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The bar has been raised, so high that it is hard to believe these heights will be reached again.
It's not just Jimmer Fredette's 52 points scored in last night's 87-76 win over New Mexico at the Mountain West Conference quarterfinals.
It's not just Fredette's BYU single-game, single-season, and career scoring records, all earned in the last two days.
It's not just BYU's record-tying 30 wins on the season, or its chance to win the MWC tourney title for the first time in 10 years.
It's...everything. Everything about this season, reaching its apex in the month of March.
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The 2010-11 season is turning out to be an epic tale, featuring some of the most compelling elements of sporting drama.
You have the dazzling star in Jimmer Fredette, a player so special he has become a one-name, coast-to-coast phenomenon. "Jimmer" has become college basketball's buzzword.
You have Fredette's super-charged performances, including four 40-plus-point games this season, culminating with last night's offensive explosion. His exploits are hailed by pros and collegians, singers and showmen.
You have the journey--the grind of the early season, the cross-country travel coupled with adversity as Chris Collinsworth's season ends with knee surgery.
You have "the team," the role players, the secondary star in Jackson Emery--a special player in his own right. Kyle Collinsworth grows up before our eyes, playing multiple positions amidst the high-powered pressure of tournament play. Charles Abouo emerges to become a key contributor. Noah Hartsock fights through injury to battle with the "bigs." Logan Magnusson attacks every minute he is offered. Stephen Rogers lurks as a potential weapon.
You have a school playing its last year in a league it goes on to win in the regular season, truly going out on top.
You have an energized BYU fan base setting conference attendance records and accounting for a string of home-court sellouts last seen decades ago. Cougar fans congregate nationwide to cheer their team--a traveling roadshow of support.
You have a coach who has overcome a battle with cancer to lead his team to unprecedented success, with Dave Rose's personal victory serving as subtext for BYU's record run of wins.
You have a team pursuing its best-ever NCAA Tournament seed, and with it the chance for the deepest Dance advance since the days of Danny Ainge.
You have the compelling late-season drama of the Brandon Davies suspension, as national attention focuses on BYU the institution, in addition to BYU the team. The national media reaction to a difficult situation has been overwhelmingly positive, while the team's reaction is proving to be the story within the story of this season.
It's a book I can't put down, and I look forward to the next couple of chapters.
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You can hear audio highlights of last night's game in the "Cougar Cuts" box above.
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BYU faces SDSU for the Mountain West Conference crown at 5:00pm MT. KSL Radio's pregame coverage begins at 4:00pm.
The Cougars have beaten the Aztecs in four straight and seven of eight.
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