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New BYU men's basketball coach Kevin Young addresses media and staff at his introductory news conference at the Marriott Center in Provo on Thursday, April 17, 2024.

Nate Edwards, BYU Photo

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New BYU men's basketball coach Kevin Young has named former Stanford assistant Brandon Dunson as the first hire of his new coaching staff.

Courtesy BYU Athletics

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Changes in the BYU men’s basketball program are happening rapidly, from coaching assignments to player movement.

Try and keep up.

New Cougar coach Kevin Young announced on Tuesday his first hire.

“I’m thrilled to add Brandon Dunson to my staff at BYU,” Young said. “He’s the total package as a basketball coach. He’s extremely bright and has an incredibly bright future. Brandon is someone our players and community are going to love. He will be invaluable to me as I transition from the NBA to the college game.”

Dunson comes to Provo after spending the past two seasons at Stanford where he was instrumental in helping the Cardinals land McDonald All-American Andrej Stojakovic and Top-40 recruit Kanaan Carlyle. It marked the first time since 2006 that Stanford signed two Top-40 recruits in the same recruiting class.

Stojakovic is in the transfer portal and BYU has already shown interest.

Dunson shared on social media: “Excited to work with the best, in the best league, at an outstanding institution with THE best fan base!”

Meanwhile, as expected, Cody Fueger has followed Mark Pope to Kentucky. Fueger was Pope’s top assistant at both Utah Valley and BYU, so a move to Lexington was probably inevitable, especially after Young was announced as the Cougars new head coach last Friday.

“I have loved my time here at BYU,” Fueger wrote on social media. “Cougar Nation, from the moment we got here you embraced my family and me. This welcoming attitude makes the BYU community special. I want to thank everyone in the administration, the alumni, former coaches, the BYU athletic support staff, the coaching staff I had the privilege to work with and of course, the unbelievable support from the ROC which made every game special. Finally I’d like to thank all the players. I feel honored to have worked with you. I will always cherish the times I had with each and every one of you, getting to know you both as a basketball player and as an individual.”

In other BYU news, Big 12 Sixth Man of the Year Jaxson Robinson may have left the door ajar for his return after the Cougars lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament but he slammed it shut on Tuesday, announcing his intention to enter the NBA Draft.

“First and foremost, I would like to give all glory to God, without him none of this would be possible,” Robinson posted on social media. “I want to thank my amazing parents who have been a blessing and made every effort to help me pursue my dream. I would like to thank Cougar Nation, coaching staff, trainers, my teammates and professors who’ve helped me grow so much as a person these past two years. To all my family and friends, all of my past teammates, coaches and trainers, thank you for your continued love and support.

“Having said that, I will be pursuing my dream and declaring for the 2024 NBA Draft. I am looking forward to this next chapter of my life and what God has in store for me.”

BYU junior big man Atki Ally Atiki has moved into the transfer portal, according to numerous reports. The 6-foot-10 Ally Atiki averaged 4.0 points per game last season but missed the postseason due to an injury. Ally Atiki was a raw offensive player but excelled defensively and was a terrific athlete who energized the fans with his alley-oop dunks.

Brody Kozlowski, a four-star recruit from Corner Canyon who originally committed to USC, flipped to BYU Monday night. He chose the Cougars over SMU, Nevada, Stanford and Cal. Kozlowski is a 6-foot-7 forward who missed the first 15 games of his senior year due to a broken collarbone suffered in a head-on collision. In 12 games, Kozlowski averaged 20.4 points, 8.6 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game while shooting 43% (40-93) from the 3-point line.

Two Cougars from last year’s roster are in the transfer portal and closing in on decisions. Sophomore guard Richie Saunders visited Kentucky on Monday and may follow Pope to Lexington. Sophomore point guard Dallin Hall has multiple suitors inquiring about his services or he may return to BYU.

Currently, there are five scholarship players on the Cougar roster: Fifth-year seniors Noah Waterman and Trevin Knell, seniors Trey Stewart and Fousseyni Traore and redshirt junior Dawson Baker.

Kozlowski and Idaho prep star Isaac Davis are expected to join the program this summer.

The rest is up to Young, who is trying to build a roster and hire a staff while fulfilling his duties as the top assistant for the Phoenix Suns in the NBA playoffs. The Suns trail the Milwaukee Bucks 2-0 in their best-of-seven series.

And to top it all off on a busy day, CBS Sports College Basketball insider Jon Rothstein is reporting that BYU will play at Providence in the 2024 Big East-Big 12 Challenge.

More on Dunson: He served as the associate head coach at Denver in 2021-22, where Coban Porter ranked first in the Summit League and 19th in the nation in 3-point field goal percentage, shooting 41.3 percent from beyond the arc. He spent two seasons as an assistant at Cal State Fullerton, helping the Titans defeat UCLA 77-74 at Pauley Pavilion on Dec. 28, 2019.

In the fall of 2019 he was named to the NABC Under Armour 30 Under 30, recognizing the top 30 coaches under the age of 30.

He was an assistant coach at Nevada under Eric Mussleman in 2018-19, where the Wolfpack finished 29-5 and earned a No. 7 seed in the NCAA Tournament. During his lone season in the Biggest Little City in the World he worked with future NBA players Caleb Martin, Cody Martin and Jalen Harris.

In his first stint with the Cardinal from 2016-18, Dunson served as the director of basketball development. Stanford finished third in the Pac-12 in 2018, earning an NIT appearance. He began his coaching career at Arizona Christian in 2013, helping the team to two NAIA Sweet 16s and a school record in wins in 2014-15.

A native of Bloomington, Illinois, Dunson played professionally in Mexico’s Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional. He finished his collegiate career at Azusa Pacific, starting in 32 games as a senior, after stints at Arizona State, Wabash Valley and SIU-Edwardsville.

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