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Provo • In late September, coach Dave Rose's BYU basketball team got together for a media event at the school's broadcasting building and spoke positively about the upcoming season. Optimism abounded.
The Cougars and Rose raved about their depth, their increased focus on defense, the team unity formed on a trip to Spain in August and their ability to replace all-time leading scorer Tyler Haws with a combination of veteran sharpshooters and improved post play.
Then the two-game exhibition season happened. And so did a rash of injuries — none of them serious — that have dampened spirits a tad as the Cougars begin the season on Friday against Utah Valley University (7 p.m., BYUtv).
"I'm obviously pleased that we won the game, but there are a lot of things from the game that concern us," Rose said last Saturday after the Cougars struggled with Alaska before pulling out a 77-64 win. The previous week, BYU was tied 42-all at halftime with Arizona Christian, an NAIA school from Phoenix, before taking a 103-75 win.
Not real impressive for a team hoping to take down Gonzaga in its fifth season in the West Coast Conference.
"I thought there were some good individual performances, but as a team, I didn't think we played very well together," Rose said. "Hopefully, we can fix that."
The injuries have slowed the coaching staff's ability to find the right combinations of players on a team that has five players back from last year: team captains Nate Austin, Kyle Collinsworth and Chase Fischer and sophomores Corbin Kaufusi and Jake Toolson.
There are high hopes for several newcomers and returned missionaries, including 18-year-old freshman Zac Seljaas, returned missionary freshmen Nick Emery, Braiden Shaw and Jakob Hartsock and transfers Kyle Davis (Utah State) and Jamal Aytes (UNLV).
"The bottom line with this team is we've got a group of experienced guys, and we've got a lot of young, inexperienced guys who have to become part of us, and our core, and what we are going to do, and who we play with," Rose said.
He said the club reminds him of the one in 2011-12 that was trying to replace Jimmer Fredette. Haws broke Fredette's scoring record last year.
"The way we will do that this year is similar to that year," Rose said. "We will have a lot of guys share that role."
First, they will need guys to get healthy.
Collinsworth missed some practices and the exhibition opener with tendinitis in his left knee. Fischer missed the ACU game with a quad contusion. Kaufusi missed both games with a pulled hamstring, while Davis sat out the Alaska game with a sprained ankle, leaving the team thin inside.
Promising freshman returned missionary Jordan Chatman, who redshirted last year, sprained his ankle in the intrasquad scrimmage and hasn't returned.
Rose said last week he hopes to have most, if not all, of the injured players available for Friday's opener. The game suddenly looks a lot tougher than many expected because UVU pounded Western State 97-52 in its only exhibition game on Monday.
Fischer said the team's identity has changed.
"We are a little more defensive-minded, for sure, and a little more free-flowing on offense," he said.
Asked how they plan to play better defense, Fischer smiled.
"Without giving our secrets away, I think it is just more emphasis on it. We have more invested in it."
Only time will tell.
Twitter: @drewjay —
BYU at a glance
Key Additions • F Kyle Davis, F Jamal Aytes, G Nick Emery, F Jakob Hartsock, F Braiden Shaw, G Zac Seljaas, G Cory Calvert
Key Losses: • Tyler Haws, Skyler Halford, Josh Sharp, Anson Winder, Isaac Neilson, Frank Bartley IV
Projected Starters • G Kyle Collinsworth [6-6], G Chase Fischer [6-3], G Nick Emery [6-2], F Kyle Davis [6-8], F Nate Austin [6-11]
Bottom Line • Even without Tyler Haws, the Cougars will score a lot of points. But again, their success will largely depend on whether they play enough defense against teams such as Gonzaga, St. Mary's, Utah, Colorado and Belmont. —
Season opener
P Utah Valley at BYU
Friday, 7 p.m.
TV • BYUtv