Tyler Mrus likes BYU’s defensive targets.
The more the merrier. Double team them all.
The senior transfer from the University of Idaho loves the idea that opponents will heavily focus on incoming freshman and projected No. 1 NBA pick AJ Dybantsa, all-Big 12 forward Richie Saunders, and will need to harness pesky Baylor transfer point guard Robert Wright III.
That‘s a trio projected to produce some firepower for second-year coach Kevin Young next season.
Young’s creative offense and spacing forces defenses to cover an elite dribbler like Wright and the athleticism of an alley-oop dunker like Keba Keita, which has Mrus excited.
Mrus likes it because he’s what you’d call a sniper.
Forget about him, and he’s going to do some damage from long distance. He can also put the ball on the floor and finish.
But most of all, he relishes the opportunity to be an outside assassin in BYU’s offense. And, oh yeah, he believes he can defend. At 6-foot-7, he says his defense will surprise people. Just the way he likes it.
Surprises.
Mrus will likely have the same role as BYU’s departing “Shot Doctor,” graduate senior Trevin Knell. As you remember, Knell would often get lost by a defense and end up with open shots.
He also came off screens in designed plays and launched from distance. He made 75 treys last year on 42.9% shooting from beyond the arc. Knell’s season high was 22 points against Fresno State. He averaged 9.2 points a game and was a career 39.4% shooter from distance.
Mrus, it seems, is made for that role.
“I’m excited to play at BYU. I’ve been aware of their basketball program and regularly watched them play in the WCC,” Mrus said. “To get a chance to play with Dybantsa, Wright, Saunders and others is something I look forward to.”
Mrus was busy moving from his digs in Moscow, Idaho, this past week to his home in Seattle. “Once I get that done, I’m doing it all over again, moving to Provo.”
Mrus hopes to be working out with his future teammates in two weeks and will be here when BYU’s skills camp opens with all the coaches and staff on June 23.
Ironically, Mrus’ best shooting game of last season came against BYU in the Marriott Center when he scored 17 points and made four 3-pointers. He made 73 for the season on 38% accuracy.
His numbers are similar to Knell’s, albeit against lesser competition in the Big Sky Conference. Still, it is Division I play.
Mrus is rated a three-star transfer. He joins UC Riverside 6-3 point guard Nate Pickens, (unrated), Washington 6-8 transfer forward Dominique Diomande (three-star rated at 89), Kennard Davis a 6-6 four-star portal combo guard with a 95 rating out of Southern Illinois, and five-star (98 rating) 6-1 Baylor transfer Robert Wright III as BYU’s portal work this spring.
Asked if he warmed up for a few minutes and was given 20 shots from beyond the arc, how many would he make? Mrus replied: “I’d make 18 of them. That‘s a baseline. I think I could go 20 of 22 regularly,” he said. “The most I’ve made in a row is 55.”
Mrus is a confident athlete. He believes in his abilities.
In discussing his shooting prowess, that personality trait stands out. He has great faith in his ability to score from outside. It is an expectation, a conviction, a certitude you see in a true shooter.
What‘s the genesis of his shot?
His father.
It was during the COVID pandemic.
“We didn’t have access to a gym, but there was a basketball court in our neighborhood. My dad and I went there and I’d shoot a thousand shots a day, every day. It would be 500 makes or a thousand shots every day. There were days I didn’t want to do it, but I had my dad and my family tell me if I wanted this, I had to go earn it because nobody was going to give it to me.”
Mrus said he is 6-foot-6 barefoot but claims to be 6-7 in shoes, ready to play.
BYU got on him this spring, and the chief recruiter was Brandon Dunson. Mrus felt he would be offered on his official visit a few weeks ago after discussing his situation with Dunson and then Young.
“I can’t wait to get there and start working out with those guys, to get to know them and build some relationships.”
Mrus will have one season to display what he can do.
What he’s asked to do is play defense, play hard, and, well, bomb away.
