BYU produced one of the most legendary plays in NCAA Tournament history, courtesy of Danny Ainge’s coast-to-coast game-winning layup in the 1981 Sweet 16.
The Cougars gave us Jimmer Fredette (JimmerMania!), one of college basketball’s most popular stars of the century.
Soon, BYU basketball may be bigger than ever before.
The Cougars entered this season without an NCAA Tournament win in 13 years, with only a pair of Sweet 16 appearances in program history and without head coach Mark Pope, who left for Kentucky.
BYU was projected to finish ninth in the Big 12 preseason poll, introducing new head coach Kevin Young — who was 17 years removed from his last college job.
“Once I started really to think about it,” Young said early this season, “I kind of relished the thought of being able to take a program … and try to move the needle to a place it’s never been to.”
Young, 43, had been the highest-paid assistant coach in the NBA, spending four seasons with the Suns after three seasons with the 76ers, earning the endorsements of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Chris Paul. Young, who previously spent nine years coaching in the G-League, had interviewed for head coaching jobs with at least nine NBA teams. An offer was likely inevitable.
Instead, Young, a Utah native and member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, brought the pros to Provo.
Young signed Russian star Egor Demin, a potential lottery pick.
He added Kanon Catchings, another next-level talent, to a program which hasn’t had a player drafted since 2011.
Young hired an NBA strength coach, nutritionist and director of analytics, along with multiple G-League coaches.
“I think when you can say, ‘This is how we stop Damian Lillard’ … that gives them the right eyes,” Young said. “Style of play, shot diet, things like that, I think that’s probably where you see a lot of what you do similar to some NBA operations. … In terms of recruiting, I kind of planted a flag when I got the job and said I wanted to make BYU the best place in college basketball to help guys get to the league.”
Young has built an offense that ranks among the most efficient and explosive in the nation, leading No. 6 BYU (26-9) to 11 wins in their past 12 games, entering Thursday’s Sweet 16 matchup with No. 2 Alabama (27-8) at Prudential Center.
“It’s been awesome because every play he runs works,” said fifth-year senior Trevin Knell. “He’s a super-competitive dude. He’s also super humble. He’s always asking us for different advice with the college aspect. … We all have trust in him.”
Young brought BYU back to prominence.
The school’s wealthy NIL backers could ensure the coach keeps the Cougars there, most recently landing a commitment from AJ Dybantsa, the top 2026 prospect in the 2026 NBA Draft, who commanded a reported $7 million.
“Who wouldn’t want to play for an NBA coach that has already been there?” Knell said. “Who really wouldn’t want to be at BYU?”
