BYU didn’t just add a body in the frontcourt late last week. Kevin Young landed one of the most intriguing bigs still available in the transfer portal, and Jaxon Kohler’s fit with the Cougars is obvious from the jump.
Kohler arrives from Michigan State with the kind of profile BYU has been hunting: 6-foot-10, 245 pounds, strong enough to hold his ground inside, skilled enough to stretch the floor, and rugged enough to change possessions on the glass. He was the Spartans’ team captain, and the reputation that follows him to Provo is built on production, not projection.
The numbers jump off the page. Kohler hit 38.9% from 3-point range last season, going 58 of 149.
That kind of spacing matters in a BYU offense that already featured plenty of perimeter firepower. His 3-point mark was better than AJ Dybantsa’s .331, Kennard Davis’s .321 and Richie Saunders’s .376.
Only Robert Wright III topped him, at .410. Dawson Baker did shoot .474, but he only took 19 attempts and made nine.
Kohler also brings a serious edge on the boards, pulling down nearly nine rebounds per game. That alone gives Young a different kind of presence in the paint, one the Cougars clearly needed.
Then there’s the free-throw line. Kohler shot 86.9% there last season, making 53 of 61.
That percentage outpaced every Cougar starter, even if his volume was nowhere near the same as Dybantsa, Saunders or Wright. BYU’s center last season, Keba Keita, shot 55% from the stripe.
For a team trying to level up in the Big 12, that’s a major upgrade.
Young has now kept Wright, the best point guard from the portal, and added what looks like the best remaining center. In the ongoing recruiting tug-of-war with Kentucky’s Mark Pope, that’s another win for the Cougars.
“Mark Pope might be the best recruiter for BYU,” zinged “Locked On Big 12″ podcaster Drake Toll.
Kohler’s basketball resume has drawn praise for a while. Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said after a strong rebounding game against Wisconsin: “Heart. … He’s a monster.”
Izzo has also drawn a striking comparison, saying, “He’s this year’s version of a Draymond Green, that he just kept getting better every year.”
He added more praise with a Zach Randolph comparison: “He has great hands, a nose for the ball, and playing possessed … like a heat-seeking missile.”
Izzo said Kohler can shoot, score in the post and rank among their best rebounders, while also standing out for his work ethic and consistency in practice.
MSU assistant Doug Wojcik echoed that view.
“He’s just so fundamentally sound that he knows where he needs to be. … We had some defensive possessions against Wisconsin that were just elite (because of his positioning),” Wojcik said.
“It’s emotional for me. And his ability to get the ball off the glass?
It’s unbelievable. … We know that he’s just gonna go get it.
… And that’s had a big effect on (our bigs). It’s contagious.”
Kohler’s reputation was strong even before college. ESPN recruiting analyst Paul Biancardi called him the best footwork player in the 2022 class and described him as a post prospect with a high floor.
“Kohler is a very skilled and productive post prospect who has one of the highest floors in the class nationally. He has good hands, outstanding footwork, a soft touch, and can score in a variety of ways from the low and high post or short-corner areas. … Finishes with both hands, has a consistent hook shot, and can face up from midrange.”
Biancardi also used the nicknames “The Big Footwork” and “Baby Jokic,” and noted Kohler studied Hakeem Olajuwon’s post moves.
“Kohler has excellent hands, polished footwork and a soft touch with either hand around the basket, finishing through contact with hooks, up-and-unders and face-up moves from the midrange.
“What elevated him as a senior was the 3-point shot. … His free-throw shooting at 86.9 percent reinforces the idea that he’s a legitimate floor-spacing big … his feel and motor compensate for some of the athletic limitations.
“Comparisons include elements of Kevin Love (skill-based) and Domantas Sabonis (post craft), or a more skilled Daniel Theis/Drew Eubanks.”
The NBA Draft Room was just as bullish, calling him “A highly skilled and fundamentally sound big man who has made steady improvements. … Has good ball skills and is a really smart offensive player.
Sets good screens, plays with good positioning and has become a really good shooter. His ability to space the floor is the skill that will get him an NBA look.”
Shawn Windsor of the Detroit Free Press described Kohler as “a tough guy. An energy guy.
A defensive-and-rebounding-minded savant who is always in the right spot. … Not only had he transformed his body … but he’d reworked his identity.
Works, studies, and anticipates like Green.”
That’s the player BYU just brought in.
And if you’re wondering how much it matters, the answer is simple: imagine the Cougars trying to grind through Big 12 games without him.
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