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The ninth of Jimmer Fredette's season-high nine assists at San Diego State ended up being the last pass he will ever throw to Brandon Davies.
With 1:06 to play and BYU leading by nine, Fredette drew the attention of three Aztecs as he drove baseline, then flipped the ball over his shoulder to a player who as he had so many times before, filled the lane for a flush.
The Davies dunk essentially finished off Saturday's milestone victory, and now it turns out to his last basket of the season for BYU. A deal-sealing rebound and assist in the closing seconds at SDSU were the last plays he would make as a Cougar before the honor code suspension that has cost him the remainder of the campaign.
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The closing moments in San Diego serve as ghostly reminders of what the Cougars will be missing when they take the floor tonight and the rest of the way, into the postseason.
While Davies scored four points or fewer in three of his last six games, he scored in double figures in 17 of his last 21 games, with five or more rebounds in 17 of his last 19 outings. Over the last five games, Davies was averaging almost four assists per game. He had at least one blocked shot in 19 games. In the last month, he had made 73% of his free throws. He scored at least one field goal in 27 consecutive games to end his season.
Davies made teams respect BYU's post play, and choosing to play Davies with a single defender was often a losing proposition. No other BYU player even closely approximates his length or athleticism inside. His long loping strides and remarkable reach got him closer to the basket more adeptly than any other player. He ran the floor, and he finished, often with a flourish.
Brandon Davies' game was not without its flaws, but the sky was and is the limit for a player who showed as much promise as any BYU big man in recent history. He leaves a gaping hole that cannot be filled by any one player; rather, it will be occupied by different players with different sets of skills. The Cougars will still score inside, they just won't score the way Davies often did--with authority.
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Video Courtesy of KSL.com
Coaches and players will be scrambling to re-configure game plans and prepare for the weeks to come; their job descriptions require resiliency and most of their waking hours will be occupied with the business of winning.
Fans, on the other hand, have the relatively passive task of supporting the team. As such, left only to wonder and wait, fans are reeling.
Even though they know the show must go on, and even though they will still fill the Marriott Center, and sit in front of their TVs, and listen the radio broadcasts, the fans are worried.
Just as excitement had reached a peak, and just as BYU appears on the cusp of unprecedented postseason opportunities, the wind is suddenly taken from the Cougar fans' sails, and disappointment now lingers in the still air.
The Cougars, and their fans, need a game, tonight, to replace concern with resolve--to replace the sadness of loss with a victorious reminder of potential.
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It's never easy.
The last two seasons have provided numerous examples of adversity from which Dave Rose's teams have been forced to respond, and almost always, they have occurred "just when things were going so well..."
Jimmer Fredette scored a BYU record-high 49 points at Arizona in late December of 2009. It was the last game he would play in completely good health. He missed the next game with the onset of mononucleosis and battled the illness for much of the remainder of the season.
Just as a four-game win streak put BYU in position to win a conference crown with three games remaining in last season's MWC title chase, Fredette took ill again. He played 16 ineffective minutes in a home loss to New Mexico that essentially clinched the championship for the Lobos. Fredette played sparingly in BYU's remaining regular season games.
In the first game of the MWC Tournament, as Fredette was summoning strength to score 45 points against TCU in the quarterfinals, Tyler Haws was poked in the eye. An orbital bone fracture forced him to miss the next game--a semifinal loss to UNLV. Haws did played in BYU's NCAA Tournament games, and while playing hurt, extended his school record free throw streak to 48 straight.
Soon after the season's end, we learned of Michael Loyd's departure from the program. One of BYU's most important players during last season's tournament run, Loyd would have deepened BYU's guard line in 2010-11. His absence created an opening that was filled by Stephen Rogers, who will be a key figure at the end of this season.
After starting four consecutive BYU wins to open the 2010-11 season, Chris Collinsworth was felled by an ankle injury. After six games away, and with BYU still undefeated, Collinsworth returned to the lineup for the Cougars' first loss of the season at UCLA. Four games later, he was done for good, with season-ending knee surgery. His absence left BYU paper-thin up front. Davies' departure has now left BYU with only one player taller than 6'8" on the roster, and that player--James Anderson--has played a total of 20 minutes, with zero points, in the last eight games.
As I said, it's never easy.
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I'll re-state something from last night when I wrote that I am looking forward to what the Cougars do from here.
We could be about to witness a story of winning against the odds, of players pulling together to successfully re-construct a team that has seemingly been gutted at one of its most vulnerable positions.
The cold truth is that the Cougar team as we knew it depended on Davies' big body inside. And that's the thing: it is no longer the BYU team as we knew it. A "new" team with a new way to play will now take the floor, and if there's one thing Dave Rose teams have proven, it's that there are many ways to win a game.
BYU will still push the tempo, and may spread the floor even more than before. Up to four players (K. Collinsworth, Stephen Rogers, Charles Abouo and Logan Magnusson) will be asked to mix-n-match at the "3" and "4" spots, with Collinsworth and Rogers also able to spell starters at point and shooting guard. Hartsock and James Anderson will be the traditional centers in the new-look BYU offense, with Hartsock able to play the "4" if and when needed.
It's interesting that the Cougars run a daily practice drill called "Circle the Wagons." That particular exercise will take on added meaning this March; the results will be intriguing, and potentially inspirational.
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I note that this turmoil has punctuated BYU's "Senior Week." Senior team captains Jimmer Fredette, Jackson Emery and Logan Magnusson will be counted on now more than ever; their motivational and tactical influence will be on display when the Cougars take the floor tonight.
While I know they are moving on and don't desire anyone's sympathy, I feel bad that the seniors' career-long contributions won't be allowed to stand entirely on their own this week. I am sad that a week of celebration has been dimmed by days of disappointment.
Games tonight and Saturday present an opportunity for supporters to be as resilient as the team, and make sure that this week, all of the players, but especially the seniors, know and feel that their fighting spirit is matched by that of the fans in the stands.
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