ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski Shared His Thoughts On BYU Landing Kevin Young

PROVO, Utah – Going into the NBA draft combine coverage on ESPN with Adrian Wojnarowski, no one probably envisioned a moment dedicated to BYU basketball hiring Kevin Young as their head coach.

But that did happen during Tuesday’s coverage of the Combine from Chicago.

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on Kevin Young choosing to become #BYU’s head coach: “A choice about winning.”

➡️: https://t.co/0weqUB15xx#BYUHoops pic.twitter.com/4xQo9EUFMe

— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) May 15, 2024

During the broadcast, the cameras panned through NBA executives in the stands watching the scrimmages at the Combine. One of the executives in attendance was Utah Jazz CEO and former BYU great Danny Ainge.

Seeing Danny Ainge led ESPN analyst Sean Farnham, who was on ESPN’s coverage of the Combine, to ask NBA Insider Adrian Wojnarowski about his thoughts on BYU hiring Kevin Young away from the NBA.

Farnham asked Woj, “Is that shocking to you? Considering how many NBA jobs, he looked like he was in line to be a head coach at the NBA. [Instead,] he goes to BYU.”

Wojnarowski on Kevin Young choosing to become BYU’s head coach: “A choice about winning”

Wojnarowski replied, “And he would have been. In almost every case that I could cite, if a coach has a choice between the NBA and college basketball, he’s going to choose the NBA.

“Kevin Young made a choice that was, I think, certainly a choice about winning, that he could win big there. But about his family.

“You mentioned Danny Ainge; I saw him last night. We were talking about Kevin Young there, but you know, Ryan Smith, the owner of the Utah Jazz, who’s a big supporter of BYU. They have all the resources there to win big. But there’s no question Kevin Young, in this coaching cycle, he would have been an NBA coach if he wanted; he chose to go to the Big 12.”

BYU basketball can sell the NBA on the recruiting trail with Young

Since Young was hired by BYU last month, he’s received high praise from coaches and players he’s worked with in the NBA. Woj referenced that as something BYU with Young can sell on the recruiting trail.

Adrian Wojnarowski during ESPN's NBA Draft Combine coverage on #BYU head coach Kevin Young:

"He's really gonna be able to sell the NBA to high school and portal prospects [at BYU]."#BYUHoops

— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) May 14, 2024

“This is a coach who, you know, [is] really respected by players,” Woj said on Young. “He came up through the G-League, had success there. Devin Booker was a big fan of his [during] their time in Phoenix. He’s really going to be able to sell NBA to high school and, of course, portal prospects.”

Young continues to work on constructing his first roster for the 2024-25 season. Currently, he has eight scholarship players with five scholarships available. Among the notables are Dallin Hall and Richie Saunders, who had brief stays in the transfer portal before opting to return to BYU to play for Young.

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.

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