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Provo • BYU's just-completed men's basketball season will be remembered for the remarkable turnaround after a puzzling loss at Pepperdine, a historic upset win at then-No. 3 Gonzaga that got them into the NCAA Tournament for the eighth time in nine years, and an eight-game winning streak they carried to the West Coast Conference tournament championship game.

Individually, Tyler Haws and Kyle Collinsworth had record-setting seasons, with Haws becoming the all-time leading scorer in school history with 2,710 points and Collinsworth posting six triple-doubles to set the NCAA single-season record and tie the NCAA career mark.

But as Gonzaga goes on a deep tournament run, and that 73-70 win at the Kennel grows in significance, perhaps the key words for the 25-10 Cougars from the 2014-15 season will turn out to be "what if?"

What if this team had a reliable rebounder and rim protector inside, such as 6-foot-10 Nate Austin, who tore his hamstring before the 65-61 loss to Utah?

What if it had UNLV transfer Jamal Aytes, whom coach Dave Rose said was the low-post scoring threat the team needed to replace departed missionary Eric Mika? Aytes needed ankle surgery at the start of the season.

What if third-leading scorer Anson Winder hadn't suffered a series of knee, groin and ankle injuries midway through the season? The ailments caused Winder to miss six of the final 16 games and he was limited in most of the others.

What if Rose and his staff had figured out sooner that seldom-used senior Josh Sharp, who was 8-0 as a starter before the 91-75 loss loss to the Zags in the WCC finale and the 94-90 loss to Ole Miss in the Big Dance opener, was a partial answer to the rebounding woes that plagued the team in January?

Finally, what if the Cougars had delivered on that preseason promise to play better defense?

And so it goes.

Before the loss to Ole Miss, Rose summed up the season by saying it was a constant challenge to reinvent themselves, due to the season-ending injuries to Aytes and Austin, the season-altering injuries to Winder and various other setbacks that caused stars Haws, Collinsworth, Corbin Kaufusi and Chase Fischer to miss significant time.

"It's a great life lesson that you never give up," Rose said. "You don't give up on yourself or the opportunity that's next for you. … Guys had a lot of opportunities to go different ways. What they chose to do as a group was come together and finish this thing as strong as possible."

Part of the retooling of the Cougars was a four-guard starting lineup that proved to be effective for a lengthy stretch until opponents adjusted. Senior guard Skyler Halford made the most of his chances as the season wore on, and the use of Sharp and freshman Ryan Andrus later in the season, the improved defense of Kaufusi and the insertion of Frank Bartley IV when Winder went down all proved to be effective adjustments.

A lasting memory will be the meltdown in the second half against Ole Miss when the Cougars blew a 17-point halftime lead and gave up 62 points in the final 20 minutes. Poor defense was fingered by most as the culprit, and it certainly could have been better — especially at stopping dribble penetration that led to at least a half-dozen Rebel dunks.

But the real demise started when BYU's guard turned the ball over repeatedly in the second half and seven Ole Miss steals led to a bunch of easy baskets. It is hard to play defense from half court when your opponent is streaking to your basket with the ball, as Rose later acknowledged.

Knowing they were blown out just once — nine of their 10 losses were by seven points or fewer — the Cougars will look a lot different next year. Seniors Haws, Winder, Halford and Sharp and their 45.1 points (54 percent of the offense), 12.0 rebounds and 7.6 assists per game will be gone, while Andrus, Dalton Nixon and Luke Worthington are expected to depart on church missions, leaving behind 5.8 points and 4.3 rebounds.

New faces will include four returning missionaries — Jakob Hartsock, Braiden Shaw, Nick Emery and Cory Calvert — USU transfer Kyle Davis and incoming freshman Zac Seljaas of Bountiful High, who was recently named the Utah Gatorade Player of the Year.

Twitter: @drewjay —

BYU's departing seniors

Player Min Pts Rebs Asts

Tyler Haws 32.1 22.2 4.5 2.3

Anson Winder 25.5 12.7 3.4 2.3

Skyler Halford 18.4 8.8 1.8 2.3

Josh Sharp 10.3 1.4 2.3 0.7

Totals 86.3 45.1 12.0 7.6

BYU's departing missionaries

Player Min Pts Rebs Asts

Dalton Nixon 9.7 2.1 1.7 0.7

Luke Worthington 12.3 1.8 1.7 0.1

Ryan Andrus 7.5 1.9 1.3 0.1

Totals 29.5 5.8 4.31 0.9 —

BYU basketball in 2015-16

Seniors: F Nate Austin, G Kyle Collinsworth, G Chase Fischer, G Jordan Ellis.

Juniors: G Frank Bartley IV, F Kyle Davis.

Sophomores: F Jamal Aytes, C Corbin Kaufusi, F Isaac Neilson, G Jake Toolson, G Cory Calvert

Freshmen: F Jakob Hartsock, F Braiden Shaw, G/F Zac Seljaas, G Nick Emery, G Jordan Chatman