Rogers picks BYU

Stephen Rogers, a 6-foot-8 sharp-shooting sophomore small forward who was being recruited by several schools after scoring 21 points per game last season for Mesa Community College, is going to play next season for the BYU Cougars.
Rogers, who redshirted one season at Arizona State after serving an LDS mission, before then transferring to Mesa CC, has three years of college eligibility left. He had recently narrowed his college choices to either BYU or Utah State. At BYU he’s expected to compete for playing time at both the three and four positions. Last season he shot 81 percent from the free-throw line, 50 percent from the floor, 43 percent from 3-point range and he also pulled down five boards per game.
With the commitment from Rogers, someone who had a scholarship last year won’t be getting one this coming season.
It will be interesting to see how Rogers fits into BYU’s rotation. We already know that BYU coach Dave Rose is going to let every player compete for time and that he’s going to put what he thinks is the best lineup on the floor. However, from my view, looking at who the Cougars have next season, I don’t see anyone taking the starting jobs away from seniors-to-be Jimmer Fredette and Jackson Emery in the back court. But, with the emergence of Michael Loyd Jr. late last season, he’s probably going to get more time in the back court as well, probably in some sort of a three-man rotation. Brandon Davies will likely be the starting center. The other two positions are the ones that seem to be mostly up for grabs. I think Chris Collinsworth and Noah Hartsock will battle it out for the starting four spot, but I also wouldn’t be surprised to see Rose go with a bit smaller and quicker lineup at times with a three-man rotation in the four and five spot. In other words, Chris Collinsworth and Hartsock could be on the court together a lot. Center James Anderson will be needed for foul-trouble protection as well.
So now for the three spot, Rogers’ natural position because of his shooting skills and ball handling ability. I don’t know if Rogers has Lee Cummard like ability, but with his length and shooting ability he could cause defensive problems for opposing teams. Also, one of the keys to BYU’s success last year was Tyler Haws’ deadly outside shooting combined with his dead-eye mid-range shot. Rogers has the outside shooting to replace Haws, but we don’t know if he goes to the hole as hard or can knock down that mid-range shot like Haws. But freshman Kyle Collinsworth’s strength is getting to the basket, among many other things.
Then you have Charles Abouo, Nick Martineau, Anson Winder, Logan Magnusson and Brock Zylstra to consider. Honestly, it’s hard to see Magnusson and Zysltra playing a role much different to the one they played this past season. I wouldn’t be surprised to see both Winder and Martineau redshirt next season. Abouo brings so much athleticism to the court that he’ll probably get time at the two, three or four, but I don’t think he’s going to be a starter. He might surprise me though because he’s a determined kid and a hard worker.
After all that analyzing, this is how I predict BYU’s rotation will work out next year. The starters will be Davies at center, Chris Collinsworth at the four, Kyle Collinsworth at the three, Emery at the two and Fredette at the one. Hartsock will be the first off the bench to spell Davies. Rogers or Abouo will spell Kyle Collinsworth at the three. Loyd will relieve Emery, and then rotate over to the one to give Fredette a rest when either Emery comes back in the game or Abouo moves to the backcourt.
Basically, I see a mainly nine-man rotation with the reserves being Hartsock, Rogers, Loyd and Abouo. Rogers will see time at both the three and four. Abouo will play both the two and three, and maybe some four. Hartsock will play the four and five. Loyd will play the one and two.
The Cougars are going to be so deep that Hartsock, Rogers, Loyd and Abouo – and Winder and Martineau for that matter- are going to have to show a lot of patience and be willing to accept their roles. The time when those guys are going to get the most minutes is the following season – when Fredette and Emery are gone, Kyle Collinsworth leaves for a mission and Tyler Haws is still on his mission. That’s when Loyd, Rogers and Abouo will become BYU’s main non-post scorers. That’s when all three will likely be starters.
So in a nutshell, I think Rogers provides bench help this coming season, and will probably start his junior and senior seasons.
If you see it differently, I’d love to hear your thoughts.