In his final year as head coach at BYU, Dave Rose had three assistant coaches: Tim LaComb, Quincy Lewis and Lee Cummard. There were other staff members as well (strength and conditioning and basketball operations, for example) along with a grad assistant or two. But for the most part, it was a four-man coaching crew.

Interestingly, LaComb and Lewis got out of the college coaching business after Rose retired in 2019. LaComb is a radio/TV analyst for the Utah Jazz and Lewis became a high school coach and athletic director. Cummard moved over the women’s basketball staff with Jeff Judkins and is currently the associate head coach for Amber Whiting.

Things have changed pretty dramatically for BYU men’s basketball in the five years since Rose stepped down.

Former NBA assistant Kevin Young was hired as the new head coach last April and he has five assistants — Will Voigt, Brandon Dunson, Chris Burgess, Tim Fanning and John Linehan. He also has a chief of staff (Doug Stewart), a director of recruiting (Justin Young), a director of analytics and strategy (Akash Sebastian), a director of player development (Jordan Brady) and a director of basketball operations (Nate Austin). BYU currently lists seven graduate assistants along with seven members of support staff, including a director of nutrition and a mental strength coach.

The depth and experience of the staff is a big reason Young has been able to pull in some high level recruits, including A.J. Dybantsa, Xavion Staton and Chamberlain Burgess for next season.

As might be expected, Young and the other coaches have had some growing pains as they figured out where they all fit in the scheme of things.

A current six-game winning streak would indicate they have found a good groove.

“Outside of Jordan Brady and Doug Stewart, no one on the staff had really worked with me,” Young said. “It took some getting used to in terms of the language, what I like, what I don’t like, how I get information before the game, during the game and after the game. There are just so many things that go into that.

“Doug Stewart, as our chief of staff, I kind of use him as a Swiss Army knife but he’s more or less a coaching consultant. He’s done a lot of work behind the scenes. He has a good understanding of how I like to do things. He’s been instrumental in helping the coaches streamline things for me. I think our process and systems have gotten a lot more efficient as we’ve gone through the course of the season.”

So is Young an easy coach to work with?

“I think so,” he said. “I mean, I get wound up. This morning I was wound up. Chris Burgess has a really good feel for me. He’s very intelligent and he and I really hit the ground running, very smoothly. Along with Dunson, both of those guys are just good people with good people skills. A few of the other guys had a little bit more of a rocky road.

“But I think I’m an easy guy to work for. I’m not one of those ‘in at 5 a.m., out at midnight’ guys. I value balance in this profession, which can be tricky at times.”

Young added with a laugh: “You’d have to ask those guys (if he’s easy to work with). They might be dog-cussing me behind my back. Who knows?”

Scouting Report

Iowa State has been ranked as high as No. 2 in the country this season (second week of January) and was 15-1 at that point with a two-point loss to current No. 1 Auburn the only blemish on its record. The Cyclones have gone 7-6 since then, including consecutive losses to No. 5 Houston and Oklahoma State.

Iowa State played those two games without leading scorers Curtis Jones and Keshon Gilbert, who were nursing injuries. Both players returned for Saturday’s 84-67 win against Arizona, combining for 18 points (and ten turnovers).

The strength of the Cyclones is balance offensively (six players average at least eight points a game) and they also lead the Big 12 in steals (8.83 per game).

Former Saint Mary’s standout Joshua Jefferson is a versatile 3-man who averages 12.5 points, 7.6 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game while shooting 51% from the field.

“I think we have to go in there with the mindset that no matter what they do, we’re going to be under control offensively,” Young said. “I told our guys this morning, I have a lot of respect for West Virginia and their defense. We scored the most points (77) that any Big 12 team has scored on them in a regulation game. So we’ll just try to build on things that have worked. Iowa State’s defense is different then West Virginia’s. But at the same time, we’ve proven that we can do that against good defensive teams, particularly ones whose MO is to turn you over.

“That was a weakness of ours early in the year. I think we’re starting to use people’s aggression against them and I think that’s the ultimate key to the game.”

Men’s College Basketball

No. 23 BYU (21-8, 12-6 Big 12) at No. 10 Iowa State (22-7, 12-6 Big 12)

Tuesday, 7 p.m. MT

Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa

TV/Streaming: ESPN2

Radio: KSL 102.7 FM/1160 AM, BYU Radio

Live stats: byucougars.com

The Word: Iowa State leads the overall series 7-1. … The two teams split last year, BYU winning 87-72 in Provo and Iowa State winning 58-63 in Ames. … Before that, the last meeting was in Provo in 2013, a 90-88 ISU victory. … The Cyclones are 15-1 at home this season, with the only loss to Kansas State on Feb. 1 (80-61).