A Special Season that will always be Remembered

By: Mitch Harper (Twitter: @Mitch_Harper)

A once in a generation team with a once in a generation player makes it harder than ever to see a season end.  Tonight, BYU’s once in a generation team sees its season end with a school-high 32 wins, the fourth Mountain West title in the Dave Rose era and an appearance in the NCAA Regionals for the first time in 30 years.

Looking back on this season there was so many special moments.  This team won 19 games away from Provo.  A school record.  Jimmer captivated the nation with “Jimmermania”.  The nation was in awe of Jimmer’s uncanny ability to fill it up in the box score, and carry such a boyish charm that everyone loved.

Jimmer’s legacy will be one of the best, if not THE best BYU Basketball player to ever touch the floor in Provo.  He was a remarkable talent that had relentless work ethic, and every season he continued to get better and better.  A down to earth guy who never changed hiimself for anyone.  A true role model and superstar.  Jimmer can’t be thanked enough.

But don’t forget the other Seniors that depart from this team.  Jackson Emery a undersized guard out of Lone Peak High School came to BYU with no press clippings, and not much fanfare.  Came to Provo the first season Dave Rose took over in 2005, and along with Jimmer was better and better every year in his career.  Emery of course became a notorious thief in his career, setting the all-time steals record in BYU history.

Logan Magnusson a Junior College transfer from Salt Lake Community College, who helped lead the Bruins to a JC National Title didn’t see much time in his first season as a Cougar, but this year in his Senior campaign was a team captain and total glue guy who did all the dirty work on the squad.  Once Brandon Davies was suspended, Magnusson saw his role increased and he had a memorable NCAA Tournament especially against Wofford with two big three-pointers to seal the opening round for BYU.

This collective team was remarkable.  Always overcame obstacles and found ways to win, regardless of the circumstances.

Noah Hartsock and Brandon Davies had solid seasons and took a step forward as players.  These two will form a terrific frontcourt next year.  Then you add Chris Collinsworth who will be receiving a medical redshirt year for this season, to next year’s front court and all of a sudden a weakness on this year’s team becomes a strength next year.

Kyle Collinsworth who was a highly-touted True Freshman coming into BYU, had some ups-and-downs this year but showcased his natural athleticsm and gave Cougar fans glimpses of the type of player he can be in this program.  KC will be heading on a mission, and will be serving in Serbia.

Charles Abouo who is always in charge of our days and our nights gained a ton of confidence down the stretch of the season in the starting lineup.  He became a consistent scorer on the team, and one of the team’s best defenders.  Will be one of the team’s best players going into next year.

We hate to see this season end.  We truly do.  You hate seeing a team with a player like Jimmer have it’s season not continue to the grand stage like the Final Four or National Championship, but it didn’t happen.  Doesn’t take away from all the special moments this team had.  And once the dust settles, I think this team and especially Coach Rose will be proud of what took place this season.

And don’t kid yourselves people.  BYU Basketball is here to stay.  Next year the program takes its talents to the West Coast Conference, and big things are definitely in store, with some big-time talent coming into the program next year and years from now.

But lets enjoy how special this year’s team truly was.

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