The date was March 3, barely two weeks ago, and Brigham Young basketball seemed ready to implode.
From Colin Cowherd to Charles Barkley, everyone with a microphone or laptop barbecued the Mormon school for suspending Brandon Davies, its leading rebounder (6.2 rpg) and No. 3 scorer (11.1 ppg). He admitted he violated the school’s honor code and got kicked off the team. BYU then went out on its home floor and laid an 82-64 egg against New Mexico.
Suddenly, the nation looked at BYU as another early-round NCAA exit with a novelty act in Jimmer Fredette.
The next day, coach Dave Rose called a meeting. You didn’t have to be a fly on the wall to hear what he said. You just had to be one of the 19,328 fans at the Pepsi Center on Saturday to see third-seeded BYU humiliate Gonzaga by 22 points.
Don’t look now, BYU critics, but your paddling boy has made the Sweet 16 for the first time in 30 years.
“We talked about this is our team now and we have to go forward and fill the void that was left,” junior forward Noah Hartsock said. “Everyone’s done a great job and taken responsibility.”
Fortunately for BYU (32-4), it had a couple of stiffs in Wyoming and Texas Christian to work out the kinks. Guard Charles Abouo stepped up with 25 points against Wyoming and 14 more against TCU.
“The most important thing that we talked about was that we needed time, OK?” Rose said. “Anytime you get in a situation like that, we didn’t have a lot of time to adjust for that (New Mexico game). Plus, New Mexico played extremely well.
“What I wanted to make sure is that our players understood that this is still a really good basketball team.”
At the Pepsi Center, they proved they’re not just Jimmer and the Fredettes. In Thursday’s win over Wofford, four players hit double figures, including reserve forward Logan Magnusson. In routing Gonzaga, little-used sophomore Stephen Rogers, averaging 3.9 points a game, scored 10 points in barely seven minutes in the first half. Jackson Emery, the school’s career steals leader, had 16 points.
The only people who stood around and watched Fredette were the fans. Oh, and Gonzaga.
“The most important thing is that we believe in ourselves,” Emery said. “We’ve gone through a lot of challenges this year, a lot of adversity. The most important thing is what we believe in that locker room.”
Rose had to adjust. Associate head coach Dave Rice tweaked the offense by spreading the floor more.
“We’ve created opportunities for our guys to drive the ball and get to the basket, to drive and kick for shots,” Rose said. “It’s a lot different. It’s taken us a little bit of time.”
It’s not lost on BYU observers that sitting on the bench Saturday, in shirt and tie and cheering on the Cougars, was Davies. While the rest of the country torched BYU and its Mormon rules, Davies admitted it, took the punishment, then the heat.
A disruptive Davies on a pulpit could’ve disrupted the team. Instead, they have the same team they had in November.
“Brandon’s great,” Abouo said. “He’s one of my best friends. He’s like a brother to all of us. He handled the situation great. He showed support and dedication to the team. He’s still involved. Him being with us really helps us out.”
He’ll go to New Orleans with BYU, intact, in one piece and one of the last 16 teams in the country that hasn’t lost, let alone imploded.
John Henderson: 303-954-1299 or jhenderson@denverpost.com
