BYU basketball: Previewing the Cougars' front court
Dave Rose and BYU basketball held their annual media day on September 29, officially ushering in the 2016-17 basketball season.
Last week, we previewed the BYU basketball backcourt. Spoiler alert: it looks to be a really good one.
This week, we’ll be breaking down the BYU front court.
Rose has an incredibly young team (10 underclassmen are on the roster), but this may be the most talented unit to call Provo home in a long time.
Still, the Cougars path to the top of the West Coast Conference won’t be easy. Both St. Mary’s and Gonzaga have deep and talented rosters, and most experts have them finishing in the Top 20.
But, for the first time in a long time, BYU basketball will have the talent to match.
So let’s look at the bigs.
Davin Guinn
Guinn may be the least talked about player on the roster, but Rose is high on the UC-Riverside transfer.
At media day, Rose mentioned Guinn early, saying the Cougars have “won a lot of games with guys like Dav.”
I’m not sure how many minutes per night Guinn will see on the court, but he’s a swingman that can do a little bit of everything for BYU basketball.
Last season, Guinn saw action in just nine games, and played a total of 26 minutes. He did score a career-high nine points (on 3-of-3 shooting) in BYU’s blowout victory over San Diego on February 20.
It’s been awhile since he’s logged significant minutes anywhere, but his high school highlights look like he’s got a game that could translate to the Division I level.
Yoeli Childs
Don’t be fooled by the name.
Childs is a man.
He can guard three different positions and is a really strong rebounder. He’s a good shot blocker and has nice touch on his shots.
Really, he feels like a young Paul Millsap.
Childs was No. 53 on the ESPN Top 100 for 2016 and led Bingham High School to the Utah 5A state title. As a senior he averaged 18.5 points and 10.7 rebounds and was named a four-star ESPN recruit.
He should be a major player for Rose, likely being the first big off the bench, behind Eric Mika and Kyle Davis (the likely starters). I expect him to be a bit of a spark plug for BYU basketball as a freshman before taking on a much larger role as a sophomore.
Braiden Shaw
Shaw might end up being the odd man out in the frontcourt rotation of BYU basketball.
He averaged just three minutes a game last season, and only checked into 19 contests. His height (6-foot-9) is nice, but he needs to bulk up to really be effectively down low.
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However, he was named the No. 1 recruit in Idaho as a senior in 2013.
Still, with many talented bigs fighting for minutes at the No. 4 and No. 5 spots, it’s tough to imagine that Shaw cracks that rotation with any consistency.
Jamal Aytes
Jeff Swinger-USA TODAY Sports
Aytes said at media day that he was healthy for the first time in a long time.
Cougar fans should get excited.
Aytes looks an awful lot like Keena Young, but I’m not sure if Aytes’ offensive game is comparable. But at the same time, it’s tough to make many comparisons because we’ve never really seen him healthy.
But, he said his goal this season was to lock down opposing scorers, and he certainly has the body to do that. He’s quick and has good feet, plus he’s got the bulk to take on bigs on the low block. I don’t think anyone is going to push him around.
If he can be a bulldog for Rose, and spend his night making scoring difficult for the other team, then BYU basketball is going to win a lot of games this season.
Payton Dastrup
Dastrup is another highly-touted recruit that found his way to Provo.
A 6-foot-9 forward, Dastrup was No. 95 on the ESPN Top 100 of 2014 and committed to Ohio State before flipping to BYU.
He recently returned from a LDS mission in Panama and now Cougar fans can prepare for four straight seasons of Dastrup.
As a senior at Mountain View High School (Arizona), he averaged 16.5 points and 13 rebounds and led the school to a 21-8 record.
Dastrup was a scrappy player in high school. His game wasn’t really flashy, but he runs the floor well, is a good rebounder and had a serviceable mid-range game.
He may not make the highlight reel, but he does a lot of the little things the right way and will help BYU win a lot of games during his tenure in Provo.
Kyle Davis
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Davis is one of the only two seniors on the roster and will be a leader for the Cougars.
A transfer from Utah State, Davis was a serviceable forward for Rose last season, but had a couple of significant holes in his game.
The first? He struggled to guard his position. The second? He seemed to have lost his touch around the basket.
But, when asked what he worked on this offseason, Davis said he focused on those two things.
It’s certainly refreshing to see a collegiate athlete not only be aware of their shortcomings, but to be actively trying to correct them.
Still, it’s not all bad for Davis.
He shot 55 percent from the field and nearly averaged a double-double (11.9 points and 7.5 rebounds). He’ll likely be the starting power forward for the Cougars, but he’ll be the beneficiary of playing with a stronger defensive unit.
Eric Mika
It was a long two-year wait for Cougar fans as Mika departed after his freshman year for a LDS mission.
But, just like the Marriott Center echoes before each home game:
Cougar fans, it’s time.
Mika is a legitimate NBA prospect and will be the face of BYU basketball until he graduates or leaves for the pros.
He averaged 11.9 points and 6.4 rebounds as a freshman in 2013-14, and was a true low post threat.
Mika is the type of player that can get the ball in the paint, back his defender down and finish with either hand. He can run the floor on a fast break and put a defender on a poster, he can defend the paint, he can rebound with the best of them.
He will be a superstar for BYU basketball.
Corbin Kaufusi
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Kaufusi is currently with Kalani Sitake and the BYU football team playing defensive end. He’s played well, too, collecting 12 tackles and one sack through six games.
When the football season comes to an end in late December, Kaufusi will return to the hardwood.
He wasn’t great last season, but I think a lot of that stemmed from his role. He needed to play a lot of minutes at center for the Cougars, and he struggled to stay on the court.
But, with the talent being so deep this year, Kaufusi doesn’t have to give you 25 minutes, he only needs to give you 15. That also means that his foul trouble shouldn’t be an issue.
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If he can provide a defensive spark off the bench for the Cougars, than all the rest of his contributions should be considered a bonus.
Last season, Kaufusi averaged 5.7 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. I’d expect a similar output this season, but he’ll likely receive fewer groans from the fans due to his smaller role.
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