Forgive BYU’s loyal and enthusiastic fan base if they’re excited about… next season. Sure, first-year coach Kevin Young has proven to be a stellar hire. The Cougars are 24-9 and the No. 6 seed in the East Regional. A balanced and potent offense makes BYU a team that could bust some brackets.
But Cougars fans know what’s coming. If Duke’s Cooper Flagg was the no-doubt best freshman in college basketball this season, BYU recruit A.J. Dybantsa appears destined to be as dominant. The 6-foot-9 Dybantsa, who played his senior season at Utah Prep, is as adept at finishing a fast break with a dunk as he is leading the fast break and passing for a teammate’s dunk. He signed a reported $8.5 million NIL deal and has said he’ll declare for the NBA Draft — where he is expected to be (as is Flagg) the No. 1 pick — after one season in Provo. Having a BYU player coveted by the NBA is rare. The last one drafted was Jimmer Fredette, the 10th overall pick in 2011.
AJ Dybantsa, the Top-Ranked Recruit in the Class of 2025, Commits to BYU
The do-it-all wing chose the Cougars over Kansas, North Carolina and Alabama
If the future is bright, the present is shiny and will become more so if BYU can win a few NCAA games, starting with Thursday’s first-round game with 11th seeded VCU. The Cougars haven’t won a tourney game since 2012 and haven’t made the second weekend since 2011. BYU hopes to break those precedents.
“We feel like we have been one of the best teams in the country, quite frankly, over the last … 30 days,” Young said. “We feel like we are battle-tested. We feel like we have been through a lot. We have a lot of reference points, and we feel like the momentum that we have (is significant).”
BYU’s nine-game winning streak was ended by Houston’s stonewall defense in the Big 12 Conference tournament semifinals. During that streak, the Cougars averaged 86.3 points per game. BYU, which has won 13 of its last 16, ranks 11th nationally in KenPom’s offensive efficiency ratings.
The Cougars employ a 10-man rotation and Young tweaks his on-court lineups depending on matchups and game flow. Richie Saunders, a 6-foot-5 junior guard, leads the team in scoring, minutes played and three-point shooting. He’s adept at getting to the foul line and is accurate, making 81.7 percent. Egor Demin, a 6-foot-9 freshman guard from Russia, averages 7.9 assists per game but is turnover prone (4.4 per game.)
A year ago, Young was the associate head coach of the Phoenix Suns. He brought NBA concepts to Provo. The offense is called “continuous pistols.” The Cougars space the court, with five players moving themselves and the basketball around the perimeter. It’s executed using a “point five” concept: When a player has the ball, he’s expected to make a decision — dribble, pass, shoot — in half a second or less. Progress and improvement have been evident after an adjustment period that contributed to BYU’s slow start in Big 12 play.
“We have been through a lot,” said Trevin Knell, a 6-foot-5 senior guard. “We started conference 1-3 and 2-4 and were able to go on a really remarkable stretch… We just have different dudes on this team. We have a lot of blue-collar guys.”
The first-round game with VCU is a classic March Madness matchup of opposites. The Rams (28-6) are No. 23 in KenPom’s adjusted defensive efficiency ratings and are eighth in Division I scoring defense, allowing 62.4 points per game. VCU also might have deserved better than an 11th seed — it’s No. 31 in the NCAA’s NET ratings, its primary sorting tool for selecting and seeding the bracket. The Rams are coached by Ryan Odom. In 2018, his UMBC team became the first No. 16 seed to upset a top seed.
The 43-year-old Young has most of his experience in the NBA. Now, coaching in his first NCAA Tournament, he’s enjoying the experience and the buzz.
“I’m big on reference points both with our team and even me as I’ve gone throughout my career, so that’s kind of what it feels like,” he said during Wednesday’s news conference in Denver. “This is something that as a kid was a huge fan of this tournament. I think I’ve made this comment before, but every year in the NBA, every March would roll around, you’re watching this stuff from afar, and always like, man, I bet it’s just so fun to coach in March Madness. It’s a little bit of a surreal moment, to be honest with you.”
BYU basketball is college basketball’s “wait ‘til next year” program. With 1,916 all-time victories, it is the winningest program to never make a Final Four. And no school has made more NCAA Tournament appearances (31) without reaching the last weekend. The Cougars have made one regional final — in 1981, thanks to Danny Ainge.
But as Young has proven his mettle this season and with the arrival of a generational player, perhaps the Final Four waiting will end.
