"It's a shame that we lose him and it's a bad thing, but it's also good, it's a part of the plan of salvation he preached to all of us, that life goes on," Tavernari said.

"It looks like President (Thomas S.) Monson will take his place, and it's a neat thing. As long as we're all faithful, the plan is going to work. It's a sad thing, but really, he's in a much better place right now."

Tavernari's short eulogy of the departed church leader was spontaneous; it came after practice on Monday before BYU's road trip to Air Force. He'd been shooting the ball with Lee Cummard after many other players had left the court.

Tavernari's always been one with words. He's very expressive and likes to visit and say his piece.

A lot of athletes — not all, but many — would shy away from expressing their feelings so openly and in detail about a spiritual leader, opting to shift out of the moment to something more palatable and explainable.

But not Tavernari. His eyes got wide and his focus shifted from the sport of basketball to the man he admired so much when asked about the passing. He tried to share what he really felt inside, and make it more than a sound-bite on the way to the showers.

In this regard, Tavernari did not "muff it" — an echo of President Hinckley's much-quoted advice to the 2000 football team on the day the LDS Church named the stadium after LaVell Edwards.

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E-mail: dharmon@desnews.com