Midseason grades for each BYU basketball player

After a stellar offseason, in which BYU lured Kevin Young from the NBA ranks and sign three of the top ten highest ranked recruits in program history, the Cougars have had what most would consider a disappointing start to the season. BYU finds itself at 9th place in the Big 12 and a record of 11-5. A big win last night against Oklahoma State helped quell some of the recent doubts following a three-game skid.

Let's take a look at how each player is performing individually.

Mawot Mag #0

Grade: B

Stats: 4.7 points, 1.6 rebounds, 0.4 assists per game

Mawot Mag earns a "B" grade because he has been excellent in the role that Coach Young has asked him to fill. He was brought in as a transfer from Rutgers due to his stellar defense. Most notably against TCU forward Noah Reynolds, who had scored 10 points through the first 15 minutes of the game on Saturday, January 11th. Mag entered the game and held Reynolds scoreless for the rest of the half, pivotal for a 14-1 run by the Cougars to end the half.

His offense leaves some to be desired, but that may be purely based on volume. He has only attempted 46 shots this season, but is shooting 50% from the field. He may be more effective with a higher volume of shots, but there aren't many to go around on this talented roster.

Best game: 11 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 steal against Texas Tech

Superlative Award: Best Defender Award

Trey Stewart #1

Grade: C

Stats: 0.7 points, 0.2 rebounds, 0.1 assists per game

Trey Stewart has the misfortune of being stuck in a logjam of extremely talented guards. He finds himself behind Egor Demin, Dallin Hall, Richie Saunders, Dawson Baker, Trevin Knell, and potentially Elijah Crawford.

That being said, he is more talented than the minutes he receives. His current role with the team seems to be a defensive pest at the end of halves and when the opposing guard is quicker than the other guards. He has some flashes of offensive talent, but sometimes plays a little bit out of control.

As a senior, Stewart also seems to have taken a leadership role from the bench, constantly cheering on his teammates.

Best game: 3 points, 1 rebound against Mississippi Valley State

Superlative Award: Best Style Award (check the link if you need proof)

Elijah Crawford #2

Grade: C

Stats: 1.4 points, 1.0 rebounds, 0.9 assists per game

Touted recruit Elijah Crawford flipped his commitment from Stanford to BYU this summer after the hiring of Kevin Young and assistant coach Brandon Dunson, who was previously at Stanford and recruited Crawford.

Crawford is a talented freshman guard, but similar to Trey Stewart is stuck behind older and/or better guards for the time being. He has shown flashes of the 3-star ranking he had in high school, but hasn't had much of a chance to prove himself either.

Best game: 4 points, 4 assists, and 3 rebounds against Florida A&M

Superlative Award: Best Hair Award

Egor Demin #3

Grade: B-

Stats: 11.0 points, 4.2 rebounds, 6.0 assists per game

Egor Demin is a tricky player to grade. The expectations were so high for him coming into the season, as the highest-graded recruit in program history until AJ Dybantsa signed with the Cougars a few weeks ago. Those expectations may have been set too high for an 18-year-old who had only played basketball overseas.

He started the season really strong, and his grade would be higher than that, but his recent play has dropped his grade to a "B-". He is 2-27 from beyond the arc in his last 7 games, but looked a lot better against Oklahoma State. He also has multiple turnovers in his last five games.

Regardless, Egor is an extremely talented player, and I have no doubt he will continue to adjust to the college game on his path to the NBA.

Best game: 18 points, 4 rebounds, 11 assists, and 4 steals against Central Arkansas

Superlative Award: Most Versatile Award

Brody Kozlowski #4

Grade: C+

Stats: 1.0 points, 0.5 rebounds per game

Brody Kozlowski was the two-time 6A Utah Player of the Year and dominated Utah high-school basketball before signing with BYU.

We knew that Brody wouldn't have much of an opportunity as a true freshman, he has only logged 28 total minutes this season, and has only taken 4 shots. He earns a "C+" grade because his shot looks good and he has given an effort when entering the game in garbage time.

Best game: 8 points, 2 three-pointers, and 1 rebound against Florida A&M

Superlative Award: Future Star Award

Mihailo Boskovic #5

Grade: C-

Stats: 4.3 points, 2.3 rebounds, 0.5 assists per game

Mihailo Boskovic was a late add to the roster this season and has been sort of an interesting piece to the puzzle for BYU this year.

He has shown some flashes of athleticism and shooting, including a monster dunk against Mississippi Valley State near the beginning of the season.

Lately, he has mysteriously vanished from the rotation, including DNP's in the last three games.

Best game: 10 points, 2 three-pointers, and 1 rebound against Ole Miss

Superlative Award: Hardest Name to Pronounce Award

Kanon Catchings #6

Grade: B+

Stats: 9.3 points, 3.1 rebounds, 1.1 assists per game

Kanon Catchings was the second huge get for Kevin Young this summer, after the acquisition of Demin. A highly touted recruit with family history of professional athletes, his aunt is Naismith Hall of Famer Tamika Catchings, his mother Tauja played overseas, and his grandfather Harvey played 11 seasons in the NBA.

Catchings has been everything I had hoped for, his ability to beat defenders off the dribble is nearly unmatched on this team. He shooting ability certainly has room to improve, but his 32.1% puts him at 3rd place among NCAA freshmen.

As Kanon figures out the college game more each game, he will continue to showcase his incredible talent.

Best game: 21 points, 4 three-pointers, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals against Florida A&M

Superlative Award: Highest Flyer

Townsend Tripple #12

Grade: C+

Stats: 0.3 rebounds per game

All end of the bench players will automatically receive a "C+" grade for the work that they do in practice and the energy this give off the bench. This is an invaluable part of any team.

Townsend Tripple has yet to appear in any meaningful minutes this season, having only logged 5 minutes total.

Best game: 1 rebound against Wyoming

Superlative Award: Best Mustache

Keba Keita #13

Grade: C+

Stats: 6.8 points, 8.5 rebounds, 0.9 assists per game

Keba Keita made the surprising, and rare switch between rivals Utah and BYU this summer. Fans remembered his dominant rim protection and rebounding off the bench against BYU last year, hoping that he could bring some of the same for the Cougars.

Keba started the season as a dominant force inside, with double-doubles in two of the Cougars first three games. He hasn't tallied a single one since, and until the Oklahoma State game, hadn't recorded double-digit points since December 11th against Fresno State.

He has also seen a decrease in minutes in the past two weeks, partially due to Fousseyni Traore's increase in production. The Utah transfer earns a "C+" grade.

Best game: 11 points, 13 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block, and 1 steal against Queens

Superlative Award: Best Rim Protector Award

Richie Saunders #15

Grade: A-

Stats: 13.7 points, 3.8 rebounds, 1.2 assists per game

Richie Saunders has been without a doubt BYU's best player. He leads the team in scoring and 3-point shooting, and has the highest scoring game of the season.

The only reason Saunder's grade isn't higher is his "streakyness". He has a stretch of two or three great games and then a dud. Scoring isn't everything, but take a look at his scoring totals for each game of this season.

Best game: 30 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block, and 1 steal against Arizona State

Superlative Award: Top Performer

Max Triplett #20

Grade: C+

Stats: 1.0 rebounds per game

This is the same story as Townsend Tripple. Max has logged just 8 minutes this season.

We applaud you Max for your work in practice and on the bench.

Best game: 3 rebounds and 1 block against Queens

Superlative Award: Coolest First Name Award (Maximos for anyone wondering)

Trevin Knell #21

Grade: A-

Stats: 10.1 points, 2.5 rebounds, 0.8 assists per game

While some fans may be frustrated with Knell's performance, he is on the team to shoot 3's, and he does it very well.

The oldest player in college basketball has raised his 3-point shooting percentage all the way to 42.7%, a mark that puts him inside the top-50 in the country.

Knell has a textbook shooting form, and fills up the scoring sheet with shots from beyond the arc. Anything else he does is "extra". He is an "A-" shooter.

Best game: 22 points, 4 three-pointers, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, and 3 steals against Fresno State

Superlative Award: Sharpshooter Award

Dawson Baker #25

Grade: B

Stats: 8.3 points, 2.3 rebounds, 1.7 assists per game

After missing almost all of last season due to injury, Dawson Baker has entered quite well into the role the previous staff pictured for him. He is a scorer.

He may never be the greatest true point-guard, as he averages just 1.7 assists per game, but he sure can score the ball. He is averaging 8.3 points in just 18.8 minutes of play, including a four-game stretch of double-digit performances from December 3rd to December 20th.

In Coach Young's search for a ball-handler, especially when Demin and Dallin Hall are on the bench, he has found something nice in Baker.

Best game: 22 points, 6 three-pointers, 1 rebound, 2 assists, and 1 steal against Queens

Superlative Award: Toughest Player Award (I haven't watched a single game that Dawson doesn't dive on the floor at least three times)

Dallin Hall #30

Grade: B-

Stats: 7.5 points, 2.7 rebounds, 3.9 assists per game

We knew what to expect from Dallin Hall, unlike the incoming freshmen. After missing the first few games of the season due to a toe injury suffered shortly before the season began, he has been okay.

He certainly makes the best decisions with the basketball in his hands, although he may not be the flashiest passer. He is averaging 3.9 assists per game, second on the team.

His shooting has fluctuated throughout the season, with flashes of good (Florida A&M) and flashes of bad (Texas Tech).

Best game: 14 points, 4 three-pointers, 5 rebounds, 7 assists, and 1 steal against Florida A&M

Superlative Award: Best Passer Award

Fousseyni Traore #45

Grade: B-

Stats: 9.6 points, 6.6 rebounds, 2.0 assists per game

After a great 2023-24 season, we expected a lot out of Fousseyni (Fouss) Traore this year. He has struggled a bit, especially on the glass.

Even as an undersized big, at just 6'6", Fouss has typically done very well collecting rebounds. This season he is averaging his second lowest rebounding total of his career. That may partially be due to the switch to the Big-12 and competing against much bigger and more physical bigs than in the West Coast Conference.

Regardless, Fouss has played alright this season. He hasn't been out of this world, but he hasn't been necessarily "bad" either.

Best game: 29 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 block against Idaho

Superlative Award: Most Physical Award

Jared McGregor #51

Grade: C+

Stats: 1.0 points per game

This is a very similar scenario to Townsend Tripple and Max Triplett. Jared, a junior, does a lot of work in practice to help get the team ready and we appreciate that.

Best game: 4 points, 1 three-pointer against Florida A&M

Superlative Award: Kindest Eyes Award (thanks mom)

Players We Haven't Seen

Khadim Mboup #7

BYU secured the commitment of 6'9" forward Khadim Mboup who, and while he has yet to suit up for the Cougars, he has a lot of potential when he does. He won't get the chance to play in any games this season, but having a year of practice under his belt should allow him to excel next season.

He is a big 3/4 combo forward who is incredibly athletic and can shoot surprisingly well for someone his size. I can't wait to watch Mboup in action next to AJ Dybansta next year.

All stats taken from official BYU Athletics website unless otherwise stated, accurate through January 14th, 2025.

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