Dave Rose and the basketball program added a little Hispanic flavor to the roster today with the signing of a pair of junior college players. Already-committed guard Raul Delgado of Western Nebraska Community College sent in his national letter of intent today. BYU also signed forward Agustin Ambrosino from Salt Lake Community College. Delgado is a native of Chihuahua, Mexico, while Ambrosino is from Cordoba, Argentina.
Delgado is a 6-2 guard that prepped at Springville High School in Utah after his family moved to Utah from Mexico. He averaged 18 points per game while shooting 48.5% from the field and 43% from behind the arc, hopefully providing the Cougars with a much-needed consistent shooter. He committed to BYU on January 30.
The signing of Ambrosino is a new development brought about by Nick Martineau not having his scholarship renewed. The Argentinian is a 6-8 forward who averaged 9.6 points and 5.3 rebounds per game at SLCC. He provides depth and insurance in the front court with the future of Chris Collinsworth and the development of Ian Harward a little unknown. He was reportedly being pursued by Utah, UNLV, and Pepperdine.
The final scholarship left, recently made available by Damarcus Harrison's decision to serve a mission, is expected to go to Craig Cusick, who effectively served as backup point guard this season ... although the end of BYU's release said that the spring signing period goes to May 16 and the staff will continue to look to add depth to the roster. It's hard to imagine Dave Rose wouldn't get Cusick on scholarship, so I'm not sure what that line means.
Tyler Haws also returns from his mission in the Philippines.
If I had to venture a guess on what lineups we might see next year, assuming everyone is healthy, it would probably look like this:
Starters: Carlino - Delgado - Haws - Collinsworth - Davies
2nd team: Cusick - Winder/Zylstra - Rogers - Ambrosino - Austin
The beauty of this is the depth. Coaches can hopefully go to Harward if needed, have depth with Winder and Zylstra on the wing, and also have Josh Sharp who is hopefully developing.
This also assumes the adage that "you don't bring in JC guys just to sit the bench." Delgado seems almost a lock to start, as his shooting is much needed and Rose has said he sees Delgado stepping into an Abouo-type role of defense, rebounding, and hustle (or the role we at least thought Abouo would fill). Rogers should still make an excellent 6th man and hopefully has the shooting touch to help the Cougars have two very capable shooters on each unit.
Collinsworth, I would guess, is likely set to start as long as he is healthy. This would allow Harward continue to develop, still having three years of eligibility left after Davies graduates next year.
Whether I'm right or not, BYU seems to be adding enough depth to be set for another solid year.
Beyond that, the future is bright as well. 2012 commits Cory Calvert (Colorado) and Jordan Chatman (Washington) were both honored as Player of the Year in their home states, while 2013 commits Nick Emery and T.J. Haws seem likely to battle for that honor next year in Utah. Calvert and Chatman have both said they plan to serve missions; Emery and Haws have not made public statements about the matter.
Also, with Rogers, Zylstra, Cusick, and Davies all graduating next year, there's plenty of room for you, Jabari Parker. (I can always wish.)
Go here for some videos of Raul Delgado.