Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and man, a lot of people in this tight basketball circle want both what BYU is building and has on the way. The Cougars outlasted 3-seed Wisconsin in a 91-89 thriller to advance to next week’s Sweet 16. A second-weekend appearance has happened just one other time (2011) for this sports-loving, BYU program since the NCAA Tournament expanded in 1985.
Remarkable things are simmering for coach Kevin Young, who is already taking the program to a zip code it isn’t used to. BYU’s pot of NIL money is a story. Inking the breathtaking AJ Dybantsa is another one. But the story might be Young, who looks more and more like a rockstar by the day.
The former hotshot NBA assistant was in his bag all weekend, steering BYU through a Selection Sunday draw that looked vicious. Young carved up VCU’s No. 1-rated halfcourt defense to the tune of a sizzling 1.23 points per possession. It was the first time all year someone cracked 80 points against the Rams. Less than 48 hours later, BYU again posted an untouched offensive bonanza.
Young is the driving force. The face of the franchise, so to speak, maybe until Dybantsa strolls into town for a one-year stay. He’s built an army of locked-in staffers with the sole pursuit of bringing pros and championships to Provo. The formula of an elite halfcourt offense combined with outstanding rim protection carried UConn to the National Championship last year. This season, there are just three teams in college basketball that rank inside the top 35 nationally in both halfcourt offense and rim defense. UConn (duh), Duke (obviously) and … BYU.
This isn’t a fluke, and what Young has helped build at BYU feels sustainable.
“I think the emotion just stems from how happy I am for all of our players and everyone that supports BYU,” Young said. “You look up in there, and you see that much support, it’s really just gratifying to be able to…
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