BYU Basketball Coaches Will Be At Big 12 Rucker Park Event This Week

Jul 17, 2023, 1:49 PM | Updated: 1:53 pm

BYU basketball at the Marriott Center (Jaren Wilkey/BYU Photo)

(Jaren Wilkey/BYU Photo)

KSL Sports

PROVO, Utah – The men’s and women’s BYU basketball coaches will be at historic Rucker Park this week.

Mark Pope and Amber Whiting are participating in “Big 12 Hoops in the Park.” The event will occur on Tuesday, July 18, and will consist of youth clinics on the famed streetball court.

Big 12 Conference Announces New Programming Series Coming To New York City Parks’ Iconic Rucker Park
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📰 https://t.co/Pbv2FieGLp

— Big 12 Conference (@Big12Conference) March 23, 2023

BYU basketball heading to Rucker Park

BYU is one of three programs that is bringing coaches from both the men’s and women’s programs. The others are Kansas State, who will bring women’s coach Jeff Mittie and men’s coach Jerome Tang. Plus, fellow Big 12 newcomer Cincinnati will have Wes Miller and Katrina Merriweather representing.

A total of 11 Big 12 basketball coaches will be at Rucker Park on Tuesday to run the youth clinics. Those coaches include Baylor’s Scott Drew, Jamie Dixon at TCU, and Oklahoma State’s Mike Boynton on the men’s side.

we know you’ve been waiting on this😏 pic.twitter.com/omJKSBlPs7

— BYU Men's Basketball (@BYUMBB) July 14, 2023

“I look forward to representing the Big 12 in NYC,” said Mike Boynton, head men’s basketball coach at Oklahoma State and a Brooklyn native. “It’s an incredible opportunity for our conference to pour into a community with such a rich basketball tradition. I’m honored to be selected and can’t wait to see the type of impact we can have on the youth of my home city.”

Representing the women’s coaches include Houston’s Ron Hughey and Texas Tech’s Krista Gerlich, along with Whiting, Mittie, and Merriweather.

Big 12 Hoops in the Park is in partnership with New York City Parks. Additional partners for Big 12 Hoops in the Park include Hard Rock Hotels, Gatorade, and WHOOP, who will provide fitness bands for each basketball coach. Following drills and clinic sessions, coaches will participate in a Q&A with participating youth. Big 12 Hoops in the Park will also feature live DJs, food trucks, and more.

Big 12 Alumni Games at Rucker Park next year?

When the Big 12 Conference announced the Rucker Park series last March, there was the possibility that summer exhibition games could take place between league foes in 2024.

Those plans have been shifted due to NCAA rulings to now creating alumni games, according to Yormark.

“The NCAA has put those summer exhibitions on pause. So I think we’ll be looking at an alumni game,” Yormark said last week. “But yeah, we want to continue to activate Rucker Park as a historic, great playground, and we need to be in that market.”

BYU is preparing for its first season in the Big 12 Conference. Last year, the men’s program finished 19-15 overall with no postseason. The women’s team was 16-17 overall, with a first-round WNIT exit in Amber Whiting’s first season as head coach.

Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and host of the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (Saturday from 12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYU in the Big 12 Conference on Twitter and Threads: @Mitch_Harper.