BYU Cougars men's basketball
Encyclopedia
The BYU Cougars men's basketball team represents Brigham Young University
Brigham Young University
Brigham Young University is a private university located in Provo, Utah. It is owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , and is the United States' largest religious university and third-largest private university.Approximately 98% of the university's 34,000 students...

 in NCAA Division I
NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship
The NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship is a single-elimination tournament held each spring in the United States, featuring 68 college basketball teams, to determine the national championship in the top tier of college basketball...

 basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

 play. Established in 1902, the team has won 30 conference championships and 2 NIT Tournament
National Invitation Tournament
The National Invitation Tournament is a men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association. There are two NIT events each season. The first, played in November and known as the Dick's Sporting Goods NIT Season Tip-Off , was founded in 1985...

s (1951 & 1966), and competed in 26 NCAA Tournament
NCAA Tournament
NCAA tournament may refer to a number tournaments organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association:Men's sports*NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship, the most common usage of this term*NCAA Men's Division II Basketball Championship...

s. It currently competes in the West Coast Conference
West Coast Conference
The West Coast Conference is an NCAA collegiate athletics conference consisting of nine member schools across the states of California, Oregon, Utah and Washington....

. From 1999-2011, it competed in the Mountain West Conference
Mountain West Conference
The Mountain West Conference , popularly known as the Mountain West, is the youngest of the college athletic conferences affiliated with the NCAA’s Division I FBS . The MWC officially began operations in July 1999...

.

History

BYU fielded its first basketball team in 1903. In 1906, the Cougars played their first game against Utah State University
Utah State University
Utah State University is a public university located in Logan, Utah. It is a land-grant and space-grant institution and is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities....

; in 1909, the team first played against the University of Utah
University of Utah
The University of Utah, also known as the U or the U of U, is a public, coeducational research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The university was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret by the General Assembly of the provisional State of Deseret, making it Utah's oldest...

. These two rivalries continue to this day. In its 104-year history, BYU's basketball program has won 1,501 games, ranking 22nd among all Division I programs. 83 of the school's 104 basketball teams have had winning records. The Cougars won the first of their 26 conference championships in 1919 as a member of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference
Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference
The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference is a college athletic conference which operates in the western United States, mostly in Colorado with some members in Nebraska and New Mexico...

.

The Cougars would make the first of their 24 NCAA Tournament appearances in 1950 under legendary head coach Stan Watts
Stan Watts
Stanley H. Watts was a college men's basketball coach, well-known for coaching Brigham Young University to a 372-254 record between 1949 and 1972...

. That Cougars came within one point of reaching the national semifinals. BYU's 1951 team was even more successful, winning 28 games and once again qualifying for the NCAA Tournament. In addition, the 1951 team won the first of two NIT championships for the school, which was considered an equal or greater national tournament compared to the NCAA until the mid-1950s. The Cougars defeated AP #9 AP St. Johns, AP #10 St. Louis and AP #13 Dayton to win the title. Notable players on that team include: Mel Hutchins
Mel Hutchins
Melvin R. Hutchins is a retired American basketball player. He played professionally in the NBA from 1951 to 1958....

, who was taken #2 in the 1951 NBA draft, was named the 1951-52 NBA co-rookie of the year and became a 5-time NBA All-Star with the Pistons and the Knicks; Roland Minson, who was drafted #16 overall in the 1951 NBA draft; and Loren C. Dunn, a future general authority in the LDS Church. The Cougars would go on to make five more appearances in the NCAA Tournament under Watts, and win their second NIT championship in 1966, although by that time the overall prestige of the NIT had fallen considerably.

Under Watts, BYU also became the first U.S. college basketball program to include an international player on its roster, as Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

 native Timo Lampen debuted in the 1958-59 season. Later, BYU's Kresimir Cosic
Krešimir Cosic
Krešimir Ćosić was a Croatian professional basketball player who represented Yugoslavia internationally, a member of FIBA Hall of Fame and Basketball Hall of Fame...

, born in Yugoslavia
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was the Yugoslav state that existed from the abolition of the Yugoslav monarchy until it was dissolved in 1992 amid the Yugoslav Wars. It was a socialist state and a federation made up of six socialist republics: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia,...

 (modern-day Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...

), became the first international player to be named an All-American. His jersey was retired in the Marriott Center in March 2006 in the last home game of the season against the New Mexico Lobos. Watts retired as the winningest coach in BYU history.

After Watts's retirement following the 1972 season, the program experienced five consecutive losing seasons from 1974 through 1978 before returning to the NCAA Tournament in 1979 behind Danny Ainge
Danny Ainge
Daniel Ray "Danny" Ainge is an American basketball manager and retired professional basketball and baseball player, currently serving as President of Basketball Operations for the Boston Celtics....

 and coach Frank Arnold
Frank Arnold
Frank Arnold is a former men's basketball coach who coached at Brigham Young University from 1975–1983 and at the University of Hawaii from 1985-1987.-Career:...

. The Cougars reached the Final Eight, one game short of the Final Four, in 1981, Ainge's senior season. That season, Ainge won the Wooden Award as the nation's most outstanding player.

Arnold left following the 1983 season and was replaced by LaDell Andersen
LaDell Andersen
LaDell Andersen is a former professional and collegiate basketball coach.- Career :Andersen attended Utah State University, where he became a member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity. He was an All-Skyline Conference and an honorable mention All-American basketball player in 1951...

, who had several successful seasons in the 1980s, including the 1987-88 season when the Cougars rose as high as #2 in the national rankings on their way to a 26-6 season. Andersen then resigned following a 14-15 season in 1989. He was replaced by Roger Reid
Roger Reid
Roger Reid is an American college basketball coach and the current head coach for Southern Utah University men's basketball team. He was head coach at Brigham Young University from 1989 to 1996, assistant coach for the NBA's Phoenix Suns, and played for former NBA coach Dick Motta at Weber State...

, who guided the Cougars to 20-win seasons in each of his first six years and five NCAA Tournament appearances.

Reid was fired in the middle of the 1996-97 season after a 1-6 start. Part of his firing had to do with a private comment Reid made to Chris Burgess
Chris Burgess
Chris Burgess is an American basketball player. Burgess started his freshman year at Mater Dei High School where he transferred to his local school Woodbridge High School in California and played his remaining high school years. He then attended Duke University and University of Utah...

, then considered the top high school player in the nation and a Mormon whose father had attended BYU; Reid suggested that Burgess had let down the entire LDS church by choosing to attend Duke
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...

 rather than BYU. Assistant coach Tony Ingle
Tony Ingle
Tony Ingle is an American college basketball coach, most recently for the men's basketball team at Kennesaw State University in Georgia.- Playing career :...

 coached the team on an interim basis for the rest of the season and did not win a game; the Cougars' 1-25 record was easily the worst in school history.

Following the season, Steve Cleveland
Steve Cleveland
Steve Cleveland is a former American college basketball coach and the former men's head basketball coach at Fresno State, Brigham Young University, and Fresno City College. During his tenure at Fresno State, Cleveland directed the largest Academic Progress Rate improvement in the nation...

 was hired as the new head coach and returned the Cougars to prominence. In 2001, the Cougars won the MWC regular season and tournament championships, making their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1995. After the 2004-05 season, Cleveland resigned to become the head coach at Fresno State University; he was replaced by Dave Rose
Dave Rose (basketball coach)
David Jack Rose is an American college basketball coach and the current head coach of the BYU Cougars men's basketball team...

.

Dave Rose, co-captain of University of Houston
University of Houston
The University of Houston is a state research university, and is the flagship institution of the University of Houston System. Founded in 1927, it is Texas's third-largest university with nearly 40,000 students. Its campus spans 667 acres in southeast Houston, and was known as University of...

's 1983 "Phi Slama Jama" college basketball team, began the first of six straight 20-win seasons in 2005-05. Rose and assistant Dave Rice continued BYU's successful recruiting with the addition of All-American Jimmer Fredette
Jimmer Fredette
James Taft "Jimmer" Fredette is an American professional basketball player with the Sacramento Kings of the National Basketball Association...

 in 2007 and DeMarcus Harrison in 2011. In June 2009 he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and returned to coaching later that year. In 2010, Rose coached BYU to their first NCAA tournament victory in 17 years in a double-overtime win against the University of Florida
University of Florida
The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...

. The following year, BYU made further inroads as a #3 seed when they advanced to the Sweet 16.

Coaches

Name Seasons Record
C.T. Teetzel 1905-08 22-6
Fred Bennion
Fred Bennion
Fred Bennion was a college football coach at Montana State, and Utah. From 1910 to 1913, he coached at Utah, where he compiled a 16–8–3 record. From 1914 to 1917, he coached at Montana State, where he compiled an 11–11–5 record. As a head coach, his overall record stands at 27–15–8...

1908-10 16-6
Henry Rose 1910-11 8-0
E.L. Roberts 1911-20, 1925–27 87-49
Alvin Twitchell
Alvin Twitchell
Alvin Twitchell was the first head football coach at Brigham Young University. He started his coaching regime in 1922 with a game against Utah State University in Logan, Utah. BYU lost the game 41–3. Twitchell finished the year with a record of 1–5 with the only win coming against...

1920-25 50-20
G. Ott Romney
G. Ott Romney
George Ottinger Romney was the third head football coach at Brigham Young University . He coached for nine years from 1928-1936. His overall record at BYU was 42-33-5...

1927-35 139-71
Edwin R. Kimball 1935-36, 1938–41 59-38
Fred "Buck" Dixon 1936-38 25-23
Floyd Millet
Floyd Millet
Floyd Millet was a head coach of the BYU college football program from 1942. He attended BYU himself, where he lettered in basketball, football, and track. In football and basketball, he earned all-conference honors. He received his masters degree from USC. From 1963 to 1970, he served as the...

1941-49 104-77
Stan Watts
Stan Watts
Stanley H. Watts was a college men's basketball coach, well-known for coaching Brigham Young University to a 372-254 record between 1949 and 1972...

1949-72 371-254
Glenn Potter
Glenn Potter
Glenn Potter is a former collegiate basketball coach, who succeeded Stan Watts at Brigham Young University in 1972. Potter coached three seasons for the Cougars and posted a 42-36 record before resigning in 1975. He was replaced by Frank Arnold-References:...

1972-75 42-36
Frank Arnold
Frank Arnold
Frank Arnold is a former men's basketball coach who coached at Brigham Young University from 1975–1983 and at the University of Hawaii from 1985-1987.-Career:...

1975-83 137-94
LaDell Andersen
LaDell Andersen
LaDell Andersen is a former professional and collegiate basketball coach.- Career :Andersen attended Utah State University, where he became a member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity. He was an All-Skyline Conference and an honorable mention All-American basketball player in 1951...

1983-89 114-71
Roger Reid
Roger Reid
Roger Reid is an American college basketball coach and the current head coach for Southern Utah University men's basketball team. He was head coach at Brigham Young University from 1989 to 1996, assistant coach for the NBA's Phoenix Suns, and played for former NBA coach Dick Motta at Weber State...

1989-96 152-77
Tony Ingle
Tony Ingle
Tony Ingle is an American college basketball coach, most recently for the men's basketball team at Kennesaw State University in Georgia.- Playing career :...

 (Interim)
1996-97 0-19
Steve Cleveland
Steve Cleveland
Steve Cleveland is a former American college basketball coach and the former men's head basketball coach at Fresno State, Brigham Young University, and Fresno City College. During his tenure at Fresno State, Cleveland directed the largest Academic Progress Rate improvement in the nation...

1997–2005 138-108
Dave Rose
Dave Rose (basketball coach)
David Jack Rose is an American college basketball coach and the current head coach of the BYU Cougars men's basketball team...

2005–present 159-45

All-Americans

  • Elwood Romney
    Elwood Romney
    Elwood Snow "Woody" Romney was an American basketball player and coach. He was an All-American at Brigham Young University and later played semi-professionally. After his playing days, Romney coached at the college level.Romney, a forward from St. George, Utah, starred at Dixie High School and...

     (1931–32)
  • Mel Hutchins
    Mel Hutchins
    Melvin R. Hutchins is a retired American basketball player. He played professionally in the NBA from 1951 to 1958....

     (1951)
  • Roland Minson (1951)
  • Joe Richey
    Joe Richey
    Joseph "Joe" Richey was an American basketball player. He was an All-American at Brigham Young University and later played in the Amateur Athletic Union....

     (1953)
  • John Fairchild
    John Fairchild
    John Fairchild is a retired American basketball player.Fairchild played high school basketball at San Dieguito High School in Encinitas, CA and college basketball at Brigham Young University....

     (1965)
  • Dick Nemelka (1966)
  • Kresimir Cosic
    Krešimir Cosic
    Krešimir Ćosić was a Croatian professional basketball player who represented Yugoslavia internationally, a member of FIBA Hall of Fame and Basketball Hall of Fame...

     (1972–73)
  • Danny Ainge
    Danny Ainge
    Daniel Ray "Danny" Ainge is an American basketball manager and retired professional basketball and baseball player, currently serving as President of Basketball Operations for the Boston Celtics....

     (1980–81)
  • Devin Durrant
    Devin Durrant
    Devin George Durrant is a retired American professional basketball player who was selected by the Indiana Pacers in the 2nd round of the 1984 NBA Draft. A 6'7" forward from Brigham Young University, Durrant played in 2 NBA seasons from 1984 to 1986...

     (1984)
  • Michael Smith (1988)
  • Jimmer Fredette
    Jimmer Fredette
    James Taft "Jimmer" Fredette is an American professional basketball player with the Sacramento Kings of the National Basketball Association...

     (2010–11)

Conference Players of the Year

  • John Fairchild
    John Fairchild
    John Fairchild is a retired American basketball player.Fairchild played high school basketball at San Dieguito High School in Encinitas, CA and college basketball at Brigham Young University....

     (1965)
  • Danny Ainge
    Danny Ainge
    Daniel Ray "Danny" Ainge is an American basketball manager and retired professional basketball and baseball player, currently serving as President of Basketball Operations for the Boston Celtics....

     (1981)
  • Devin Durrant
    Devin Durrant
    Devin George Durrant is a retired American professional basketball player who was selected by the Indiana Pacers in the 2nd round of the 1984 NBA Draft. A 6'7" forward from Brigham Young University, Durrant played in 2 NBA seasons from 1984 to 1986...

     (1983)
  • Timo Saarelainen (1985)
  • Michael Smith (1988)
  • Mekeli Wesley (2001)
  • Rafael Araújo (2004)
  • Keena Young
    Keena Young
    Keena Young is an American basketball player who starred at Brigham Young University from 2004 to 2007. He is currently an expatriate professional basketball player.-High School:...

     (2007)
  • Lee Cummard
    Lee Cummard
    Lee Cummard is a former American college basketball player for the BYU Cougars. Cummard was not drafted in the 2009 NBA Draft.-High school:...

     (2008)
  • Jimmer Fredette
    Jimmer Fredette
    James Taft "Jimmer" Fredette is an American professional basketball player with the Sacramento Kings of the National Basketball Association...

     (2011)

Individual records

  • Points scored, single game: 52, Jimmer Fredette
    Jimmer Fredette
    James Taft "Jimmer" Fredette is an American professional basketball player with the Sacramento Kings of the National Basketball Association...

    , March 11, 2011 vs. New Mexico
    2010–11 New Mexico Lobos men's basketball team
    The 2010–11 Division I University of New Mexico Lobos men's basketball team represented the University of New Mexico as a member of the Mountain West Conference...

  • Points scored, season: 1068, Jimmer Fredette, 2011
  • Points scored, career: 2599, Jimmer Fredette, 2007–11

  • Field goals made, single game: 22, Jimmer Fredette, March 11, 2011 vs. New Mexico
    2010–11 New Mexico Lobos men's basketball team
    The 2010–11 Division I University of New Mexico Lobos men's basketball team represented the University of New Mexico as a member of the Mountain West Conference...

  • Field goals made, season: 346, Jimmer Fredette, 2010–2011
  • Field goals made, career: 987, Danny Ainge, 1978–81

  • Three-point field goals made, single game: 9, Jimmer Fredette, December 28, 2009 vs. Arizona
    Arizona Wildcats men's basketball
    The Arizona Wildcats basketball team is the intercollegiate men's basketball program representing the University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona, United States. The team competes in the Pacific-12 Conference of NCAA Division I. They are currently coached by Sean Miller.Arizona has a long and rich...

  • Three-point field goals made, season: 124, Jimmer Fredette, 2011
  • Three-point field goals made, career: 296, Jimmer Fredette, 2007–11

  • Free throws made, single game: 23, Jimmer Fredette, March 11, 2010 vs. TCU
    TCU Horned Frogs men's basketball
    The TCU Horned Frogs basketball team represents Texas Christian University, located in Fort Worth, Texas, in NCAA Division I basketball competition. They play their home games at Daniel–Meyer Coliseum and are members of the Mountain West Conference...

  • Free throws made, season: 252, Jimmer Fredette, 2011
  • Free throws made, career: 627, Jimmer Fredette, 2007–11

  • Rebounds, single game: 27, Scott Warner
    Scott Warner
    Scott Warner is a U.S.-based lighting designer who has recently designed for The Pussycat Dolls, Jimmy Eat World, EVE, Everclear and Queen Latifah. Warner started his career is the late eighties with the Pittsburgh based band, The Affordable Floors, and his first national client was the shock...

    , December 18, 1969 vs. Texas Tech
    Texas Tech Red Raiders men's basketball
    The Texas Tech Red Raiders basketball team represents Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas in NCAA Division I men's basketball competition The team is currently coached by Billy Gillispie. Prior to Gillispie being named coach, the coach was Pat Knight who succeeded his father, Hall of Famer Bob...

  • Rebounds, season: 471, Mel Hutchins
    Mel Hutchins
    Melvin R. Hutchins is a retired American basketball player. He played professionally in the NBA from 1951 to 1958....

    , 1951
  • Rebounds, career: 922, Michael Smith, 1984, 1987–89

  • Assists, single game: 16, Mike May, December 11, 1976 vs. Niagara
    Niagara Purple Eagles men's basketball
    The Niagara Purple Eagles men's basketball team is the college basketball team that represent Niagara University in Lewiston, New York, United States. The school's team currently competes in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference...

  • Assists, season: 217, Matt Montague, 2002
  • Assists, career: 570, Matt Montague, 1997, 2000–02

  • Steals, single game: 9, Mark Bigelow, November 28, 1998 vs. Arizona
    Arizona Wildcats men's basketball
    The Arizona Wildcats basketball team is the intercollegiate men's basketball program representing the University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona, United States. The team competes in the Pacific-12 Conference of NCAA Division I. They are currently coached by Sean Miller.Arizona has a long and rich...

  • Steals, season: 101, Jackson Emery
    Jackson Emery
    Jackson Emery is an American basketball player that played for the BYU Cougars men's basketball team.Emery was born in Salt Lake City and grew up in Alpine, Utah. He earned several accolades for his basketball performance in high school, leading his team to a state championship and being named...

    , 2011
  • Steals, career: 249, Jackson Emery, 2006, 2009–11

  • Blocked shots, single game: 14, Shawn Bradley
    Shawn Bradley
    Shawn Paul Bradley is a retired American and German basketball player who played center for the Philadelphia 76ers, the New Jersey Nets and the Dallas Mavericks in the National Basketball Association. At tall, Bradley was one of the tallest players in NBA history...

    , December 7, 1990 vs. Eastern Kentucky
    Eastern Kentucky Colonels
    EKU fields teams in 15 varsity sports . The school is a member of the Ohio Valley Conference in Division I of the NCAA , having been a part of the conference since its inception in 1948...

  • Blocked shots, season: 177, Shawn Bradley, 1991
  • Blocked shots, career: 208, Greg Kite
    Greg Kite
    Gregory Fuller Kite is an American retired professional basketball player in the NBA. A 6'11" center from Brigham Young University, he was selected 21st overall by the Boston Celtics in the 1983 NBA Draft. As a Celtic, he won two championship rings in 1984 and 1986 before being waived by the team...

    , 1980–83

See also

  • 2007–08 BYU Cougars men's basketball team
    2007–08 BYU Cougars men's basketball team
    The 2007–08 BYU Cougars men's basketball team represented Brigham Young University in the 2007–08 college basketball season. This was head coach Dave Rose's third season at BYU. The Cougars competed in the Mountain West Conference and played their home games at the Marriott...

  • 2008–09 BYU Cougars men's basketball team
    2008–09 BYU Cougars men's basketball team
    The 2008–09 BYU Cougars men's basketball team represented Brigham Young University in the 2008–09 college basketball season. This was head coach Dave Rose's fourth season at BYU...

  • 2009–10 BYU Cougars men's basketball team
    2009–10 BYU Cougars men's basketball team
    The 2009–10 BYU Cougars men's basketball team represented Brigham Young University in the 2009–10 college basketball season. This was head coach Dave Rose's fifth season at BYU. The Cougars compete in the Mountain West Conference and played their home games at the Marriott Center. They finished the...

  • 2010–11 BYU Cougars men's basketball team
    2010–11 BYU Cougars men's basketball team
    The 2010–11 BYU Cougars men's basketball team represented Brigham Young University in the 2010–11 college basketball season. This was head coach Dave Rose's sixth season at BYU. The Cougars, in their final season in the Mountain West Conference, played their home games at the Marriott Center...

  • 2011–12 BYU Cougars men's basketball team
    2011–12 BYU Cougars men's basketball team
    The 2011–12 BYU Cougars men's basketball team represents Brigham Young University in the 2011–12 college basketball season. This is head coach Dave Rose's seventh season at BYU...


External links

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