BYU basketball: Cummard's decision to return to Y. wasn't just about hoops

PROVO — When it became apparent to Lee Cummard that his professional basketball stock was not quite up to remaining in last summer's NBA draft, returning to BYU for his senior season wasn't such a bad alternative.

Actually, trying to help the Cougars win a third-straight Mountain West Conference title and being a favorite to win another MWC player-of-the-year award combine for a nice consolation to earning big money in the pro ranks. Also, spending another year as students in Provo for Cummard and his wife Sarah, with their young son, over a life on the road and possibly in another country, took a little sting out of the decision.

"It wasn't just a basketball thing," Cummard said of his decision to return to BYU. "The way I look at it, the money and the playing career, it became apparent to me last year that that's going to be there whether I'd like it to be or not, whether it's the NBA or not, we'll see. But there's other things here. I'm just enjoying this last year."

It's also hard to imagine where the 7-0 Cougars would be right now without the 6-foot-7 small forward. After averaging just under 16 points a game last year, Cummard is scoring nearly 21 per contest this season. He's a career 55 percent shooter. In seven games this season, however, he's burning the nets at an amazing 68 percent pace. He's also hitting 48 percent of his 3-point attempts.

"We're fortunate that he decided to come back," Cougar coach Dave Rose said. "It still remains to be seen how good we are, but to this point Lee has been a huge factor in our success."

Against Long Beach State, the hustler from Mesa, Ariz., hit 13-of-16 shots for a career-high 36 points. On Wednesday, at Weber State, he added a 30-point, 12-of-13 shooting game to his credentials. In both games fans sat in awe at his dead-eye accuracy. Sometimes, when BYU's coaches are reviewing stats following games, they can only shake their heads when examining Cummard's numbers.

"I think Lee's a really good player. And I'm glad he's on our team," Rose said with a wily tone.

Scoring, rebounding and defending are not Cummard's only assets. His team-oriented style and competitive nature have rubbed off on most of the younger players. To Rose and staff, Cummard is like having another coach on the floor and in the locker room.

"There's not much that we know that Lee doesn't know, and he can convey that to the players sometimes even better than the coaches can," Rose said.