Big 12 Basketball Media Day: BYU’s Young handles ‘talking season’ like a pro
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- BYU men’s basketball coach Kevin Young is interviewed during Big 12 Media Day at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Mo., on Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024.
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- BYU men’s basketball players Trevin Knell (21) and Fousseyni Traore posed with mascot Cosmo the Cougar during Big 12 Media Day at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Mo., on Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024.
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- BYU senior guard Trevin Knell, right, is interviewed during Big 12 Men’s Basketball Media Day at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Mo., on Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024.
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- BYU’s Fousseyni Traore (45) poses for photos as Big 12 Men’s Basketball Media Day at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Mo., on Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024.
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- BYU senior guard Trevin Knell poses for photos during Big 12 Men’s Basketball Media Day at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Mo., on Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024.
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- BYU head coach Kevin Young addresses the media during the NCAA college Big 12 men’s basketball media day, Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo.
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- BYU head coach Kevin Young addresses the media during the NCAA college Big 12 men’s basketball media day, Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo.
It’s talking season for men’s basketball in the Big 12, often referred to as the “silly season.”
Without any games to discuss, the topics are pretty much the same as they’ve been since the end of the NCAA Tournament back in April.
Who will win the league? Is the Big 12 the best men’s basketball conference in the county? Which team made the best offseason moves?
BYU and 15 other teams descended on Kansas City, Missouri, for the Big 12 media day at T-Mobile Center on Wednesday and new Cougar coach Kevin Young is also facing familiar questions, ones he’s heard over and over since taking the job six months ago.
Why take a college job instead of staying in the NBA? How did you get key returning players to stay? How good are freshmen Egor Demin and Kanon Catchings? How will BYU compete in the Big 12?
If you’ve been following the news cycle at all, you already know the answer to those questions (He liked the family atmosphere at BYU and the potential; He told the players on last year’s team they were a priority in his program; Demin and Catchings are special; the Cougars will compete every night in the Big 12).
Young has killed it in recruiting and assembled a top-notch staff to create a very NBA-like program.
Winning games? That’s coming soon.
The Cougars were picked to finish ninth in the Big 12, a bit of information Young spends little time worrying about as he prepares for his first season in the league.
“I’ve been asked that a bunch,” he said. “I don’t really even pay much attention to it. If anything, it’s like we’re a question mark in a lot of people’s minds. So wherever that puts us in the poll, so be it. I don’t think we’ve talked about it once internally. We just try to do what we’re going to do and get better ever day and focus on the things that we can control. We’ll see what happens when the games get played.”
One of the common questions for Young has been how different the college game is from the pro game. As it turns out, Young has found more similarities than he expected.
“It’s a unique time for me to make this transition,” Young said. “It (NIL and the transfer portal) is driving some coaches out, but I’m welcoming it with open arms. I don’t know the old ways, I just know this way. We’ve set up our program like the NBA and have a real comfort level with that.”
In the six months Young has been in charge, he’s seen a consistent competitive spirit among the mixture of newcomers and veterans on the roster.
“There is uncertainty,” Young admitted. “You know what to expect in the NBA, the styles and who the good players are. The unknown gets me churned up sometimes. But we’re lucky to have guys that have been in this league before, guys with great experience. I’ll be relying on them.”
For the first time, Young addressed the recent addition of his brother, Justin, as the program’s recruiting coordinator.
“He’s just a guy who knows everyone in basketball, honestly,” Kevin Young said. “He’s a great resource not just for me but for our entire staff. I just kind of use him as a sounding board. I like the vantage point that he brings, not necessarily being a coach but just having an eye for talent. And he’s done it forever. It’s cool to have him in our corner. But for me, its just really being able to use him almost like a consultant, to be able to just kind of pick his brain on things he’s seeing.”
Young said he hopes to bring his own style, cultivated mainly in professional basketball, to the college game.
“No. 1, I think I bring an attitude of competitive spirit,” he said. “That’s how I’m wired. I want to bring toughness and competitiveness. Stylistically, on offense I’m used to the NBA ‘5-Out’ action, playing with great pace and moving the basketball. Those are trademarks of teams I’ve been on at the NBA level. Those aren’t specific to the NBA but are trademarks of all good basketball teams.”
Young traveled with seniors Trevin Knell and Fousseyni Traore to Kansas City.
“We went from being one of oldest teams to honestly one of youngest teams in college basketball,” Knell said. “We have a lot of new faces. The energy is through the roof. Our football team is doing really well so it’s fun for us to go to those games (at LaVell Edwards Stadium) and have the freshmen see our student section go crazy. It’ll be good for our new guys to go in and see what the Marriott Center will be like.”
As for Young, Knell repeated something he’s said throughout the offseason: “Every time he (Young) runs a play, it works.”
BYU opens exhibition play next Wednesday (Oct. 30) against Colorado Christian. The Cougars begin their preseason schedule Nov. 5 against Central Arkansas in the Marriott Center.
