BYU's Emery ready for first collegiate start against Miss. Valley State


Save Story
Leer en español

Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

PROVO — After a career-high 20 points against Division II Adams State, and barely a week removed from the Cougars' first loss of the year at Long Beach State, BYU freshman Nick Emery appears ready to take the next step.

Emery received the starter's minutes in practice Tuesday afternoon, and should be headed for the first start of his collegiate career when BYU (2-1) hosts Mississippi Valley State at 7 p.m. MST Wednesday night in the Marriott Center.

"I feel good about it," said Emery, who has scored in double figures in both official BYU home games of his career. "Whenever coach calls your number, you have to be ready — whether that is coming off the bench or starting. I think starting is a good thing, and I'm excited for it. It's going to be fun."

The move will bring guard Jake Toolson off the bench, but head coach Dave Rose said Emery's start is more about a young BYU team trying to find the right lineup in a mix-and-match non-conference slate.

"I think that we're just trying to find a group that we can consistently count on," Rose said. "We need to start games better, and we're just a little bit inconsistent in our execution. I think Nick can help us, so we'll give it a try and see how it goes."

A four-year starter at Lone Peak, Emery left the school as the Knights' all-time leading scorer with 1,953 points that included 269 3-pointers and averaging 19.9 points per game. The younger brother of former Cougar guard Jackson Emery was the 2012-13 Deseret News Mr. Basketball and Gatorade Player of the Year, and he helped lead Lone Peak to a 26-1 record en route to being named national champions by MaxPreps.com.

Nick Emery (4) drives on Arizona Christian's Bobby Gray as BYU plays Arizona Christian in a men's exhibition basketball game at the Marriott Center, Oct. 30, 2015, in Provo. (Photo: Tom Smart/Deseret News)
Nick Emery (4) drives on Arizona Christian's Bobby Gray as BYU plays Arizona Christian in a men's exhibition basketball game at the Marriott Center, Oct. 30, 2015, in Provo. (Photo: Tom Smart/Deseret News)

But he's admitted even he has had to find his game a little bit in his freshman year, just a few months removed from an LDS Church mission to Germany.

"It's kind of hard. You've got to find yourself as a freshman," Emery said. "You're coming into a program that's already established, and playing with new guys that you haven't before. I think it relates back to confidence; knowing that if coach calls your number, you'll be ready. I've found that in these past few games, and our team is finding that right now. We've just got to keep going."

BYU looks to rebound from its early season loss at Long Beach State, a 66-65 defeat to the 49ers in a game that ended around 2 a.m. MST.

Even with the win over Adams State last Friday, forward Kyle Davis said the team is still trying to purge itself of that loss.

"I think we still have a terrible taste in our mouths from that game, and we still want to improve on it," the Utah State transfer said. "We don't want to keep shooting ourselves in the foot with free throws and turnovers and poor offensive execution. I think moving forward, we'll look back on the game as a positive thing, because it helped elevate our team to a higher level." Whether it's starters or more depth on the bench, Rose will be looking at the contributions of each player Wednesday night.

"Execution is the key to this team right now: how we can run offensive and defensive sets, and play together," Rose said. "And not just with one lineup: we need 3-5 groups of guys — and that's where we are having issues right now, in expanding our group. Having guys come off the bench and be productive will be a key for us."

The Delta Devils (0-4) are in the middle of a 14-game road stretch to open the season, and coming off a 94-60 rout at Grand Canyon in Phoenix.

But the Devils also nearly upset Air Force in Denver, leading the Falcons 43-29 at halftime before falling on a length-of-the-court layup with 1.1 seconds left, 65-64.

Damian Young leads the Delta Devils with 10.0 points and 2.3 rebounds per game, and Rashaan Surles averages 7.8 points and a team-high 4.8 rebounds for Mississippi Valley State, which Rose calls a veritable team with multiple players capable of leading the team in scoring on a given night.

"They're very athletic, and they run their half-court offense and switch up a lot on defense," Rose said. "We'll see a lot of looks: full-court traps, half-court traps, zone, man-to-man or switching.

"It's one of those games where if you aren't really focused, you are going to turn the ball over a lot. There will probably be a lot of possessions in this game."

Related stories

Most recent Sports stories

Related topics

SportsBYU Cougars
Sean Walker

    ARE YOU GAME?

    From first downs to buzzer beaters, get KSL.com’s top sports stories delivered to your inbox weekly.
    By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

    KSL Weather Forecast