Not to get too far into the weeds, but here are a few interesting factoids.

* In the 2024-25 season, only 42% of the minutes played in Division I men’s basketball were by athletes who were on the same team the prior season.

* Last offseason, over 1,800 players declared for the transfer portal and not all of them found homes.

* Based on the roster limit of 15 scholarship players, the average turnover for Big 12 teams was roughly about nine players per team.

Harold Mitchell, Special to the Herald

Arizona, which is 8-0 and ascended to the No. 1 ranking in the AP poll this week, returned just three regulars from last season. Iowa State and Houston — ranked No. 4 and No. 7 in the latest polls, respectively — only replaced five roster spots each this year.

College basketball coaches have plenty of responsibilities but one of their most in-demand skills is how to build chemistry quickly while bringing new players to their program.

BYU turned over ten spots on its roster from 2024-25: One to the NBA (Egor Demin), four graduates (Mawot Mag, Trey Stewart, Trevin Knell and Fousseyni Traore), three transfers (Elijah Crawford to Illinois-Chicago, Kanon Catchings to Georgia and Dallin Hall to Virginia) along with two walk-ons moving on (Townsend Tripple and Max Triplett).

BYU head coach Kevin Young has had significant turnover on both of the rosters he’s managed since coming to Provo and handled it with quite a bit of success, aided by his experience coaching in the pros.

“I think it’s really tough for all college coaches right now,” Young said. “I’ve seen some rhetoric out there, the other coaches trying to make some sense of it. For me, it’s just an area I’ve hit head on. I don’t think it snuck up on us. It’s something we’ve been trying to get ahead of, really, since the summer. A lot of that stuff just takes time. It’s organic to the question about scheduling and part of playing a tough schedule is traveling, going to these different venues, and guys are together more.”

Last year’s Cougars finished 26-10 and advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16. This season, BYU is 7-1, ranked No. 10 in the latest polls and No. 8 in the NET rankings. So Young and his staff are doing something right.

“Richie (Saunders) has said this a number of times: It’s really when you go through hard stuff as a group, that’s what really brings you together,” Young said. “Because you have to unite. You have to figure things out. I think our guys have done a pretty good job of that. Structurally, we’ve had to, as coaches, think through our schemes and our drills and what we do in practice. We have to match the identity of our culture. So whatever you want your culture to be, I think how you play and how you practice have to go in line with that. We’ve tweaked a couple things in terms of how we practice, how we drill, and we’ve seen some direct correlation and carry over because of it.”

Familiar face

Demin is having a nice rookie year with the Brooklyn Nets, averaging 8.3 points, 3.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists in 21 games while shooting 35% from the 3-point line.

“He just came over and watched practice (at the Nike New York headquarters),” Young said on Monday. “He’s going to come to the game tomorrow and then take some of the coaches and go have a meal with them after the game. It was great catching up with him. He’s such a good guy. It’s fun, telling some NBA war stories together.”

Scouting Report

Tuesday’s game at Madison Square Garden is part of the Jimmy V Classic, which also includes a second contest between defending national champion Florida (ranked No. 18) and No. 5 UConn, which handed the Cougars their only loss this season.

Clemson finished 27-7 last season and earned a No. 5 NCAA seed but was upset by No. 12 McNeese 69-67 in the first round. The Tigers had double-digit turnover on their roster and four of its five starters are transfers. RJ Godfrey (Georgia) leads Clemson with 12.1 points per game with Middle Tennessee State transfer Jestin Porter (10.2 ppg) holding down the guard line.

Clemson forward Jake Wahlin, who played at Timpview High School in Provo, committed to BYU before his church mission but switched to Utah when he returned. Wahlin joined Clemson for the 2025-26 season and does a little of everything, averaging eight points and 4.8 rebounds per game while shooting 41% from the 3-point line. Teammate Carter Welling (6-10) prepped at Corner Canyon in Utah and was an all-league performer at Utah Valley last season. He’s averaging 10.6 points and 6.2 rebounds per game while shooting 60% from the field.

The Tigers (6-2) are No. 26 in the latest NET ranking and are coming off a 90-84 loss to No. 12 Alabama. Clemson trailed by 15 points at halftime but rallied to take an 83-81 lead with 2:41 to play before the Crimson Tide controlled the finish to win by six.

The Tigers have eight players 6-foot-8 or taller on their roster.

“They’ve usually got a slew of bigger players, which they do now,” Young said. “They’re very physical and try to beat you up. They’re very good in the post, but also have some guards who are dynamic. So it presents a little bit of a challenge because of how much they try to beat you in the paint. It’ll be a little bit of a contrasting style with our spacing versus their size.

“They’re really organized. Coach (Brad Brownell) does a really good job. That’s kind of what I look for when I’m watching tape. Are they organized? They clearly are. So they’ve had a tough schedule, too. They’ve played some good teams. It’ll be a fun matchup against another power conference type team.”

Men’s College Basketball

Jimmy V Classic

No. 10 BYU (7-1) vs. Clemson (6-2)

Tuesday, 4:30 p.m. MT

Madison Square Garden, New York City

TV/Streaming: ESPN

Radio: KSL 102.7/1160 AM, BYU Radio-Sirus XM 143,

Live stats: byucougars.com

The Word: Clemson leads the overall series with BYU 2-0, including a 49-47 victory in the first round of the 1990 NCAA Tournament. … Dan Shulman, Jay Bilas and Kris Budden will be on the call for ESPN. … BYU is 10-13 at Madison Square Garden since 1950, including wins in both of its NIT titles (1951, 1966). …  The Cougars last trip to MSG was the NIT semifinals in 2016, a 72-70 loss to Valparaiso. … During his time as an assistant coach in the NBA, BYU head coach Kevin Young was 7-1 in the Garden with the 76ers and 3-1 with the Suns.