For Kevin Young, the early returns on BYU’s rotation look a lot cleaner than they did a year ago.
After Monday’s 94-83 win over Ohio State at the Delta Center, Young said he already has a strong feel for his starting group and the way he wants to manage the minutes behind it. That’s a sharp contrast from last season, when injuries made it hard for him to settle on a consistent lineup.
“It feels the cleanest it’s been, I would say, since being here,” Young admitted after Monday’s 94-83 victory against Ohio State at the Delta Center.
Through two exhibitions and the opener, Young has leaned into a starting five of Robert Wright III, Collin Chandler, Bruce Branch III, Tyler Betsey and Jaxon Kohler. Wright is the only one of that group who started for BYU last season, though Kohler and Chandler both bring plenty of starting experience from previous stops - Kohler at Michigan State and Chandler at Kentucky.
The bench picture, at least for now, is built more around defense and energy than instant offense. Against Ohio State, Young went with Jake Wahlin, Khadim Mboup, Brooks Bahr and Nate Pickens for meaningful minutes, and that group gave BYU a steady defensive lift while contributing eight points on 3 of 6 shooting. Pickens added the lone 3-pointer, and the quartet finished with five rebounds, two assists and just one turnover.
That doesn’t mean the scoring options behind the starters are set in stone. Young made it clear that the nonconference schedule will give him room to keep testing different combinations, especially with players who can provide more punch on that end.
“Dawson (Baker) is obviously going to come in and have something to say about that,” Young said. “I look forward to what he can bring to the table from a scoring standpoint, but at the same time, we have a run of games now where we might experiment a little bit more.
I want to get Dean (freshman Dean Rueckert) some burn. Brody (Kozlowski) is a guy that’s worked his tail off to get back into the mix, and so I look forward to giving those guys an opportunity.
We had a pretty clear plan of attack for this particular game, given the strength of the opponent. On the first night, we kind of wanted to rely on some of that experience.
“I look forward to doing what we can with those other young guys. But at the same time, I think this felt good tonight in terms of how we subbed it.”
One player who has already carved out a clear niche is Bahr. The guard returned from his church mission this spring and has quickly become a disruptive presence off the bench.
“He’s earned that role in practice,” Young said. “He’s earned that role to come in and sort of be that backup ‘1.’
He’s a dog, you know? He’s an absolute dog.
That’s just how he wakes up, doing stuff like that.
“I had a nice little conversation with him because he had the one where he’s a little too aggressive, put their best player on the free throw line. He has to bottle it up more. But he’s a guy that Cougar Nation is going to fall in love with if they already haven’t.”
BYU’s next opponent is Omaha, which comes in after a roster overhaul that saw eight seniors or fifth-year players depart from last season’s 16-17 team, including three double-digit scorers. Leading scorer Paul Djobet, who averaged 17.5 points per game, entered the transfer portal and landed at Texas State.
The Mavericks have seven transfers on this year’s roster, and senior guard Cahmani Crosby, a transfer from North Texas, led the way with 21 points in a 73-65 exhibition win over NAIA school Mid-American Christian on Monday. Omaha also fell to Minnesota, 72-52, in exhibition play.
Two years ago, Omaha won both the Summit League regular season and tournament titles to reach the NCAA Tournament as a No. 15 seed. Its run ended with a first-round loss to Big East champion St. John’s.
Men’s College Basketball
Omaha (0-0) at No. 25 BYU (1-0)
Friday, 7 p.m. MT
Marriott Center, Provo
TV/Streaming: ESPN+
Radio: BYU Radio
Live stats: byucougars.com
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