BYU Cougars men's basketball

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BYU Cougars
University Brigham Young University
Conference MWC
Location Provo, UT
Head Coach Dave Rose (4th year)
Arena Marriott Center
(Capacity: 22,700)
Nickname Cougars
Colors Blue and White

             
Uniforms
 
Home jersey
Home jersey
  
Home shorts
Home
 
Away jersey
Away jersey
  
Away shorts
Away
NCAA Tournament Elite Eight
1981
NCAA Tournament Second Round
1971, 1981, 1984, 1988, 1991, 1993
NCAA Tournament Appearances
1950, 1951, 1957, 1964, 1969, 1971, 1972, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1984, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1995, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2008
Conference Tournament Champions
1991, 1992, 2001
Conference Regular Season Champions
1919, 1922, 1924, 1925, 1932, 1933, 1934, 1943, 1948, 1950, 1951, 1957, 1965, 1967, 1969, 1971, 1972, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1993, 2001, 2003 , 2007, 2008

The Brigham Young University (BYU) Cougars men's basketball program competes in the Mountain West Conference in NCAA Division I. The Cougars have been a relatively successful program, winning a total of 26 conference championships as a member of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, Skyline Conference, Western Athletic Conference, and the MWC. They have made 22 appearances in the NCAA Tournament, with the most recent coming in 2008. The Cougars are tied with the University of Missouri for the distinction of having the most NCAA Tournament appearances without having ever played in the Final Four. In addition, the Cougars have won the National Invitation Tournament twice.

BYU's basketball team is notable for its refusal to play games on Sundays, in accordance with LDS Church policy. This is almost never an issue for the football team, as college football teams almost never play on Sundays in order not to compete with the NFL; however, BYU's basketball team requires special consideration in the NCAA Tournament on Selection Sunday so that the team will not have to play a game on a Sunday. This became an issue in 2003 when the Selection Committee slotted the Cougars such that they would play a Sunday game were they to reach the Elite Eight. BYU is also notable because its players are often older than most college players due to their service on LDS missions, which do not count against the maximum four years of college eligibility granted by the NCAA.

Contents

[edit] History

BYU fielded its first basketball team in 1903. In 1906, the Cougars played their first game against Utah State University; in 1909, the team first played against the University of Utah. These two rivalries continue to this day. In its 104-year history, BYU's basketball program has won 1,501 games, ranking 22nd among all Division I programs. 83 of the school's 104 basketball teams have had winning records. The Cougars won the first of their 26 conference championships in 1919 as a member of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.

The Cougars would make the first of their 21 NCAA Tournament appearances in 1950 under legendary head coach Stan Watts. That BYU team also was the first to win 20 games in a season. BYU's 1951 team was even more successful, winning 28 games and once again qualifying for the NCAA Tournament. In addition, the 1951 team won the first of two NIT championships for the school. The Cougars would go on to make five more appearances in the NCAA Tournament under Watts, and won their second NIT championship in 1966.

Under Watts, BYU also became the first U.S. college basketball program to include an international player on its roster, as Finland native Timo Lampen debuted in the 1958-59 season. Later, BYU's Kresimir Cosic, born in Yugoslavia (modern-day Croatia), became the first international player to be named an All-American.[1] Watts retired as the winningest coach in BYU history.

After Watts's retirement following the 1972 season, the program experienced five consecutive losing seasons from 1974 through 1978 before returning to the NCAA Tournament in 1979 behind Danny Ainge and coach Frank Arnold. The Cougars reached the Final Eight, one game short of the Final Four, in 1981, Ainge's senior season. That season, Ainge won the Wooden Award as the nation's most outstanding player.


Arnold left following the 1983 season and was replaced by LaDell Andersen, who had several successful seasons in the 1980s, including the 1987-88 season when the Cougars rose as high as #2 in the national rankings on their way to a 26-6 season. Andersen then resigned following a 14-15 season in 1989.[2] He was replaced by Roger Reid, who guided the Cougars to 20-win seasons in each of his first six years on the job and five NCAA Tournament appearances.

Despite having the highest winning percentage of any coach in BYU history, Reid was fired in the middle of the 1996-97 season after a 1-6 start. Part of his firing had to do with a private comment Reid made to Chris Burgess, then considered the top high school player in the nation and a Mormon whose father had attended BYU; Reid suggested that Burgess had let down the entire Mormon church by choosing to attend Duke rather than BYU.[3] Assistant coach Tony Ingle coached the team on an interim basis for the rest of the season and did not win a game; the Cougars' 1-25 record was easily the worst in school history.

Following the season, Steve Cleveland was hired as the new head coach and returned the Cougars to prominence. In 2001, the Cougars won the MWC regular season and tournament championships, making their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1995. After the 2004-05 season, Cleveland resigned to become the head coach at Fresno State University; he was replaced by Dave Rose.

[edit] Coaches

Name Seasons Record
C.T. Teetzel 1905-08 22-6
Fred Bennion 1908-10 16-6
Henry Rose 1910-11 8-0
E.L. Roberts 1911-20, 1925-27 87-49
Alvin Twitchell 1920-25 50-20
G. Ott Romney 1927-35 139-71
Edwin R. Kimball 1935-36, 1938-41 59-38
Fred "Buck" Dixon 1936-38 25-23
Floyd Millet 1941-49 104-77
Stan Watts 1949-72 371-254
Glenn Potter 1972-75 42-36
Frank Arnold 1975-83 137-94
LaDell Andersen 1983-89 114-71
Roger Reid 1989-96 152-77
Tony Ingle 1996-97 0-19
Steve Cleveland 1997-2005 138-108
Dave Rose 2005-present 45-18

[edit] Honors and Awards

[edit] All-Americans

  • Elwood Romney (1931-32)
  • Mel Hutchins (1951)
  • John Fairchild (1965)
  • Dick Nemelka (1966)
  • Kresimir Cosic (1972-73)
  • Danny Ainge (1980-81) (Wooden Award winner, 1981)
  • Devin Durrant (1984)
  • Michael Smith (1988)

[edit] Conference Players of the Year

  • John Fairchild (1965)
  • Danny Ainge (1981)
  • Devin Durrant (1983)
  • Timo Saarelainen (1985)
  • Michael Smith (1988)
  • Mekeli Wesley (2001)
  • Rafael Araujo (2004)
  • Keena Young (2007)
  • Lee Cummard (2008)

[edit] Individual Records

Points, single game: 47, Bob Skousen, December 1, 1961 vs. UCLA
Rebounds, single game: 27, Scott Warner, December 18, 1969 vs. Texas Tech
Assists, single game: 16, Mike May, 1977 vs. Niagara
Steals, single game: 9, Mark Bigelow, 1999 vs. Arizona
Blocked shots, single game: 14, Shawn Bradley, 1991 vs. Eastern Kentucky
Points scored, career: 2467, Danny Ainge, 1978-81
Rebounds, career: 922, Michael Smith, 1984, 1987-89
Assists, career: 570, Matt Montague, 1997, 2000-02
Blocked shots, career: 208, Greg Kite, 1980-83

[edit] Season-by-season Record (since 1950)

Season Head Coach Overall Record Conf. Record Postseason
1949-50 Stan Watts 22-12 14-6 NCAA First Round
1950-51 Stan Watts 28-8 15-5 NCAA First Round, NIT Champions
1951-52 Stan Watts 14-10 9-5
1952-53 Stan Watts 22-8 11-3 NIT First Round
1953-54 Stan Watts 18-11 9-5 NIT First Round
1954-55 Stan Watts 13-13 10-4
1955-56 Stan Watts 18-8 10-4
1956-57 Stan Watts 19-9 11-3 NCAA First Round
1957-58 Stan Watts 13-13 9-5
1958-59 Stan Watts 15-11 8-6
1959-60 Stan Watts 9-17 5-9
1960-61 Stan Watts 15-11 9-5
1961-62 Stan Watts 10-16 5-9
1962-63 Stan Watts 12-14 6-4
1963-64 Stan Watts 13-12 5-5
1964-65 Stan Watts 21-7 8-2 NCAA First Round
1965-66 Stan Watts 20-9 6-4 NIT Champion
1966-67 Stan Watts 14-10 8-2
1967-68 Stan Watts 13-12 4-6
1968-69 Stan Watts 16-12 6-4 NCAA First Round
1969-70 Stan Watts 8-18 4-10
1970-71 Stan Watts 18-11 10-4 NCAA Second Round
1971-72 Stan Watts 21-5 12-2 NCAA First Round
1972-73 Glenn Potter 19-7 9-5
1973-74 Glenn Potter 11-15 6-8
1974-75 Glenn Potter 12-14 5-9
1975-76 Frank Arnold 12-14 6-8
1976-77 Frank Arnold 12-15 4-10
1977-78 Frank Arnold 12-18 6-8
1978-79 Frank Arnold 20-8 10-2 NCAA First Round
1979-80 Frank Arnold 24-5 13-1 NCAA First Round
1980-81 Frank Arnold 25-7 12-4 NCAA Final 8
1981-82 Frank Arnold 17-13 9-7 NIT First Round
1982-83 Frank Arnold 15-14 11-5
1983-84 LaDell Andersen 20-11 12-4 NCAA Second Round
1984-85 LaDell Andersen 15-14 9-7
1985-86 LaDell Andersen 18-14 11-5 NIT Quarterfinals
1986-87 LaDell Andersen 21-11 12-4 NCAA First Round
1987-88 LaDell Andersen 26-6 13-3 NCAA Second Round
1988-89 LaDell Andersen 14-15 7-9
1989-90 Roger Reid 21-9 11-5 NCAA First Round
1990-91 Roger Reid 21-13 11-5 NCAA Second Round
1991-92 Roger Reid 25-7 12-4 NCAA First Round
1992-93 Roger Reid 25-9 15-3 NCAA Second Round
1993-94 Roger Reid 22-10 12-6 NIT Second Round
1994-95 Roger Reid 22-10 13-5 NCAA First Round
1995-96 Roger Reid 15-13 9-9
1996-97 Roger Reid/Tony Ingle 1-25 0-16
1997-98 Steve Cleveland 9-21 4-10
1998-99 Steve Cleveland 12-16 6-8
1999-2000 Steve Cleveland 22-11 7-7 NIT Quarterfinals
2000-01 Steve Cleveland 24-9 10-4 NCAA First Round
2001-02 Steve Cleveland 18-12 7-7 NIT Second Round
2002-03 Steve Cleveland 23-9 11-3 NCAA First Round
2003-04 Steve Cleveland 21-9 10-4 NCAA First Round
2004-05 Steve Cleveland 9-21 3-11
2005-06 Dave Rose 20-9 12-4 NIT First Round
2006-07 Dave Rose 25-9 13-3 NCAA First Round

[edit] References

  1. ^ Source: http://www.byucougars.com/basketball_m/media/2006I.pdf
  2. ^ Source: http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DEFDC1731F93BA25750C0A96F948260
  3. ^ Source: http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4188/is_20050510/ai_n14620673

[edit] External links

v • d • e
BYU Cougars Head Basketball Coaches

Teetzel • Bennion • H. Rose • Roberts • Twitchell • Roberts • Romney • Kimball • Dixon • Kimball • Millet • Watts • Potter • Arnold • Andersen • Reid • Ingle • Cleveland • D. Rose
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