Brad Rock: Dave Rose rebuilds BYU, the next coach has to send him back to The Dance

PROVO – They won the grandstand at the Marriott Center, defeated the heavy wood panels and quickly assembled a sleeker, lighter version.

You could say that's what Dave Rose did to BYU.

He rebuilt the program from the ground up.

On Tuesday, the place was mastered, while a visiting professor gave a lecture to twenty people. Once completed, the maintenance team prepared for the press conference on Rose's retirement. This was a good start for a coach who has racked up 348 career wins, eight NCAA tournament appearances, 13 consecutive 20-win seasons and a .720 winning percentage.

"The ability to have a successful team every year – it's difficult here at BYU, there are so many things, so many changes," Rose said.

Missionaries come and go, transfers, code of honor, academics and even a sanction from the NCAA.

This is enough to make someone want to retire or be retired.

Regardless of what triggered her departure, Rose resigned approximately 18 hours after seeing the greatest player in her best team play in a match for the Phoenix Suns at Vivint Arena. When memories come back, it's hard to ignore the BYU 2011 team, with Jimmer Fredette. Rose has ranked this Sweet 16 season as her best coaching memory. All of this has played into the question of whether BYU can ever come back to this place.

"I do not know if I'll ever be able to feel what I felt when we beat Gonzaga to go to Sweet 16," Rose said.

Someone wants it?

This is the problem of someone else now.

Rose's career was impressive. He is retiring with the second highest number of victories in the history of BYU, 23 behind the legendary Stan Watts. But Watts won before the missions and sanctions and transfers from the NCAA and Gonzaga had such a track record. Back in the WAC and Mountain West, BYU was a monster. The Cougars have won four championships in the MWC regular season and, at one point, five consecutive seasons in the top 25 and six consecutive matches at the NCAA Tournament under Rose. He has also won 25 games or more in six consecutive seasons.

Only once – this year – he did not win 20.

In eight years in the West Coast Conference, the Cougars have always finished second or third and never higher than the second in the conference tournament. This year, Gonzaga is in the Sweet 16 – for the fifth time in a row – and plays as a Final Four team. But after failing to get an offer from the NCAA or the NIT, the Cougars are further away from winning titles than when they entered the conference. The missionary ages changed, while the players became more restless and impatient for a few minutes. In addition, the window for automatically claiming the best players from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is closed.

Imagine success if NBA players Frank Jackson or Jabari Parker chose BYU instead of Duke. But it's also the good side of basketball, as opposed to football: it only takes one.

That this type of NBA player is really interested in BYU is the dilemma.

The expectations of BYU fans are greater than those of Rose at the end of her career. Attendance has dropped this year, caused by a generation of fans who would prefer to watch on their smartphones. But there was also the realization that things did not go up. The Cougars finished five games out of first place.

If Cougars seek a charismatic, energetic and fearless coach, he is on the street. Mark Pope of the Utah Valley is as lively as a mime, but even stronger. He is also the big favorite, having worked under the aegis of Rose at BYU. Pope made the Utah Valley a competitor at WAC by appealing to many conference attendees at the power who were not satisfied where they were. It will not be his wife. it's taking BYU work.

At UVU, his team played against Arizona, Kentucky, Duke, Gonzaga, Washington State and Louisville, as well as BYU, Utah and Utah.

In small schools, the only way to make waves is to dive.

When asked to play Kentucky and Duke back-to-back in 2017, Pope said, "You need a coach who is either immature or not serious enough to want to do it.

Exactly what BYU needs.

5
comments on this story

Pope could fight his way up to Fort Knox, but the question is whether BYU can have the players needed to defeat Gonzaga. Obviously, the cougars have the intention to do it. They have recently updated the Marriott Center and added a basketball schedule. Although fans should not expect them to win championships while Gonzaga is still at the WCC, they should expect appearances at NCAA tournaments. BYU has 29. What it does not have is a long history of placing players in the NBA.

The new coach can handle all this at the same time.