BYU basketball: Kevin Young -The Cougars’ 42-year-old head basketball coach kevin young said two more scholarship players will be added to the roster this summer.
In the 51 days since hiring Kentucky-bound Mark Pope on April 16 as BYU’s 16th men’s basketball coach, Kevin Young has hired five new assistant coaches and a basketball chief of staff — all while persuading key players to stay at BYU and Transfer portals or attracting a few more from the high school ranks.
Now the real work begins — turning this collection of coaches and players from all over the world into a true Big 12 team.
The Cougars have been practicing several hours each day since Monday — though not all players expected to be on the 2024-25 roster have participated. For example, wing Dawson Baker is still on his honeymoon.
Young met with local reporters who have covered the Cougars for the first time since his introductory press conference Thursday, answering questions for 10 minutes on a variety of topics. She said her family is still in the Phoenix area as her children finish the school year there and complete some summer camps they were registered for.
He said he and his wife, Melissa, are “getting closer” to buying a house in Utah County
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BYU basketball-“So we’ve got some personal stuff that we can take care of in the next week, but after that we think we’ll start doing the full transition,” Kevin Young said.
Kevin Young said he feels like he’s “coming out of the hole we’ve been in for a while” and is “checking a lot of things off the list.”
The entire staff was together for the first time Wednesday: Young, Brandon Duncan, Chris Burgess, Will Voigt, Tim Fanning and the latest addition, John Linehan. BYU basketball: Kevin Young-New Chief of Staff Doug Stewart is also here.
BYU basketball: Kevin Young-The 42-year-old head coach said which assistants will handle which elements of the game is “still a work in progress,” but it’s no secret that Voigt, BYU basketball: Kevin Young-considered a defensive guru and the inventor of the “peel and switch” technique. BYU basketball: Kevin Young-On defense, will be heavily involved with that side of the ball.
“Each (assistant) brings something different there. And then from a tactical standpoint, I’ll break guys down like a football staff, offensively and defensively (coordinating), sort of through the lanes,” he said. BYU basketball: Kevin Young-“And then the player development space is heavy, and then some special projects. Those are the kinds of buckets they’ll fill.”
Here are a few more responses to the 20 or so questions Young fielded Thursday. BYU basketball-Some answers have been edited for clarity and length.
BYU basketball:
On his first impressions of his new squad:
“They’re interested — eager to learn. I tried to convince them that it was a lot of innovation, a lot of new terminology, and not to get caught up in it. This will happen over time. But there’s good energy in the building, good leadership from Dallin (Hall) and Richie (Saunders), so things have gone well.”
Still open is how he intends to use the two scholarships, which he said he intends to fill before training camp begins in September:
“It’s a moving target, man. Things literally change every five minutes, and so it’s one thing for the staff to stay together. It’s a lot easier to go into things when things happen. You know, a lot of things happened before we got here (to practice), so I There’s no timeline on this, we’re just trying to make good decisions.”
What position is he still looking to fill out on this roster?
“Yeah, I mean, that’s something we’re looking for. Shooting is always something that I go to, always. You can never shoot too much. BYU basketball: Kevin Young-Positionally, we’re looking at a little bit more size at different spots. And then athleticism, that’s something I’ve been doing since day one. We’re trying to check a lot of boxes with those last two spots.”
About the importance of using all 13 scholarships available:
“Yes, we want to. Kevin yong-But at the same time, be able to have flexibility. There are certain guys that we’ve noticed right now that if we can get them, we’ll use them right away. … We’re keeping our options open, but right now we have to be specific. The goal is that we are ready to pull the trigger.”
Regarding the assistant coaches he hired, or whether they approached him first:
“A bit of both. Had I gone the NBA route, these guys would have been on my radar. I’ve talked about it for years. There was a mix.”
Reactions he received from the BYU community while out in Provo:
“Oh, it’s been great. You know, you can feel some excitement in the community. When Will Voigt came here, we stayed here one night and (went to eat at In-N-Out Burger). … And some young people came in and said, are you Kevin Young? … So they’re taking pictures and whatever. BYU basketball: Kevin Young-It’s been great for the program and our coaches are feeling it.”