It’s been a long time since Kevin Young has gotten a break like this in December.
As an NBA assistant coach, the nonstop grind of the job never yielded for the holidays. Now in his first year as head coach at BYU, however, Young will enjoy 10 game-free days before his Cougars take the court again on Dec. 31.
“I’m definitely not complaining about four or five days off during the holiday,” Young said Friday following BYU’s 103-57 win over Florida A&M at the Marriott Center in Provo.
“I think the last time I had this many days off on Christmas was literally when I was in college. I’m getting old now, so that was a long time ago, so it’ll certainly be a nice little change of pace for us.”
Young will still have plenty of coaching duties during the next week and a half, but his team’s effort over the Rattlers Friday night should definitely help him rest a bit easier over the holidays leading up to the start of Big 12 play.
The Cougars looked every bit of the NCAA tournament-caliber team they hope to be, dominating on both ends of the floor even without key starters Egor Demin and Richie Saunders.
“I thought it was a really unselfish game from our group,” Young said. “I mean, 25 assists on 34 made field goals was good. I thought we did a good job keeping Florida A&M off the foul line for the majority of that game. I think execution-wise, there were some good takeaways.”
BYU’s obvious standout was Kanon Catchings, as the highly-touted freshman enjoyed a career-best 21 points on 8-of-12 shooting with four rebounds, three assists and two steals.
“One of the things I love about Kanon is that he is extremely coachable,” Young said. “If we lock in on something, he really tries to go do what I ask, so as a coach, that’s really all you can ask for.
“I told him tonight after the game that I thought he took the right shots. For all of our players, but for him in particular, it’s not about making and missing shots, it’s just about taking the right ones, and that’s going to serve him well in terms of efficiency.”
Catchings’ four 3-pointers led the way for BYU to hit 44.1% of its shots from behind the arc.
“I just have to keep shooting the ball, not think so much and not hesitating, that’s really the main thing,” Catchings said. “At practice, (the coaches) are always telling me to shoot the ball, shoot the ball, so I’m just glad it all came together. Hopefully I can stay consistent through conference play.”
Defensively, the Cougars allowed the Rattlers to shoot just 32.7% from the field, forced 18 turnovers and continued their season-long rebounding excellence by winning the boards battle by a 45-25 margin.
In addition to Catchings, four other BYU players — Dallin Hall, Trevin Knell, Mawot Mag and Dawson Baker — all reached double figures in scoring, with Foussyeni Traore adding nine points as well.
The Cougars tied a season high with 25 assists, appearing more smooth and efficient than ever before under Young.
“Something we talk a lot about as a team is paint to great and making the extra pass,” Hall said. “Those are high-percentage shots. It’s a style of play that gives everyone energy on both ends of the court and makes defenses that over-help pay.”
BYU now stands at 9-2 upon completing its non-conference slate and will begin the Big 12 portion of its schedule by hosting Arizona State on Dec. 31.
While the Cougars were rarely tested over the first 11 games the way they’ll regularly be in league play — BYU is currently just 1-2 against top-100 KenPom squads — Young is confident that his team’s journey thus far has prepared it for the turbulent road ahead.
“I am extremely critical of what we do and I always ask myself if we are on the right path, which is something I always asked myself in the NBA,” Young said.
“We do a lot of analytical check-ins to make sure we are on the right path, and I think playing some of the teams we had in that stretch, with Providence, Ole Miss and NC State, I learned a lot there and was able to take some of those lessons and put them into play against Fresno, Wyoming and tonight as well. I learned a ton and will continue to do so as the schedule gets harder.”
The Cougars will have the next few days off before resuming team activities on Dec. 26. While Young and his assistants have been studying film from other conference foes all throughout the season, the brief holiday recess will allow them to dive into the tape at a much deeper level.
“We’ll certainly learn quite a bit over the break,” Young said. “We’ll have time I’ll have time to really study it. That’s the fun part for me, the game planning and figuring out where you can gain some advantages. We’ll be locked and loaded.”
Added Hall regarding Big 12 competition: “Every night is a dogfight. There are no off nights, but every night you are living your dream. You get to play on the biggest stage against the best teams, so I think you put that all in one, and it’s just fun basketball, fun hoops and we are excited for the challenge.”