BYU 1-on-1: Who does Cougar men’s basketball need most to get things rolling?
- BYU head coach Kevin Young talks to his team during a time out in a Big 12 men’s basketball game against Texas Tech in the Marriott Center on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025.
- BYU’s Dallin Hall (30) dribbles the ball against Oklahoma State in a Big 12 men’s basketball game at the Marriott Center on Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025.
- BYU’s Brinley Cannon (24) goes to the basket against Houston in a Big 12 women’s basketball game at the Marriott Center on Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025.
Daily Herald sports writers Darnell Dickson and Jared Lloyd give their opinions on the hot BYU sports topics this week:
1. What BYU men’s basketball player’s performance is most important for the rest of the Big 12 schedule?
DICKSON: I’ve been singing the praises of Rutgers transfer Mawot Mag for months, even when he wasn’t playing much. Now that he’s getting more time on the court we’re seeing the impact he makes defensively.
A long, lanky, versatile defender, Mag started his first game of the season on Tuesday against Oklahoma State. His energy and ability is a big reason why the Cougars led by 27 points late in the first half.
He’s a seasoned and experienced player who knows what his strengths and limitations are on the floor. If BYU is to make a run in Big 12 play, Mag will be at the center of it.
LLOYD: My answer to this question comes from examining where I feel like BYU has the most issues right now. Clearly the Cougars haven’t been as good defensively as they need to be, but they’ve also struggled to close out games, which I think is a big concern in the Big 12.
That’s why I’m going to go with a Cougar veteran who needs to be one of the key playmakers when the game is on the line: Dallin Hall.
Unlike some of the BYU players this year, Hall has been through the conference battles before and knows what it takes to win. I think being limited by injury early in the season set him back a little bit, but he is very capable of carrying the load and making the right decisions in pressure-packed moments. Now the Cougars need to see that happen on the floor.
2. After 16 games, do you still think the 11-5 Cougars are an NCAA Tournament team?
LLOYD: Right now, my answer is no, BYU should not be in the NCAA tournament field. They don’t have many impressive wins on their résumé and haven’t done much on the road.
But the good thing for the Cougars is that bids aren’t handed out in January. BYU still has almost two months of competition against good opponents to earn its way in.
This squad has talent, but it’s still got a lot to show me about its ability limit perimeter shots and play for four quarters. If the Cougars don’t improve, though, they’ll be out of the Big Dance.
DICKSON: I guess it depends on which BYU team shows up on a given night, doesn’t it?
The team that led OSU by 27 points in the first half is definitely an NCAA-worthy club.
The team that got outscored 22-5 to start the second half is not.
The team that righted itself and won by 16? That’s a NCAA team.
Over the course of the next couple of months we’re going to see if the Cougars can be more consistent against good competition. The continued development of freshmen Egor Demin and Kanon Catchings is important but so is Kevin Young figuring out the best rotation strategy and who will finish close games.
Now is the time for BYU to gain some momentum in league play. I think they can get where they want to go, but the time to start showing it is now.
3. Which offseason pickup do you think will make the biggest impact for the BYU football team?
DICKSON: I’m tempted to say wide receiver Chase Roberts. Yeah, I know BYU didn’t really lose him in the first place but getting him to run it back another year instead of testing the NFL waters is pretty big.
Of the newcomers, I think Utah transfer Keanu Tanuvasa is immediately the Cougars best interior defensive lineman.
When BYU first joined the Big 12 I thought the place where it was behind the rest of the league was the line of scrimmage, on both sides. The BYU coaches did a really good job of filling in those holes and that led to an 11-2 season.
As they rebuild the defensive line, Tanuvasa’s playmaking ability is really, really big.
LLOYD: Darnell’s pick of Tanuvssa is a good one, since he is the most proven player coming in. I think Texas transfer Tausili Akana (a former Skyridge star) could be a huge addition on defense as well.
But I’m going to look at the offensive side. I was tempted to go with Michigan transfer Andrew Gentry on the offensive line, but he needs to show he can stay healthy. I’ll pick former American Fork star Carsen Ryan.
The Cougars tried to get the tight end position more involved at times last season with limited statistical results (although their blocking was key). I think Ryan can come in and make a big impact because there are openings to be filled and he has displayed his ability at other places.
4. Is Delaney Gibb the best freshman the BYU women’s basketball team has ever had?
LLOYD: I remember watching Gibb during her freshman year of high school at Timpview and she was already a factor. She has continued to improve and has already become an integral piece of the BYU rotation.
But the best freshman ever? That’s a tough distinction to make.
One of the biggest challenge with these types of questions is comparing styles and eras. The game has changed a lot, so evaluating players from the 2010s and 2000s is hard enough, let alone going back into the 1990s and 1980s.
I’m not ready to put her in that spot yet, since there is still a lot of season left. But I will say she fully deserves to be in that discussion, which is really impressive.
DICKSON: The Cougars had a pretty good freshman last year in Kailey Woolston, who shot a school record 47% from the 3-point line and averaged 13.3 points per game before leaving on a church mission.
A few years ago, Shaylee Gonzales averaged 17 points per game as a freshman and scored 32 points in the second round of the NCAA Tournament against Stanford.
Back in the day, freshmen such as Debbie Dimond, Erin Thorn and Tresa Spaulding were pretty good and put up great numbers.
The thing that points to Gibb, currently averaging 16.6 points per game, is that she’s playing tougher competition than most of the other freshmen at BYU ever did. Gibb has been named the Big 12 Freshman of the Week four times already.
There’s still much of the schedule still to play but Gibb, with her knockdown shooting and ability to finish at the rim, can make a case for being BYU’s best freshman ever.
5. Who has impressed you the most so far for the BYU men’s volleyball team, which is 4-0 and ranked No. 5 in the country?
DICKSON: I knew what to expect from Luke Benson, who is a returning All-American. So far he’s been absolutely terrific with 4.31 kills per set while hitting an otherworldly .464.
I wasn’t quite sure what to make of Hawaii transfer Keoni Thiim, who is barely 6-feet tall in a big man’s game. So far, Thiim has been special. He’s leading the team with 4.36 kills per set and hitting .423. He also leads the Cougars with ten service aces. His serve is simply unbelievable. He’s second on the team in digs, so he’s making an impact as a defender, too.
When BYU sets Thiim out of the back row, he gets up and hits the ball so hard and so fast the opposition can barely react. BYU fans are really going to love watching him play this year.
LLOYD: I like what I’ve seen from the Cougar offense in the early going, which is why I’m going to highlight the main quarterback. BYU senior setter Noa Haine has shouldered that load and done a nice job so far.
He is averaging nearly 9.7 assists per set (126 total assists) and has also contributed in digs, blocks and from the service line.
Haine will need to continue to be consistent and creative to keep the BYU offense rolling as the season progresses.