PROVO, Utah (March 1, 2011) — Due to a violation of the BYU Honor Code, Brandon Davies will not represent the university on the men's basketball team throughout the remainder of the 2010-11 season. Davies, a sophomore from Provo, Utah, has started 26 of 29 games for the No. 3-ranked Cougars, averaging 11.1 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 24.9 minutes per game in 2010-11. BYU does not make public details regarding violations of its Honor Code. Given BYU became aware of this violation yesterday, some decisions regarding Davies' future on the basketball team and at the university are yet to be determined."
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| Jimmer will have to carry even more of the offensive attack with Davies out of the lineup. |
What is unfortunate is that many people across the country will view this as an opportunity to pile on BYU and justify that with Davies suspended BYU is no longer worthy of a #1 seed and is no longer worthy to be considered a National Championship contender. We'll find out pretty quickly how Dave Rose, his coaching staff, and the players react to this news tomorrow night as they have to go out against a tough New Mexico team, who was the last team to beat BYU, without one of their key inside post players. But if past performance is any indicator as to how the Cougars will respond, this will be just another bump in the road on their way to a long tournament run. Rose, his coaching staff, and the players will need to view this situation as yet another challenge to overcome, just like when Jimmer missed a lot of last season due to mono, just like when Chris Collinsworth went down early this season with a knee injury, just like when Davies was in foul trouble seemingly every game - you get the picture. The Cougars still had to go out and get wins, and they did so in every instance. The natural reaction is to say that the season is over and the Cougars are doomed, but there will be no excuses for this team, and this will be a fantastic opportunity for Jimmer to cement his legacy in BYU lore by carrying his team through the MWC and NCAA tournament. Mark my words, BYU will still finish the season strong and most likely will still be a high seed (if not #1) in the NCAA tournament. No doubt, the Cougars will need to have huge contributions from Noah Hartsock, James Anderson, Stephen Rogers, Charles Abouo, Kyle Collinsworth in order to compensate for Davies' absence, but rest assured that Dave Rose (who on a personal level had a much more real and life-altering challenge called cancer to overcome...which he did!) will not let his team or its fans use Davies' absence as an excuse.
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| Coach Rose will have to rally Cougar Nation to overcome Davies' absence. |
Greg Wrubell's summary of the Davies situation hits home with Cougar fans everywhere:
"I can only imagine how Davies, the BYU players and coaches feel tonight, because I am sure most of Cougar Nation just feels crushed. An injury absence is in a way easier to overcome, because a player's health could be affected at any instant, for no reason at all. Injury may be unfair, but it is also without forethought or penalty. Honor Code suspensions are a result of choice and consequence, and those elements make Davies impending absence tougher to understand and accept. He will now sit and watch (or possibly, not watch), as his teammates move on without him. The Cougars may or may not go farther than any team in BYU Basketball history, but Davies will not be along for the ride, and it didn't have to be that way."
Go Cougars!
I would have to agree. This is only another bump in the road for the cougs this season. The story on Davies will definitely be headline and water cooler conversation up until tip-off tomorrow. We'll only have to wait and see if we can see an excited and energetic cougar team from now until the end of jimmer fredette's college career.
ReplyDeleteThe thing that is sad too is that so many people are "upset" and "mad" at Brandon, when honestly, how many other students at BYU are breaking the honor code on a daily basis. It's just too bad that it has to go so public, this is just like the Harvey incident back last year. But there has been so much hype about BYU and their awesome players this year, and as SDSU so lovingly pointed out that yes, we are Mormon, and our missionaries look so adorable in their shirt and tie and bicycle helmet, there's a reason for the honor code. BYU is a unique university, and ESPN, articles, and other schools love to point that out. The honor code is unique, and as hard as I 'm sure it was for the school to make act on this suspension, there can't be any exceptions to something you sign in order to be honored with a cougar jersey. It's just too bad when you see it happen to such a great athlete, then people look down on him, when in reality, who are you to judge. It is a let down, but having Hartsock getting even more solid down low, and Kyle Collinsworth able to be used as a 4 spot might work out for us in our favor. A lot of people have begun to lose hope, but really, I'm still just as excited as I was before to see how the cougs finish out their year, I just hope that Brandon can put his act together and hopefully he'll be sporting that beautiful navy Y sometime in the near future! :)
ReplyDeleteI think BYU will be okay in the MWC tourney. I don't think we will be okay in the NCAA tournament. It will be very difficult for us to go up against teams with athletic big men. Could you imagine BYU trying to play with a team like Duke with the Plumlee twins? We already stuggle rebounding the ball and now it will be that much more difficult. Such a punch to the gut for the team, university and us fans.
ReplyDeleteI would rather be Baron Davis... at this moment
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ReplyDeleteOOPS- this comment stuff is hard.
ReplyDeleteIts a unique pain as a BYU fan whenever something like this happens. All teams go through gut-wrenching losses or untimely injuries. But only BYU fans have to cope with this moral struggle. The sports fanatic (natural man) in me is frustrated at the injustice of it all. Why not have an investigation? Why not suspend for one quarter like other schools and privately give a slap on the wrist? Why throw away the dream season? On the other hand, the church member side of me has to acknowledge and appreciate the integrity of BYU in upholding the high standards against any and all. I should be happy to be associated with a University/church that keeps things in persepctive and walks the walk. But right now, it's still a little hollow. And I disagree as well- I dont think a long tourney run is feasible. I hope Im wrong, but I think we are a 7 seed masquerading as a 1 seed.