Hall in: BYU freshman Dallin Hall proving he can play right away for young squad

PROVO — At this time last year, Dallin Hall was knocking doors in Fresno, California, as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, working through a once-in-a-lifetime global pandemic while also taking two years away from basketball at his dream school.

By Monday night, the former Fremont High star was subbing into the game in crunch time of a come-from-behind win over Idaho State in BYU basketball's season opener against Idaho State.

How did he get between the two points?

"Three days after I got home, I was reporting in," said Hall, formerly known as Donovan Mitchell's best friend who returned this past spring. "It was pretty frustrating at first, because we had to take it slow to get my body acclimated to college basketball.

"But I owe it all to the people that are around me — to God for putting me in this position, to my family, and to the coaching staff and my teammates. Coach (Eric) Schork in the weight room pushed me every day to get my body right, and the coaches have been working me consistently all summer.

"I can't take much credit; I just showed up, put my head down, and worked hard while the guys around me helped me get to this point, and now I've got to go farther."

If nothing else, Hall signaled in his first outing of 18 minutes that he's going to play as a freshman — and likely a lot for a BYU team that hits the road Friday at 19th-ranked San Diego State (8:30 p.m. MST, Mountain West Network).

The former Gatorade Utah Player of the Year who averaged 22.9 points, 7.8 rebounds and 6.8 assists per game as a senior at Fremont High was back in the gym, which left him available for preseason workouts through last week's exhibition game against NAIA Ottawa (Ariz.).

By the time Monday night's regular-season opener against Big Sky school Idaho State rolled around, the 6-foot-4 guard from Plain City was practically a veteran on a team that features 12 newcomers and just two seniors in Coastal Carolina transfer Rudi Williams and JUCO product Gideon George.

And with the Bengals leading by as much as 8 points, BYU coach Mark Pope never hesitated to put the youngster in for a debut that included 4 points on 2-of-4 shooting with four assists and — perhaps most importantly — no turnovers.

"I feel extremely grateful to coach Pope for trusting me in that situation," Hall said. "For my confidence, I think it helps just to be in that environment at the end of the game; now I'm familiar with how to come back at the end of a game.

"But ultimately, I try to keep my confidence at the same level, no matter what happens on the floor. I'm glad I could take part in that comeback and be someone coach Pope could rely on."

In the freshman's case, though, the greatest ability was availability Monday. Hall didn't start at point guard, but he did finish the 60-56 win over the Bengals. When the Cougars struggled to pull away, or even take advantage of a second-half deficit that threatened double digits, the former high school star couldn't be keep off the court.

Hall finished the night with 4 points and four rebounds, but more importantly, 18 minutes of action. Of those, 12 minutes came in the second half, when the youngster dished a crucial assist and had two steals to tie for the fourth-most takeaways by a BYU freshman in his debut in program history.

Spencer Johnson took the win with the go-ahead 3-pointer with 11 seconds left, and a rebound and free throws seconds later to seal it. But don't discount Hall's impact.

When it came down to crunch time, Pope looked to his fresh-faced recently returned missionary to run the offense in a game that BYU turned over the ball 23 times against Idaho State's high-press, switch-often defense.

"I thought he did a terrific job. I was really pleased with him defensively; he was helping us make a little sense out of the nonsense that was our offense," Pope said of the freshman's moment. "But he was so solid on defense. His biggest play of the game was a steal and trap with under a minute left, and his verticality at the rim after we turned it over and they had a breakaway layup. He made two defensive plays down the stretch that were probably more impressive than the offensive plays he made.

"He's a competitor; he has a big heart," Pope added. "He wants to get better, and he has some leadership skills. That's why we recruited him so hard, and we're so excited to have him here. He's going to be a really good player."

Hall is one of three high-profile recruits returning from a mission at the same time, along with former Wasatch Academy shooter Ritchie Saunders and Tanner Toolson, whose father Andy set records at BYU before a decade-long pro career that included two stops with the Utah Jazz.

If you group the trio together, that's fine be them; Hall, Saunders and Toolson have been playing basketball their whole lives, including before Toolson moved to Washington as a teenager.

"I would play AAU ball against Dallin all the time when he was on Utah Hard Knox," said Toolson, who played for Lone Peak and X-factor. "We would play all the time in the summer, and I even played with their team for one tournament; I went 0-for-1 in like five minutes.

"Dallin was always a beast, and I remember that tournament, he was super nice to me. Richie, too, was the same way. It's crazy to see everything coming together, after being so little and playing with and against each other — and then not seeing them for 7-8 years after I moved. Now we're roommates, teammates and friends. We've bonded really well over the last couple of months, going through similar things together."

The trio, along with walk-on recently returned missionary Tanner Hayhurst, provided a summer workout boon for a group of players in similar positions, both physically and socially transitioning back to two day-to-day life.

"We had some glorious battles back in the day," Hall said of his now-teammates, including roommates Toolson and Hayhurst. "I think it's special to come home with a bunch of returned missionaries who are going through the same thing as me.

"We can understand where we're at, we can help push each other, and it helps feel like you're not alone trying to get used to being back from the mission. They've done nothing but help me get better all summer."

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