Courtesy BYU Photo

Daily Herald sports writers Darnell Dickson and Jared Lloyd give their opinions on the hot BYU sports topics this week:

1. Did BYU’s Jaxon Robinson make the right choice in declaring for the NBA draft?

DICKSON: I think a player in Jaxson’s situation can always benefit from another year in college. A season as a starter (after coming off the bench last year) would be beneficial to his game.

Also, playing for Kevin Young would be a good way to learn some new skills and a new system before heading into the pros. If Jax could put up solid numbers like 18-20 points per game and shoot 43-45% from the 3-point line as a senior, that would improve his draft stock tremendously.

As it is, I don’t think Jax will be drafted and could end up playing overseas. Nothing wrong with that, but I think the regime change at BYU is a pretty good opportunity for him that he’s passing up.

I also acknowledge it’s his decision and if he thinks the time is right, go for it. Jax is a good dude and I hope he does well at the next level.

Courtesy BYU Athletics

LLOYD: How would you have liked to be in Robinson’s shoes, trying to make this call?

On the one hand, your game is pretty good and you’re coming off a solid season where you got a lot of attention. The lure of the NBA dream is so tantalizingly close. Yes, you might need time in the G-League first but the possibilities are there.

Then on the other, the Cougars just paid big bucks for a coach with extensive NBA experience who might be able to get you even closer to the dream. To get that benefit, however, you have to risk a transitional year in the toughest conference in the country where your team might struggle.

I don’t think Robinson is an NBA player right now. I think his game needs some refinement before he has a legitimate chance to get there, but that can happen in the pro minor leagues or in college.

My overall impression is that he would’ve been better off in the long run staying at BYU but I don’t know what all the factors he was looking at are. He made the best choice for him.

2. What do you think of Kevin Young’s hiring of former Stanford assistant Brandon Dunson?

Nate Edwards, BYU Photo

LLOYD: In addition to the personal connection, there is one clear benefit that I see in Young bringing Dunson to BYU: He’s dealt with bringing guys in with some added layers.

Stanford still has difficult academic standards and although it may not seem like it in these days of money doing too much of the talking, most college athletes are students as well. Dunson developed an understanding of how to work around those restraints, just like he will have to do at BYU with the religious emphasis and Honor Code.

And there is no doubt he is more familiar than Young with what works in the modern era of NIL money and transfers in college basketball. He can jump in right away and get to work.

Will he be a difference maker in recruiting or when the games start? That answer to that question will have to wait until later.

DICKSON: As Young brings in his own people, we’ll get to know them better. Dunson’s coaching resume is solid and it looks like he’s a pretty awesome recruiter. As Young’s first hire, Dunson is going to be trusted to get things down while the Suns are still in the playoffs.

Courtesy BYU Photo

I do think, however, that outside hires may take a little while to adjust to the BYU way. For those who don’t know a lot about the program (and Dunson would seem to fit that bill) there has to be an adjustment period. We are a peculiar people, right?

I really felt like Young needs to move pretty fast to get his people in place. As of today, we don’t know if there will be a complete overhaul of if someone (maybe director of ops Nate Austin?) from the previous staff will be part of the transition. That would be helpful for someone such as Dunson to get acclimated.

3. When Young is done building his roster, what do you think the mixture of returning players, portal additions and freshmen will be?

DICKSON: There still a lot up in the air but it looks like Young will need to bring in anywhere from 8-10 new players for 2024-25. Of those new players, I would guess 5-8 would have to be transfer portal guys unless he can get some more previous recruits to flip from their commitments.

One of the strengths of last year’s team was their experience together. That will be lacking on Young’s first roster but there could be a strong core of returnees who can maybe hold things together well enough, especially if Richie Saunders and Dallin Hall decide to return.

The turnover of rosters is the college basketball world we live in today, and to be honest, it’s not a part of the game that I enjoy. We have pro sports for that.

Courtesy BYU Photo

LLOYD: This is a fascinating question to me because it will demonstrate how Young plans to approach college basketball. Does he want to emphasize team loyalty and camaraderie? Does he want to develop young talent, risking them getting poached by other programs? Or does he want to try to identify players who will just come in for a year?

It still kind of boggles my mind that probably the most difficult is the first method. Assembling and keeping a team together with all the outside noise is a gargantuan task, one many coaches aren’t even attempting. But maybe Young will skew the roster toward young talent he can develop.

More likely, though, is that the Cougar program will follow the same approach as many teams do and just try to get anyone in, then hope it works for a year. Having them stay longer almost just becomes an added bonus.

So I expect about seven transfers, four incoming players and five returning players to be the final roster makeup when we get to November.

4. We’re coming to the end of BYU’s first season competing in the Big 12. Which Cougar program impressed you most in 2023-24?

LLOYD: Is it harder to perform when expectations are high or when they are low?

There are really two main teams in this conversation. BYU had many solid performances from teams in men’s cross country and women’s volleyball. Others have had good moments as well.

No one else, however, had the performances of the Cougar women’s soccer and men’s basketball teams. Both had excellent seasons against very good opposition.

But to me the clear winner is the women’s soccer team because it had the most success despite having an enormous target the whole time, including being the top-ranked team in the nation.

BYU knew it was going to get everyone’s best shots this season and still finished 20-3-3, reached the Big 12 title game and made it to the NCAA semifinals.

I don’t care who you are. That is the definition of an impressive season.

DICKSON: It would be easy to say BYU women’s soccer, which made it all the way to the national semifinals. But Jen Rockwood’s Cougars were supposed to be good.

The BYU men’s basketball team was picked to finish 13th (out of 14) in the Big 12 and ended up tied for fifth with Kansas. So I would pick the men’s basketball team as the most impressive in the first year of Big 12 play.

The Cougars had a terrific preseason and picked up wins against ranked teams (Baylor, Kansas, Iowa State, for example) that no one would have expected at the beginning of the season. I would say most of the other BYU athletic programs did about as well as expected, which is to say competitive but not dominant.

5. Way-too-early football question: BYU was 2-7 in its first year in the Big 12. Can the Cougars earn a winning league record in 2024?

DICKSON: I believe in this team so far as making improvement is concerned.

I think the defense will be better overall because BYU has beefed up the defensive line. Hopefully, injuries won’t derail this side of the ball as much as it did last year.

On offense, there are nice skill position pieces but the Cougars need solid play at quarterback and on the offensive line to make 2024 better than last year.

At this point, I could see BYU hovering around .500 in Big 12 play with some opportunities to pull off some upsets. A winning record in its second season in the league would be quite a feather in Kalani Sitake’s cap.

LLOYD: Yes, BYU can have a winning record in the Big 12 … and it should.

Some might be surprised to hear me state it so bluntly, but the Cougars get Oklahoma State, Kansas State and Kansas all at home. The road slate is manageable and I’m hesitant to expect too much from the Pac-12 newcomers (Utah, Arizona and Arizona State) because I don’t think the league was generally that good in recent years.

I don’t look at any game on this slate as a very unlikely to be a win. Perhaps that will change as we get to see what the conference looks like, but everyone has question marks.

BYU does too, but I see reasons to believe the Cougar defense will be significantly better. That should make a difference, especially in close games. Now the BYU offense just has to show me it can be more consistent at QB and offensive line.

If it does, it could be a really fun year. If the improvements are just moderate, then the Cougars should be in that 5-4 range.

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