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The temper at BYU’s follow Tuesday afternoon was optimistic and upbeat.
No, the Cougars actually aren’t blissful about their present four-game dropping streak. However gamers and coaches try to maintain issues unfastened as they put together for his or her subsequent contest and work on snapping that streak.
BYU visits Loyola Marymount Thursday (9 p.m., MST, ESPNU) after which it performs at Pepperdine Saturday.
“We’re hungry and digging deep and hopeful and pressing and fatigued — all of the issues that you have to be at this level of the season,” stated coach Mark Pope. “I feel our guys are dedicated proper now to attempt to carry out on Thursday.”
One of many gamers that participated in Tuesday’s follow was senior guard Te’Jon Lucas, who missed final Saturday’s loss to Gonzaga as a consequence of a minor concussion and a sore neck and shoulder.
Lucas didn’t follow Monday.
“We’ll see how he feels. However I’m hopeful,” Pope stated about Lucas’ standing for Thursday. “We simply sort of stored him out (Monday) simply as being as cautious as we are able to. And I didn’t know if he was going to follow (Tuesday) both. However he got here into the workplace and was like, ‘Hey, I’d wish to strive.’ He truly did a conditioning deal yesterday, and he truly responded fairly nicely. It’s a reasonably easy conditioning deal. However his post-exercise results had been negligible. So we’re hopeful and we’ll see how he feels.”
Regardless of the tough stretch the Cougars are going by, Pope stated his group is grateful to have the ability to play school basketball and it’s making an attempt to benefit from the chance.
“We are able to’t overlook how a lot we love this recreation and the way particular it's that we've immediately the place we get to play it,” he stated. “We’re not promised tomorrow. We’ve seen that this 12 months. … It’s so essential that we bear in mind how grateful we're that we get to do that.”
Freshman reserve guard Trey Stewart stated his teammates are dealing with the tough scenario in addition to they will.
“You watch the video games, it’s not a scarcity of effort,” Stewart stated. “Everyone seems to be giving their all. We’ve bought to determine find out how to put our items collectively. That’s our principal concern, to play as a group.”
Pope likes his gamers’ perspective.
“They care. The emotion that pours out of those guys as they’re chasing this by wins and thru losses is gigantic, the emotional capital they put in the direction of this,” Pope stated. “Happily, the entire world doesn’t see these guys within the moments when issues are actually arduous as a result of these guys are extremely weak. That’s how you're while you put your entire coronary heart into one thing. It’s a journey.”
After all, Pope had fairly a journey himself as each a participant and as a coach. He stated he attracts upon his experiences and shares them along with his gamers as they expertise a shocking dropping streak.
“I don’t share an excessive amount of private stuff with the blokes. They don’t wish to hear about some previous man who performed 100 years in the past. However I do draw on the expertise as a result of I can relate,” he stated. “I’ve had moments like this the place I can relate to this sense. Definitely, as a participant, I can perceive what this may really feel like, all of the dynamics. And it doesn’t simply really feel like one factor. You’ve bought all of those competing ideas and worries and hopes and expectations rolling by your thoughts on the similar time. It could get tremendous cloudy. Sure, 100% when it comes to drawing on that have to strive one of the best we are able to to navigate this.”
Shedding exams gamers in addition to coaches. How does Pope deal with dropping?
“I’m so dangerous at it,” he stated. “I’m terrible.”
The Cougars are hoping to place an finish to their dropping streak this weekend in Southern California.