Sure, AJ Dybantsa is going to gather the most headlines among BYU basketball alumni in the upcoming NBA Draft, but maybe we should be giving more attention to Richie Saunders, his teammate floating around in the range of the second round.
Saunders became something of a darling in last year's class, after breaking free of the "glue guy" mold in favor of a unquestionable star position under head coach Kevin Young. With the benefit of still being that guy who will dive on the floor for loose balls, scrap for every ounce of defense left in the tank, and knock down timely jumpers/free throws, Saunders has the bones of a player fighting for playing time despite being a top option for the team since his sophomore season.
Both as a culture guy, and a fan favorite, Saunders appears as a can't-miss type of player.
He stands at 6'5", has filled his frame with muscle over four collegiate seasons, and is perhaps one of the best jump shooters in the entire class.
So why is he floating around in the second round?
Kevin O'Connor of Yahoo Sports has been asking the exact same question.
"Are we sure Richie Saunders shouldn't be a first-round pick?" O'Connor posed during a recent podcast episode.
"I do have a first-round grade on Richie Saunders. I love him," replied Sam Vecenie. "Kind of a cross between Max Strus and Sam Merrill to me. Right? Like, not quite as athletic as Strus, a little bit bigger than Merrill. Awesome shooter. I think that he does a way better job defensively than people give him credit for."
"He's legitimately 6'5", he's 215 pounds. He cares on [the defensive] end. Let me put it this way, I might give him a higher grade than Allen Graves."
"I'd be shocked if he's not a long time pro in the NBA"@KevinOConnor
— SleeperJazz (@SleeperJazz) May 27, 2026
"I might end up with a higher grade on [him] than I do on Allen Graves"@Sam_Vecenie
We would have to cash in some of our future 2nd round picks to move in, but Saunders might be the BYU star that stays in… pic.twitter.com/ewix3wTrvJ
Richie Saunders could be the exact type of player to sneak into the late first round if an NBA team sees that same potential. Despite being ancient for an NBA rookie and fresh off a torn ACL suffered near the tail end of the season, Saunders still carries incredible value as a bench wing. O'Connor and I share the belief that Saunders projects to be a long time pro.
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