Learning on the fly: BYU men’s basketball season fast approaching for Young
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- BYU men’s basketball coach Kevin Young (center) instructs his team during practice in the Marriott Center Annex on Saturday, Sept. 5, 2024.
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- BYU freshman Egor Demin (3) drives against defender during practice at the Marriott Center Annex on Saturday, September 5, 2024.
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- BYU men’s basketball coach Kevin Young (center) instructs his team during practice in the Marriott Center Annex on Saturday, Sept. 5, 2024.
Last year the BYU men’s basketball team was picked to finish 13th (out of 16) in its inaugural season in the Big 12. The Cougars used that disrespect to fuel a year filled with success.
While the league has yet to release its predicted order of finish for 2024-25, it’s pretty safe to say expectations will be much higher in Kevin Young’s first year at the helm. On Tuesday, BYU announced that season tickets have sold out for the 18 home games (one exhibition, seven preseason, 10 Big 12), so somebody is expecting something special.
Young, who admitted he’s “learning on the fly” about how basketball works at the college level, told reporters on Tuesday he looks at predictions and expectations a bit differently.
“I don’t mean to sound all coach-y, but I’ve never really understood expectations and what that means,” he said. “I don’t know what it means for a guy’s internal motivation. I’m not wired that way, personally. So I’ve talked about it like more of a big picture thing with our group. What are we trying to visualize? What do we want this team to be about? And make it more about us establishing our identity. It’s us trying to strive for something that all these guys want, not necessarily what the outside world expects us to do or not do. So it’s been more about us, how we want to play and what these guys want to accomplish.”
The players, meanwhile, have noticed the excitement level from fans in anticipation of the season.
“It’s awesome,” senior guard Trevin Knell said. “Every single time you go outside of this facility (the Marriott Center Annex, where the team practices) I feel like there’s another person saying, ‘I can’t wait for the season to start. I can’t wait to see you guys out on the court.’ I’m really excited for the young guys and all of the guys who haven’t played in the Marriott Center and experienced that energy, the ROC and the sold-out crowd. They’re already excited.”
Knell experienced last year’s rise from expected cellar dweller in the Big 12 to a high ranking, a fifth-place tie in the regular season and an NCAA Tournament appearance.
“Last year, I feel like a lot of people didn’t have a lot of expectations for us, and then we surpassed those expectations,” Knell said. “And this year, we just have that expectation already set. But we’re taking it day by day, little by little, trying to get better. We’re just trying to get 1% better every single day and eventually you get there. We’re trying to figure out the scheme and we’re letting the competitive drive of this team kind of take over.”
After a summer of hard work and the first six days of practice, Young said he feels like everyone on the roster can contribute. He said he doesn’t have a starting five or even a planned rotation figured out.
“I’m not that close,” Young admitted. “We’re still working through different things.”
He mentioned the difference in length of a college game to the NBA (two 20-minute halves compared to four 12-minute quarters) as a factor in his decision.
“You get a pretty clear subbing pattern and that’s what I was heavily involved with in the NBA world, so I felt really comfortable there. Obviously this is a totally different thing in terms of time outs, halves and so fourth. So we’re trying to map out what our substitution pattern will look like. Because for me, it’s not just about the starting five but it’s what combinations of guys are playing, who pairs well with who.”
Young said he and his coaching staff will eventually come up with a manageable plan.
“I’m not a fan of guys playing super short stints,” he said. “I think guys need to get longer stints to get in a rhythm. There’s only so many minutes to be had. It shows up in their competitiveness, which they’ve all been in camp. That stuff will, over time, iron itself out.”
Marriott Madness on Thursday will introduce Cougar fans to this year’s roster, which is an intriguing combination of returning players (Knell, Dallin Hall, Richie Saunders, Fousseyni Traore, Trey Stewart, Dawson Baker and walk-ons Townsend Tripple and Jared McGregor), talented transfers (Mawot Mag from Rutgers, Keba Keta from Utah and Max Triplett from Snow College) and highly rated freshmen (Egor Demin, Kanon Catchings, Elijah Crawford, Brody Kozlowski and Mihailo Boskovic).
Boskovic, a 6-foot-10 post player from Serbia, was officially announced as a Cougar last week. He’s played in the Serbian National team system and is 22 years old, with the number of seasons he’s available to play at the college level still to be determined.
“He fits extremely well from a personality standpoint,” Young said. “He plays extremely hard, knows how to play and is versatile. We see him as a guy who can play multiple positions. He can give us a different look as a stretch five. He’s athletic and he protects the rim. He’s a little bit older, which is good, but he’s fit in well. To summarize him, I think he’s just a guy who know how to play.”
BYU’s Blue and White Game is scheduled for Oct. 9 and there is an exhibition matchup with Colorado Christian on Oct. 30. The Cougars first game of the 2024-25 campaign is November 5 against Central Arkansas.
