BYU Cougars men's basketball

Infobox CBB Team
name = BYU Cougars
|125px
logo_size = 150px
university = Brigham Young University
conference = Mountain West Conference
conference_short = MWC
division =
city = Provo
stateabb = UT
state = Utah
coach = Dave Rose
tenure = 4th
arena = Marriott Center
capacity = 22,700
nickname = Cougars
color1 = Blue
color2 = White
fontcolor = D1AA7A
hex1 = 002654
hex2 = FFFFFF
h_pattern_b=_thinsidesonwhite|h_body=002654|h_shorts=002654|h_pattern_s=_blanksides
a_pattern_b=_thinwhitesides|a_body=002654|a_shorts=002654|a_pattern_s=_whitesides
NCAAchampion =
NCAAfinalfour =
NCAAeliteeight=1981
NCAAsecondround=1971, 1981, 1984, 1988, 1991, 1993
NCAAtourneys = 1950, 1951, 1957, 1964, 1969, 1971, 1972, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1984, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1995, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2008
conference_tournament = 1991, 1992, 2001
conference_season = 1919, 1922, 1924, 1925, 1932, 1933, 1934, 1943, 1948, 1950, 1951, 1957, 1965, 1967, 1969, 1971, 1972, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1993, 2001, 2003 , 2007, 2008
National_Invitational_Tournament_(NIT)_Champions = 1951, [In the early 1950s, the NIT was the most prestigious tournament in college basketball, making this, effectively, a national championship year for BYU] 1966

The Brigham Young University (BYU) Cougars men's basketball team competes in the Mountain West Conference in NCAA Division I. The Cougars have been a relatively successful program, winning a total of 26 conference championships as a member of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, Skyline Conference, Western Athletic Conference, and the MWC. They have made 22 appearances in the NCAA Tournament, with the most recent coming in 2008. The Cougars are tied with the University of Missouri for the distinction of having the most NCAA Tournament appearances without having ever played in the Final Four. In addition, the Cougars have won the National Invitation Tournament twice.

BYU's basketball team is notable for its refusal to play games on Sundays, in accordance with LDS Church policy. This is almost never an issue for the football team, as college football teams almost never play on Sundays in order not to compete with the NFL; however, BYU's basketball team requires special consideration in the NCAA Tournament on Selection Sunday so that the team will not have to play a game on a Sunday. This became an issue in 2003 when the Selection Committee slotted the Cougars such that they would play a Sunday game were they to reach the Elite Eight. BYU is also notable because its players are often older than most college players due to their service on LDS missions, which do not count against the maximum four years of college eligibility granted by the NCAA.

History

BYU fielded its first basketball team in 1903. In 1906, the Cougars played their first game against Utah State University; in 1909, the team first played against the University of Utah. These two rivalries continue to this day. In its 104-year history, BYU's basketball program has won 1,501 games, ranking 22nd among all Division I programs. 83 of the school's 104 basketball teams have had winning records. The Cougars won the first of their 26 conference championships in 1919 as a member of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.

The Cougars would make the first of their 21 NCAA Tournament appearances in 1950 under legendary head coach Stan Watts. That BYU team also was the first to win 20 games in a season. BYU's 1951 team was even more successful, winning 28 games and once again qualifying for the NCAA Tournament. In addition, the 1951 team won the first of two NIT championships for the school. The Cougars would go on to make five more appearances in the NCAA Tournament under Watts, and won their second NIT championship in 1966.

Under Watts, BYU also became the first U.S. college basketball program to include an international player on its roster, as Finland native Timo Lampen debuted in the 1958-59 season. Later, BYU's Kresimir Cosic, born in Yugoslavia (modern-day Croatia), became the first international player to be named an All-American. His jersey was retired in the Marriott Center in March of 2006 in the last home game of the season against the New Mexico Lobos.Source: http://www.byucougars.com/basketball_m/media/2006I.pdf] Watts retired as the winningest coach in BYU history.

After Watts's retirement following the 1972 season, the program experienced five consecutive losing seasons from 1974 through 1978 before returning to the NCAA Tournament in 1979 behind Danny Ainge and coach Frank Arnold. The Cougars reached the Final Eight, one game short of the Final Four, in 1981, Ainge's senior season. That season, Ainge won the Wooden Award as the nation's most outstanding player.

Arnold left following the 1983 season and was replaced by LaDell Andersen, who had several successful seasons in the 1980s, including the 1987-88 season when the Cougars rose as high as #2 in the national rankings on their way to a 26-6 season. Andersen then resigned following a 14-15 season in 1989.Source: http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DEFDC1731F93BA25750C0A96F948260] He was replaced by Roger Reid, who guided the Cougars to 20-win seasons in each of his first six years on the job and five NCAA Tournament appearances.

Despite having the highest winning percentage of any coach in BYU history, Reid was fired in the middle of the 1996-97 season after a 1-6 start. Part of his firing had to do with a private comment Reid made to Chris Burgess, then considered the top high school player in the nation and a Mormon whose father had attended BYU; Reid suggested that Burgess had let down the entire Mormon church by choosing to attend Duke rather than BYU.Source: http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4188/is_20050510/ai_n14620673] Assistant coach Tony Ingle coached the team on an interim basis for the rest of the season and did not win a game; the Cougars' 1-25 record was easily the worst in school history.

Following the season, Steve Cleveland was hired as the new head coach and returned the Cougars to prominence. In 2001, the Cougars won the MWC regular season and tournament championships, making their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1995. After the 2004-05 season, Cleveland resigned to become the head coach at Fresno State University; he was replaced by Dave Rose.

Coaches

Honors and Awards

All-Americans

*Elwood Romney (1931-32)
*Mel Hutchins (1951)
*John Fairchild (1965)
*Dick Nemelka (1966)
*Kresimir Cosic (1972-73)
*Danny Ainge (1980-81) (Wooden Award winner, 1981)
*Devin Durrant (1984)
*Michael Smith (1988)

Conference Players of the Year

*John Fairchild (1965)
*Danny Ainge (1981)
*Devin Durrant (1983)
*Timo Saarelainen (1985)
*Michael Smith (1988)
*Mekeli Wesley (2001)
*Rafael Araujo (2004)
*Keena Young (2007)
* [Lee Cummard (2008)

Individual Records

Points, single game: 47, Bob Skousen, December 1, 1961 vs. UCLA
Rebounds, single game: 27, Scott Warner, December 18, 1969 vs. Texas Tech
Assists, single game: 16, Mike May, 1977 vs. Niagara
Steals, single game: 9, Mark Bigelow, 1999 vs. Arizona
Blocked shots, single game: 14, Shawn Bradley, 1991 vs. Eastern Kentucky
Points scored, career: 2467, Danny Ainge, 1978-81
Rebounds, career: 922, Michael Smith, 1984, 1987-89
Assists, career: 570, Matt Montague, 1997, 2000-02
Blocked shots, career: 208, Greg Kite, 1980-83

eason-by-season Record (since 1950)

References

External links

* [http://www.basketball-reference.com/friv/colleges.cgi?college=byu Players who attended BYU]