Point blank: Baylor transfer Rob Wright III key to No. 8 BYU's lofty goals

KANSAS CITY — When the BYU men's basketball arrived at Big 12 basketball media days Wednesday on the banks of the Missouri river, point guard Rob Wright III was the first player off the plane.

He's just as eager to introduce himself to his new home.

The former Baylor guard suited up for the first of the Cougars' exhibition loss at Nebraska last weekend, a 1-point loss that won't count on second-year head coach Kevin Young's record — nor do the individual stats.

But Wright was on a minutes' restriction, and those minutes were behind Big Ten+ paywall for fans back on the Wasatch Front — which made his debut at the Big 12's annual media day, for all intents and purposes, his debut in a BYU uniform.

As a newcomer, Wright never left BYU, but he was back as if he had never. To that end, he gave credit to players like last year's leading scorer Richie Saunders for helping me feel at home.

"It's been super smooth," Wright said, sitting next to Saunders and freshman AJ Dybantsa. "Having a guy like Richie, who's a returner, he's made it really easy for me."

So, too, does Young's system, allowing him to "play freely" and comfortable after one season in Waco, Texas.

It's a reason why Young selected Wright, along with Saunders and Dybantsa to come to Kansas City for the league's annual media day and content capture event for television partners and anyone else assembled in the center of Chiefs Kingdom.

"I think those are the three headliners," Young said. "Call it for what it is; they're probably our three best players, and I'm sure people probably want to hear what they have to say."

Wright averaged 11.5 points and 4.2 assists per game en route to Big 12 all-freshman honors at Baylor. The 6-foot-1, 183-pound sophomore showed plenty of that at Nebraska, when he had 8 points and five assists in 16 minutes inside Pinnacle Bank Arena.

None of that surprised Young, who was searching for a point guard in the offseason after Egor Demin was drafted in the first round by the Brooklyn Nets and Dallin Hall transferred to Virginia.

Wright is expected to play, though likely on something of a minutes' restriction again in BYU's second exhibition game Friday against No. 25 North Carolina at the Delta Center (7 p.m. MDT, ESPN+).

"He's dynamic," Young said of Wright. "He's one of the most dynamic guys in the country because he's so fast with the ball in his hands. A lot of people obviously want to talk about AJ, they obviously want to talk about Richie, and then all of a sudden when you're worried about those two, Rob breaks his man down off the dribble and gets to the basket."

Even more impressive is that Wright was hurt through large chunks of the offseason. Following a seventh-place finish in the Big 12 and Baylor's second-round NCAA Tournament appearance, Wright hit the portal, re-emerged at BYU, and didn't play in any of the Cougars' practice scrimmages while managing his injury.

Being back then, even in a preseason game — one that his coach would love to have 4-5 times instead of the two allowed in college basketball — was a significant step for Wright.

"At first, I was just trying to feel out the game and trying to get my adrenaline going," he said. "But once I got a little layup, I think from there it just kind of starting to click for me."

Optimizing his lineup that features players like Dybantsa, the former No. 1 recruit in the country and an NBA draft lottery projection; Saunders, the team's leading scorer last year at 16.5 points per game); and a cast that includes Idaho transfer tyler Mrus, seniors Mihailo Boskovic and Dawson Baker, and brand-new freshman Aleksej Kostic from Austria is Young's No. 1 task.

It's the same job he held — at times, exclusively — during his decade in the NBA, when he was tasked to figure out how to best use lineups that included stars like Chris Paul, Kevin Durrant and Devin Booker during his time with the Phoenix Suns.

And he sees some overlap between the two, Young says.

"We're drawing comparisons to how we subbed with Kevin and Book, and how we can do that with Rob and AJ and Richie," he said, "and how to optimize those lineups when AJ is off the floor, or feature other guys.

"Rob plays a huge role in that, and that's why he's here."

The Cougars were picked second in the Big 12 with more points than the rest of the conference besides defending champion and national finalist Houston, and are the preseason No. 8 team by the Associated Press for the first time in the program's modern era.

Expectations are high at BYU. Not that anyone is hiding from them.

"Playing with these guys is great," Wright said. "They're super talented, hard workers, and everything I thought it would be."

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