Courtesy BYU Photo

Finally, BYU players are getting a chance to play against someone in a different colored uniform.

The Cougars have been going at each other since spring. Now, they get to invite their closest friends and the ROC to the Marriott Center for an exhibition game against Division II Colorado Christian (also the Cougars) on Wednesday.

BYU fans and media are anxious to find out who will start for BYU men’s basketball and how new coach Kevin Young will handle rotations.

“That’s been a hot button issue,” Young said at last week’s Big 12 Media Day. “I’ve been asked that a lot more than any other question. I don’t look at it as a five-man deal. I look at it as ‘What lineup combinations can we mess around with and feel comfortable with? How does that impact who starts? How does that impact who comes off the bench? How does that impact who you end the game with?'”

As a former NBA assistant, Young is used to a 48-minute game, not the 40 minutes of a college contest. He expects to try a lot of different combinations during the Cougars’ 11-game preseason schedule.

“One of the things I like about our team is I think we have a fair amount of versatility,” he said. “We can go in a lot of different directions. I had a coaching friend at practice that was really complimentary of our skill level. So I think we’ve got guys who can dribble, pass and shoot kind of across the board and that gives us a lot of flexibility. I think that can make us really hard to guard no matter who’s out there.”

Veterans Dallin Hall, Trevin Knell, Richie Saunders and Fousseyni Traore are familiar but the debut of roster newcomers such as freshmen Egor Demin and Kanon Catchings is a headliner.

“Both (Demin and Catchings) are extremely talented but they are very different players,” Young said. “Egor is a ‘ball-in-hand’ guy who has an unbelievable feel for the game and is a very gifted passer. We kind of joke as a staff, either our defense is really bad or he’s just that good.

“Kanon is extremely gifted and has an immense amount of raw talent. What I love about him is he puts the ball in the basket. There is stuff he’s still learning but at the end of the day, he can score it. Egor is probably a bit more polished, but Kanon has improved at a rate higher than anyone we have.”

BYU officially opens their preseason schedule Nov. 5 against Central Arkansas, the first of a five-game homestand before a road trip to San Diego for the Rady Children’s Invitational.

Men’s Basketball Exhibition Game

BYU vs. Colorado Christian

Wednesday, 7 p.m. MT

Marriott Center, Provo

TV/Streaming: None

Radio: Sirius XM 143/BYU Radio.org/BYU Radio app/KSL 102.7 FM/1160 AM

Live stats: byucougars.com

The Word: Colorado Christian, located in Lakewood, Colo., is a Division II team playing in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. … The Cougars were 11-17 overall and 7-15 in RMAC play last season. … The leading returning scorer for Colorado Christian is 6-foot-6 redshirt sophomore Bradley Land (11.1 points per game). … BYU returns starting point guard Dallin Hall (9.0 points, 5.1 assists per game), shooting guards Trevin Knell (10.6 ppg) and Richie Saunders (9.6) and forward Fousseyni Traore (10.9 points, 5.2 rebounds per game).