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 Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information.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.
In a media gathering that included about 20 minutes of procedural questions related to the BYU Honor Code, BYU head hoops coach Dave Rose talked of moving forward after Brandon Davies' suspension, saying "we learned a lot about our team last night, and that will benefit us in the Saturday game (versus Wyoming)."
*******
Asked to compare the Davies situation to other situations he might have previously encountered as a coach, Rose said:
"Anybody who has coached for a long period of time has been in a situation where a player gets himself in a situation where can no longer represent the team or the university. What you do is you move on; this is life. You're always expecting a fastball, and sometimes you get a curve; you've got to figure out how to hit it."
*******
Preceding Rose were BYU AD Tom Holmoe and school spokesperson Carri Jenkins, who answered multiple queries about the BYU Honor Code and the process that resulted in Davies' suspension.
You can hear the entire Q and A session, consisting of two cuts--one with Holmoe/Jenkins (and one question for Rose), and a second cut featuring questions for Rose (and one question for Holmoe); simply click on the "play" button in the "Cougar Cuts" box to the right.
Jenkins informed the media that press inquiries prompted the school to act "directly, honestly and openly" regarding "speculation and rumor" about Davies and his status. Jenkins noted that Davies currently remains an enrolled student concurrent with an Honor Code review process.
About the Honor Code and BYU students' commitment to adhere to it, Holmoe said "this is something for us; we live this, this is who we are."
Holmoe said "The first thing (Dave Rose and I) did was put our arms around (Davies) him, and our numder one thing then, now and in the future is going to be to look out for his best interests...to be able to make sure that we can help him along the process, of getting him to being with the team and participating with the team, and getting back on track to achieving his dreams."
*******
Rose gave his team the day off today, with no practice scheduled. A team meeting is on the agenda for tonight, with a Friday practice ahead of Saturday's "Senior Day" encounter with the Wyoming Cowboys. Rose mentioned injuries to Jackson Emery (foot), Noah Hartsock (foot), James Anderson (shoulder) and Logan Magnusson (back), indicating those and other players needed a day to rest and heal up.
*******
About his suspended sophomore center, Rose said "we all love Brandon; he's a great teammate and he's been great for our team."
"Each player was dealing with (Davies' suspension) individually, but I thought we competed, we really competed (against New Mexico). Now we just need to re-group and refine a few things, and get out there Saturday."
*******
Holmoe addressed a reporter's suggestion that Davies is "paying a much higher price" for his violation, in light of BYU's high-profile season and postseason potential.
"Our student-athletes have received incredible adulation. With the media, you're going to see good publicity, and you're going to see where it affects Brandon adversely...but I don't think there's a way where we can take a student-athlete and say 'you're an athlete, we have to protect you from the media.'"
"We don't want to throw (Davies) to the wolves--that's not our intention at all--but but we understand that...with high-profile people, they're going to (receive) the attention of the media. We won't relax the Honor Code for a situation that has to do with a basketball player."
*******
Jenkins added that she observed students in line for Wednesday's game emphasizing to the media "over and over again...that at BYU they have great faith that the Honor Code is applied fairly, that it is the same for a star athlete as for the student majoring in English that may not represent the university in any way."
Acknowledging the media spotlight on Davies and other BYU athletes, Jenkins said that "each student has an opportunity to work through this (Honor Code) review process...we do work very hard to make sure that it is applied fairly and in a fair manner."
Holmoe noted that "as the Athletic Director, if I felt that there were more difficult penalties for a student-athlete because he was an athlete, I would advocate on behalf of the student-athlete. It's not my decision, but I would be involved in that process; I would advocate for fair treatment."
*******
Rose speculated that program observers are "really worried" about to postseason play and BYU's ability to compete in the upcoming tournaments without their starting center, then said:
"Our group is worried out tomorrow, and then we'll worry about Saturday. We'll get better, and we'll find ways to deal with the loss of a player that we've relied on. We'll find ways to get around this, and get through it."
"What has happened with this group... is that they've been tested; that challenge they didn't meet, now we'll see how they respond. I like the way they've responded in the past and I have confidence that they'll continue to respond that way."
*******
