This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Provo • BYU fans were introduced to their new football coach on Saturday night.
At a basketball game.
New coach Kalani Sitake addressed the Marriott Center crowd at halftime of the BYU-Pepperdine game as a crop of recruits watched front a corner of the student section behind the west basket.
Before Sitake was introduced, each new assistant coach was introduced individually, and most fans in the crowd stood and roared their approval.
"It's great to be home," Sitake said first.
He spoke for about three minutes, telling the fans "we will be ready and roaring to go this fall."
Sitake also gave a shoutout to the student section — which reached all the way to the top of the Marriott Center — and asked the patrons to show support for coach Dave Rose and the basketball team and all of BYU's sports teams.
Holmoe on hoops committee
BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe is once again on the NCAA men's basketball tournament selection committee.
"I love [being on] the committee, and this is an insane year," Holmoe said Friday during a 30-minute question-and-answer session with reporters. "It is going to be a tough, tough week in that first selection week. But we will get them right."
Holmoe said his experience last year taught him he can't give any preferential treatment to BYU.
"I have friends on the committee, and when we are having cheese and crackers, we talk about our schools all the time. It is definitely away from the room," he said. "People like BYU. My friends, I like their schools, too. There are people on the committee who have really good teams. So it is fun to be able to do that. When you get into the room, you take off your pins, buttons and logos, and you don't represent BYU. In that room, it is very, very professional. There are no [biases]. You can't wear your allegiances on your sleeve, at all. So I follow the way it has been and follow the conference culture forever. That's what they've trained me to do and it is pretty tight."
Collinsworth's peak performance
If BYU guard Kyle Collinsworth appears to be playing harder than he has all season, it is because he feels better than he has all season, Rose said.
"His legs have actually felt a lot better the last two weeks, and he's got kind of a new program he is on as far as stretching and his mobility and things," Rose said. "He feels a lot better. I hope that continues. He's had some real explosive plays, that's for sure."
Collinsworth entered the game with 919 career rebounds and was trying to pass Michael Smith (922) to become the all-time rebounding leader in school history. He had one rebound in the first half, with 13 points and eight assists.
Briefly
Officials for Saturday night's game were Michael Greenstein, Jimmy Casas and Kelly Pfeifer. … Pepperdine and BYU coaches wore sneakers as part of the Coaches vs. Cancer awareness promotion.
Twitter: @drewjay