Despite 9 newcomers, BYU men's hoops welcomes high expectations for 2016-17


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PROVO — There were no name tags passed around when the BYU men’s basketball team met with the media for the first time of the 2016-17 season Thursday afternoon.

But maybe there should have been.

There’s a lot to replace from last year’s group that included triple-double king Kyle Collinsworth, now under contract with the Dallas Mavericks; 3-point sharpshooter Chase Fischer, who is playing pro basketball in Italy; and ironman post Nate Austin, who received a training camp invitation with the San Antonio Spurs.

But if names like Eric Mika, TJ Haws, LJ Rose, Steven Beo and Payton Dastrup can jell with the returning veterans of Nick Emery, Kyle Davis and Elijah Bryant, head coach Dave Rose likes his club’s chances at getting back to the NCAA Tournament after taking last year off in a run to the NIT semifinals.

“I’m really excited about this year’s team,” Rose said. “When you hear nine new players are on a roster, you know we’ve got a lot of work to do. But this team has worked really hard; we had a great summer.”

BYU opens the season Oct. 29 with a pair of exhibition games against Seattle Pacific and BYU-Hawaii, then jumps into the ESPN Tip Off Marathon at home against Princeton.

But before the games start counting, the Cougars will report to the first day of practice Monday and add a special closed-door session in the soon-to-be-completed Marriott Center Annex next Tuesday.

And even with all the new faces, expectations remain high for the Cougars.

Photo: Tom Smart, Deseret News
Photo: Tom Smart, Deseret News

“This is probably the most skilled team I’ve ever been on,” said senior Kyle Davis, who averaged 11.9 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game a year ago. “From top to bottom, every guy is great in their own way, and there is a lot of offensive talent. It’s going to be fun, and the summer has been really big for us.”

Emery returns as the leading scorer from last year’s team, but the sophomore from Alpine, Utah, is eager to build off his record-setting freshman season. Emery made 97 3-pointers a year ago, and also set a freshman single-game scoring mark with 37 points at San Francisco.

But in 2016-17, he’ll be counted on to do something a little different: be a leader, both by voice and example.

“It’s an adjustment for me. To have Kyle and Chase be the leaders last year, and to follow in their footsteps, now it’s the reverse role,” said Emery, an All-West Coast Conference freshman team pick. “The high school guys have only played high school ball. High school and college is a lot different; to see their adjustment is cool, too. They are new, but they are humble enough to say they are new. To be able to help them is fun to be put in that position.”

Emery isn’t completely unfamiliar with the newcomers, either. He played on the Lone Peak dynasty squads that won four state championships alongside Mika, Haws and incoming walk-on Zach Frampton. Add in Childs, fresh off a Class 5A state title with Bingham, and the expectations are rightfully high for the current class.

“The NIT was not our goal last year, and it certainly isn’t our goal this year. We want to be in the NCAA Tournament,” said Davis, one of just two seniors on the team with graduate transfer LJ Rose. “Everyone has bought into this, including the new guys and the vision of where we want to go — to build a championship culture and be a championship team.”

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