BYU and the Reaction to Davies Dismissal.

I give the administration at BYU and A for their handling of the Brandon Davies incident. They sent a strong message that they will be consistent in enforcing the honor code that all BYU students agree to. And that no one, no matter the circumstances or profile to the University will be given a pass. As someone in one of the dailies said, the basketball team exists because of the University and not the other way round.

As for Dave Rose, Jimmer Ferdette and the way that the BYU basketball team has reacted to the problem, I give a D+. The 34% shooting from the field, the 11 turnovers and the 31 points scored by team members not named Jimmer. The stats tell the story. On Wednesday night, BYU was truly a one-man team. The only reason I did not give them an F is because they kept the game within 20 points. I do not know if there was booing at the Marriott Center this evening, but if I was there, I would have booed. The team deserved it as it was obvious that the only team that was giving their best effort was the team from Albuquerque. It was if Brandon Davies was the team's all-American and team leader. If the Cougars at least looked like they were interested in giving an effort tonight, I would have given the team an A, even if they would have lost. Tonight, these Cougars were not at all valiant in the face of opposition.

This is an important life lesson that Dave Rose and the BYU Coaching staff failed to team the BYU young men. Being employed in industry since I left the Air Force in 1997 I have learned one lesson. Key people leave for various reasons. They leave for better opportunities, they leave because the powers that be decide that they are no longer willing to pay them. They leave for illness and for family circumstances. They retire and they die. They even leave because of sex. I have seen all of this in my career. It is not unreasonable that the expectations of the team remain the same. In fact, that is exactly how the business world works. It is a tough fact of life. If you want to have a job tomorrow, you can't let these things affect you. You have to go to work every single day regardless. It is perhaps the hardest thing to manage, especially if the departure is sudden and unexpected. But life goes on. This lesson may be beyond the level of 20-somethings, but the sooner that this lesson is learned is better.

Rather than make Davies and excuse and a scapegoat, the team should have turned their ire on Brandon. He was the one who thought that he was above the team and their rules. He was the one that did not live up to the code that he promised to live by. They were wrong to let Brandon Davies and his transgressions bring the rest of the team down and ruin the team chemistry.

Let me be clear, I do not fault the Cougars for the result. They do not play against the same New Mexico Lobos that everyone else in the Mountain West Conference gets. They always get an A+ effort from UNM. New Mexico could really go places if they played everyone like they play against BY). But I do fault the Cougars for letting external circumstances, as serious as they were, effect the level of their play and effort. Fans deserve better than excuses.