By Benjamin Owen
BYU men''s basketball fans will have to familiarize themselves with a vastly different team than what they saw last year.
Gone are five players who averaged double-digit minutes of playing time last season, including four-year starter Mark Bigelow and NBA lottery draft pick Rafael Araujo.
Having to adjust to roster changes is nothing new to head coach Steve Cleveland. New faces are a part of a college basketball coach''s life and something Cleveland has become accustomed to during his seven-year tenure at BYU.
'It''s somebody else''s turn to step up,' Cleveland said. 'When you build a program and you want to continue the tradition, that''s the attitude that players have to take.'
Seniors Mike Hall, Jared Jensen and Terry Nashif give the Cougars some experienced players to build around, and Cleveland said he expects all three to have prominent leadership roles this year. Jensen, in particular, said he is excited for the opportunity to help lead his teammates in the right direction this season.
'Being a senior brings more responsibility and leadership into the game,' Jensen said. 'Myself, Terry and Mike Hall. With the experience that we''ve gained over the last three years playing, it''s a great teaching tool for the rest of the guys on the team that are newer.'
Returning All-MWC guard and MWC Defensive Player of the Year, Hall is expected to contend for conference player of the year honors. The 6-foot-3 guard is also the team''s top returning scorer, and with the relative youth of this year''s team, is one player that BYU fans know what to expect from. After showing his ability to get to the basket last year, Hall said he worked hard during the off-season so that opponents will have to respect other aspects of his game as well.
'I tried to work on my shooting a lot,' Hall said. 'Teams were playing off me a lot this last year, so I just tried to use this summer to work on my shot and ball handling.'
In addition to BYU''s three seniors, sophomores Garner Meads, Mike Rose and Austin Ainge are the only other players on the roster who received playing time for the Cougars last season. All together there are seven sophomores on the team. Derek Dawes is a 6-foot-10, 275-pound center who will challenge for the starting job after redshirting last season. Shooting guard Jimmy Balderson played one year for BYU before serving a mission and may redshirt in order to get back into playing condition after his missionary service. Shooting guard Sam Burgess and small forward Keena Young are both sophomore transfers new to the program as well. Burgess is also returning from a mission.
Guards Brock Reichner and Josh Reisman and forward Joshua Burgess are the three juniors on this year''s roster. Reichner and Reisman are transfers and Burgess redshirted last season after joining the team last fall.
Cleveland''s offseason work has landed him top-20 recruiting class, and some of his newcomers will likely step in right away and play key roles this season. Meads said despite the losses of several key players from last year''s team, the Cougars have a lot of young talent on the roster.
'I think we had a pretty good recruiting class,' Meads said. 'Coach Cleveland and his staff made sure that we have players at each position.'
Of the seven players in this year''s recruiting class, three are straight out of high school and were recruited by many of the nation''s best basketball programs. David Burgess is a 6-foot-10, 265-pound center from Irvine, Calif., and was considered one of the best centers in the country last season. Six-foot-ten forward Chris Miles is Utah''s two-time reigning 4A State MVP, and 6-foot-10 forward Trent Plaisted was a first-team 5A Texas All-State selection.
Meads said he expects the frontcourt to be one of the team''s biggest strengths and for the three incoming freshmen to play a big part in providing more depth down low.
'I think we''re pretty deep,' Meads said. 'We''re deeper in the front than we have been in a long time with guys like Trent and Chris Miles and Derek and Dave Burgess coming in, so we''ve got a lot of big guys whereas last year we were kind of thin at those spots.'
BYU and its mix of mainly youthful players will be tested throughout the season by a demanding schedule.
'We have as strong a schedule as BYU has had in probably 25 years, maybe ever,' Cleveland said. 'We open up with the No. 1 team in the nation, North Carolina.'
The season opener against the Tar Heels will be an opening round game in the Maui Invitational. The tournament also includes prominent teams such as Stanford, Texas, Louisville, Tennessee and Iowa.
Following the Maui Invitational, BYU opens up at home Nov. 27 against California to try and avenge last year''s close loss to the Golden Bears.
Other notable non-conference teams on the Cougars schedule include Utah State, Southern Califonia, North Carolina State, Washington State, Boise State and Weber State.
The Cougars will try to build on the success they have had in recent years, reaching the NCAA tournament three of the last four seasons.
'My expectations are the same expectations as we had last year,' Hall said. 'We''re going to try to win a conference championship and just play hard and just win games.'