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The BYU Cougar hoopsters hit the Marriott Center hardwoods for their second and final exhibition game Friday night, having seemingly settled on a new point guard to lead the team into the 2011-12 season.
His name is Brock Zylstra, which is interesting, only because replacing Jimmer Fredette was the last thing on his mind after last season.
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"Never, not once," said Zylstra, when I asked him if he ever watched Fredette and imagined taking over for BYU's all-time scoring leader as the Cougars' floor leader.
"I was looking at Jackson (Emery), the way he was playing the 'two,' because that's where I thought I was going," says Zylstra. "As it worked out, on the Greece trip, I started playing (point guard)."
"It wasn't even until the last game of the trip (against Italy) that I played the point. I didn't start at the point, but two or three minutes into the game, I took the point, and it was fun. I had a good game against Italy, and we had a good game in the first half, kept it close, and ever since then, it was in (the coaches') mind, and in my mind, that I can do it."
"The one thing that Brock has demonstrated in the three years that he has been with us, is that he is a team guy," says head coach Dave Rose. "He did anything that we asked him to do his first three years, and now we're asking him to kind of play a different position, and he's excited about it--that's just kind of how he is."
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BYU's overseas trip began a crash course for Zylstra, which he says continued through the summer, as he sought to refine his newly-acquired and suddenly-required point guard skills.
"Since we got back, I've been working with Coach Nashif, watching film, looking at what guys to read on certain plays, which defenders to read. And ball-handling, I've been dribbling a tennis ball around to help get my ball- handling down...it's something that I've had to work on pretty hard the last few weeks, but it has been a lot of fun."
Zylstra says looking back on his basketball-playing years, he played a little bit of point guard in AAU, but not enough to matter.
"I was the tallest guy growing up in city league, and if you have any height, you're the post player, so (playing point) hasn't been for years and years and years."
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At 6'6", Zylstra will be among the taller point guards in college basketball, and with 6'8" Stephen Rogers playing alongside at the off-guard position, and 6'5", 215-pound Charles Abouo on the other wing, the Cougars will pose some interesting matchup challenges for opposite guards.
"A lot of matchup problems," says Zylstra. "You get Stephen in the post with a guy guarding him who's maybe six-two, six-foot. You've got Charles, who's strong as an ox--not many guys can defend him."
"I think defensively as well, it's an advantage to us. We can have length, and three guys on the floor who are of similar size, that can switch and can do things together."
I asked Zylstra if he expects additional pressure as teams realize BYU's point guard is new to the position.
"I've kind of thought that will come into play a little bit," said Zylstra. "Midwestern State tried to do that a bit, with Mike Loyd and with some of the their guards, but I can use my size to kind of fend the guys off and keep them on my side or my back. There are different ways I can relieve that pressure."
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Any overall pressure on the point guard position will be additionally relieved in mid-December, as redshirt freshman PG Matt Carlino becomes eligible. It is anticipated that Carlino will eventually take over as BYU's main option at the point, but until that time, Rose is relying on Zylstra--a former walk-on now running the show.
"It's a great opportunity for him, and hopefully he'll take advantage of that opportunity, but it's also think it's a great lesson to our younger players, about being a team guy."
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Noting that Zylstra has "played his whole career here as a shooter...and doesn't get as many shots at the point guard position," Rose said the LaVerne, Calif. native will still see some time on the wing, with Nick Martineau and Craig Cusick also available to handle PG responsibilities.
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