As BYU looks toward loaded WCC, 1981 team night a reminder of how good it used to be

PROVO — As BYU wrapped up its 16th win of the year and fourth in conference play from a historically good West Coast Conference, there's been a lot of debate about whether the WCC could be better than it ever was.

For the first time in the modern era, the conference is projected to garner four NCAA Tournament bids, with top-ranked Gonzaga, BYU, Saint Mary's and San Francisco all finding themselves ranked in the top 50 of the NCAA's NET ratings.

The Dons and Gaels are projected to receive two of the last four byes in Joe Lunardi's latest bracketology update, Gonzaga is projected as a No. 1 seed (again), BYU is slotted in an 8-9 game, while Saint Mary's and USF are both projected as No. 11 seeds.

"This league's good," BYU coach Mark Pope said after Thursday night's win over San Diego. "Saturday is going to be a battle."

It's the kind of storybook ending that brought Alex Barcello back for a sixth season and brought in Milwaukee transfer Te'Jon Lucas to pair with one of the best backcourts on the west coast. And even without lead post players Richard Harward and Gavin Baxter, the Cougars are making good on their promise to return to the NCAA Tournament thanks to fast-rising freshmen Fousseyni Traore and Atiki Ally Atiki.

All of which begs the question: is this Pope's best coaching job in his three seasons in Provo? Or maybe a better question: is this the best BYU team in program history?

Whoa, whoa, whoa; slow down the rhetoric. But on Saturday night, when the Cougars host Portland (7 p.m. MST, BYUtv) before a two-game road trip to Northern California, the real GOAT of BYU hoops may just be in the building.

The Cougars will honor the 1981 BYU basketball team this weekend, with a special halftime ceremony dedicated to the return of consensus All-American (and current Utah Jazz CEO) Danny Ainge, Greg Kite and the rest of the Cougars that reached the Elite Eight for the first time in program history — and a place it hasn't been back since.

And while the debate will continue to rage about just where that team ranks in the annals of school history, Kite, who played on two NBA championship teams in Boston in 1984 and 1986, has his own opinion.

"There have been lots of great teams here, but I'll vote for us No. 1," he said. "We feel like we should have gone to the Final Four … It was just great to be part of that BYU basketball legacy."

In the 1980-91 season, BYU finished third in the Western Athletic Conference but ranked 16th in the final AP poll after stunning No. 7 Notre Dame on Ainge's buzzer beater in the Sweet 16. The Cougars also cruised past No. 9 Utah 95-76 in the final game of the regular season before taking down No. 10 UCLA 78-55 in the NCAA Tournament.

In the program's only Elite Eight appearance to date, the Cougars fell to No. 5 Virginia, the Cavaliers' first Final Four appearance in the history of what became a storied program (and equally storied run to the title for Bob Knight and Indiana).

Just think: that team was the third-best in the WAC, which also featured top-20 teams in Utah, San Diego State and Wyoming.

"It was incredible," Kite said. "Everybody knows what the games with Utah were like, but I remember going to Wyoming in the old rodeo arena, and the students were already lined up at 10 a.m., not sober, swearing at us.

"They stopped the fast break three times by throwing glass on to the floor. Nothing happened."

Added Ainge: "Everybody hated BYU in that era … Those teams were stacked."

So best ever? There's one that stands out more than 1981 for Ainge, though 1981 isn't far removed. A year earlier, the Cougars went 24-5, won the WAC at 13-1 and finished 12th in the final AP poll with the No. 10 scoring offense in the country.

In addition to Ainge, Kite and fellow PARADE All-American Fred Roberts, the 1980 team also had Devin Durant before the Provo High alum left for a two-year church mission as well as seniors Scott Runia and Alan Taylor, the 6-foot-10 center who nearly matched Roberts witih 12.5 points and 10.9 rebounds per game.

Of course, that team isn't remember as well because of a 71-66 upset loss to Clemson in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.

"We might have actually been better," Ainge said. "We were good in '80 too; that might have been the most stacked team we had."

BYU isn't facing a team like Larry Nance and the Tigers that the 1980 squad saw on Saturday night. But it is facing a Portland team hungry to prove it belongs in a top-heavy WCC.

If BYU isn't looking for an upset the rest of the season, the Cougars will be on upset alert.

"It's just going to be a battle" Pope said. "This Portland team is really good, they have some size, and they shoot the ball well.

"There are no nights off in this league right now."

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