When assistant BYU men's basketball coach Terry Nashif was young, he always dreamed of playing for BYU. Even when he was a child, attending summer basketball camps in Provo, he was focused on his goals.

"I put up a picture of the BYU basketball court in my room," Nashif said at an Education Week class Thursday. "I knew, when I got up to run, or to shoot, or to do drills, that I was going to play there."

After serving a two-year LDS mission to South Dakota, Nashif called then-BYU assistant Dave Rose and went to meet him before walk-on player try-outs. He said he dressed in multiple layers of clothing to try to "impress the coach with his size," and apparently he was successful. After shaking Rose's hand at their pre-tryout interview, Rose gave Nashif a "pat-down" and looked him in the eye.

"You look good," Rose told Nashif at that fateful meeting. "You're bigger than I remember."

Nashif spoke to a group of BYU basketball supporters in a question and answer format, fielding inquiries about the team's outlook on the 2008-09 season. Many questions were directed at replacing Detroit Pistons draftee Trent Plaisted and some of his possible replacements.

One of those possible replacements is James Anderson, the Page, Ariz., native who impressed BYU coaches before serving a mission. Now, he's back, and Nashif said he will seriously contend for some playing time.

"He can handle the ball really well, and he shoots well, too," Nashif said. "He's one of the many options to replace Trent."

Nashif also commented on BYU's schedule for the coming season. While some of the coach's wives aren't as excited for big-name tournaments in places like Maui, Hawaii and California, the assistant coach believes the schedule will offer Cougar fans an excellent chance to see high-quality opponents and winnable games.

Among the most exciting game on the schedule is an early game at Arizona State. The game is important to the Sun Devils because it will be played in Glendale, a proposed site for a few NCAA Regionals.

That should be important for the Cougar faithful in that part of the country.

"It is estimated that there will be more BYU fans there than ASU fans," Nashif said.

Fans will also be excited to see Wake Forest come to town for a re-match of last year's road game that saw BYU exploited in multiple ways.

"We are really looking forward to avenging that loss," Nashif said. "And we're really excited to welcome Wake Forest to the altitude, the Marriott Center and our fans."

Copyright Brigham Young University 22 Aug 2008