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PROVO -- BYU point guard and preseason All-American Jimmer Fredette can still crossover; shooting guard Jackson Emery didn't forget how to steal and G/F Charles Abouo still knows how to be a lock down defender, but Wednesday night at the annual Cougar Tipoff there was something different about the BYU Cougars basketball team.
It can't be measured, but you can feel it; its in the air, you can feel it in the stands, can hear it in the voices of players and coaches. It manifests itself in the final minutes of each half, when the seconds become minutes. When every move is vital and each mistake becomes two points.
Emery came out and said that the team believes that they can go undefeated. He said that the team has that kind of "attitude."
This attitude is "it."
The Cougars faced off in an evenly matched team scrimmage Wednesday night in front of almost 5,000 fans. The competitive drive was obvious when the score was tied at halftime, and when Fredette drained a game-tying trey at the end of regulation and players insisted on going into overtime.
Competitive drive is "it."
Head Coach Dave Rose prides himself in his up-tempo style of play. He recruits players who are ready to run. Rebounds are just as valuable in practices as they are in games. The team hustles as they run through their game plan.
Hustle is "it."
Fredette put it best when he said, "We're competitors. We're gonna fight until the end."
Last year's team came close to having it. It came out at times such as the first round game against Florida. The next game it disappeared in a disappointing loss to Kansas State. This team will need to focus on those intangibles to reach their goals.
Coach Rose has stated in the past that the team has four core goals. To win the conference title; to win the conference tournament; to make it to the NCAA tournament; and lastly to advance through the tournament. The team is confident that they can reach those goals, and why not?
This Cougar team appears to have it all. Optimistic? Yes, but with the quality of the returning players and the infusion of talent from the incoming players, the future deserves to be bright.
And the national media agree. BYU is ranked 24th in the preseason AP Top 25 Poll, the first time since the 1980-81 season, giving stock to the buzz in Provo.
