BYU basketball: Y's transition offense tough to slow down

PROVO — When TCU, the surprise team of the Mountain West Conference, took the court Tuesday night at the Marriott Center, the Horned Frogs had one main strategy in mind — stop BYU's powerful transition offense.

Of everything that TCU coach Jim Christian had preached, he felt that was the essential element for the Horned Frogs to pull off their second-straight MWC upset. Instead, the game plan went out the window in a flash when TCU missed it's first shot and BYU's Lee Cummard scored on a fast-break layup 22 seconds into the game. It went downhill from there as BYU had 10 fast-break points and 10 points off of turnovers by halftime.

Christian was so worried about BYU's transition game that it was obvious, at least in the first half, that he had instructed his players to worry more about getting back on defense rather than hitting the offensive boards. Even that didn't work.

But TCU is not alone this season in getting burned by the Cougars' fast-tempo offensive attack. Arizona State coach Herb Sendek called BYU's offense among the most efficient and impressive in the nation. Wake Forest's Dino Gaudio had similar praise for a BYU squad that leads the MWC in making 51 percent of its shots, scoring 81 points per game and being the most efficient in assists-to-turnover ratio. Colorado State coach Tim Miles compared the Cougars to the legendary run-and-gun Los Angeles Laker teams of the '80s.

There's no secret to anyone what BYU's game plan is.

"We rebound the ball, we outlet it to Jimmer (Fredette) or one of our guards, and we run," junior forward Jonathan Tavernari said.

Cougar coach Dave Rose said his philosophy is simple, especially with so many players who are skilled in the open court. It's all about getting easy baskets, Rose said, and there's no better way to do that than begin your offensive attack before the defense has time to set up its attack.

"We're not trying to turn people over, we're trying to get them to take tough shots," Rose said. "So defensive rebounding is a huge key. Then when we get that ball out, our initial offensive approach begins as soon as we get that offensive rebound. Then we get on attack and see if we can get that whole possession where that defense is on their heels, and we're attacking them."

But Rose often points out that he's not just looking for a quick shot, but a quick shot that's a good shot. And to Rose, a good shot is one that comes when others on the team are expecting that shot to come. Sharing the ball and making the extra pass are still essential elements to BYU's up-tempo style.

"You don't want to surprise your teammates with a shot. So if you can take a shot when everyone else knows it's coming, you have a pretty good chance to get the rebound as well, and you're going to shoot a higher percentage," he said.

Recent comments