Best Moments From Dave Rose’s Tenure At BYU
Mar 26, 2019, 12:28 PM | Updated: 12:35 pm
Brigham Young Cougars head coach Dave Rose complains about not having a foul called against the Pacific Tigers during NCAA basketball in Provo on Saturday, Feb. 9, 2019. (Ravell Call, Deseret News)
(Ravell Call, Deseret News)
PROVO, Utah – News broke Tuesday morning that BYU head basketball coach Dave Rose was expected to retire from coaching. Rose had been with the program since 1997 and took the reigns as head coach in 2005.
In his tenure, the Cougars made it to either the NCAA Tournament or NIT in 13 of 14 seasons, with the lone exception being this last season.
Under his watch, the Cougars obtained a record of 348-135 overall with a 4-8 record in the NCAA Tournament.
Here are a few of the most memorable moments and achievements from Rose’s career at BYU:
Beating Cancer
In June 2009, Rose was stricken ill while on a flight. He was immediately taken to a hospital and underwent emergency surgery to remove a tumor near his pancreas. His spleen was also removed in the operation.
He was diagnosed with a rare form of pancreatic cancer and thanks to treatment at the Huntsman Cancer Institute was able to overcome a grim prognosis. While he still receives regular checkups on the area, he has said that the cancer is virtually gone from his body.
Jimmer Fredette, National Player of the Year
In 2007, Rose recruited Jimmer Fredette out of Glens Falls, New York. Just a few years later, in 2011, Fredette would take the basketball world by storm while leading the nation in scoring.
Fredette took the Cougars to a top five ranking in the polls on his way to earning nearly every single national player of the year award.
Highlights from Fredette’s 2011 season include a 47-point outburst against Utah, a 43-point outing against top ten ranked San Diego State, a 52-point performance against New Mexico and a 32-point showing in the NCAA Tournament against Gonzaga.
Fredette would go to be drafted 10th overall in the 2011 NBA Draft
2011 Sweet 16 Appearance
Led by Fredette, the Cougars had their best season in program history in the 2010-11 season. They achieved a ranking as high as No. 3 in the national polls and were the co-champions of the Mountain West Conference’s regular season.
They went to the NCAA Tournament as a No. 3 seed. First, the Cougars sent Wofford packing in the first round with a 77-66 victory. Then in the second round, they defeated Gonzaga 89-67 to make it to the Sweet 16. Unfortunately, their tournament run came to an end there as they fell to Florida 83-74 in overtime.
The season was considered a big “what-if” as starting forward and future NBA player Brandon Davies was dismissed from the team near the end of the regular season due to an Honor Code violation. At the time, the Cougars were considered by many to be the top team in the country and were slated by many to be a potential number one seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Still, the 2011 season was definitely one for the record books in BYU basketball history.
Huge Comeback Over Iona In NCAA Tournament
The year after the Cougars’ appearance in the Sweet 16, they qualified to play in the First Four of the 2012 NCAA Tournament. In the play-in game, they drew mid-major power Iona.
In the first half, the game belonged entirely to Iona as the Gaels built a commanding 25-point lead. The rest of the game however, became an opportunity for greatness as the Cougars pulled off the biggest comeback victory in the tournament’s history.
Led by an outstanding second half performance by Noah Hartsock, who scored 17 of his 23 points in the second half, the Cougars mounted an amazing comeback effort and won the game 78-72.
BYU went on to the round of 64 in the Tournament and lost 88-68 to Marquette.
BYU Knocks Off No. 1 Gonzaga On The Road
Behind 29 points by Eric Mika, the Cougars pulled off the biggest win in program in 2017 when they defeated the No. 1-ranked, undefeated Bulldogs on the road in a shocking 79-71 victory.
Up to that point, the Bulldogs were 29-0 and were thought to have a legitimate shot at an undefeated season and a deep run in the NCAA Tournament.
The Cougars and Mika, played the role of spoilers in the big win.
Mika scored on 10-of-14 shots from the field with his biggest shot coming to put the Cougars up 73-71 with a minute left. From there, the Cougars held the Zags scoreless the rest of the way en route to the upset.
It was one of only two losses for Gonzaga that season. The Bulldogs’ only other defeat came later in the NCAA Tournament Final Four, where they lost to North Carolina in the championship game.
