BYU basketball: Cougars will use two exhibition games to settle rotation

PROVO — The depth being touted on BYU's basketball team has been pretty evident through more than three weeks of practices.

To narrow down a starting and reserve rotation before the Cougars' opening regular-season game against Bradley next weekend, however, coach Dave Rose needs to see how his guys perform more in game situations. He did get a brief glimpse in last week's Blue/White scrimmage, but he's more anxious to see how the Cougars perform against someone other than themselves.

He'll get that chance Thursday night when the Cougars host the Trinity Western Spartans, and again next Tuesday when Central Washington visits the Marriott Center in another exhibition contest.

"In practice, you get them all to a level to where you've got a group of guys who understand your system and play really hard, share the ball, all the things you really try to emphasize," Rose said. "And then when you start playing these preseason games, you'll see the ones who are able to do that in that setting, and that's usually where the separation comes."

Trinity Western is a 4,000-student private Christian liberal arts college in British Columbia. The Spartans compete in the Canadian Interuniversity Sport, the athletic governing body for the majority of the degree-granting colleges in Canada.

The Spartans should be a good first test for the Cougars. Currently, on their three-game swing through Utah, they are 1-0 after a convincing 19-point win over Utah Valley University on Tuesday night. After tonight's game, they move on to play Utah State in Logan on Saturday.

In Tuesday's win, the Spartans had 18 assists, shot nearly 52 percent from the floor and 42 percent from behind the 3-point line. Senior forward Jacob Doerksen scored 28 points on 12-of-17 shooting, and he also pulled down 11 boards. Senior point guard Louis Hurd added 20 points.

Most likely, the Cougars will start returners Jackson Emery, Jimmer Fredette, Chris Miles and Jonathan Tavernari. Sophomore forward Charles Abouo, who can play the 2, 3 or 4 position, seems to be the leading candidate right now to get that fifth starting position.

The other two in the hunt for that final starting nod are swingman Tyler Haws and power forward Noah Hartsock. However, Haws missed more than a week of practices with a knee injury, and Hartsock is a game-time decision after spraining an ankle in practice on Monday.

If Hartsock does get on the floor, Tavernari could move to the 3. Haws can play either the 2 or 3. Sophomore James Anderson and freshman Brandon Davies should both get plenty of time spelling both Miles and Tavernari. Point guards Michael Loyd and Lamont Morgan can give the Cougars a quicker and faster backcourt.