A new outlook: Tavernari has matured during time at BYU

PROVO — Ever since his formative basketball days as a child in Brazil, where he developed a fascination for the game reading about and watching NBA icon Michael Jordan, Jonathan Tavernari has dreamed of being the star of his own basketball show.

That's the main reason he moved to the United States as a high school junior.

"I always wanted to be the big man on campus," Tavernari said.

This revelation likely comes as no surprise to those who have watched him play in America the past five years — first at Timpview High, then Bishop Gorman in Las Vegas and the past three seasons at BYU. Fans have mixed feelings about his quick-trigger shooting, and his flashy style on and off the court. The guy, as BYU coach Dave Rose has said, is a very "public" person.

This season, however, Tavernari says fans are going to see a more tamed version from the traditionally showy Cougar senior. From last season's NCAA Tournament disappointment, his offseason experience playing with the Brazilian National team, and his recent marriage to the former Kiri Redford, Tavernari says he has a new outlook on basketball and what he hopes to glean from the game.

"I'm still a pretty confident guy, but I think the main thing that has changed about me is my attitude," he said.

Rose said he's already noticed a difference.

"When we're talking about the Jonathan Tavernari that was in my office three weeks ago, and the Jonathan Tavernari that was in my office three years ago, we're talking about a student athlete that has come a long, long ways as far as maturity and knowing how to handle his challenges," Rose said.

Days after the Cougars lost to Texas A&M in the first round of the NCAA Tournament last March, Tavernari, 20 pounds heavier then and distracted by some personal issues, blamed himself a lot for how the Cougars played that day.

"I was a little mad at myself. I was a little bitter," he said.

This past summer, Brazilian squad teammate and Phoenix Sun Leandro Barbosa noticed a little too much negativity in Tavernari's game.

"He said 'man, you need to smile more. You need to quit getting so mad when you miss a shot. You need to have more fun'," Tavernari said.

The final piece in Tavernari's change-in-attitude puzzle was his marriage. Kiri gives him a refreshing, and almost therapeutic, perspective on what role basketball should play in his life and where it should take him.

"He's got a great wife, and he was really lucky there, and I think that she'll really be able to help him find the things that he wants to find," Rose said.