Top 10 BYU Men’s Basketball stories of 2024: Taking steps toward the top of the sport
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- New BYU men’s basketball coach Kevin Young addresses media members after his introductory news conference at the Marriott Center in Provo on Thursday, April 17, 2024.
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- BYU commit A.J. Dybantsa, left, and his father, Ace, attended the Cougars game at the Marriott Center against Fresno State on Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024.
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- BYU guard Dallin Hall (30) shoots over Kansas center Hunter Dickinson (1) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2024, in Lawrence, Kan. BYU won 76-68.
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- Team USA basketball athletes, Mitch Hahn, right, and Jimmer Fredette, talk with people before departing for the Paris Summer Olympic games, on Wednesday, July 17, 2024, in Atlanta.
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- BYU’ head coach Mark Pope (left) celebrates with Fousseyni Traore after the second round Big 12 Tournament game against UCF at T-Mobile Arena in Kansas City, Mo., on Wednesday, March 13, 2024.
There were many fans and experts who thought the transfer portal and NIL would spell the doom of BYU men’s basketball. How could the Cougars possibly compete with the blue bloods when it was basically a free-for-all?
Turns out there was a plan, and that plan has yielded great results (so far) in the Kevin Young era. The beginning of 2024 was important as the Cougars were very competitive during their first year in the Big 12. Even though the architect of the program, Mark Pope, left for his dream job at Kentucky in the spring, BYU appears to be in good hands with Young, who is (reportedly) earning a huge salary and has millions of dollars available for recruiting.
Here’s a look at the top stories for BYU men’s basketball in 2024.
10. Jimmer-mania restored
Fredette was injured very early at the Olympics, which ended Team USA’s run in the 3×3 tournament before it ever got started. But following Fredette’s success on the 3×3 circuit around the globe in 2024 was a great revival for the career of one of BYU’s greatest.
9. A great first year
It was with nervous anticipation that the Cougars entered Big 12 play at the beginning of 2024. How would BYU fare in what was considered the toughest college basketball conference in the country? The Cougars lost their first two games but beat UCF in Florida to earn their first league win and eventually finished tied for fifth at 10-8, a very respectable start in a very tough conference.
8. What goes up … must come down
The Cougars earned a No. 6 seed in the NCAA Tournament but were completely outplayed by No. 11 Duquesne, which held off two BYU rallies to claim a 71-67 upset victory. The Cougars trailed twice by double digits but battled back, only to fall short at the end. It was a disappointing effort from a team that had clearly played much better during the 2023-24 season but just didn’t have it in Omaha.
7. Holding on at the line
BYU led TCU 80-69 at the Marriott Center with two minutes to play on Feb. 13, a 3-pointer from Jaxson Robinson apparently sealing the win. But the Golden Knights went nuts from the 3-point line the game’s final moments to keep things interesting. Fortunately, the Cougars were in the midst of a record-setting night at the free throw line, making a school-record 40 of 46 from the stripe to hold on for a 90-88 victory.
6. The big comeback
Things couldn’t have gone much worse for BYU in a March 2 meeting with TCU in the Marriott Center. The Cougars trailed the Frogs 46-29 at halftime and looked sunk. But a fiery halftime, which included the players getting physical with each other in the locker room, led to a tremendous comeback in the second half. BYU outscored the visitors 58-29 in the second 20 minutes to claim an 87-75 victory.
5. The loss of a legend
Former BYU coach Frank Arnold passed away on Jun 17 at the age of 89. Arnold was the 13th Cougar men’s basketball head coach and forged a 137-94 record, winning three Western Athletic Conference titles and leading BYU to its only trip to the Elite Eight in 1981 behind the brilliance of Danny Ainge.
4. Cutting through the Phog
BYU made the most of its first trip to fabled Phog Allen Fieldhouse as a member of the Big 12, beating No. 7 Kansas 76-68 on Feb. 27. The enduring image of Dallin Hall hitting a game-clinching 3-pointer over 7-foot-2 Hunter Dickinson will be burned into the brains of Cougar fans forever. BYU was the first unranked team to beat a Top 10 Jayhawks team in Lawrence since 2018.
3. Top recruit chooses BYU
The nation’s No. 1 prep recruit, A.J. Dybantsa, was rumored to have loved his visit to BYU and even though the Cougars were considered one of the favorites (along with Kansas, Alabama and North Carolina) fans couldn’t possible believe he would end up in Provo. But on Dec. 10, Dybantsa and his father, Ace, made an appearance on ESPN’s “First Take” to announce his decision. Dybantsa took out a BYU hat and unzipped his hoodie to reveal a Cougar t-shirt to make it official. Dybantsa, who is playing at Utah Prep in Hurricane, will join the BYU program for the 2024-25 season.
2. Pope returns to Lexington
The dominoes began to fall in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, when Oakland’s Jack Gohlke made 10 3-pointers and scored 32 points to eliminate a shocked Kentucky squad. That sent John Calipari out of Lexington and set in motion a sequence of events for Mark Pope’s dream job to return to where he won a national championship as a player. Pope took the head coaching job at Kentucky on April 12, ending a successful five-year campaign in Provo (110-52 record).
1. Kevin Young era of BYU basketball
Shockingly, it only took BYU four days to find Pope’s replacement from, of all places, the NBA. Kevin Young was the highest-paid assistant coach in the league and was being interviewed for several head coaching positions but on April 16 decided to come to Provo to take over the Cougar program. Young’s professional approach and NBA-flavored program has brought in a host of high-level recruits that likely would have never considered BYU as a destination in previous years. BYU posted a 9-2 record in the preseason heading into Big 12 play.
