Greg Wrubell and Mark Durrant have been working side by side calling BYU basketball games for 28 years. Only four current Division I radio broadcast teams have been together longer.
They are like a two-man rock band that has been playing on tour for more than a quarter century. Wrubell is the lead vocalist and marches to the beat of his own drum. Durrant plays the supporting strings that help hold it all together.
“If you are listening you know if BYU is playing really good or really bad. I’m a steady ship and (Greg’s) going off everywhere,” Durrant told the “Y’s Guys” podcast this week. “I think that’s a compliment to Greg. The great announcers that I think of — it’s exciting. They get into the plays. I think part of the magic of our partnership is that we are so different. I’m pretty steady, but Greg reflects the moment, and I think it’s beautiful.”
Durrant’s expertise comes from the court itself, where he wore the BYU jersey between the years 1989 to 1995, excluding a two-year church mission following his freshman season.
“He’s been there in the uniform. He has lived the highs and lows,” said Wrubell. “(Mark’s) perspective is as valuable if not more than my descriptive element of the equation. I’m the guy that hasn’t done it. I just get to talk about it, but Mark always gets to bring that perspective of somebody who has been through it.”
Together, Wrubell and Durrant produced the words that described BYU’s 23-8 season, and they will be on the call for the Cougars’ quarterfinal matchup against No. 12 Iowa State in the Big 12 tournament Thursday (10:30 a.m., BYUradio).
Both announcers agree that BYU’s 91-57 win over Kansas was the season’s biggest surprise.
“I thought BYU could win, but how it happened blew my mind,” said Durrant. As for disappointment, Wrubell is still bugged by the 73-72 overtime loss at Utah while Durrant hasn’t gotten over the 83-64 beatdown at Providence.
For most satisfying wins, each points to road victories at Arizona and Iowa State. Now comes the good stuff — the postseason. BYU’s best moments in the NCAA Tournament and NIT are decades ago, with a pair of NIT titles in 1951 and 1966 and the program’s only Elite Eight run in 1981 that included Danny Ainge’s buzzer-beater to upset Notre Dame 51-50 in the Sweet 16.
In the Wrubell-Durrant broadcast era, there have been more tournament losses than wins, but in 2025, optimism is as high as BYU’s No. 17 national ranking. And when the Cougars take to the floor Thursday morning in Kansas City to face the Cyclones, the two-man band of Wrubell and Durrant will be there to share the stage and play their music.
Wisely, first-year head coach Kevin Young pledges to take things “one game at a time.” The veteran broadcast duo will do him one better — they’ll go one word at a time. It’s what they do, and they have been doing it together for a long, long time.
Greg Wrubell’s top 5 NCAA/NIT radio calls
5. BYU’s 79-62 victory at Southern Miss in the 2013 NIT quarterfinals. The victory advanced the Cougars to the semifinals in New York’s Madison Square Garden, where they hadn’t played since winning the 1966 NIT championship.
4. BYU’s 74-66 win over Wofford in first round of the 2011 NCAA Tournament in Denver. Jimmer Fredette scored 32 points and became the first and only BYU player to score 1,000 points in a single season. He surpassed 1,000 points against the Terriers.
3. BYU’s 78-72 victory over Iona, where the Cougars rallied from 25 points down in the First Four of the 2012 NCAA Tournament in Dayton, Ohio. The rally remains the largest comeback in the history of the Big Dance. Wrubell, challenged by an illness, called the historic game by himself (see “Y’s Guys” clip).
2. BYU’s 99-92 win against Florida in double-overtime in the first round of the 2010 NCAA Tournament. The victory advanced the Cougars into the second round for the first time in 17 years. Fredette tied Danny Ainge for the program’s NCAA Tournament single-game scoring record with 37 points. Michael Loyd Jr. delivered a performance for the ages by scoring 26.
1. BYU’s victory over Gonzaga in the second round of the 2011 NCAA Tournament to reach the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1981 — and the last time. Fredette scored 34 points. The win ignites a rivalry with Gonzaga as BYU joined the West Coast Conference the following season.
Dave McCann is a sportswriter and columnist for the Deseret News and is a play-by-play announcer and show host for BYUtv/ESPN+. He co-hosts “Y’s Guys” at ysguys.com and is the author of the children’s book “C is for Cougar,” available at deseretbook.com.