How good was Rob Wright III Monday night against Ohio State?
Not even the official scorekeepers could keep track of all his scoring.
After Wright was credited with 33 points in BYU's regular-season opener against the Buckeyes, an official program review resulted in two more points for Wright's tally, according to Jarom Jordan of BYUtv.
Wright's new stat line: 35 points on 10-of-16 shooting (63%), with five assists and four made 3-pointers out of five attempts (80%).
He also spent a good amount of time at the free-throw line, where he made 11 of 12 foul shots.
Most impressively, for how often he had the ball in his hands, Wright committed just a single turnover.
"I was just happy to be competing again, just getting the win and doing what the team needed today," a far-too-humble Wright told reporters postgame.
According to Stats Perform, Wright is one of just five Division-I players in the past three decades to post 35 points, five assists and one turnover in a season opener — and the only player to accomplish the feat against a high-major opponent.
"Everything, especially his poise," BYU coach Kevin Young said regarding what impressed him most from Wright's night. "For me, 11 of 12 from the free-throw line, five assists and one turnover, he controlled the game."
BYU's first pair of buckets came off Wright assists, along with the game-tying Collin Chandler 3-pointer early in the second half that helped swing momentum to the Cougars.
When BYU trailed by 11 points midway through the first half, Wright responded by scoring 10 points in the ensuing eight minutes to cut the Cougars' deficit to three points at halftime.
In the second half, Wright scored 19 points, which included all four of his 3-point makes.
"(Wright) is definitely the best player I've played with in college so far," said BYU forward Tyler Betsey, whose first career points as a Cougar on Monday came off a Wright assist.
For as deep and balanced as BYU appears to be offensively, Wright is clearly the No. 1 option; the engine that will power the entire operation.
And as BYU's lone returning starter, he's now the on-court leader tasked with helping all the new roster pieces to mesh together for smooth, strong results.
So far, so good, as the new-look Cougars exploded for 94 points in their first regular-season outing together. As for Wright, he credits his time spent with Richie Saunders a year ago as pivotal in assuming his greater newfound leadership responsibilities.
"Last year with Richie (Saunders), he really took me under his wing and showed me how to lead," Wright said. "Coach and I have been working all offseason to show the guys what they don't know."
Wright wasn't the only BYU guard to capture everyone's attention on Monday.
Cougars freshman Brooks Bahr flashed in his collegiate debut, proving to be BYU's most valuable bench piece with a plus/minus of +11 in 14 minutes of action. He scored two points with a rebound and two assists, but his hustle, energy and grit, especially on the defensive end, were hard to ignore.
"He's a dog, he's an absolute dog and just wakes up doing stuff like that," Young said of Bahr's debut. "He's a guy that Cougar Nation is going to fall in love with if they haven't already."
When Bahr was playing, BYU was a staggering +54.5 in net efficiency (compared to minus-2 without him), scoring 1.68 points per possession and shooting 62% from the field, as pointed out online by X user Yze Guy .
Here's a more simple explanation, if analytics aren't your thing: Bahr is a winning player, and good things happen for BYU when he's on the floor.
The recently returned missionary wasn't initially expected to contribute much for BYU this season, but now it feels as if Young will have a hard time keeping him out of the rotation.
"He's been pushing me each and every day, from the first day in the summer," Wright said of Bahr. "He just brings a toughness each and every day, he's one of the first guys in the gym just putting in work all the time."
BYU Cougars forward Brooks Bahr (13) shoots the ball during a game against Ohio State at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Monday, Nov. 2, 2026. | Lukas Katilius, Deseret News
