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It has been a frustrating last couple of weeks for BYU basketball coach Dave Rose as he prepares his team for the season-opener on Nov. 14 at home against Long Beach State.

The biggest downer was news that sophomore forward Jamal Aytes needed surgery on his ankle and will be out indefinitely. Aytes reportedly can't put any weight on the ankle for three months, but BYU isn't ready to say he is going to redshirt this season.

"Don't know. Don't know," Rose said Thursday night after practice when I asked him if they were ready to say Aytes will redshirt and not play at all this season. "We will see how this thing heals. I think that when you actually look at the timeframe, and try to manage the timeframe, it looks like a real possibility. But we won't make a decision until we get to that point and see where we are and see where he is."

The Cougars did have some positive news on the injury front on Thursday. They announced that junior guard Kyle Collinsworth has been cleared to play by the team's medical staff and will play on Saturday in the second exhibition game. The Cougars take on Seattle Pacific at the Marriott Center (7 p.m., BYUtv).

Collinsworth missed last week's exhibition win over Colorado School of Mines, but has been practicing full-tilt for more than a week, and practiced Thursday in impression fashion.

"It feels good," Collinsworth said of his knee. "It has been a long time coming. It has been a hard process, but it has been worth it, and I feel like I have benefitted from it, so it has been a positive experience overall so far."

Collinsworth certainly retained his ability to get off the ground; He had several explosive dunks on Thursday.

"Yeah, I am 100 percent, like full-go and stuff," he said. "There are no limitations, but some days are rough. Recovery is a little bit slower. I don't feel sometimes 100 percent. But that is part of the process. It is going to take a couple of months to get all the way back into game shape. It is going to take a process. I will take it step by step each day, and get better."

Rose said they will watch Collinsworth's minutes closely on Saturday.

"First of all, I am just really excited for Kyle. He has put so much time and effort into his rehab, and this is what he has worked for. We are exciting for him to see how things go on Saturday," Rose said. "He won't play a lot, but this will get him started. So we are excited to have him back."

Collinsworth tore the ACL in his right knee on March 11 against Gonzaga in the WCC championship game. He averaged 8.1 rebounds, 14.0 points and 4.6 assists per game last season.

"He has been so positive through this process. I think that from the first time I saw him when we got back from the NCAA Tournament, and he had had surgery, the conversations that I had with him in his home, when he was still in his cast, and still recovering, all the way through the summer, every time it was, 'we are right on track. This thing is rolling and he said, 'don't worry coach, I will be back. That's been his attitude. Happy this day is finally here."

Corbin Kaufusi, the 6-foot-10 former football player, also practiced Thursday and looked good. Kaufusi beat his teammates up and down the floor on every running drill that I watched. The big guy has missed practices with some sort of breathing problem, but his conditioning looked great.

"He is doing better. He got a full practice in today," Rose said. "Hopefully we can play him a lot of minutes on Saturday."

Forward Nate Austin and freshmen Ryan Andrus and Jordan Chatman missed practice Thursday, Austin because he still has a sore back and Andrus because he got hit in practice on Wednesday. Austin won't play on Saturday, Rose said.

"Nate, we are hoping to get him next week in practice. I am hoping that we can get some minutes out of him in the Long Beach State game. Everything is recovering really well, and his back is responding. We are a little bit cautious with this as we want to make sure we've covered all the bases with it."

As for Chatman, he's had trouble with both knees since returning from a church mission to Taiwan.

"It has been tough. It has been tough for him," Rose said. "I love his effort and his grit and his determination, but he missed practice again today, so we will see how that goes."

When I asked Rose what Chatman's injury is, he said: "It is multiple. It is not the same leg today. So he is just having a difficult time trying to find a place where he is really comfortable and has good strength to continue to play. So we will see. It is just one of those things. It hasn't gone as either one of us has wanted it to go."