Cougars provided a glimpse of what they can become in win over Oklahoma State

Midway through the 2024-25 basketball season, and with one-quarter of their Big 12 games in the books, the BYU Cougars are still very much a work in progress.

First-year coach Kevin Young is still tinkering with his starting lineup and rotations, having replaced 15-game starter Kanon Catchings with graduate transfer Mawot Mag prior to Tuesday night’s 85-69 win over Oklahoma State in front of 16,457 spectators at the Marriott Center.

It was the fifth different starting lineup for the 11-5 Cougars, who improved to 2-3 in Big 12 play Tuesday and snapped a three-game losing streak.

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The most recent move was effective — with Mag providing his trademark defensive intensity, BYU rolled out to a 42-15 lead through the game’s first 17 minutes.

BYU basketball’s starting lineup

The plan, Young told the BYU Sports Radio Network before the game, was to get the struggling Catchings going with the second unit.

“Hopefully he can find some more offense in that group,” Young said. “Having that intensity that Mawot brings to the table out of the gate is something that was really impactful at TCU.”

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Catchings entered the game with 13:36 remaining in the first half and was assessed a flagrant one foul for bumping OSU’s Robert Jennings away from the ball. The freshman was taken out of the game and didn’t return until 16:21 remained in the second half.

With 13:30 remaining and OSU having trimmed BYU’s lead to 51-46, Catchings got a good look at a 3-pointer from in front of BYU’s bench, but couldn’t get his only field goal attempt to go. He played only seven minutes altogether, with three fouls.

“I wish that 3 in would have gone down for him,” Young said. “He is going through it a little bit right now. I think it is part of being a young guy and having to just learn. He hasn’t sulked or pouted. He is working hard. I expect big things from him.”

Young didn’t say whether Catchings will return to the starting lineup moving forward, beginning Saturday when BYU travels to Salt Lake City to take on the Utes at the Huntsman Center (7 p.m., ESPN+), but he did mention that the four-star recruit remains “extremely coachable” and has done everything asked of him.

“So that says a lot about a young guy, especially one that is as highly touted as he is,” Young said. “Is he happy with playing seven minutes tonight? No. But let me be clear: that was because he got in foul trouble. … He picked up the three fouls. Picked up the weird (flagrant foul) — I don’t even know what that was, to be honest with you. There were some head-scratchers, officiating-wise. Good crew, but there were some weird moments.”

BYU basketball’s identity

Weird, or inconsistent, is also a good way to describe this BYU basketball team, which at moments looks like a top-25 team — such as the first half against OSU — and then goes into long stretches of ineffectiveness, such as the first seven minutes of the second half against the Cowboys.

Young has maintained all year that the inconsistency is to be expected for a team that has started two true freshmen — Catchings and Russian teenager Egor Demin — in the majority of its games.

Demin missed three games in December after sustaining a knee contusion against Providence.

Regarding Mag, who has emerged as a valuable addition after transferring in from Rutgers, Young said the 6-foot-7 forward brings an intensity that is “really infectious for our group” and plays within himself as a veteran of five college basketball seasons.

“He just knows how to make plays on that defensive end, and then offensively he knows who he is. He is a guy that doesn’t try to play outside his strengths,” Young said. “To have that level of self-awareness, I think that speaks to his experience. I think he has been really good for us as of late.”

As for Demin, who had his best game in more than a month with 10 points, eight assists, five rebounds and two steals in 27 minutes and posted a team-best +24 when he was on the floor, Young said the teenager is improving with each game after the injury set his progress back a bit.

“That is three games in a row where I have been happy with his offensive performance. Tonight, he had some (good) shots, that one 3 which went down, that was a big one to get sorta that monkey off his back,” Young said. “You know, he has got a lot of pressure on him. He is a young guy with a boatload of upside, and a lot of noise around him. I think he is handling it well.”

While BYU’s veterans carried the scoring load, led by Trevin Knell’s 18 points and Dallin Hall’s 14, Demin is proving to be a quick study while he deals with a different brand of basketball — with quicker, more athletic opponents.

“It was something he needed to go through, that tough skid. I was happy with his response. I thought he played with a chip on his shoulder, which I like to see,” Young said. “… When you watch the tape, outside of his turnovers, I think he has played well. I think he is figuring things out, honestly. I think he is figuring out some of these Big 12 defenses and how aggressive they are and how he can find ways to punish it.”

That Catchings and Demin have shown glimpses of greatness, combined with stretches of inefficiency, has not caught Young by surprise.

“Hey, look, man, I am very aware of what we have done here this year — like bringing in two freshmen and playing them a boatload of minutes,” Young said. “… And so there are growing pains that come with that.

“As talented as those young guys are, they are still young guys. You know what I mean? And so I think it has been somewhat calculated as far as how we approach things. I think it is good for the young guys to have the experiences they have had, and then to see some of the veteran guys carrying a little bit of a bigger load right now.

“I think that helps us in the long run. I echo what I have said before: I am interested in the best version of Egor and Kanon in March,” Young concluded.

Will the Cougars be playing meaningful basketball in March, outside of the regular-season finale against Utah on March 8 at the Marriott Center? A lot probably depends on how Demin and Catchings come along. They are the wild cards of the Cougars’ second season in the Big 12, as it were.

Demin said he puts more pressure on himself than he gets from the outside.

“I just want to be as effective as I can be. I want to play my game, and I know how I can play. Sometimes it is not going my way, but this is what sometimes frustrates me,” he said. “But again, it is not that much pressure from outside. Coming to the court and seeing this ROC (student section) and all the fans around, there is no pressure. … I want to say thanks with my game for that (support).”