a 74-57 decision--Rose's 200th win, on his second try for the milestone.