Social Media Reacts To BYU Basketball Hiring Kevin Young
Apr 16, 2024, 12:29 PM | Updated: Apr 17, 2024, 4:17 pm
PROVO, Utah – BYU basketball has hired Phoenix Suns assistant Kevin Young to be its next head coach.
Young comes to BYU with 15 years of experience in professional basketball with the NBA and NBA G-League, where he was previously a head coach with the Utah Flash and Delaware 87ers.
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This past season with the Suns, Young was reportedly the highest-paid assistant in the NBA at $2 million per year. He will continue to work with the Phoenix Suns during their NBA Playoff run but will begin working on retaining BYU’s roster, assembling a roster, and contacting recruits.
“We are excited to announce Kevin as our new head men’s basketball coach and welcome him and his family to BYU,” said BYU athletics director Tom Holmoe in a statement on Tuesday.
Holmoe continued, “We had a variety of excellent candidates and a lot of interest in this position. Kevin is someone we have had our eye on for a while. He has risen to the top of NBA assistant coaching ranks. He has been a lead candidate for NBA head coaching jobs and has been instrumental in developing top-level NBA talent. Kevin will bring a new perspective, with an extensive NBA background to our program. He is a phenomenal fit at BYU. He is humble, fun and super intelligent. Cougar Nation is going to love getting to know Kevin.”
During his time in the NBA, Young has worked with stars such as Kevin Durrant, Devin Booker, and Joel Embiid with the Suns and Philadelphia 76ers.
Reactions to BYU basketball hiring Kevin Young to be the next head coach
Naturally, after the breaking news, social media had its share of reactions to BYU’s new hire. Here’s a roundup of some of the notable reactions.
Congrats KY! Those who know…know. Big get for BYU. This is a real dude for a special place. https://t.co/RkUkTCNTcs
— Ryan Smith (@RyanQualtrics) April 16, 2024
Whoa! Huge get for BYU. Congratulations Cougars! https://t.co/VHmF1wEKvJ
— Spencer Cox (@SpencerJCox) April 16, 2024
Instant reaction: @Mitch_Harper shares his takeaways on #BYU hiring Kevin Young to be the next head coach. 🏀 #BYUHoops #GoCougs https://t.co/wCw67KThyd pic.twitter.com/BjBtkFgGkS
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) April 16, 2024
Cougar Nation — Couldn’t be more excited for Kevin Young to lead the next era of BYU Basketball!
Let’s take it to the next level! https://t.co/PZyXjaAFjg
— Tom Holmoe (@TomHolmoe) April 16, 2024
We are so lucky 🍀!!
Only Tom Holmoe and Brian Santiago could get the best assistant in the NBA to leave for BYU!
Congrats! Let’s go cougar nation!!!
Welcome Coach Young 🙌 https://t.co/JfGCC4NFMF
— Travis Hansen (@travishansen24) April 16, 2024
BYU has their guy 🙌
The Cougars have announced Kevin Young as their new head coach 👏 pic.twitter.com/TpBf0vsHXN
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) April 16, 2024
Don’t know Kevin Young, but know many people that do. Absolutely incredible hire. I learned that NBA stars swear by him as a coach. Also heard the words humble, and gracious. Excited to rally and support.
— Tim LaComb (@tlacomb) April 16, 2024
Let’s fill up the Marriott center and do a press conference with our new coach Kevin Young!! Let’s make it better than Pope and Kentucky!!! Let’s fill it up!!
Excited about the hire!!!
— Kyle Collinsworth (@collinsworth55) April 16, 2024
Danny Ainge on new BYU head coach Kevin Young: "That's a really good get for BYU. I tried to hire Kevin about 10 years ago to run our G-League organization, back in Boston. He was a guy that we interviewed last year for the head coaching job here, and was incredibly impressive."
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) April 16, 2024
Uhhh, Kevin Young might be a better candidate than Mark Pope. https://t.co/bbLNKjf5RK
— Ben Anderson (@BensHoops) April 16, 2024
Honestly, we need to tip our hats to the powers that be.
I never once considered Kevin Young a potential candidate to BYU because the amount of United States Dollar signs needed was very high.
It helps when one of your biggest fans own an NBA and NHL team, as well as a tech… https://t.co/mfQ48wIMbN
— Jonathan Tavernari (@For3JT) April 16, 2024
New era at #BYU.
They land a well-respected NBA coach in Kevin Young and they get him in less than a week.
BYU administrators Tom Holmoe, Brian Santiago, Keith Vorkink, and President C. Shane Reese acted fast and land a coach that puts them on a path to continue competing at a…
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) April 16, 2024
BYU new HC Kevin Young was born in Salt Lake City, and also has been an assistant at Utah Valley (back when it was Utah Valley State) and coached as an assistant & HC of the Utah Flash from 2009-2011.
He was a G League HC for six years. Took a long road to end up back in Utah.
— Rocco Miller (@RoccoMiller8) April 16, 2024
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and hosts the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYU in the Big 12 Conference on X: @Mitch_Harper.
