5 things we learned from BYU basketball's season-opening exhibition scrimmage

PROVO — The BYU men's basketball team rolled out the first public look at a roster that includes 12 newcomers Wednesday night in the blue vs. white intrasquad scrimmage at the Marriott Center.

Rudi Williams, Gideon George, Noah Waterman, Fousseyni Traore and Trey Stewart started for a White team in the win, with Dallin Hall, Richie Saunders, Jaxson Robinson and Atiki Ally Atiki among the starters on Blue. Freshman Tanner Toolson started for White, but switched to the Blue team at halftime.

The Cougars open the 2022-23 season next Wednesday, Nov. 2 with an exhibition game against NAIA Ottawa (Ariz.). Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. MDT on BYUtv.

Here are five things we learned from Wednesday night's scrimmage.

Senior leaders

If Wednesday's scrimmage is an indicator, BYU will go as far as seniors George and Williams will take them.

The duo totaled 27 points, 12 rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocks for the White team in the exhibition, shooting 14-of-30 from the field with a pair of 3s (both by Williams).

Traore added 15 points and eight rebounds for the White team, while Arkansas transfer Robinson led the Blue team with 16 points and four rebounds for a team that also got 11 points, 11 rebounds and three assists from Ally Atiki.

Williams drained a pair of back-to-back 3s to help the White team pull away from Blue with a 20-4 run to end the first half up 54-37.

The highlight of the night came on defense from George, who swatted a double-block against Hall and Spencer Johnson that sent the light crowd in Provo into a frenzy.

"That was incredible. I give him that," Ally Atiki said. "He just came from nowhere, and blocked that ball. Good for G; we need those in the games."

Williams was also a five-star sideline reporter for BYUtv.

What freshmen?

Yes, it's an intrasquad scrimmage where spots are limited, but the fact that freshmen Hall, Toolson and Saunders all started for the Blue team can't be ignored.

The trio recently returned from missions for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and Pope has said each will be a pivotal role for the Cougars in their career. But how soon that key role would begin has been anyone's guess.

It might not be a long wait.

Hall opened the scoring for the Blue team, and played 30 minutes to finish with 9 points, seven rebounds and three assists.

Saunders was the first of the trio to sub out, but did so at a fairly natural point of just over three minutes into the first half. The former Wasatch Academy standout 6 points, eight rebounds and two assists, and Toolson finished with 14 points, four assists and three rebounds in just over 29 minutes for the two squads.

And as for freshmen, head coach Mark Pope said he isn't afraid to play them when the lights turn on and the games count, either.

"We're going to need everybody on this team. We're going to need everybody to contribute," Pope said. "But Dallin does some things very well: he's got great vision, can shoot the ball, but what I am most pleased is he is holding his own defensively.

"As a guard coming off a mission as a freshman, that's super hard to do."

Shots, shots, shots

During media day last week, each player said that they were required to take 1,000 shots every week in practice. Some pretty creative accounting was occasionally used for players who were ending each week short, like shooting sessions after midnight in the Marriott Center Annex.

Whatever it was, the Cougars will get up shots this year. A lot of them.

"We've been shooting a lot this summer," said Atiki, who shot 4-for-11 from the field including a 3-pointer. "That's good for me; I feel more comfortable taking 3s. I won't take them all the time, but I'm more comfortable."

The two sides combined for 22 shots in the first five minutes, including 10 looks at three. But they also combined for make just nine 3-pointers, going 9-for-40 in the first half. Players not named Williams or Waterman were 5-of-33 from deep before the break.

The winning team shot 19-of-41 (46.3%) from the field, with the losing team well behind at 15-of-46 for 3.6% shooting. Pope isn't worried about those numbers, though.

"It's a good shooting group with a long track record of shooting the ball well," he said. "I think it was just important to get out there with lights on and some people in the stands.

"Our shot selection will continue to improve, but these guys can really shoot it and I'm excited about their potential."

Water, man

If one player gets the green light to shoot from an intrasquad scrimmage, it's Waterman.

The 6-foot-11, 210-pound forward from Savannah, New York, by way of Detroit Mercy canned two of his first three shots from beyond the arc, and finished with 9 points, five rebounds and two assists in 38 minutes.

The sophomore shot 37.5% from 3-point range (and 42.9% overall) last year at Detroit Mercy, averaging 8.0 points and 4.0 rebounds for the 14-16 Titans. But in Provo, the big man was one of the top shooters, alongside Robinson, who may earn the nickname "Splash Brothers" sooner than later among BYU fans. Add Toolson into the equation after making both 3-point attempts in the second half following a first half that went 1-for-5 from distance.

Waterman, Robinson and Toolson canned seven triples, which was as many as the rest of the Cougars combined.

"That's a lot of my game; I like shooting a lot," Waterman said. "That's something I've worked on my whole life.

"It was pretty good for the day. There are some things I can definitely improve on, get some more rebounds. But overall, I definitely like shooting. I'll slash and attack, but I love this team because when I attack, I can find Atiki or Fouss next to the rim."

Oof

Atiki Ally Atiki "fouled out" with five fouls after just nine minutes and three shots (he made one of them). He also had three rebounds in a game where he was allowed to continue playing (hey, it's a scrimmage).

The 6-foot-10, 215-pound sophomore from Tanzania has the ability to be a very good post for the Cougars. He just has to stay available, and he knows it.

"The way I play defense, I'm aggressive," Atiki said. "I'm always going to play aggressive. But I know I can't play like that all the time.

"When I play defense, I just want the ball so bad. I get mad, because I'm just playing aggressively. I just have to get better."

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