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PROVO — Matt Carlino’s decision to transfer with one year of eligibility remaining at BYU leaves the Cougars’ bench mostly unproven heading into the 2014-15 season.
His motives for transferring are still unknown, but because he plans to graduate in June, he can take advantage of an NCAA rule that allows him to make the move and play immediately for his new school.
In his last season wearing the navy blue in Provo, Carlino played the first 15 games as a starter and 19 as Dave Rose’s top reserve. He then re-inherited his original role in the NCAA tournament round of 64 loss to Oregon as Kyle Collinsworth was sidelined with a torn ACL.
Collinsworth’s doctors have told him he should be cleared to play in six to eight months, leaving Carlino’s role next season up in the air. That likely played into his search for a new opportunity elsewhere. No matter his reasoning, his production will be sorely missed.
His departure does even out the scholarship dilemma, as the Cougars now have the maximum 13 allotted, whereas they would've had 14 with Carlino.
Still, Carlino stabilized a bench in desperate need of a spark, and actually improved his shooting and turnover/assist-to-turnover numbers during that time.
The table below splits his production as both a member of the starting five and as BYU's sixth man.
| Games | MPG | PPG | APG | RPG | SPG | TOPG | AST/TO | FG% | 3PTFG% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| <b>Starter</b> | 16 | 29 | 15.1 | 4.6 | 4.8 | 1.8 | 2.8 | 1.6 | 36 | 27.6 |
| <b>Reserve</b> | 19 | 26 | 12.6 | 4.1 | 2.2 | 1.7 | 1.5 | 2.7 | 41.7 | 38.6 |
The lefty from Arcadia, Ariz., led the Cougars’ bench in scoring 12 times, and in four of those appearances, he was the only reserve to score.
Replacing Carlino will not be an easy task. Anson Winder helped shoulder some of the bench production before he became a regular in Rose’s starting lineup. Outside of Winder, the only reserves to register a better game scoring than Carlino — while he was acting as the sixth man — were Luke Worthington and Frank Bartley IV.
Wake Forest transfer Chase Fischer, who shot 42 percent behind the arc in his final season as a Demon Deacon, will likely be counted on immediately to fill the void. Incoming 6-foot-4 freshman Jordan Chatman can play point guard or off the ball on the wing, and could also see more minutes as a result.
However, the progress made by Skyler Halford and Frank Bartley in their first seasons at BYU might make them top candidates for additional playing time.
Bartley played 19 minutes in both of the Cougars’ final games, scoring nine and 10 points in the two contests. His quickness and athleticism make him more of a prototypical slasher than a shooter, but he did show he can hit from the perimeter, connecting on three of his last four 3-point attempts and going 3 for 3 in the win over Texas.
Halford started 13 games prior to giving way to Winder and logged 13 games in double figures. His 3-point shooting dropped to 31.2 percent at BYU after he shot 39.9 percent at Salt Lake Community College in 2012-13.
For Rose, it will probably require a committee to replace Carlino’s season averages of 13.7 points and 4.3 assists.
