Call for more teamwork?

The Boise State loss must have struck a nerve with BYU’s coaching staff and some players on the team.

Right after the game, a very dejected Lee Cummard spoke about how the Cougars didn’t come to play. Dave Rose spoke about adversity and how a team can build character by overcoming challenges.

I wonder how much discord this squad had going on behind closed doors in this loss. They are a close team and they seem to get along with one another. The only time I’ve seen a deviation from this was in the Michigan State loss when some players were scratching their heads over JT’s choice of shots.

Same thing happened in Boise. JT took 9 shots and made 1. There were times the ball could have come back out from TP to the outside for another shot or pass.

Anyway, this was the theme this week as Rose pleaded with his squad to share the ball and think of team first. He drilled this into the squad Tuesday and Wednesday.

It will be interesting to see the chemistry tonight against Loyola Marymount and the game at Wake Forest.

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I’ve never understood the infatuation over Urban Meyer in this state. He came, he won, and he took off. Yet, right after his departure our newspaper sent a big contingent of reporters to cover his BCS championship game in the Fiesta Bowl. I know there are Ute fans who believe he let them down by not sticking around when the school made the indoor facility he requested. There are others who stand up for him because he was once a Ute head coach.

Then there is the “make fun” approach by some Cougar fans, who love to see him make mistakes and stumble.

Generally, I say, who cares, he’s gone.

But there comes this email from a regular, and I hadn’t thought much about what he posted and found it interesting….

“He’s been a head coach for seven years, but this year for first time he coached a team made up mostly of his own recruits. By national standards, he still had a terrific outfit this year at Florida, and Tim Tebow, one of his recruited players, won the Heisman Trophy. But:

Florida didn’t win the division.
Florida didn’t win the conference.
Florida didn’t go to a BCS bowl.
Florida didn’t win its bowl game.
Florida won’t finish in the top ten in either major poll.

That’s a failed season by the standards that apply to Meyer these days. With the other two big Florida schools (FSU and Miami) in relative chaos, Florida should be dominant–and it’s not.”

Robert Garrick
Clayton, MO