Jeremiah Jensen Interview:
Criddle: “After all was said and done, the arena was empty, the camera focused in on Coach Pope in the stands with his hand on his forehead looking at some papers, he looked like he was wallowing in misery, and there you are at half court breaking it down. I feel like the coaching staff felt, almost worse then the players did.”
Jensen: “Absolutely, I think they took the blame for it and that they felt they let the players down. You could tell how devastated he was. I guarantee today, that everyone involved is looking back and saying how did that happen? What did we do wrong? I’m sure they’re reliving in their mind, and that’s the kind of stuff that doesn’t leave you. There are disappointments as an athlete that never go away and unfortunately for these guys, the coaches and players, they’re going to remember this for a long, long time.”
Criddle: “What do you think the coaches wanted to do differently, did they say anything postgame? What could they have done differently do you think?”
Jensen: “I can’t say anything for the coaches other than Dave Rose, but the players, they remember the turnovers, that they didn’t take care of the basketball and the stat left me, but it was something like 25-0 for points off of turnovers.”
Jensen: “If it was just Ole Miss coming out and shutting BYU down and BYU not hitting shots or something, but when it’s your mistakes that spark their rally, that’s really tough to deal with and that turnover situation was a big one.”
Criddle: “Does it hurt worse knowing that Xavier beat Ole Miss by 19?”
Jensen: “I guess you can look at it that way and maybe BYU wasn’t going to get by an Xavier team that played well today. But you saw Baylor go down, so you’re looking at Xavier vs. Georgia State.”
Jensen: “I don’t know what would have happened if BYU played Xavier but they had a huge opportunity to do something special and they missed it because of one bad half of basketball.”
Criddle: “What are the expectations for future tournament runs?”
Jensen: “The players don’t expect just to go there… but to advance and win games.”
Jensen: “You see the practice facility and the upgrades to the Marriott Center and there is now more pressure and more resources available and now you’re going to see this Lone Peak group of kids going in there with some hype and I think the expectations are going to continue to climb as we move forward with new players coming into the program.”
Brandon Gurney Interview:
Gurney: “These are one of those days that I’m basking in not having a wife, kids, and just sitting on my couch watching March Madness.”
Gurney: “It’s been great, that Georgia State game was awesome. I remember switching the channel and saying this game was over, then you check the score and you see two 14-seeds beating 3-seeds.”
Gurney: “It must have been frustrating for every BYU fan watching Ole Miss losing today. I don’t know what would have been better, Ole Miss winning, or losing the way they did.”
Criddle: “BYU is in full spring for spring football, some nice things coming out of camp, 4 guys standing out on the OL with Lapuaho, Johnson, Wilcox, and Koroma.”
Gurney: “It seems like Brad Wilcox has been there forever, and he always gets pumped but then he gets injured and it kinda dies off. You have 5 guys who you want to stand out in camp.”
Gurney: “I’m surprised Tuni Kanuch isn’t standing out, I don’t know if it was an oversight, but you expect him to step in for that other guard spot unless Wilcox has really stepped in and filled that role.”
Logan: “If you’re in a battle with your teammate but you have that leadership and that character, then the coaches are going to put you in over your teammate.”
Logan: “The coaches are high on Jacob Jimenez, Coach Tujague said that if there was a game this weekend, Jimenez would be one of those 5-starters on the OL.”
Gurney: “I talked to him (Jimenez) and it felt like he was a 35-year old man with how well-spoken he was. You don’t meet 18-19 year old kids who speak like that.”
Gurney: “He’s an interesting story (Jimenez), he was injured during the recruiting period and didn’t get any big offers… …The BYU coaches feel like they found a diamond in the rough with him.”
Logan: “As a non-LDS player it’s all about your attitude, if you have a good attitude then you can be successful; not just at BYU, but anywhere you go, you can be successful.”
Criddle: “A lot has been made of BYU’s defensive backfield, Mike Davis and Michaerl Shelton have made waves. Kelly Poppinga even compared Michael Shelton to Brian Logan”
Gurney: “One thing that surprised me of Davis is that he was an offensive player in High School, but he tackles really well. I’m impressed with the way that he hits people.”
Gurney: “It’s hard to get the perspective on the team when you don’t have access to every practice, like we used to, but one thing I notice about Davis is that he’s out there a lot.”
Gurney: “Preator hasn’t been able to practice this spring because of injury, and Michael Shelton has stepped up and taken advantage of that.”
Criddle: “BYU announcing today that they will have a H-H with Mississippi State, and that the SEC will now count BYU towards a non-league P5 game. What do you think? Is this more of a product of BYU of how they’re playing over the last few years or is it more of a convenience of scheduling.”
Logan: “I have to say 75% scheduling and 25% of being able to hang with the P5 schools.”
Gurney: “I think it’s a product of an athletic director who is resolute in the scheduling of his school. I think this is due to Holmoe significantly. If the SEC is taking BYU in, what’s next? The Pac-12, the Big 12?”
Gurney: “With all the hurdles BYU has with Independence, it’s good to have a guy like Holmoe busting his hump trying to make it work. The November schedules have been tough to do but they’re doing what they can with teams like Missouri and Utah State agreeing to November games.”
Ben and Brian Breaking It Down:
Logan: “I would sacrifice talent for chemistry. I think it speaks to Coach Mendenhall’s mindset.”
Logan: “Bronco Mendenhall believes that if he can trust that you’re in class, then he can trust you being in the right position in games.”
Logan: “Coach Mendenhall’s mentality is that he wants the best 11 players out there, the ones that have the best chemistry. He doesn’t care if you’re going to be a first round pick, if you don’t have any chemistry with the team you’re not going to play.”
