Provo • Only 24 hours earlier, Mark Pope stood outside a practice gym and pleaded patience.
He told people the process would work. He said the younger players would come along, even if he knew they looked overmatched in the first week of the season.
At the time, it was hard to tell whether Pope was speaking from confidence or simply speaking it into existence. After all, for his youth movement to work in 2022, he needed his second unit comprised of his five underclassmen to start improving. He needed to see something from them for the future to make it worth it.
“I really need this second group [of young players] to keep growing really, really fast,” he said. “I need them to get better and better and better. Some pieces in the second unit for the first two games have got sped up. But who doesn’t go to Viejas [Arena at San Diego State] and get sped up? … This second unit is going to be really special.”
By night’s end on Wednesday, after a 66-64 win over Missouri State, it started to look like Pope’s proclamations were a little more truthful. In an effort dotted by contributions from underclassmen Noah Waterman, Atiki Ally Atiki and Trey Stewart — and eventually capped off by a game-winning shot by freshman Dallin Hall — the vision for the future finally showed.
“I had a lot of faith,” Pope said.
But this was real faith, where he played his five underclassmen 42 minutes in the second half. He elected to ride Hall with the game on the line instead of senior Rudi Williams. He made the choice to go with Ally Atiki, who had 11 rebounds and seven points, ahead of starter Fousseyni Traore. He kept Waterman on the floor as he piled in 15 points on five three-pointers.
Even Stewart played in the final four minutes, as his defense and ability to drive into the lane generated points, if not stats.
It ended in a win over a quality mid-major team. Proof of concept.
“Now we know it experientially rather than just hearing the words,” Pope said.
And this was a significant performance not just because of the first week struggles, but because of the future.
Pope hasn’t been shy about saying this year will be a growth period. It was as much about bringing along the youth and trying a new system as it was about necessarily winning games in 2022.
But admittedly, it was hard to see in the first week. A small sample size, sure, but difficult nonetheless. BYU had 42 turnovers in the first two games. It shot the ball poorly. The younger players coming off the bench looked like they were being rushed into roles they weren’t ready for.
Ally Atiki, for example, had three turnovers in the first ten minutes of his season against Idaho State. Waterman didn’t make a 3-point field goal in the first week. Stewart struggled from the field and played like a man who had never logged significant minutes.
But Pope kept trying. Even on Wednesday night he stuck with his underclassmen, holding the starters on the bench, as they made mistakes in the first half.
“We had a lot of confidence because the second unit plays together all the time,” Waterman said of the younger players’ performance.
One game against Missouri State doesn’t validate the youth movement entirely. Pope is more than willing to admit for any night like Wednesday, there will be equally bad days, too. During those times, he might have to pull the plug and play some veterans.
But at least one night, Pope got enough to show it is working.
