BYU's 1st NCAA trip in 3 years comes with sophomore point guard playing beyond his years

OMAHA, Neb. — Dallin Hall settled in on the far seat of the media platform at the CHI Health Center before BYU's open practice at the NCAA Tournament, and walked past placards set out for Spencer Johnson and Jaxson Robinson.

Perhaps that's fitting for the sophomore, who will be making his first tournament appearance Thursday when the sixth-seeded Cougars face 11th-seeded Duquesne (10:40 a.m. MDT, TruTV).

Johnson was with BYU three years ago in Indianapolis, when the COVID-19 pandemic forced a 68-team tournament to be played in front of mostly empty arenas while players were shuttled on-foot between a handful of gyms and confined to a single hotel floor per team with daily testing for the virus.

Robinson, too, had played in the NCAA Tournament, though the senior from Ada, Oklahoma, admits to using the word "played" loosely to describe his trip with Arkansas before transferring to Provo.

But for Hall, the 6-foot-4 sophomore who runs the point for BYU and rarely sits for more than eight minutes per game, everything about Omaha has been a first-time experience.

Pinch me? He already has — and plenty.

"I think Selection Sunday was kind of that moment: seeing our team up on the screen realizing this has been my dream since I've been a little kid," Hall said. "But as far as embracing the moment, I got some good leaders sitting next to me, some in the locker room, and a coaching staff that has prepared me this whole year."

Hall committed to BYU out of Fremont High, where he was named the Gatorade Utah Player of the Year while leading the Silverwolves to a 6A state title and earning first-team all-state recognition.

His game caught the attention of former Jazz star Donovan Mitchell, but before then it caught the attention of Mark Pope, who lured in the Plain City native over the likes of Oregon State, Utah, Utah State and Saint Mary's.

Hall committed to BYU for its run in the West Coast Conference, and indeed, after serving a two-year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Fresno, California, he returned to all-WCC freshman honors after starting 21 of his 34 games and recording the sixth-most assists by a freshman in program history with 108.

But entering the Big 12 was a new challenge, for both Hall and the Cougars, who wrapped up the regular season with a 23-9 record and a fifth-place finish in what most view as the toughest college basketball conference in America.

More taxing. More stars. Certainly more physical, Johnson admits — and BYU has been right up there with the best of them.

"I think it surprises some teams. I don't know if we necessarily will win the 'eye test' in the warmup lines," Johnson said. "You look at us, and be like, 'Oh man, who are these guys out here?' Whatever. But I think we surprise some teams, and that's pretty cool."

The Cougars (23-10) are 3-point shooting specialists, the second-best team in the country in both takes and makes from beyond the arc.

They're led by Robinson, the Big 12 Sixth man of the Year who averaged a team-high 13.8 points per game on 44% shooting from the perimeter, who was rated as the No. 37 overall draft prospect by ESPN; and an "Egyptian magician" and the wizarding passes of center Aly Khalifa, who ranks first in the Big 12 and second nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio at 3.80.

The Cougars also rely on junior big Fousseyni Traore, who has transitioned to the bench while averaging a team-best 6.3 rebounds to go along with 10.9 points per game. But running it all is Hall, who added muscle in the offseason to not look like the baby-faced returned missionary who stepped off the plane two years ago.

"Dallin, like so many of our guys, has put together a really special season," Pope said. "It hasn't been perfect, thank goodness, because that would be so boring. He has a unique ability to raise up in crucial, key moments and settle our team and make big plays. What he's done in terms of the ball control point guard facing what he has faced all season long, knowing that he is such a key guy to our roster with teams trying to attack him has been extraordinary.

"For him to do it as a sophomore, still a very young player, is really incredible to watch and to see him and our other players grow," he added. "He's had a terrific year, and he's really hungry to find some way to put together a great performance tomorrow and try and keep playing this game."

One year after earning WCC all-freshman honors, Hall has been a guiding light for the Cougars' offense. He's played as many as 35 minutes a night, averaged close to 30, and his 5.1 assists per game ranked fourth in Big 12 play.

But as he steps into the unknown in his first NCAA Tournament experience, he's putting a little more trust in his teammates.

"I'm leaning on those guys and then just trying to embrace the moment," Hall said. "That's what I've always tried to do my whole life: just enjoy it, be present and focus on the process."

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