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The Cougars will need big games from stars Tyler Haws and Kyle Collinsworth tonight and solid outings from their bigs — Corbin Kaufusi, Luke Worthington and Isaac Neilson — tonight if they hope to topple the Portland Pilots at Chiles Center.

But they also need Chase Fischer and Skyler Halford to show up and hit some 3-pointers and Frank Bartley to give them a spark off the bench.

I wrote about Bartley's significant contributions of late — especially his rebounding prowess — in this article previewing tonight's game (8 p.m. MST, Root Sports).

Some BYU fans have wondered about Bartley's happiness level, and whether he might seek greener pastures when the season is over because his playing time — until a few weeks ago — had dropped significantly since the first few months of his freshman season.

Bartley's best friends on the team are Anson Winder, Luke Worthington, Dalton Nixon and Jake Toolson, and all four could be gone next year. Winder will graduate, Nixon and Worthington are leaving on church missions, and Toolson is still trying to decide whether he will give a mission another shot, according to coach Dave Rose.

Bartley's girlfriend, BYU women's basketball star Xojian Harry, is also a senior.

All that said, I got the impression from Bartley that he is happy in Provo, buoyed by his increased minutes as of late, and eager to return next year and make an even bigger contribution.

"I never know what coach is thinking," he said when asked what next year holds in store for him. "I will just come in and try to help the team win and pick up where we left off. Hopefully we can be successful next year. Whatever we need to do to help this team win, we want to do."

Bartley said he's not surprised that he can rebound well at the collegiate level, despite being 6-foot-3, because he was a rebounding machine in high school in Louisiana and at his prep school in California.

"All throughout high school, I almost averaged a triple double by just getting rebounds," he said. "So I am used to getting rebounds. It is nothing new for me, so when they told me to go in there and get rebounds, it wasn't hard for me to adapt to it."

Bartley said there was a time he wanted to play point guard for BYU, but has pretty much decided he's either a shooting guard or a wing. Occasionally, he can play the four this year, but probably won't next year when Kyle Davis and Jamal Aytes become eligible/healthy.

"I just play whatever coach wants me to play, and try to do whatever coach wants me to do to help the team," he said. "I don't play [point guard] very much anymore, and honestly I don't have to just because of the unbelievable player that Kyle [Collinsworth] is. I pretty much play the 2 through the 4."

Bartley said the aforementioned players on the team have helped him get adjusted to Provo, although he says it really hasn't been that been of a culture shock for him because of his year spent in California at a prep school.

"I have great teammates, and I hang out with them all the time. So it is not really that different. It is different, but it is not that different. I was in California by myself before I came here, so it is not that different being away from family and home," he said.

His least favorite thing about Provo?

"Omigosh, the driving is terrible," he said. "I got mad at someone last night. It wasn't the best. They just cut you off and drive close behind you.

I guess it is the culture here. They drive crazy out here."