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Provo • Shoulders slumped, heads down, and with a few tears in their eyes, BYU basketball players trudged off the University of Dayton court after giving up 62 points in the second half and losing 94-90 to Ole Miss in an NCAA Tournament first-round game last month.
It was a familiar scene, actually. For the fifth time in eight appearances in the Big Dance under 10-year coach Dave Rose, the Cougars bowed out in the first round. Rose's record in March Madness fell to 7-10. He is 4-8 in the NCAAs and 3-2 in the NIT.
The devastating loss, in which the Cougars blew a 17-point halftime lead, continued a trend. Dubious, or a mark of laudable consistency, depending upon one's perspective, is this unavoidable fact: BYU holds the record for most NCAA Tournament appearances without reaching the Final Four in the country, 29, and will have to get a lot better, or a lot worse, to lose that distinction.
Reference the 1990s classic movie "Groundhog Day," or channel Yogi Berra and call it deja vu all over again, the string of similar postseason finishes in the Rose era — not to mention the lack of a conference tournament championship — raises the question: Is this as good as it gets for the Cougars? Has the program reached its ceiling?
About a month after the loss to Ole Miss, in his window-less office at the Marriott Center, Rose didn't hesitate when he was asked those questions, brusquely replying "I don't think that's the case at all."
Later, Rose detailed the progress his program has made, speaking about the returning players who helped the Cougars go 25-10 in 2014-15 and the recruits and returned missionaries he's got lined up the next few years. While not offering them up as excuses, he lamented some bad breaks in recent years, including Brandon Davies' suspension, Noah Hartsock's late-season ailments, Kyle Collinsworth's season-ending knee injury before last year's NCAA loss to Oregon and a plethora of injuries this season to expected key contributors such as UNLV transfer Jamal Aytes, leading rebounder Nate Austin and valuable sixth-man Anson Winder.
"Some people get cynical, perhaps make excuses, but we look ahead," Rose said. "The bottom line is every year is a new year. That's how we look at it as coaches and players. There are new opportunities, and I think that one thing about sports that continues to make it a really entertaining business is the fact that you don't know what is going to happen."
In the case of BYU basketball, predicting what's going to happen has been easy, Rose's positivity notwithstanding.
Since once-in-a-generation player Jimmer Fredette combined with stalwarts Jackson Emery, Hartsock, Collinsworth (then a pre-mission freshman) and Charles Abouo to lead the Cougars to the Sweet 16 in 2011, BYU has won one NCAA game and zero conference or tournament titles in four seasons in the West Coast Conference.
Yet, hope springs eternal. Rose, 57, signed a five-year contract extension in February, a development seen by many as a stamp of approval from BYU's administration that his record of reaching the tournament, if not flourishing there, is enough. The announcement a day later of a new practice facility and upgrades to the 44-year-old Marriott Center, designed to enhance the fan experience, were also viewed as rewards for a job well-done — and an investment in the future.
For his part, Rose says he's not satisfied. He said he thinks about reaching the Final Four "every single day" and is driven by that goal alone.
"That's what we believe as a group, that next year is going to be our year," Rose said. "There are nine other teams in our league that believe the same thing, and there are 350 or so teams around the country that believe it, too. That's what energizes you, motivates you and encourages you. Fans can sit back and look at it from their point of view [and be pessimistic]. But from our point of view, it is not the same."
Of the six former BYU players contacted for this article, none said the Cougars have reached their limits as a program. But several acknowledged that a combination of the honor code, heightened admissions and academic standards and the move four years ago to the lesser-respected West Coast Conference has made it more difficult than ever before for Rose to attract types of players who can keep the Cougars in the top 25 and make it to the Sweet 16 or beyond every three or four years.
Almost all say the program's biggest weakness, currently, stems from lack of defense. Emery, a defensive ace, has said that focus and concentration are occasionally lacking on that end; others say Rose primarily recruits offensive stars and skilled scorers and then hopes he can teach defense.
"I do not believe BYU has hit the ceiling. … I have been to a couple of practices, and these guys work hard," said Kenneth Roberts, who played under coach Roger Reid in the early 1990s. "They go all out and give everything they have. … What I think they can improve [on] is being stingy in giving up easy buckets. Teams get past the first line of defenders and to the rim at too consistent of a rate. Having a team dunk on you is a personal thing. It hurts. Being in the right place to prevent an easy bucket should be a high priority."
Barring a turnaround in his second decade at the helm, Rose's legacy will be as the most successful coach in school history, a consistent winner who delivers exciting, entertaining and fast-paced basketball at the expense of defense and deep runs in the NCAA Tournament.
"Coach Rose gives his team a high level of confidence," Roberts said. "They play without fear. It is fun to watch. [But] teams that make it into the final rounds of their conference tournaments and deep into March Madness are teams that can play shutdown defense. … That's where I see BYU making the most improvement and making the most impact, on the defensive side."
Jonathan Tavernari, who plays professionally in Italy and Brazil, played for Rose from 2007-10 and says the Cougars should focus on catching Gonzaga and winning a regular-season WCC title.
"So now with a fresh batch of high-profie guys coming around, I think that the program is in the right direction," Tavernari wrote. "The thing that people need to understand is that going to the Sweet 16 is really hard. It takes a lot of variables to play in your favor. … But to be realistic, I believe BYU can and should aim to be at Gonzaga's level, because they are the alpha dogs in the [WCC] and in the West now. With the right batch of players and a few breaks in our favor, BYU can continue its NCAA Tournament presence."
Watching Austrian 7-footer Jakob Poeltl help lead rival Utah to the Sweet 16, and other foreigners such as Canadian Kevin Pangos, Lithuanian Domantas Sabonis and Poland's Przemek Karnowski lead Gonzaga's WCC dominance, many BYU fans have wondered why the Cougars haven't taken advantage of their LDS Church presence abroad to land similar stars.
"We have looked at it a lot," Rose said. "In fact, we have been involved [recruiting] with a couple foreign guys. The most important thing is to make sure that you get the right guys. I think the challenge of the fit at BYU is probably what I look at the most.
"I want guys that really want to be here," he added. "I want guys who believe that this is the place where they can fulfill all their basketball ambitions and goals and they will feel really comfortable in this setting doing that. Those are the guys that we really spend a lot of time with. And to find that outside of this country right now is difficult for us."
Twitter: @drewjay —
Hitting the ceiling?
BYU basketball under coach Dave Rose
Season Record Postseason Result
2005-06 20-9 Went 0-1 in NIT
2006-07 25-9 Went 0-1 in NCAA Tournament
2007-08 27-8 Went 0-1 in NCAA Tournament
2008-09 25-8 Went 0-1 in NCAA Tournament
2009-10 30-6 Went 1-1 in NCAA Tournament
2010-11 32-5 Went 2-1 in NCAA Tournament
2011-12 26-9 Went 1-1 in NCAA Tournament
2012-13 24-12 Went 3-1 in NIT
2013-14 23-12 Went 0-1 in NCAA Tournament
2014-15 25-10 Went 0-1 in NCAA Tournament
Overall 257-88 4-8 in NCAA Tournament, 3-2 in NIT