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West Coast Conference: Why Kyle Collinsworth and BYU can Dethrone Gonzaga

By Cory Gill

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In the West Coast Conference, everyone is talking about the Zags, but don’t look past BYU.

Let’s go ahead and give Gonzaga credit. Few teams have been as impressive in dominating a conference over the last 15 years like the Bulldogs.

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“The Zags” have made the NCAA Tournament in every season under head coach, Mark Few.

They’ve won 14 of the last 15 regular season titles, and added the WCC Conference Tournament Championship to the trophy case 11 of those 15 times.

In 2015, the Bulldogs are equipped with one of the most talented frontcourts in the nation, pair that with their excellent coaching, and on paper it another conference title should be a breeze. So what do the Zags have to worry about?

BYU.

Last season the Cougars had more problems on the defensive end than they had starting lineups (10).

If their defense doesn’t improve this offseason the Cougars will likely slip back into their natural habitat, and claim one of the First Four bids in Dayton.

With the Cougars losing pure shooter Tyler Haws, a great teammate and BYU’s all-time leading scorer; the Cougars are being described as a team that will be trending down in the 2015-16 season.

Here’s how I believe losing Haws will actually help the Cougars.

Kyle Collinsworth is the leader the Cougars need to be able to knock off the Zags. Tyler Haws was great at coming off screens and knocking down the mid-range shots. In fact he was phenomenal. However BYU has never had a player like Kyle.

How many highlights are there of Tyler Haws driving to the basket in the halfcourt offsense and creating his own shot or one for a teammate? Save yourself the time and don’t click through the 40 You Tube pages of “Tyler Haws Highlights,” there aren’t very many, if any. You’ll find more of these moments in one game watching Kyle Collinsworth than you will of Haws in a month.

Last season when the game was on the line and the Cougars needed to score, everyone knew what would happen. Literally fighting through screens all night, Haws would be the go to option at the end of the game, catching and shooting the majority of crunch time shots.

Coming off screens in a conference where they do more than just “let them play” is much easier said than done.

Haws was a tough player but constant jabs, elbows, and shoves took their toll. Late in games Haws was tired and the game plan proved to be too predictable last season as the Cougars went 5-6 in games that were within five points.

March 9, 2015; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Brigham Young Cougars guard Kyle Collinsworth (5) celebrates against the Portland Pilots during the second half in the semifinals of the West Coast Conference tournament at Orleans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Soft is the best word to describe the Cougars in crunch time last season. Settling for jump shots and not driving to the basket lost them leads late in games, and at times allowed opponents to pull away.

With a new leader in place in Kyle Collinsworth, the team will take after the mentality of their leader. That mentality, get to the basket.

With Collinsworth running the show on both sides of the ball, and the entire offseason to improve his long range shot, Collinsworth should be a threat from anywhere on the court. Collinsworth is a literal ball magnet.

He grabs more rebounds, gets after more loose balls, and attacks the basket better than anyone in the West Coast Conference. Collinsworth is an excellent ball handler and can defend any position. He sees the floor better than most at his position and has no fear.

BYU has never had a problem finding shooters for their offense and Cougar fans have been thirsting for sharpshooter, Nick Emery to return from his 2-year mission. Emery is skilled on both sides of the ball and back in Provo ready to play. If healthy Emery will emerge and help the Cougars spread the floor while locking down the perimeter on defense.

Perhaps the biggest problem for the Cougars last year was defending in the frontcourt. In 2014-15 the Cougars frontline was thin and Dave Rose was forced to often use a four guard lineup. At his best Luke Worthington was Provo’s floppy headed hype man, but was never considered a threat anywhere on the floor.

Corbin Kaufusi showed strong signs of improvement on the defensive end towards the back end of the season.

Hopefully this offseason was dedicated to developing his ping-pong paddle hands into becoming a capable low post scoring threat to accompany his defense.

BYU Cougars
BYU Cougars /

BYU Cougars

Additions in the frontcourt, Jamal Aytes at 6-foot-6 and Kyle Davis at 6-foot-8, add depth and skill to the Cougars frontline. Davis who averaged 9.1 ppg and 7.6 reb for the Aggies of Utah State before transferring to Provo.

Aytes who many believe would have been the best inside scoring threat for the Cougars last year sat out due to an ankle injury. Throw in Nate Austin and Corbin Kaufusi and its not Gonzaga but its a heck of a lot better than what we saw last year.

Throw in some guys we didn’t get a chance to talk about and BYU has a full roster.

When it comes down to it, the Cougars were a few small injuries and pieces away from dethroning the Zags last season. Moving ahead to 2015-16, if the Cougars look to their leader in Kyle Collinsworth they will have more of a shot than most writers are giving them. In the 2015-16 season the West Coast Conference will be the Zags to lose, while the Cougars will be playing with nothing to lose.

Next: The Virginia Cavaliers Headline The 2015 Charleston Classic

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