BYU Cougars
2020-2021 Overall Rank: #48
Conference Rank: #2 West Coast
Coach Mark Pope stepped into the big shoes of Dave Rose and had a very good debut season. BYU went 24-8 overall and finished 13-3 behind only Gonzaga in the West Coast Conference standings. This group has the talent to find similar success in 2020-2021, but the Cougars will look drastically different. Five key players are gone, including Yoeli Childs, Jake Toolson and TJ Haws. Those three alone accounted for 51.4 points per game and 65 percent of BYU’s scoring last year.
2019-20 Record: 24-8, 13-3
Coach: Mark Pope
Coach Record: 24-8 at BYU, 101-64 overall
Key Departed Players:
Yoeli Childs, Forward, 22.2 ppg
Jake Toolson, Guard, 15.2 ppg
TJ Haws, Guard, 14.0 ppg
Dalton Nixon, Forward, 7.5 ppg
Zac Seljaas, Guard, 6.6 ppg
Key Returning Players:
Kolby Lee, Junior, Forward, 7.0 ppg
Alex Barcello, Senior, Guard, 9.3 ppg
Connor Harding, Junior, Guard, 6.1 ppg
Tevin Knell, Sophomore, Guard, 1.5 ppg
Gavin Baxter, Junior, Forward, 1.1 ppg
Jesse Wade, Junior, Guard, dnp last season
Key New Players:
Brandon Averette, Senior, Guard, Transfer from Utah Valley
Hunter Erickson, Freshman, Guard
Gideon George, Junior, Forward, JC Transfer
Matt Haarms, Senior, Center, Transfer from Purdue
Richard Harward, Junior, Center, Transfer from Utah Valley
Spencer Johnson, Sophomore, Guard, JC Transfer
Caleb Lohner, Freshman, Forward
Wyatt Lowell, Sophomore, Forward, Transfer from Utah Valley
Townsend Tripple, Freshman, Guard
Brandon Warr, RS Freshman, Guard
Projection:
A huge group of transfers will make up most of the regular rotation this season. Matt Haarms highlights the group. The 7-3 center spent three years at Purdue where he averaged 8.6 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.0 blocks last season. Gideon George, Richard Harward and Wyatt Lowell will join returning forward Kolby Lee to round out the frontcourt. Harward and Lowell both followed Coach Pope from Utah Valley and had very promising freshman campaigns. Lee averaged 7.0 points and 3.2 rebounds with BYU last season. The backcourt returns sharpshooter Connor Harding and leading returning scorer Alex Barcello. Barcello had a successful season after transferring in from Arizona. Brandon Averette is an experienced senior who spent time at Oklahoma State and Utah Valley. With the Wolverines last year, Averette averaged 12.8 points and 3.0 assists. With Barcello, Averette and Harding leading the way, the backcourt is in good shape. They should have some quality depth with a handful of freshmen and junior college transfer Spencer Johnson. This will be a very interesting campaign for the Cougars. If the pieces fit together quickly, BYU will be right up there with Gonzaga at the top of the WCC standings.
Projected Postseason Tournament: NIT
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 79.6 (13th in nation, 2nd in conference)
Scoring Defense: 68.4 (148, 5)
Field-Goal Percentage: 50.0 (3, 2)
Field-Goal Defense: 43.8 (224, 5)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 10.4 (4, 1)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 42.2 (1, 1)
Free-Throw Percentage: 70.0 (208, 5)
Rebound Margin: -0.4 (202, 6)
Assists Per Game: 17.4 (5, 1)
Turnovers Per Game: 11.1 (22, 2)
