- BYU basketball is emerging as a potential blueblood program, akin to Kentucky.
- Coach Kevin Young credits NIL, Big 12 affiliation and NBA ties for success.
- BYU's diverse roster includes top talents like AJ Dybantsa and KJ Perry.
PROVO — Over dinner during a glorious Utah summer evening, the conversation between two friends turned to sports, with the focus centering on BYU men's basketball.
"Can BYU become another Kentucky," one asked the other, wondering if the Cougars can follow the Wildcats to become a blueblood and annually rank among the game's elite programs.
Yes, they can, came the answer. Bank on it — literally.
Like Big 12 member Texas Tech is doing in football this season, BYU basketball has built an impressive roster, aided by the rules allowing players to get money through name, image, likeness. But as sensitive BYU administrators are quick to point out, the program's staples go beyond wealthy bank accounts.
Coach Kevin Young credits a confluence of aspects that gives BYU an excellent chance for repeated NCAA Tournament success. NIL, which is making the players instant millionaires, is a part of the puzzle that includes coaching, Big 12 affiliation and Young's deep NBA connections.
"It's just like the perfect storm of things happening all at the same time," Young said during an interview on The Zone.
For decades, BYU's roster was built on recruiting Latter-day Saints players, many of whom were from Utah. In an unusual twist, members of the faith are in the minority on this year's team, which has players from around the country and foreign lands. The university's honor code, long thought to be a recruiting hinderance, apparently is not an obstacle.
"We're a place that allows guys to come in here and not have a lot of distractions," Young said. "We've leaned into that quite a bit. LDS or not, all the parents love it."
Despite fielding a roster that is drastically different from his coaching predecessors, Young said he is following a similar recruiting formula. He's prioritizing in-state players and the best LDS players — BYU has verbal commitments from two Timpview High players — but the transfer portal has opened an avenue that didn't exist in prior regimes.
"I actually don't think the general philosophy is all that different," he said. "Obviously, we tapped into the international market, as well. There's a lot that goes into it; recruiting is a tough job."
In his first year, Young coached BYU into the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament, a round the program has reached only twice since 1981. Both times they got there, the Cougars had the game's player of the year (Danny Ainge and Jimmer Fredette, respectively).
As a rookie head coach at the college level, Young meshed a host of newcomers with a handful of holdovers to finish in third place in the highly competitive Big 12. Along with success on the hardwood, the longtime NBA assistant created a buzz beyond anything the program has experienced.
Forget about waiting long for another Sweet 16 appearance. Advancing to the tournament's second week is practically a given for a team that openly has Final Four aspirations.
Bet against the talent-ladened Cougars at your own peril. My money, along with a few billionaire boosters, is on BYU making a historic run this March.
Back in August, when all the players gathered on campus for practice sessions, Young publicly admitted the team is loaded. Incoming freshman AJ Dybantsa, a virtual lock to go in the top three of next June's NBA draft, demands most of the attention, but quality abounds at every position to the point Young's biggest challenge will be distributing playing time for all of it.
Considered a generational talent, even though his time at BYU will be short, Dybantsa already has brought the program an immense amount of publicity that undoubtedly will pay dividends longer after he leaves.
Just this week BYU reportedly got a commitment from top junior college prospect KJ Perry of Citrus College in California. Perry will join BYU this season as a redshirt and begin playing in the 2026-27 season.
