BYU basketball: Three takeaways from the Cougar Tipoff

BYU basketball’s Cougar Tipoff was on Wednesday night. Here’s what we learned from the scrimmage in the Marriott Center.

BYU basketball’s place as the No. 3 team in the West Coast Conference might not be changing this year. The Cougars probably don’t have the firepower to knock off Gonzaga or St. Mary’s.

However, BYU basketball is looking like an incredibly fun team to watch. If the right things happen in 2017-18, then next season may be a special one.

Our first look at the Cougar Cagers came on Wednesday night during the Cougar Tipoff event. There’s only so much you can learn from watching a team play itself, but here are three takeaways from the event.

Bonus Takeaway: Elijah Bryant looks healthy for the first time in his BYU basketball career. He was smooth, played confidently, and looks like a key cog for the Cougars. His euro-step is superb, and he seems to have finally found his range from 3-point land.

Jahshire Hardnett is smooth and explosive

I was particularly interested to see how Hardnett would look after transferring from Chipola College. He was advertised as an athletic and quick guard who could get the rack at any time.

And you know what? He didn’t disappoint.

Hardnett finished with 15 points, seven assists and zero turnovers. He got to the basket often, even shaking and baking Nick Emery with a nifty move to score a layup.

He’s likely going to be the first guard off the bench for Dave Rose, but he’s going to see plenty of time on the court. It’s clear he’s every bit as good as advertised.

At the very least, he seems to be a competent backup point guard with a knack for scoring. I suppose a best-case scenario would see him develop his defensive skills and take Emery’s starting job – but that’s a long shot.

It’s not often that BYU basketball gets a player with his kind of speed and athleticism. He’s going to be fun to watch, and will likely only see his role get bigger as the year rolls along.