Good to be back: 3 takeaways from BYU basketball's opening scrimmage of 2021-22

PROVO — On the first Friday night of the preseason, BYU fans got their first look at the 2021-22 BYU men's basketball team.

What the few thousand fans in the Marriott Center saw should get them excited.

Te'Jon Lucas had 15 points, five rebounds and a game-high five assists, and Gideon George added 14 points and six rebounds to help the Nick Robinson-led Blue team to a 68-62 win over Chris Burgess, Cody Fueger and the White team in the officially unofficial opener to the preseason of the Cougars' penultimate season in the West Coast Conference.

Fousseyni Traore had a game-high 20 points on 8-of-10 shooting — including a pair of 3-pointers — to go along with 11 rebounds, three assists and seven fouls for the White team. San Jose State transfer Seneca Knight added 11 points, and Spencer Johnson scored 11 for the White team.

If breakout stars exist from intrasquad scrimmages, it was Traore, the freshman from Wasatch Academy who came to Utah from his native West Africa.

"Fouss is a special player," Burgess said. "The first time we got our hands on him, all of us saw he has a great feel. Usually with bigs, freshmen and international guys, they start basketball a little later.

"But his dad is a basketball coach, and he has a great feel for the game. Plus, he's played at one of the best high schools in the country the last four years. So he's been well-coached. What he did tonight in stuffing the stat sheet is what he's done since he got here in the summer."

Scrimmages aren't just good practice for players, but they also allow game operations staff to figure out protocols, arena and media personnel to go through a trial run before real games hit, and assistant coaches get some hands' on experience. And of course, they allow fans to catch a brief glimpse at the newcomers of the upcoming season.

Pope mostly sat back Friday night, extending his 6-foot-10 frame along the end of the Blue team's bench while Robinson did the game planning. Burgess and Fueger took play calling duties for the White team, with a special assist from Alex Barcello, the veteran point guard who sat out the scrimmage with what Fueger called "whiplash" in his neck.

The weirdest part, though, was playing with fans in the building. A few thousand fans filled the lower bowl of the Marriott Center — more than the Cougars saw in the building all last year, and more than Traore saw in the myriad of bubble-style tournaments in which he played as a senior at Wasatch Academy.

But boy, was it good to see again.

"It was weird at first," Traore admitted. "Last year when I played, no one was allowed into the gym. But it was fun to see the fans; that brought out a different emotion. I was so excited."

Here are three takeaways from the first look at the 2021-22 BYU basketball team.

Fouss is here to play

With veterans out or limited in Friday night's scrimmage — why play when you don't have to? — perhaps the most impressive debut came from the freshman Traore.

The 6-foot-7, 254-pound forward from Bakamoto, Mali put on quite the show.

Traore had a game-high 16 points on 6-of-7 shooting in the first half, including a pair of 3-pointers, to go along with a game-high eight rebounds and three assists.

He also showed off his hops, alongside former Wasatch Academy teammate Caleb Lohner, who had the second-most rebounds in the first half with six, including five on the defensive glass.

"I didn't do anything special; I just played my game," Traore said. "Whatever coach told me to do, I just did what he wanted me to do. I didn't want to do anything else.

"I just listened to my coaches and did what they told me to do."

Of course, Traore will also have to learn how to stay on the court. He had three fouls in 15 minutes before halftime, and picked up his sixth infraction six minutes into the second half. In a regular-season game, of course, that would severely hamper his time and production.

BYU has a lot of depth, but Traore should be able to crack the rotation. He showed that Friday night — but more importantly, he's showed that every day in practice.

His coaches weren't surprised at anything he did.

Well, almost anything.

"Him knocking down the two 3's? That was a little surprising; he doesn't do that a lot," Burgess joked. "But what he did out there today in finishing around the rim and rim protecting, he's been doing that. He does a great job."

Te'Jon Lucas, ball handler

With Barcello out, we also got to see Te'Jon Lucas as the primary ball handler on the court.

Lucas ran the offense for the majority of the blue team's reps — Trey Stewart brought the ball up the court in his absence — and the former Milwaukee standout and all-Horizon League player looked more than comfortable.

Lucas finished with 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting, two rebounds and a game-high four assists in the Blue team's win.

"Sometimes I play the one, sometimes I play the two," Lucas said. "I'm very comfortable doing all of that. It was a little weird (not having Barcello). But after shootaround today, we were not cool; you know, cuz he was on the White team. I've been talking trash to him all day."

So, playmaking, scoring — and personality, to boot.

Hunter Erickson also saw time running the point for the White team, with Knight facilitating in transition, as well.

Lucas will likely split point-guard duties with Barcello, but don't be surprised to see the duo playing together. Both have strongly hinted at it, saying that the game of basketball almost requires two primary ball handlers.

"Te'Jon's a great point guard; he's been brought up in college basketball at the point guard position," Robinson said. "In practice, he's also been working at the off-guard spot, and he's done a really nice job next to Alex Barcello.

"We weren't surprised with what he's capable of. He's great at the point guard position."

Athleticism for days, including Gavin Baxter's return

Gideon George and Caleb Lohner showed that they still have that same bouncy athleticism that they flashed a year ago.

But they both also have some touch.

George's 14 points including two 3-pointers to go along with his six rebounds. Lohner's rim-rattling dunks were broken up by nine boards and two assists.

From Atiki Ally Atiki to Traore to Gavin Baxter, who made his return from knee surgery last season to finish with 6 points and three assists in his first 10 minutes of live action in nearly a year, the Cougars have athleticism in spurts.

But Baxter's showcase was extra special.

"It was so fun to see him play, even just those 10 minutes," Burgess said. "To see him run up and down the floor, jumping and finishing, talking. He' been limited the last month or so with his up-and-down, and he's been on a bit of a minutes restriction.

"To get even 2 1/2 minutes today of fully live play, that's a huge step for him mentally. That's all he could do … but today was a win for Gavin, and his teammates, just to be out there on the court, in a jersey, running up and down.

"That should be worth at least 7 points," he joked.

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