Former Cougar Jonathan Tavernari had a successful season in Italy playing for Giorgio Tesi Group Pistoia in the LegaDue.

Tavernari averaged 10.7 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.7 steals while shooting 39.4 percent from downtown as Giorgio Tesi finished 18-10 in the regular season and advanced to the LegaDue Finals. Giorgio Tesi Group Pistoia fell to Enel Brindisi 3-1 in the best-of-five series.

The native of Sao Bernardo, Brazil, joined Giorgio Tesi Group Pistoia for the final 13 games of the regular season and averaged 9.8 points. He picked up his game in the playoffs, averaging 11.5 points while hitting 57.1 percent of his two-point field goals and 38.6 percent of his 3-point attempts.

One of his best performances came in the final game of the championship series as he posted 20 points, hit six threes and added five steals. He hit a three in all but two games and hit three-plus 3-pointers in 11 of 26 games.

Former BYU Cougar Noah Hartsock has been invited to a pre-draft workout with the Utah Jazz on Saturday at the Zions Bank Basketball Center. Hartsock was BYU's leading scorer this past season at 16.8 points per game and led the Cougars to a 26-9 record and a trip to the NCAA Tournament. He earned All-WCC and All-District honors. Here is the press release from the Jazz.

SALT LAKE CITY (June 15, 2012) – In preparation for the 2012 NBA Draft, the Utah Jazz will hold pre-draft workouts on Saturday, June 16 at the team’s practice facility, Zions Bank Basketball Center (1414 South 500 West).  Six players will work out for the Jazz basketball staff.  Media availability will begin on the court immediately following the workout; media members are encouraged to arrive by 10:45 a.m. (MT).

Draft profiles for each player are attached and are also available via the Jazz’s online press room (http://pressroom.utahjazz.com).  High resolution headshots of each player are also provided through the site.  Please use the user name media and the password utahjazz to access the site.

Audio from the workouts will be available on the online press room shortly following each session.

The Jazz currently holds the 47th overall selection in the second round of the 2012 NBA Draft, which will take place on June 28 at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.

The Deseret News posted an article online today about former Cougar big man Chris Miles. The 6-foot-11 center is coming off a successful season with the Hanau White Wings in Germany where he averaged 12.6 points and 7.7 rebounds. He helped Hanau to a 13-9 record and a spot in the postseason. 

According to Dick Harmon's Deseret News article, Miles attended a major workout in Chicago in front of NBA scouts and was told that he stood out. With the Jazz, Knicks, Hornets and Lakers in attendance, here's hoping Miles gets a shot with an NBA team.

The main focus of Harmon's article was the charity work Miles is involved with. Miles is working with TSXL to benefit the Eaton Alliance, which assists people with autism. Miles and TSXL will host a gourmet dinner and auction at The Manor at the Shops at Riverwoods on June 25 at 5:30 p.m. BYU coach Dave Rose will be the guest speaker and vacations, sports equipment, hunting and fishing trips and more will be auctioned off. Visit www.truesportsmanxl.com for more information.

Check out this article written by Harmon when Miles was playing for BYU. Miles has two younger brothers who are autistic and he was very involved in caring for his brothers while growing up.

The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame today uploaded several induction speaches to its YouTube page today. One that was uploaded was the induction of the late Kresimir Cosic, one of BYU's all-time greats and one of the most influential figures in the history of basketball in Europe. Cosic was enshirned to the Hall of Fame as part of the class of 1996.

His wife Ljerka accepted the nomination and induction and gives a touching account of his life. The video is worth the eight minutes it takes to watch.

For those that prefer to read instead of watching, here are some highlights. Ljerka discussed Kresimir's great basketball career and his greatness as a man. She mentioned how he was a a caring husband and father and talked about his courage to live as a man of God and a representative of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints during the communist era in eastern Europe.

"Kreso wasn't just a great basketball player and coach. He was also a man of God, a believer and a patriot. A wonderful husband and a kind father."

"In the communist era he had the courage to be a believer. A Mormon, a time when worship of God was dangerous for an ordinary person, let alone for a public figure of his stature."

"Kreso's imagination set him apart. It was as if he was of another day and age, a true visionary."

Cosic was a visionary player and has been called the "first great international player to play college basketabll in the United States (Billy Packer)." He was an All-American (the first non-American to earn the distinction), All-WAC and led BYU to two WAC titles and two NCAA Regional Tournament appearances. He turned down multiple offers to play in the NBA to serve as an ambassador for the game in Europe. As a player he won three Olympic medals as a member of the Yugoslavian National Team — two silver and one gold. He then served as the coach of the Yugoslavian National Team for many years and guided the team to a silver medal in the 1988 Olympics in Seoul.

Following coaching he served as a Croatian diplomant at the embassy in Washington, D.C. He died in 1995 of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Ljerka shared a great quote from Kresimir during the inducation that sums up the way Cosic played and the way he felt about the game of basketball:

"The thrill of the game is in pure competition, not in the competition that money buys." 

Cosic is also a member of the Cougar Club Hall of Fame.

Cosic's jersey was retired by BYU on March 4, 2006.

LDS Church News article on Cosic.

Lee Cummard's first professional season in Japan came to an end today as his team, Kyoto Hannaryz fell 75-66 to the Yokohama B-Corsairs in the third-place game for the bj-league. Cummard helped Kyoto to a third-place finish in the Western Conference and 35-21 overall. He finished the season averaging 10.6 points, 5.1 boards and 3.1 assists. 

Prior to joining Kyoto, Cummard played two seasons in France for Fos Ouest. He starred for the Cougars from 2005 to 2009 and helped BYU to three conference titles and three NCAA Tournament bids. He averaged 12.0 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.8 assists for his career. As a junior he was named the Mountain West Conference Player of the Year and he earned first-team All-MWC honors as a junior and senior.

The project to install new chairs at the Marriott Center and renovate the locker rooms is well underway. The first new concrete was poured in the Marriott Center this morning. See photos below of the progress being made.

Each year basketball coaches from around the country gather at the Final Four for numerous activites organized by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC). The attachd photo is of BYU head coach Dave Rose speaking at this year's NABC Coaches Clinic in New Orleans.

Former Cougar Harold Christensen, a starter on the 1951 NIT Championship team and a member of the Cougar Club Hall of Fame, died Tuesday at the age of 80.

Prior to coming to BYU, Christensen was a star for B.Y. High School. He was selected to play in the 1949 High School All-Star Game in Kentucky and was named a high school All-American. At BYU, Christensen helped the Cougars win the 1951 NIT, earned all-conference honors in 1952 and 1953 and played in the 1953 East-West All-Star Game in Kansas City.

Christensen graduated from BYU in 1954 with a degree in mathematics and served as an officer in the U.S. Air Force until 1958. He earned a degree in civil engineering from the University of Utah in 1960 and then worked as a civil engineer in Salt Lake City.

From 1981 to 1984 Christensen served as mission president of the California Fresno LDS Mission. He is survived by his wife Joanne, seven children, 28 grandchildren and 17 great-grandchildren. Three of the couple's sons — Craig, Kurt and Todd — also played basketball at BYU.

Funeral services will be Monday at noon at the Foothill Stake Center, 1933 S. 2100 East.

Credit: Deseret News and Cougarclub.com

Christensen's Hall of Fame bio.

In honor of a guy who helped BYU defeat Florida in double-overtime in the first round of the 2010 NCAA Tournament, ending BYU's 17-year drought of winning a tournament game, here are highlights of Chris Miles playing in Germany. Miles is in his second season with the Hanau White Wings and is averaging 12.6 points and 7.7 rebounds. Enjoy.

Episdoe 12 of 'BYU Basketball with Head Coach Dave Rose' aired on KSL 5 TV on Sunday, March 4. Watch the episode below or click here to watch on KSL.com.