BYU basketball: Did Kevin Young reveal his starting 5 in BYU’s Blue-White Game Wednesday night?

As new BYU basketball coach Kevin Young has added one of the most heralded and talented classes of recruits in school history to an already decent roster of returners, two questions have been the most prevalent in the interviews the former lead assistant coach for the Phoenix Suns has given.

One, which of all these fantastic players will be in his starting five when the season begins in early November?

Two, how is he going to distribute minutes to such a deep and talented roster?

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Young has sidestepped both questions for months now, but at the annual Blue-White Game on Wednesday night, the coach just might have revealed his hand.

How?

Young spent the 20-minute first half observing the action from the second row, coaching neither team.

In the second half, which was shortened to 12 minutes and saw the rosters shuffled a bit, he coached the White team from BYU’s traditional side of the court.

The starting lineup for that squad: returning starters Dallin Hall and Richie Saunders, along with freshmen Kanon Catchings and Egor Demin and Utah transfer Keba Keita.

So there you have it — BYU’s starting five for the 2024-25 season. Right?

As a certain college football analyst would say: “Not so fast, my friends.”

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Young gave a blunt “no” when he was asked by the Deseret News after the 32-minute affair if anything could be read into that particular lineup that he coached in the second half, a lineup that was joined by freshman Brody Kozlowski and walk-on Max Triplett and produced a 32-20 win over the Blue squad.

“I wish I had an amazing answer for that. There are only so much you can do. … We are still very much into analyzing our group, figuring out who plays well with who,” he said when asked why he changed the rosters up at halftime. “Some stuff we stayed away from tonight because I have already seen enough in practice.

“I felt super confident about some combinations. Other ones, I wasn’t as sure about. So that ultimately was it. It is something we will continue to evaluate. We really have something to chew on from this game film.”

As for his major takeaway from the night, Young said more than anything, it was the “vibes” from the crowd, which nearly filled the lower bowl of the Marriott Center.

“I thought it was just fun, honestly. I told the coaches on the bench in the second part of it that man, this is fun, I could do this all night,” Young said.

He said it was a last-minute decision to watch the first 20 minutes and coach the second 12 minutes, something he has done before as a head coach during instrasquad games.

“You just get a different perspective,” he said. “It allows you to see things differently. … I saw things I probably wouldn’t have seen if I had been the head coach of one of the teams the whole time.”

What Young, and the crowd in the non-televised event, saw in the entertaining, 100-minute display was what everyone has been expecting since the 42-year-old started loading his roster with four- and five-star recruits over the summer: maybe the most talented BYU squad in recent memory.

There were lob dunks, amazing drives, 3-pointers galore, and even some defense. It quickly became apparent that any of 10-12 guys could start and make a big impact in the 2024-25 season.

This team is loaded. If it can learn to play together, play some defense, and develop some chemistry, it will be dangerous.

“You go down the list. A bunch of guys played well. Kanon’s shot-making was on display. Egor’s passing was on display. Dallin had moments, Richie had moments, you could go down the list,” Young said, coincidentally naming four of the guys who seemingly have the inside track to starting spots. “We will dive into it. That is just a bird’s-eye view type of thing.”

The star of the night was Keita, the transfer from Utah. He had 13 points and six rebounds in the first half and six points and two rebounds in the second half. He had at least four rim-rattling dunks.

The battle to be the starting post player between Keita and returner Fouss Traore is going to be intense. Traore also played well, with 10 points and 11 rebounds in the first half and eight points in the second half. Traore was 2 of 2 from 3-point range in the second half.

Hall joked that the big man won’t let his teammates soon forget that second-half shooting display from deep.

Speaking of triples, the four-star recruit Catchings showed he can shoot with the best of them, making 3 of 7 3-point attempts — some that were off the dribble.

“He’s just got a gift. He’s just a natural scorer. He can put the ball in the basket, and at 6-9 he can get shots off. He was a guy that we really wanted because he is different than anyone we have. He is a guy that can bail you out in a lot of drive possessions with his shot-making,” Young said. “I am on him constantly about his defense. Not that it is poor. But I just think if he can really guard, it is going to put him and our team in a whole different hemisphere. Because offensively he is going to be as talented as anybody we play against.”

Demin could be a triple-double waiting to happen; playing some point guard, and some wing spots, he had nine points and five assists in the first half and three points and four assists in the second half.

Young said the young Russian makes similar passes that LeBron James makes, then stressed that he isn’t saying the 6-9 phenom is the player that James is.

“But yeah, his passing is special,” Young allowed.

He also praised newcomer Mihailo Boskovic, the 6-10 late addition from Serbia. Boskovic played fearlessly in the first half, at times attempting to dunk on Keita, at other times firing off 3-pointers like he had no conscience. Mark Pope would love this guy.

“I thought Mihailo looked really good,” Young said. “Essentially he showed exactly why we wanted him here. He is versatile, he can play multiple positions, he is smart, he can make shots. So that stood out to me.”

Trey Stewart, a backup point guard who played sparingly last year, also showed some vast improvement, making a case that he belongs and deserves minutes this season, however difficult it will be for Young to find them for the loyal senior.

“You hear about the energy of this building. It wasn’t even all the way filled, and it was fun. Great atmosphere. I like our guys,” Young said. “It has been a fun training camp because our guys compete really hard against each other. But I think our team chemistry is really starting to come together. That’s probably my biggest takeaway tonight.”

Ours is that he’s already figured out his starting five; just don’t tell him that.