BYU’s Kevin Young On His Recruiting Pitch: ‘It’s Not Hypothetical’
Nov 14, 2024, 11:54 AM
PROVO, Utah – BYU basketball head coach Kevin Young has been a force on the recruiting trail.
Since taking over for Mark Pope, who departed for Kentucky, Young has landed BYU’s first five-star prospect (Egor Demin) in the 21st century. He has also added BYU’s two highest-rated Composite prospects in the internet era (Xavion Staton and Kanon Catchings).
“It’s not hypothetical.”
Kevin Young on what #BYU can offer recruits that they will be interested in.#BYUHoops pic.twitter.com/spLRzDZvED
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) November 14, 2024
After officially signing 7-foot center Staton from Las Vegas and four-star Chamberlain Burgess out of Orem this week, Young wants to keep the momentum on the recruiting trail.
BYU is in the thick of the chase for 2025’s No. 1 recruit, AJ Dybantsa, out of Utah Prep. Dybantsa will reportedly move up his decision to December instead of February.
One of the questions on the Young hire was how he would handle roster construction in college basketball after being a fixture on the NBA scene.
So far, in his short time at BYU, he’s made the Cougars a national player on the recruiting scene.
They haven’t landed everyone they’ve pursued. BYU missed out on Utah Prep guard JJ Mandaquit, who signed with Washington earlier this week as an example.
Kevin Young is looking to highlight the strengths of his program to recruits
Young is looking to highlight the strengths of his BYU program and find what recruits will be interested in. Most of that centers around the NBA.
“One of the things that I think is unique about us is the stuff that we’re talking to recruits and their parents about; it’s not hypothetical,” Young said. “I’ve done it at the NBA level. Where these guys are trying to get to, I’ve been there. I’ve lived that life, and I’ve brought a lot of people here on our staff who have also lived that life.
“So when we talk about a strength and conditioning program, it’s not hypothetical. We talk about a nutrition plan for someone to grow their body; it’s not hypothetical. Player development on the court, we’ve got multiple guys who were G-League head coaches. Again, it’s not hypothetical.”
BYU’s strength and conditioning coach, Michael Davie, worked with the Milwaukee Bucks. The Director of Nutrition for Men’s and Women’s basketball, Danielle Lafata, previously worked with the Phoenix Suns.
Will Voigt, Tim Fanning, and Director of Player Development Jordan Brady have all worked in the G-League.
“They want to put you in a position where you can be comfortable and play your game and just be yourself,” said BYU center Keba Keita. “That’s going to help you get to the next level.”
Young continued, “So I think that message has resonated with people. We’ve tried to be selective about who those people are and really try to vet, character-wise, and make sure it’s guys that we want in our program. That’s something that we take very seriously. I think the combination of all that has allowed us to get some things done to this point and just thrilled that people are seeing it in the same light that we are.”
BYU currently has the No. 31 class in the 247Sports Composite Team Rankings for 2025.
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.
