Now that the season is over for both BYU men's and women's basketball, it's time to celebrate with some lighthearted fun. Let's do some superlatives for each of the BYU basketball players.
(Note: I'll only be including players who played regularly so that the article stays a reasonable length and so I don't have to basically stock people I barely know. But shoutout to Brody Kozlowski, Nate Pickens, Xavion Staton, Jared McGregor, KJ Perry, Kailey Woolston, McKinley Willardson, and Mariam Traore. I'm sure your teammates will come up with something.)
Rob Wright: Most likely to actually have ice water in his veins.
With less than 2 seconds left in the Clemson game with the score tied at 64, everyone in the building thought the ball was going to AJ, but no. It was Rob. Falling backwards with two defenders in his face (at least until they both backed off because they clearly wanted to avoid fouling at all costs) Rob made the shot of the year and gave BYU their most thrilling win of the season. Who needs a water cooler when you have Rob Wright?
Sydney Benally: Most likely to make my Mom actually care about basketball.
My parents served their mission on a Navajo reservation in New Mexico, so my Mom was excited when I told her there was a player on the team who was a Navajo from New Mexico. After every game, my Mom would ask me three questions. "Who won?" "What was the score?" and "How did the Benally girl do?"
Tyler Mrus: Most likely to think the inside of the three-point line is out of bounds.
Tyler attempted 47 3-pointers and only one 2-pointer. It was as if he were Icarus and the rim was the Sun.
Bola Yussuf: Most likely to make teammates want to miss.
In my article, where I argued that turning the ball over isn't necessarily worse than missing and not getting the rebound, there's a reason I had to include the part about not getting the rebound, and Bola was a big part of that reason. When she was in the game, I didn't mind BYU missing as much because she was always there to stick it back in. And by the way, the same was also true for Lara Rohkohl.
Mihailo Boskovic: Most likely to make announcers wish they had spent more time figuring out how to pronounce names.
This one's pretty self-explanatory.
Aleksej Kostic: Most likely to make teams wish they had scouted him more.
In most games, Kostic didn't play much, but every once in a while, he would have a game where he made like 5 threes. I feel kind of bad for BYU's opponents in those games.
Olivia Hamlin: Most likely to get coaches to stay off the court.
I remember a BYU-Utah game a long time ago where Utah's coach, Jim Boylen, was coming onto the court and yelling literally every time the ball was on the other side of the court. It drove me crazy that he never got a technical foul for it. However, if Olivia Hamlin had been in that game, he would not have gotten away with it.
She's always stealing the ball and outrunning everyone the other way for a layup. When she's in the game, you can not assume the ball won't be on the other side of the court within two seconds.
Khadim Mboup: Most likely to boop the ball into the net.
And no, I'm not just saying that because his last name is Mboup. He tipped in a lot of missed shots.
Arielle Mackey-Williams: Most likely to make people ask, "Where was she in the first half?"
For some reason, during the postseason, the coaches had a habit of not giving her a single minute in the first half but giving her significant playing time in the second half. In some cases, especially in the Utah game in the Big 12 tournament, it completely turned the game around. Her plus-minus was like +30 in that game.
Delaney Gibb: Most likely to miss her first ten shots and then make her next ten.
I feel like there were about 20 games where Delaney made no more than 2 of her first 10 shots and then went on a tear for the rest of the game and scored at least 20. The way a lot of people talk, they seem to think that when you miss a bunch of shots, the rim gets smaller or something. Delaney does not have that same misconception. She just keeps taking good shots and making things happen.
Lara Rohkohl: Most likely to make the ball wish it had never been born.
Rohkohl averaged nearly two blocks per game, and she swatted those balls so hard that many of them probably had to go to therapy. (I honestly could've swapped what I said about Lara with what I said about Bola. They're both great rebounders and great blockers.)
Keba Keita: Most likely to make the rim wish it had never been born.
BYU's first points of the season came on a Keba Keita dunk, and considering how many he had, that is not surprising. No amount of therapy is helping the rim at Madison Square Garden recover.
Kambree Barber: Most likely to get more rebounds than points.
This one's not even a joke. She had 118 points and 168 rebounds for the season.
Richie Saunders: Most likely to be buried in his headband.
What would Richie look like without his headband? I probably wouldn't even recognize him, which is saying something because prior to his injury in the Colorado game, we all saw a lot of him.
Braeden Gunlock: Most likely to name her child Shaelaelae.
According to byucougars.com, Braeden has a sister named Paeten and a brother named Trae, so "ae's" must be a thing in their family. Why not take it to the next level?
Heather Hamson: Most likely to have saved Lee Cummard from having a heart attack.
As great as Lara Rohkohl and Bola Yussuf were, they got into foul trouble a lot. Having a solid third center to put in may have literally saved Coach Cummard's life.
Marya Hudgins: Most likely to dance through life.
There were multiple times Marya showed that she was having fun, whether it was flipping her hair during player introductions, doing the 6 7 thing with the fans when BYU had 67 points, or joining Cosmo midway through a dance he was doing. Some players take the game way too seriously, but not Marya.
Brinley Cannon: Most likely to rip a toy from a child.
Have you ever noticed that held balls seem to happen a lot more often in women's games than in men's games? One of the major reasons for that is the fact that Brinley Cannon is a woman. Seemingly every time the player she was defending had the ball, she was reaching in with both hands and doing everything she could to rip it away. If you're holding something and you don't want to lose it, watch out for Brinley.
Dominique Diomande: Most likely to be a diamond in the rough. (Pun intended.)
While Dominique didn't get a lot of playing time this year, he was a real force during the little bit of time he was playing. That dunk he had against Kansas St in the Big 12 tournament may have been the highlight of the game.
Dawson Baker: Most likely to know every doctor in the world by name.
Dawson has gone from playing in 4 games his first season at BYU to playing in 36 games his second season to playing 6 games in his third season. His two season-ending injuries have hurt BYU more than I think most fans realize. I imagine he, the doctors, and Arielle Mackey-Williams have all become great friends.
Kennard "Moo" Davis: Most likely to confuse people into thinking his own fans are booing him.
In case you went the whole season thinking BYU fans had a beef with Moo (pun intended), let me put an end to your confusion. They were saying, "Mooooooooo!"
Hattie Ogden: Most likely to draw a flagrant foul with her hair.
Hattie's pig tails are so long, it's bound to happen at some point.
Abdullah Ahmed: Most likely to get more fouls than points.
Again, I'm not joking. He had 25 points and 35 fouls. But hey, having lots of fouls means you're just defending really hard.
Now, for the most part, we've been going in numerical order, but we have to make an exception so we can end with everyone's favorite player.
AJ Dybantsa: Most likely to draw a foul from a mannequin.
AJ attempted 296 free throws this season, and anyone who has watched him play can see why. He always knows exactly what kind of movements to make to get defenders to foul him. (Or to make officials think he was being fouled.) Honestly, he would drive me crazy if he played for any other team, but since he's a Cougar, I love watching him play.