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BYU's Trevin Knell warms up before the start of a men's college basketball exhibition game against Life Pacific at the Marriott Center on Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2023.

Nate Edwards, BYU Photo

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BYU's Trevin Knell is introduced before the start of a men's college basketball game against Houston Christian at the Marriott Center on Monday, Nov. 6, 2023.

Donovan Kelly, BYU Photo

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BYU's Trevin Knell takes a 3-pointer against Houston Christian at the Marriott Center on Monday, Nov. 6, 2023.

Emma Thomas, BYU Photo

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On March 24, 2022, the BYU men’s basketball team ended its season with a 77-58 NIT quarterfinal loss to Washington State at the Marriott Center. Guard Trevin Knell went scoreless in 13 minutes of action.

He had no idea it would be 593 days before he played in another game for the Cougars.

Knell had been dealing with a shoulder issue all year. The problem got worse during the offseason and eventually required surgery that caused him to miss the entire 2022-23 campaign.

Last Monday, BYU opened the 2023-24 season with a 110-63 victory against Houston Christian. Knell started and played 22 minutes, making 5 of 9 3-point shots and finishing with 19 points.

“It feels great to be back,” Knell said. “The past couple of days everyone has been telling me, ‘It’s been 500-something days since you played in the Marriott Center’ but it feels great to be back in front of the ROC. My teammates are great and they got me open shots. Coach (Mark Pope) ran some great plays for me to get good open shots as well.”

Knell, a 6-foot-5 shooting guard, averaged 25.4 points per game his senior season at Woods Cross High School and committed to play at Cal. But a coaching change in Berkeley while he was serving a church mission in Uruguay brought him to Provo.

In three seasons, Knell made 97 3-pointers and shot 39% from beyond the arc. After his surgery, he put in the work to get back in shape.

“Coach (Pope) has been talking to me about two things that have really been helping me both with my mental game and my physical game,” Knell said. “He talks about being urgent and having faith. So like for the past 500 days, I’ve been urgent with getting my body back to where it needs to be to play and getting my shot to the caliber it needs to be. I’ve been working really hard on my feet and my defense.

“So all of those days added up and so now its about trusting the process. The coaching staff has lots of trust in me. My team has lots of faith in me. And now it’s me relying on God and just letting him guide my path.”

Pope told this story after the Houston Christian game: The first play of the game was to get Fousseyni Traore a post touch. But Pope told Knell if he could get downhill with the ball, he should take it. On the Cougars first offensive possession, Knell took a handoff from Traore and drained a 3-pointer.

The Cougars shot a school-record 43 3-pointers on Monday and probably won’t approach that total the rest of the season. But Knell and his sweet stroke will be a big part of the BYU long-distance shooting plans the rest of the season.

SCOUTING REPORT

San Diego State is coming off its most successful season ever. The Aztecs posted a 32-7 record in 2022-23 and advanced to the national championship game before losing to UConn.

San Diego State, ranked No. 17 to start the season, returns two starters in guards Lamont Butler and Darrion Trammell. Butler had seven assists in Monday’s 83-57 victory against Cal State Fullerton but Trammell injured his shoulder in early October and hasn’t returned to action yet.

Against CSF, 6-9 forward Jaedon LeDee scored a career high 27 points on 8 of 12 from the field and Micah Parrish scored 17 points on 5 of 6 from the 3-point line. USC transfer Reese Waters added 15 points.

LeDee scored 23 points in last year’s 82-75 Aztec victory against the Cougars in San Diego.

This will be the fifth straight year BYU and San Diego State will play in the preseason.

“I love this game so much, which is weird for me to say,” Pope said. “Dutch (Aztecs coach Brian Dutcher) is one of my favorite guys in the world. Both of us were sitting in a space where we’re just desperately trying to get good games for the last four years. We would go to everybody and ask we were the only two people who would be like, ‘Yeah, let’s do this.’

“What he’s done at San Diego State is incredible and he’s got a top 20 team again this year. Every year turns into an epic battle. It’s really just turned into a test of your manhood and I love it. Our guys love it. They know they will face the most physical team. It’s like a street fight from the tip. It’s been a fun series and can’t wait to get to it.”

Men’s College Basketball

BYU (1-0) vs. No. 17 San Diego State (1-0)

Friday, 7 p.m.

Marriott Center, Provo

TV: None

Streaming: Big12Now/ESPN+

Radio: Sirius XM 143/BYU Radio.org/BYU Radio app/KSL 102.7 FM/1160 AM

Live stats: byucougars.com

The Word: BYU leads the overall series with San Diego State 50-27. … The two teams have split the past four games, with the Cougars winning in Provo 66-60 in 2021 and the Aztecs taking an 82-75 victory in San Diego last season. … San Diego State opened this season with an 83-57 win against Cal State Fullerton on Monday with Jaedon LeDee scoring a career-high 27 points.