Yet Another Challenge

Wow!  I feel like I just got punched in the stomach, and here is the BYU press release that did it:


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."

Jimmer will have to carry even more of the offensive
attack with Davies out of the lineup.

After 3 days of reveling in BYU's biggest road victory ever and about 45 minutes after I heard Dick Vitale (ESPN) say that BYU is a "National Championship contender and deserves the #1 seed in the West", Cougar Nation is struck with the news that BYU is going to be playing the rest of its season without its third-leading scorer and its leading rebounder.  To say this news is disappointing is an understatement.  There hasn't been this much buzz about BYU Basketball in a looong time, and just as the calendar turns to March we are hit with a press release that couldn't have come at a worse time for BYU's National Championship hopes.

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.

Coach Rose will have to rally Cougar Nation to
overcome Davies' absence.

Who knows what the long-term impact of Davies' suspension will be or if we will ever see him in a Cougar uniform again?  But this much we do know: Davies will not be a part of the team for its March Madness run, and how far BYU goes will be determined by how BYU responds to this newest challenge.

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!