Kevin Young's first season at the head of the BYU basketball program was an undeniable success. Finishing ranked 13th in the final AP Poll ladder after a Sweet 16 run in March is the program's greatest result in at least a decade, and this runaway train is flying down the track without brakes.
Get out of the way, or become one with the rails.
But it's time to be analytical, and take the fun out of blind fanaticism. This is your last warning, and the final opportunity to back out. Kevin Young's report card is in mom's hands, and it's time to determine if this season belongs up on the fridge, or to the humiliating depths of the trash can.
So, after a historic BYU basketball season, how do we evaluate the state of the program? How do we project the future of hoops in Provo, Utah? And how, oh how, has this new staff laid the groundwork for the incoming McDonald's All-American, AJ Dybantsa?
Let's explore.
Preparing Players for the NBA
When Coach Young first arrived in Utah Valley, he declared his intention to make BYU "the best place in college basketball to prepare young men to play in the NBA." This is the main objective, and he's built a program around NBA-level everything. NBA-level nutritionists, trainers, facilities, and (of course) coaching make BYU an appealing location for highly talented prospects. Now the key is to show that it's not all talk -- can BYU actually deliver players into the NBA?
And after one season, this has been accomplished to mixed results.
For the projected lottery pick from Real Madrid, Egor Demin, this goal has been reached, though not necessarily surpassed, as he began the season as a potential lottery pick and finished as a late-lottery to late-teens level prospect.
Of course, his original projections were far less scrutinized and solid, as draft experts tried to make sense of a player they've seen very little of in a junior European league.
After a season in the limelight of big-time college basketball, opinions on the BYU guard are far more educated. The verdict? His physique, athleticism, and jump shot all have plenty of room for improvement. His passing gift, however, has been personally delivered to Egor from basketball deity.
For Kanon Catchings, his freshman season left plenty to be desired, as the positives were far outweighed by the negatives as we ventured deeper into the Big 12 jungle. Catchings went from a projected first-round selection to a transfer after just one season.
Was some of Catchings' decline self-inflicted? Yes. Was his lack of playing time concerning? Absolutely.
The real interest in Young's NBA programming was the tremendous success of Richie Saunders, who evolved from a hustling glue guy archetype to a full-blown Big 12 superstar. Earning All-Big 12 first-team honors as a Junior in Provo, Coach Young's development program put Saunders on the NBA map.
Seriously, if Richie entered the NBA Draft today, there's a strong possibility he would hear his name announced in the second round -- an unbelievable narrative shift after just one season.
Grade: B+
On-Court Success
BYU basketball is officially a top-15 program after just one season with Kevin Young. As he scrapped to keep the core of this team together, the early returns of BYU basketball's new regime were mixed through the first half of the season.
THIRTEEN. pic.twitter.com/YehLW0IuHQ
— BYU Men's Basketball (@BYUMBB) April 8, 2025
After a drastic turnaround in the back half of the year, the Cougars turned head-scratching defeats into chest-thumping victories against the likes of Baylor, Arizona, and Iowa State (twice).
Add a sweet run to the final 16 of the NCAA Tournament that included a decisive win over VCU, an upset victory over Wisconsin, and an eventual loss to 2-seed Alabama, I can't imagine asking more of a first-year head coach.
Grade: A
Recruiting Results
Being a basketball coach is a two-fold effort, as one must balance his efforts between nurturing and developing his current crop of hoopers, while simultaneously pitching his program to the incoming batch of prospects. In the transfer portal age, recruiting itself is two-fold. So... three-fold altogether.
Being a basketball coach is a brochure.
As an NBA assistant, Kevin Young's experience recruiting was limited, but his efforts in the recruiting pool have made him something of a legend in the history of Cougar basketball.
In his first season, acquiring the likes of Keba Keita from Utah and Mawot Mag from Rutgers through the transfer portal, while snagging four-star prospects like Brody Kozlowski, Elijah Crawford, and Kanon Catchings was major for BYU basketball.
Add the first 5-star recruit in program history, Egor Demin, and you can't ignore his success in the recruiting realm.
In his second go-round, Young has corralled the likes of 4-star bigs Chamberlain Burgess and Xavion Staton, alongside the top player in the class of 2025 and McDonald's All-American, AJ Dybantsa. Big-time recruiting doesn't even begin to describe the level of success Coach Young and his staff have reached in this regard.
With Dominique Diomande and Rob Wright III joining through the transfer portal, BYU basketball may be a legit top-10 program next season -- blue glasses off!
Grade: A++