KANSAS CITY — As has been widely reported, the Big 12 is the first conference in the history of the Associated Press Top 25 preseason college basketball poll since its first release in 1961 to have five teams among the top 10.
Top-ranked Kansas, No. 4 Houston, No. 5 Iowa State, No. 8 Baylor and No. 10 Arizona — coming over from the Pac-12 — are those teams, so naturally they were feted heavily Wednesday at the Big 12 basketball media day Wednesday at T-Mobile Center in downtown Kansas City.
Coaches and players from Utah, picked 16th, and BYU, picked ninth, were also at the 16-team event, but drew far less fanfare and attention. While the hiring of new BYU basketball coach Kevin Young to replace Kentucky-bound Mark Pope and Young’s eye-popping recruiting haul his first year has been huge news in the Beehive State, it hasn’t caused much of a stir across a league with Hall of Fame coaches and national title contenders.
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Kansas’ Bill Self, Houston’s Kelvin Sampson, Arizona’s Tommy Lloyd and Baylor’s Scott Drew were the big draws among coaches, while Arizona’s Caleb Love, Houston’s L.J. Cryer, Kansas’ Hunter Dickinson (the preseason Big 12 player of the year) and Iowa State’s Keshon Gilbert were the notable players in attendance.
Not a lot of reporters wanted to talk to BYU’s contingent of Young, Fouss Traore and Trevin Knell, and that was OK with them. Junior guard Dallin Hall was scheduled to attend, but was ill, according to BYU basketball spokesperson Tyson Jex.
“Our mindset is we haven’t done anything yet,” Knell said.
Still, Big 12 coaches and players questioned by the Deseret News about the hiring of Young and his recruiting efforts, and willingness to leverage NIL in his recruiting pitch, were happy to talk those topics.
Here’s a sampling:
Baylor’s Scott Drew is the reason Young is at BYU (sort of)
Baylor’s Drew said four of his former graduate assistants were in the Phoenix Suns’ front office when Young was an assistant coach there, and “they really spoke highly of him” and his coaching ability. Of course, Drew turning down the Kentucky job paved the way for Young to get to BYU, because Kentucky then raided BYU for Mark Pope.
“In my interactions (since the hiring) with him, I know he’s a great man and a great coach,” Drew said. “So he is going to have a lot of success. We just hope he doesn’t have it when we play them.”
The Cougars host the Bears on Jan. 28 and are not scheduled to play in Waco this season. Drew said he’s well aware of BYU’s growing reputation in the NIL market.
“I think everybody is trying to make sure that their NIL is comparable. At the end of the day the NCAA rules will keep shifting, changing, and you gotta make sure that you are not left behind,” Drew said, then added, with a smile: “Tell them (BYU) they only get one max guy, though.”
Langston Love, Baylor’s 6-5 junior guard, became close friends with former BYU forward Caleb Lohner when they were teammates in Waco. Love has even traveled to Utah to watch Lohner play football for the Utes.
“Great atmosphere, great fans,” Love said of the Marriott Center crowd. “We love playing there.”
This 4-year Arizona head coach knows all about BYU
Arizona’s Lloyd is very familiar with BYU because he was a Gonzaga assistant for 20 years before replacing Sean Miller at Arizona in April 2021. Lloyd said he knew Young “a little” because they had a common colleague and they’ve been able to chat a couple times since Young got the BYU job.
He said he’s not surprised that BYU is “all in” to become a college basketball powerhouse.
“I know this from competing against BYU all those years: They have a captured audience. They have a fan base that literally approaches it like it is a religion, and there is nothing wrong with that,” Lloyd said. “I always enjoyed playing in Provo and the competitive nature of what the environment brought. I am looking forward to going back in there.
“We had some great nights in there when I was at Gonzaga. And we had some tough nights. But that is what makes it fun. Competing against BYU is something that I am excited to do. I know they have one of the most dedicated fan bases in the country. … BYU shows well. I am not surprised on any front how they are being competitive in NIL or anything like that.”
Arizona State and BYU will get familiar with each other again
Arizona State coach Bobby Hurley said he was aware that Young coached in the same market the Sun Devils play in, but never got the chance to meet him in the Phoenix/Tempe area. Hurley, a former NBA player, said Young should be able to make the move from the pro ranks to the college ranks rather seamlessly.
“There is a lot that goes into college coaching that I am sure he is going to have assistance with that isn’t required in the NBA. There is more monitoring and it is more time-consuming,” Hurley said. “But in terms of concepts on offense and defense, a lot of the stuff we are doing with a 30-second shot clock resembles international basketball or NBA basketball to a certain degree. So I don’t see how it is going to be a difficult transition.”
When do Utah and BYU play basketball as Big 12 rivals?
Utah coach Craig Smith, entering his fourth season on the Hill, said he had never met Young before Young was hired by the Utes’ rival, but Smith knew Young’s brother, Justin, who was heavily involved with college basketball recruiting services and is now BYU’s director of recruiting.
The Utes and Cougars will face off Jan. 18 at Utah and March 8 at BYU.
“I think it is awesome. I have always thought that. I think it is great for the state of Utah. I think it is so amazing for our fanbase. I think it is amazing for the BYU fanbase,” Smith said. “Anytime you can get those two programs together, regardless of the sport, I think it is an amazing thing. I think it is great for everybody that is involved. Certainly in the state of Utah, and I have lived here for just over six years, three at Utah State, three at Utah, and you feel it.”
Smith lost an assistant coach, Chris Burgess, and a key player, center Keba Keita, to Young and the Cougars, another chapter in the long and storied rivalry. Utah’s roster also includes a former Cougar, guard Hunter Erickson, and a former BYU commit, forward Jake Wahlin.
“Whether you are on the golf course, or you are out to dinner, or at a donor event, or we are at media days, that (BYU-Utah rivalry) is the first question. And it matters. It truly, truly matters to the fanbases. And I just think it is such a positive aspect of being in the same league. I love it,” Smith said.
Utah had two player representatives at media day: guard Gabe Madsen and center Lawson Lovering. Schools were given the choice of sending two or three players to the annual confab.
Madsen said the rivalry games are already circled on Utah’s calendar.
“I think they will be fun matchups this year. I am looking forward to it — going down there and them coming up to Salt Lake,” Madsen said. “The rivalry, you can just feel it. I was at Cincinnati, so Cincinnati-Xavier is big, too. But BYU-Utah has something special to it. Every year it has been one of my favorite games to play in. So to be able to do it twice this season is going to be fun.”
Lovering, a transfer from Colorado, is from Cheyenne, Wyoming, but became familiar with the rivalry when he played with lots of Utahns on the AAU circuit.
“I don’t have a lot of connections down there (at BYU), but I see what is going on on social media (with BYU’s NIL effort),” Lovering said. “I know when the game starts all that goes out the window, and it is just us and them playing a game. I have seen it, but I try to ignore it, obviously.”
