After sitting on the thought all season, BYU basketball coach Kevin Young finally let it out in the postgame news conference from the dais in Newark, New Jersey, and again to a smaller group of reporters in the hallway at Prudential Center after the Cougars were eliminated from the NCAA Tournament by Alabama's otherworldly 3-point shooting.
Noting that he didn't want to "speak out of both sides of my mouth" after saying all season that he was "not a big expectations guy," Young decided it was the right time to acknowledge that, indeed, the 2024-25 Cougars did surpass what was expected of them.
"I told them in there I was proud of them," Young said, pointing in the direction of BYU's locker room last Thursday night. "This was a team that was picked ninth in the Big 12. And we end up being one of the last 16 teams in the entire country standing."
Certainly, making the Sweet 16 for only the third time in BYU basketball history qualifies as a step in the right direction for the program that just two years ago finished No. 85 in the NET rankings and posted its first losing conference record since 2004-05.
A huge step, really.
Building upon the groundwork laid by Mark Pope before he departed for Kentucky , Young delivered on the promises he made in April 2024 that he would make BYU fans proud of their program again by winning NCAA Tournament games, attracting some of the top players in the country, and getting them ready for the NBA.
Check, check and check.
"I have been pretty clear that we are trying to establish something that is big time at BYU, building on the very successful program they have had for many years," Young said. "This was a step in the right direction as far as trying to elevate it. So for that I am proud of our players and our staff."
As has been well-documented, there were plenty of ups and downs along the way, most notably on Dec. 3 when BYU was pummeled 83-64 by unranked Providence in the Big 12-Big East Battle, on Jan. 4 when the Cougars were barely competitive in a 31-point loss at Houston and on Jan. 18 when BYU was pulverized inside by rival Utah in a 73-72 overtime setback in Salt Lake City, a loss that dropped the Cougars' record to 2-4 in conference play.
Beginning with an 83-67 win at Colorado on Jan. 21, a win that came after BYU trailed 32-22 in the first half, the finish was spectacular, and as memorable as any finish ever at BYU.
There were a few stumbles after that — losses at home to Arizona and on the road at Cincinnati — but the corner had been turned, and it became obvious that Young and his staff knew what they were doing.
BYU guard Egor Demin (3) drives to the basket during victory against Kansas at the Marriott Center on the campus of BYU in Provo on Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2025. | Brice Tucker, Deseret News
BYU reeled off a nine-game winning streak after the 84-66 loss at Cincinnati, beating the likes of nationally ranked Kansas, Arizona and Iowa State, the latter two on the road, before rolling past the Cyclones in the Big 12 quarterfinals.
"It was a roller-coaster season with an incredible ending," said backup point guard Dallin Hall in a somber BYU locker room after the 113-88 loss to the Crimson Tide. "Lots of twists and turns, but all in all it has been super special."
The Cougars said one of the turning points was during halftime at UCF, when they decided they were "tired of BYU being punked," in Hall's words, and vowed to get tougher and more fierce. They took an 81-75 win in Orlando, and although they would lose their next two games, a tighter bond had been developed.
"These are my brothers, and that is why my eyes are a little red right now," Hall said, wiping away tears. "Obviously we set out to do a lot of big things, and we proved a lot of people wrong, and we came up short of what we wanted to do in the end. But an unforgettable season with the brotherhood that we will cherish for life."
Noted fellow junior guard Dawson Baker, who, like Hall, said he has not decided yet if he will return to BYU in 2025-26 or transfer to another school where he can play a bigger role: "It was an incredible season, a roller coaster of emotions. The last 10 or so games have just been so fun with this group of guys. We bonded a lot over the wins, and did a lot of cool things that a lot of fans here will remember."
BYU Cougars guards Trey Stewart (1) and Dawson Baker (25) gesture during NCAA Tournament victory over Wisconsin held at Ball Arena in Denver, Colo., on Saturday, March 22, 2025. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News
Baker said the Cougars would have liked to have been "more competitive on the scoreboard" in the season-ender, but believes it won't put a damper on an otherwise historic season.
"This season will go down in history for BYU, and so it was cool to be a part of that," Baker said. "We did it as a unit. Not one single person did it all. We all had to buy in together and buy into our roles, which was a really cool thing to see."
A quick recap of a memorable season, by the numbers:
Went 26-10 overall, after going 23-11 in Pope's final season (10-8 in the Big 12), and 19-15 the season before that (7-9 in the WCC).
Went 14-6 in the Big 12 and tied for third with fellow Sweet 16 qualifier Arizona before beating Iowa State and losing to Houston in the Big 12 quarterfinals and semifinals.
Seeded No. 21 overall by the NCAA for the tournament and earned a No. 6 seed in the Big Dance before beating No. 11 seed VCU and No. 3 seed Wisconsin in Denver.
Went 8-7 in Quad 1 games, 6-2 in Quad 2 games, and finished 25th in the NET rankings, 26th in Kenpom.com, and ranked No. 17 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll.
"Really happy to have coached that group," Young said. "I said it to the guys in there: I think this was my 21st year in coaching, and this was one of the funnest years I have ever had because of the guys in that locker room."
Nothing seems to change more these days than a college basketball roster, and for BYU, the certainties are that four key pieces will move on, having exhausted their eligibility: Trevin Knell, Fouss Traore, Trey Stewart and Mawot Mag.
Since the season ended, freshmen Kanon Catchings and Elijah Crawford entered the transfer portal , to nobody's surprise.
"This season meant everything to us (seniors)," Knell said. "We were picked ninth in the Big 12. A lot of people overlooked us. People picked us to be upset in the first round of this tournament, and all that. All that really doesn't matter except that it puts a chip on all of our shoulders and just shows again the resiliency of this whole team.
"From Day 1 we said we are going to try to pound the rock. I feel like it really broke open for every single one of us. Again, just really grateful. Proud of these guys," continued Knell, who was in Provo for six seasons and averaged 9.2 points per game this past season.
BYU guards Trevin Knell (21) and guard Dallin Hall high-five during victory over Virginia Commonwealth in first-round NCAA Tournament game held at Ball Arena in Denver, Colo., on Thursday, March 20, 2025. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News
"I room with Egor (Demin), and to see the emotion after the game just shows how much care goes into this, how much love goes into this game. It is every single guy. So I am grateful, and I think that is the biggest thing I can say, is that I am grateful for this university and everything it has given me."
Young said the seniors "meant the world" to the program.
Traore capped a brilliant, under-appreciated career by averaging 8.7 points and shooting 62.8% from the field; he leaves with a 61% career field goal percentage, the highest in school history.
Mag and Stewart were the defensive stoppers, and a lot more, each emerging midway through the season and becoming vital parts of the turnaround.
"Those guys didn't have to come back to BYU. They chose to. Obviously getting Mo (Mag) to come in, he was a huge part of our success," Young said. "We are just indebted forever to those guys. Trev, especially, his leadership I thought was invaluable. Fouss, just being a quiet example all year long.
BYU forward Mawot Mag, left, huddles up with teammates during a Big 12 semifinal game against Houston at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri, on Friday, March 14, 2025. | Brice Tucker, Deseret News
"And then Trey, man, I think that is one of the coolest stories I have personally ever seen in terms of a guy who was kind of an afterthought for three years, or whatever, three and a half, honestly. Then he comes out and did so much, honestly, that we just had to play him, and he ended up helping us quite a bit," Young continued.
There were a few scoffs in the Marriott Center on April 17 when Young said he would not only establish BYU as a pipeline to the NBA, but also maintain a fast-paced, entertaining style of basketball with a focus on the 3-point shot and getting players to the rim for easy dunks and layups.
That happened, as BYU landed the aforementioned Demin and Catchings in 2024 and signed the No. 1 high school recruit in the country, AJ Dybantsa , who said Monday at a news conference before the McDonald's All-America game that he will start attending classes at BYU on April 29.
"First of all, the future at BYU is incredibly bright," Young said from the dais in New Jersey. "I think anyone that pays attention to the sport would agree with that."
BYU's offense emerged as one of the best in the country, as the Cougars scored 2,931 points — tied for third most in a single season, and the most for the program since the 2010-11 season, which was the last time it made the Sweet 16.
BYU's 26 wins was the most since that 2010-11 team went 32-5 and lost to Florida in overtime in the Sweet 16 in New Orleans. The Cougars moved the ball well, and were as unselfish as any team in college basketball. Their 17.3 assists per game (621 assists overall) ranked ninth in the country.
There were a few lopsided losses, but no really bad ones as Young set a record for most wins by a first-year BYU head coach, breaking the previous record of 24.
Six of BYU's losses were to Sweet 16 teams, and four were to Elite Eight teams (Houston twice, Alabama, Texas Tech).
"We want to establish ourselves as a team that is, year after year, making runs like this, and go even farther. We want to be the last team standing in this tournament. It is really hard to do, obviously. But that is our goal," Young said. "In Year 1, I think we got a pretty good foundation of our identity, of how we want to play."
As Young noted, aside from the two losses to Final Four entrant Houston, scoring points wasn't difficult for the Cougars in 2024-25, even in the lopsided loss to Alabama.
"We scored 88 points," he said. "It wasn't really our offense that was the problem."
Obviously, the defense was not great. BYU finished with the 82nd-ranked defense in the country, according to Kenpom.com. BYU gave up 72.6 points per game, ranking the Cougars 11th in the 16-team Big 12.
Opponents shot 43.2% against the Cougars, putting BYU 10th in the Big 12 in that category. Worse, they shot 35.7% from 3-point range, putting BYU dead last in the league in defending the triple.
The 25 3s allowed to Alabama was the most since Pope's Utah Valley team put 18 triples on the Cougars in a 114-101 decision in 2016. Defense, or the lack thereof, plagued Dave Rose's teams for much of the coach's tenure in Provo.
Can Young fix that like he seemingly fixed the Cougars' penchant for turning the ball over too much? Suffice it to say that he isn't shying away from the challenge.
BTU forwards Mihailo Boskovic, left, and Richie Saunders guard Alabama's Derrion Reid during Sweet 16 basketball loss to the Crimson Tide at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., on Thursday, March 27, 2025. BYU lost 113-88. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
"I'm not the type of person that just says, 'Oh, they shot it unbelievable, nothing we could do,'" he said after the defense imploded against Alabama. "Disappointed in myself and our staff that we couldn't put our players in a better position to find answers."
A year ago, the Deseret News' recap of the 2023-24 season , and look ahead to what was presumed at the time going to be Pope's sixth season in Provo, included thoughts about the importance of keeping Jaxson Robinson at BYU and integrating returned missionary Collin Chandler onto a fairly deep roster.
Little did anyone know that Kentucky would hire Pope away on April 12, 2024, and he would eventually land Robinson and Chandler. Or that Richie Saunders and Dallin Hall would enter the transfer portal, then agree to return to BYU after Young got the job on April 16, 2024.
AJ Dybantsa, the nation's No. 1 basketball recruit, is presented at halftime of the BYU and Fresno State game at the Marriott Center in Provo on Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News
Or that Aly Khalifa and Noah Waterman would hightail it to Louisville, and Atiki Ally Atiki would end up at New Mexico. Another player from that roster, Marcus Adams Jr., played well for Cal State Northridge last season and has now transferred to Arizona State.
The point is that absolutely nothing in predictable these days, including what BYU's roster will look like next October. It is probably safe to say that Catchings and Crawford are outta here, in search of more playing time, presumably.
And Young has signed Washington forward Dominique Diomande , who played professionally in France, according to Pete Nakos of On3 Sports. Diomande confirmed the signing on his Instagram account on Tuesday afternoon.
Also on their way to Provo are Dybantsa and consensus four-star recruit Xavion Staton, a center who was rated as the No. 23 prospect in the country by 247Sports. Another signee from the 2025 class, Orem High forward Chamberlain Burgess, has been called on a church mission to El Paso, Texas.
BYU has reportedly set its sights on Silas Demary Jr. , but has plenty of competition for the transfer.
This outlet has recently explored the situations of Demin and Saunders, and whether the Cougars' two leading scorers will return, or turn pro. Saunders averaged 16.5 points and 4.5 rebounds, and was clearly the engine that powered the resurgence ; Demin improved mightily in the postseason, finishing with a 10.6 scoring average.
More importantly, the teenager from Moscow, Russia, had 15 assists and just two turnovers in the games against Wisconsin and Alabama, while scoring 26 points.
Hall, who might be waiting to see what Demin does, having been relegated to a backup role (he still averaged 24.6 minutes per game), said after the Alabama loss that he was content to be patient and see how everything unfolds.
"All that is on my mind is gratitude for this opportunity and to play with these guys, and the next step is figuring out how to get back here (to the NCAA Tournament) and further," Hall said. "So that is what is on my mind."
Baker, having transferred in from UC Irvine in 2023, said he was "comfortable" with his role as a primary backup this season but would obviously like to play more than 16.7 minutes per game.
Rising senior Mihailo Boskovic told the Deseret News after the win over Wisconsin that he hadn't decided yet, but apparently told The Salt Lake Tribune that same day that he plans to return to BYU.
Brody Kozłowski, the former four-star recruit out of Corner Canyon High in Draper, confirmed that he will count this year as his redshirt year (he appeared in the maximum of nine games) and that he would like to return if everything works out.
"I probably have to talk to (coach Young) and see what he thinks," Kozlowski said. "Right now I plan on being back, but we will see how it goes and everything."
Insiders confirmed that coaches have made it a priority to retain center Keba Keita, the Utah transfer who started in 35 games and averaged 7.4 points and 7.9 rebounds and shot 67.3% from the field. Keita led the team with 41 blocked shots.
"The foundation is taking shape," Young said. "Now it is on me and our coaches to continue to recruit to that identity, and try to bring in players that can continue to help us push this thing to a level that BYU has never seen before."
BYU center Keba Keita practices with his team for the upcoming NCAA Sweet 16 basketball game against Alabama at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., on Wednesday, March 26, 2025. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
