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Provo • BYU's basketball programs showed off the new Marriott Center Annex at an open house on Tuesday night as guests toured the state-of-the-art basketball practice facility east of the massive arena where the Cougars have played since 1971.
How important is the 38,000 square-foot structure to the future of the men's and women's teams at BYU?
"It really isn't a factor if you have one," men's basketball coach Dave Rose said. "It is a real factor if you don't have one."
In other words, the Cougars are keeping up with the Joneses, as well as all their other rivals in the West.
"We have probably used it [as a recruiting pitch] for the last four years, and we're just glad it is finally here and we can stick our flag in the ground and say we have done what we said we were going to do," said Rose, who began pushing for the building when he got the BYU job back in 2005.
The practice portion of the facility features an exact replica of the Marriott Center floor, with additional half-court shooting areas on each end, and two high-definition video boards.
There is also a joint strength and conditioning center for both programs, as well as a training room with a Cryosauna and hydrotherapy equipment and office suites for the men's and women's staffs.
The lobby includes a Hall of Honor showcasing BYU basketball history, with the programs getting equal recognition.
First announced in February of 2015, groundbreaking took place in November of that year. It was completed last December.
Freshman Yoeli Childs, the prized recruit from Bingham High, said knowing the facility would be open by the time he got on campus was "pretty important" to him when he was weighing offers from nearly a dozen suitors.
"It is huge because we got a lot of guys that are just gym rats. We got guys who are in there all the time; almost 24 hours a day you can go in there and someone will be in there working," Childs said.Rose said there have already been times this season when both programs needed to practice at the same time and were able to do it. In the past, one squad would have to practice at the Richards Physical Education Building or the Smith Fieldhouse.
"That's kind of how it has been a factor to this point," Rose said. "But once the season is over, I think that really becomes a workout gym, and the guys have access to it in the morning, in the afternoon, at night. I think that will really change how we actually operate over the years. I am looking forward to that."
Childs rests ankle
The already short-handed Cougars might be missing another key player on Thursday when they play at Portland (8 p.m. MST, ROOT Sports). Childs suffered a sprained ankle in the second half of Saturday's 70-57 loss to No. 20 Saint Mary's and did not practice on Monday or Tuesday.
"I am feeling pretty good," he said Tuesday night. "It is just day by day. I am just trying to stay on top of it, ice it, elevate it, just do the little things and see where it goes from there."
Childs said "it popped pretty hard, so it kind of scared me, but obviously I was able to go back in and play with the adrenaline and everything. I think that's a good sign, if I can play the day it happened, that is good looking forward."
Rose's prognosis was not as positive.
"He is trying to recover," Rose said. "It is pretty swollen, pretty sore. … So tomorrow is a big day. We will see how it is feeling tomorrow, see how the swelling has responded."
Childs said if doctors clear him and coaches believe he can help the team, he will play.
"I am a guy who will play through anything," he said.
Briefly
Rose said injured senior captains L.J. Rose and Kyle Davis will both make the trip to the Pacific Northwest — BYU is at No. 1 Gonzaga on Saturday — to provide leadership and moral support. L.J. Rose watched practice Tuesday, an ice pack on his left knee. "He feels better, but he's not getting out there on the court yet," Dave Rose said of the point guard's surgically repaired meniscus.
Twitter: @drewjay
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BYU at Portland
P Thursday, 8 p.m. MST
TV • ROOT Sports —
BYU at Portland
P Thursday, 8 p.m. MST
TV • ROOT Sports