Rose to the occasion: Coach has helped bring championship basketball back to Provo

PROVO — As the Marriott Center crowd of 22,580 roared its approval and the final seconds ticked off the clock near the end of BYU's 74-48 rout of UNLV last Saturday night, coach Dave Rose allowed himself, finally, to exhale and flash a smile. Then he vigorously high-fived the players standing next to him on the bench.

The victory clinched the Cougars' third consecutive 20-win season and marked BYU's 44th straight win at home, tying the school record. Tonight, the Cougars can break the school record for consecutive home wins by beating arch-rival Utah.

Certainly, if there's anyone who can appreciate how far BYU's basketball program has come over the past decade, it's Rose. When he arrived in Provo in 1997 as an assistant under Steve Cleveland, the Cougars had sunk to an all-time low, having posted a 1-25 record the previous season.

Rose was instrumental in bringing respectability, and championship-quality basketball, back to Provo during the Cleveland regime, and he is building upon that groundwork now. He was part of BYU's 44-game homecourt winning streak that came to an end, against Utah, in 2003.

Rose was around when BYU was mired in a 12-game losing streak to the Utes; tonight, the Cougars are looking for their fourth straight win over Utah. In his first season as head coach (2005-06), Rose's team was picked to finish last — it ended up placing second. And now, BYU, which has won eight straight games overall, is closing in on its second consecutive outright MWC championship.

Yet Rose isn't one to stop and smell the roses. He doesn't like to talk about the historical significance of big wins or prolonged streaks. Asked to put perspective on the program's accomplishments over the years in the wake of last Saturday's big triumph, Rose replied, "We've had quite a few sellouts here. The most important thing is, when you do get in an atmosphere like that, you want to play well. We played well the other night."

Then, he deftly turned the conversation to the next game. "We have a big challenge here on Wednesday," he said with caution.

That's typical of Rose, who is continually looking ahead and continually looking for improvement out of his team.

"He's never satisfied," said senior guard Sam Burgess.