BYU’s seniors reflect following Sweet 16 loss to Alabama

NEWARK, N.J. — As BYU’s season ends with a 113-88 loss to Alabama in the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA tournament, so too do the careers of four Cougar seniors.

Without the contributions of Trevin Knell, Trey Stewart, Fousseyni Traore and Mawot Mag, BYU certainly wouldn’t have reached the Sweet 16 this season. All four leave behind unique, accomplished legacies in Provo.

Knell, Stewart and Traore were all Cougar lifers, sticking with the program through a conference transition, a coaching change and everything in between.

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Clearly such persistence paid off — they became part of one of the most memorable campaigns in program history.

“Me and Trev were talking about how sticking it out really grows your character and it makes the wins even sweeter,” Stewart told reporters following Thursday’s loss. “We’ve been through a lot, looking through the conference change, everything. A lot of adversity in our careers. But we’ve stayed the course, we’ve stayed the course. Then now how the season went, we just had an immense amount of joy and so much gratitude for how it ended. We just have a lot of gratitude.”

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Knell first arrived at BYU in 2019, playing in 150 games and emerging as one of the all-time greatest Cougar shooters. He made 239 3-pointers at a 40% clip, scoring 1,099 points overall.

“It’s been awesome to represent BYU on my chest the last six years,” Knell said. “BYU is my family. As soon as I knew Coach (Kevin Young) was getting the job, I wanted to post (on social media) just to let everybody know that I was all in. Like Trey said, it makes the wins a lot sweeter when you’re with a program and you stick it out.

“... This family that we have now at BYU is going to last a lifetime. Super grateful to Cougar Nation, to my family, everything. Just a ton of gratitude for the opportunity to be able to play for this program.”

Following four years at Rutgers, Mag landed at BYU for his final collegiate season and emerged as one of the most valuable Cougars down the stretch as an elite defender and reliable 3-point threat.

Without his clutch defense on Wisconsin’s John Tonje in the final seconds of last weekend’s Round of 32 contest, BYU may not have advanced past the Badgers and into the Sweet 16.

It was a stop that will never be forgotten by the Cougar faithful.

“It means everything being a Cougar, just the pride and also just the environment,” Mag said. “The fans are always engaged. It means a lot to me. I’m glad I came here and I finished my college career at BYU.”

Stewart played sparingly in his first three years as a Cougar, only to break out in Big 12 play this season and become another trusted rotation weapon in Kevin Young’s arsenal.

Already a fan favorite from the day he got to campus, Stewart’s hustle, defensive efforts and a number of clutch 3-pointers only further cemented such status as a senior.

“I’m grateful for every single one of my brothers,” Stewart said. “I lived with Fouss my whole career and Trev has been my brother. Even the new people that came in like (Mag). (Kevin Young), I trusted him immediately. Even when I wasn’t playing, I had tremendous amount of respect because of the way he approached everything. He treated me like a man and I respect that, and all my teammates still treated me the same.

“So yeah, regardless of the ups and downs, obviously I’m happy that I got a chance to end my college career playing a little bit more. But regardless of it all, I have the same relationship with all of them regardless of results because they’re all amazing men, they all have amazing character.”

And then there’s Traore.

The big man from Mali was thrust into the starting lineup unexpectedly as a freshman and never looked back, averaging more than 10 points and nearly seven rebounds per game in his career as a beast in the low post.

The Marriott Center will never be the same without rolling chants of “Fooouuussssss” filling the building after his boogying for a bucket.

“I’ll always be grateful for BYU,” Traore said. “It changed my life forever. (Playing there) was one of the best things ever to happen to me.”