Rose Names Captains for 2011-12

PROVO, Utah – BYU basketball coach Dave Rose announced today that Charles Abouo, Noah Hartsock and Brock Zylstra have been named captains for the 2011-12 season. The coaching staff selected the captains.

"Charles, Noah and Brock are excellent leaders for our team," Rose said. "Their teammates respect them because of the way they work and play the game. They are great examples for their teammates on and off the court."

Abouo, a 6-foot-5 senior guard/forward, started 22 games last season while helping the Cougars to a 32-5 record, a share of the Mountain West Conference regular season title and a trip to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament. The native of Cote d’Ivoire averaged career bests of 7.2 points and 4.8 boards while adding 11 blocks and 29 steals last season. Abouo scored a career-best 25 points against Wyoming and posted a double-double with 22 points and 10 boards against Utah.

Hartsock, from Bartlesville, Okla., has started the last two seasons at forward and has established himself as one of the best shot blockers in BYU history. With 61 blocks last season, Hartsock is fourth all-time in program history with 122 career rejections. The 6-foot-8 senior averaged 8.6 points and 5.9 boards last season and emerged as a threat from the outside, shooting .433 from downtown. Hartsock earned honorable mention All-MWC last season.

Zylstra, a 6-foot-6 junior guard, originally joined the program as a non-scholarship player in 2006-07 prior to serving a two-year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in New Zealand. He was awarded a scholarship following his mission and served as Jackson Emery’s backup the past two seasons. The La Verna, Calif., native demonstrated his potential during the team’s trip to Greece this summer, averaging a team-best 17.3 points and 6.0 rebounds. He posted 26 points in the team’s loss to the Italian Senior National Team, ranked in the top 10 in the world by FIBA.

Fans will have a chance to see 2011-12 Cougars for the first time on Wednesday, Oct. 26, in the annual Cougar Tipoff. BYU will play its first exhibition Oct. 29 at home against Midwestern State. Both games are scheduled for 7 p.m. MT. The Tipoff will be broadcast live on BYUtv.org and the Midwestern State game will be broadcast live on BYUtv and BYUtv.org.