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BYU's Tavernari promises defense for Brazil, Cougars

Maybe he could promise not to shoot 50 footers with 30 seconds left on the shot clock.

Have fun in the NIT or CBI next year byU fans.

Boylen will have the Utes in the Sweet Sixteen next year.

Bring home the gold, then another sweeeep of the Utes and another conference championship.

What a great time to be a Cougar fan.

Pathetic Yewt trolls.

Take it to 'em JT.

I'd love to see a Brazil vs. USA matchup.

Of course USA will win but it would be a lot of fun to see JT and Rafa together. Hopefully we get to see a game with them.

Represent well !!!!!

Tavernari play defense? I guess if you count scoring a 3 pointer and your opponent getting a layup.

Here we go again. It almost makes me sick how an article about JT and the first coment has the Utah smell. Let it alone Elusive. Just put your red clothes up for a few more months and then we'll see who ends up where. Boylen may be a good coach but you may have forgotten, he dosen't play. Go set in the gym for awhile and learn about the game. OUT

Hey Tavernari, the main thing you need to work on this summer isn't your outside shooting or your defense; it's your ability to PASS THE BALL!

Utah in the sweet sixteen next year? To anyone who believes that, I have a bridge in S.F. I will sell you!

Please go away cougar-ettes. BYU beat sloppy teams last year. Call it luck. This year you will go right back to mediocrity. You are in Provo Utah and in the MWC. You will never be a big time team. Get over it.

The USA is going to own the Olympics. JT is going to get a real dose of what Trent is going to experience: talent, basketball skills, and basketball IQ. Oh, as for BYU basketball, we shall see how they handle the Utes after two seasons under Boylen. Luke will own the middle, it will be a great season for the Utes...Great time to be a Ute fan :)

Hey Dick,
Are you trying to humiliate this guy?

Lol. Tavernari promises defense....more like he promises to shoot every single time he touches the ball, no matter if he is 50 feet away from the basket. Kewgar fans, you're better off without this ballhog.

Glad to see JT's interested in being a better defender. It'll be interesting to see if BYU's lineup will allow JT to play the 2 spot. That'd be a tough one for other teams to defend.

BTW, Boylen was not impressive his first year. His comments to the media (every time I saw it) seemed very me-me, like everything revolves around him and not his players. Maybe that's why the team did so poorly compared to what people expected with a talented center having another year under his belt. Too bad, Utes. You got stuck with a bad one.

Rose, on the other hand, is BYU basketball's equivalent of Bronco. Let's hope BYU can keep these two coaches around a long time!

You get out of breath reading JT. Nice not to get the canned answers... with JT it's a stream of seltzer!

JT has the skills to make a big impact. We'll see if he's honed them come October. If he has and he can consistently play like he did against Louisville, and NC this could be a very good team with a chance to get a decent seed and hopefully win a game in the NCAA.

Just keepin' it real, dog. Go JT and have a great Olympics. That can't be a bad warm-up.

I would love to see some J.T. improved defense this year.

It is hard to get on J.T.'s back about shooting threes because when he is on, he is incredibly on. We know that when the shot isn't falling it takes us out of games, but we then have to acknowledge, on the flip side, that when he is on it wins games.

But if there is one thing that the Suns/Nuggets/Warriors have taught us, it is that teams that rely on hot shooters don't win when it counts. I love all of the three teams listed above, but defense wins games, not offense (unfortunately--offense is more enjoyable to watch). And in a tournament like the MWC Championships or the NCAA tournament it is just impossible to stay really hot for an extended period of time.

Hopefully BYU will have all of its players learn to play better team defense and not rely on great individual D. The Celtics are a great example of how you don't need each guy to be amazing at D, just good team defense is crucial.

Until Utah ACTUALLY beats us in something let them talk all they want. Having Chris Miles scares me though.

This story had no credibility when I saw who wrote it. Tavernari can shoot in streaks and plays defense like a scared kitty. He can promise to play defense all he wants, it doesn't change the fact he won't and/or can't. Defense is about desire, and with him you can tell he is only worried about him scoring points, he has no heart. BYU basketball has been on a plateau for a while, their program peaks by losing in the first round it seems like. The Utes are going to be a lot better next year, I think they will split, and thats disappointing as a Utes fan.

From what I have read Brazil hasn't even qualified to go to the Olympics.

How many years has it been since BYU won an NCAA tournament game?!?
Maybe they'll be able to do something now that Plaisted is gone.

JT's defense during non-conference play was pathetic and his offense was on and off. If you all remember, that's when Rose started Collinsworth for a few games to get the point accross to JT that he was going to have to play defense to start. Well, when JT came back his defense was much improved (steals) and he wasn't taking stupid shots on offense. He improved a lot last year and will be a major force on both sides of the ball this year as long as he remembers the lessons he learned. He's going to take a lot of pressure of of Lee. I liked Plaisted but Miles is going to be a better role player and brings that physical toughness that we need - he just needs to learn to control it.
3-Peat!

Defense? Seriously? Unless someone gave him a dictionary with a bookmark (doubtful he could look it up), Tavernari has no idea what the meaning of that word is.
Keep shooting those 50 foot jump shots and losing in the tournament.
Sixteen, the number of games Utah has won in the NCAA tournament since byu has won a game in the tourney. SIXTEEN.
16.

What are you talking about? Dick didn't really have any analysis and wasn't saying that what JT said was going to happen. Most of the article was just long quotes from JT.

As for JT's comments I hope that he is improving his defense but he also needs to work on being more consistent. At the end of the year last year he was virtually nonexistent and hurt BYU.

So glad Lee Cummard will be back next year. Cummard may win league MVP again, espcially if his thug of a wife is attacking fans. It will be much more fun to watch Utah's Luke Nevill drafted ahead of him in the 2009 NBA draft. BYU is not a school that sends players to the NBA. Ainge, Bradley, then who.........(Hansen was a joke, Araujo was even more pathetic, and Plaisted won't even get drafted).