1 / 4

BYU's Robert Wright III (center) and AJ Dybantsa enjoying a laugh during Big 12 Media Day at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Mo., on Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025.

Courtesy BYU Athletics

2 / 4

BYU men's basketball head coach Kevin Young, left, answers a question as Robert Wright III looks on during Big 12 Media Day at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Mo., on Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025.

Courtesy BYU Athletics

3 / 4

BYU freshman AJ Dybantsa, left, is interviewed during Big 12 Media Day at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Mo., on Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025.

Courtesy BYU Athletics

4 / 4

BYU's Richie Saunders talks during an interview at Big 12 Media Days at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Mo., on Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025.

Courtesy BYU Athletics

❮ ❯

Men’s college basketball talking season is nearly over, but BYU is still a major topic of conversation at Big 12 Media Day in Kansas City.

Talking season for men’s basketball usually starts immediately after the Final Four concludes in early April, runs all summer and culminates at media day.

So far, talking about the BYU basketball team hasn’t gotten old for anyone.

“With BYU, I could easily say, ‘Final Four,'” ESPN men’s basketball analyst Fran Fraschilla said in an interview with BYU Sports Nation on Wednesday. “I could safely say ‘Elite 8’ and that would be phenomenal. I think they have three potential all league players (AJ Dybantsa, Richie Saunders, Rob Wright III). They have a lot to work with. The key is to find out who is the fifth, sixth, seventh best players on the team and how that develops. They have some really good guys to build around, but it’ll be about how they develop role players and the bench.”

BYU head coach Kevin Young, superstar freshman AJ Dybantsa, returning All-Big 12 guard Richie Saunders and Baylor transfer Robert Wright III made the rounds at media day on Wednesday at the T-Mobile Center, answering questions about the national ranking (No. 8) and Big 12 expectations (second in the coaches poll).

But their sights are even higher than that.

“Everybody has a lot of expectations for me, but my main thing is to win the the Big 12 and win a national title,” Dybantsa said. “That hasn’t been done here before.”

Big NBA names get thrown around in comparisons, including former All-Stars Tracy McGrady and Paul George.

“I think defensively, they (Dybantsa and George) remind me of each other, and the ability to do a lot of different things with the ball his hands,” Young said. “But AJ is unique because I don’t think you can pigeon-hole him. I know he doesn’t like to be pigeon-holed. He just tries to be the best version of himself. For me, its the maturity and the mentality that I’ve really been drawn to.”

Young said that Saunders coming back for his senior year (instead of pursuing the pros) means the world to him and the program.

“We didn’t start out very good (last year) and we had to work super hard every day to get better and better,” Young said. “It kind of clicked as Richie understood what went into that. So that’s been the message, albeit to a different team this year. Richie is a guy that knows what we’re talking about when we’re talking about stuff, not to mention the nuances of how we want to play.

“We’ve asked him to be a captain this year, for obvious reasons. He’s an unbelievable human being, number one, an extremely hard worker and he just shoots the cover off the ball. He’s had an unbelievable preseason in practice. The key is how quickly can they figure each other out. We’ve had some injuries in the preseason that has kind of derailed that a little bit, so we’re trying to fast track that the best we can.”

One of those injuries was to Wright, who played just the first half of BYU’s one-point exhibition loss at Nebraska last week, scoring eight points and dishing out five assists.

“We’ve talked a lot about paint decision making for Rob,” Young said. “He’s so quick. It’s a blessing and a curse, because he can get wherever he wants. So now it becomes, can he read the second layer defense, and oftentimes the third layer, because he gets all the way to the basket. We’re trying to streamline his efficiency. That’s something we talk about with all of our players, but particularly our guys that get the ball to the painted area. Are they making the right decision, not just throwing something up? That impacts Richie getting kick outs, or AJ getting kick outs. We want to create as many kick outs as we can. And with his speed and his ball handling ability, Rob’s a key cog in that.”

Wright said he was “feeling great” and ready for the season.

“I’m excited to be here in uniform with Richie, AJ and KY and just take this day on,” he added in an interview with BYU Sports Nation.

Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark said eight of the top 20 (actually eight of the top 15) high school players chose to play in the league, including Dybantsa.

“I think we have great star power across the board,” he said. “A big part of that star power are the freshmen that are calling the Big 12 home this year. AJ and (Darryn) Peterson (at Kansas), most people are saying they’ll go 1-2 in the next draft. We’ll leverage that star power as best as we can as will our media partners. We’re just excited they are here as long as they are and we want them to have a good experience in the Big 12.”

BYU and Kansas will have their only regular-season meeting in Lawrence on Jan. 31.

“That’s going to be a great one,” the commissioner said.

BYU Director of Athletics Brian Santiago was also in attendance at media day.

“We’re experiencing something so unique at LaVell Edwards Stadium,” Santiago told BYU Sports Nation. “We’re so excited about what Kalani and our team are doing, but wow, the thought that LaVell Edwards Stadium and the Marriott Center are going to have that kind electricity night in and night out gets us all excited.

“I love the fact that the eyes of the world are on us right now and that we’re winning with the eyes of the world on us,” Santiago said. “The classy way our coaches and student athletes are going about it is why I think something special is happening.”

The Cougars play their second exhibition game on Friday at the Delta Center against North Carolina, then open the season for real on Nov. 3 against Villanova in Las Vegas.