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PROVO — There are very few doubts that Option A for the BYU men’s basketball team is Yoeli Childs, who is averaging a team-high 22.3 points per game.
Option B, then, is almost equally obvious for TJ Haws, a 17.7 points-per-game scorer.
But Option C?
That’s the real question for head coach Dave Rose and his staff as the Cougars prepare to host Saint Mary’s (13-7, 4-1 West Coast Conference) in the only game of the week Thursday night at 9 p.m. MT (ESPN2, KSL Newsradio).
There have certainly been challengers, in spurts.
Jahshire Hardnett is averaging 10.9 points per game for BYU (12-9, 4-2 WCC), but the 6-foot guard from Gulfport, Mississippi has missed the past four games with an injured hand. Zac Seljaas is averaging 7.3 points per game, but he hasn’t started a game since the start of WCC play. Same with Connor Harding, a 7.0 points-per-game scorer who has been equally inconsistent in his freshman season.
Maybe the answer will be McKay Cannon. The senior who transferred from Weber State had his best shooting game in a BYU uniform in the Cougars’ 82-63 loss at San Francisco, when he went 3-of-3 from 3-point range to increase his scoring average to 3.2 points per game while settling into the starting lineup.
“I think it’s been good for the team,” Cannon said of starting the past six games. “Personally, I don’t think it’s done anything different. I’ve tried not to do anything different, role-wise. I’m just grateful for the opportunity to help the team win.”
Cannon hopes to find his shooting stroke further against the Gaels, who have won six of the last seven against BYU, including an 88-66 win in Moraga, California on the opening weekend of conference play.
Since then, the Cougars have gotten better — or so they’ll find out Thursday night.
“Every day, this team brings a lot to practice and wants to get better,” Haws said. “I feel like we are learning from the good and bad things that we’ve done. We’ve grown a lot since (the loss to Saint Mary’s). I think we’ve gotten a lot better defensively, and we’re working on that every day in practice.
“I think we’ll be ready to go tomorrow.”
Back home
BYU is 9-5 all-time against Saint Mary’s in Provo, and after the loss to USF, the Cougars could use the home-cooking.
They’ll get a chance for it, with three-straight home games and four of the next five in the Marriott Center.
“Those few games we had at home were refreshing,” Haws said. “It’s nice to have people cheering for us instead of against us. We’re excited for this home stretch.”
Of course, the last time BYU spent a week at home, the Cougars got wins over Portland and Santa Clara.
This time, BYU will host Saint Mary’s, followed by No. 4 Gonzaga next Thursday at 9 p.m. MT.
It beats facing both of those teams on the road, though.
“I feel for the team because they aren’t the ones who (scheduled) the 29 days in a row outside the Marriott Center,” Rose said. “But I really believe that anybody playing on any team that never got to play a home game would have it pretty tough. I’m glad we’ve got this coming up.”
Emery’s mindset
The Cougars could really use the return of sharpshooter Nick Emery as it tries to find its third scorer. But the junior guard is averaging just 5.0 points per game since his return from a nine-game suspension stemming from NCAA improprieties that also cost him the 2017-18 season.
Personally, though, Emery couldn’t be in a much better place — and that’s what matters most, Rose said.
“I don’t think he’s all the way back on the court. But I do feel that the rest of his life has him in a place that is successful, whatever he’s doing,” Rose said. “He went through a really hard year and a half, with the marriage, a divorce, and life-threatening situations he was involved in. To where he is now in life, he’s back in the right spot. His game, he can continually try to find and develop.
“But his efficiency on the offensive end is something where he wants to be better. But we’ll keep working on it. I couldn’t be happier with where we were 10-15 months ago until now.”
