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The hill is steep and the challenge huge for BYU basketball coach Kevin Young. He must face the cream of the crop in the Big 12 in the coming days without senior leader and star hustler Richie Saunders after a knee injury ended his season and BYU career in the Cougars’ overtime win against Colorado at the Marriott Center.
The injury to Saunders capped a very strange and dark week for BYU and its fan base. It followed news that the football team’s best receiver Parker Kingston, was arrested with a felony rape charge and has been taken off the roster and is no longer a student at BYU. Also came news of the passing of Patti Edwards, the 93-year-old widow of legendary coach LaVell Edwards, considered by many to be the matriarch of Cougar football.
The Cougars play No. 4 Arizona in Tucson on Wednesday, and Young will need to redesign his offense and defense with the absence of Saunders. It won’t be easy, but it will be necessary. Time is of the essence as the Cougars head down the stretch toward the Big 12 tournament in Kansas City and NCAA Tournament Selection Sunday.
Saunders will be remembered as a poster boy for what BYU athletics is all about. He was the perfect Cougar basketball player. He had elite skills, was the team’s most consistent player and his hustle on the court knew no equal. He and his wife were also active in presenting firesides across the Wasatch Front, inspiring youth and setting a good example. He was the heart and soul of this Cougar team. His injury leaves Young with the task of finding a new leader as time ticks down on this season.
Meanwhile, BYU may be one of the only teams in the country that has experienced six of 17 rostered players out for the season in Saunders, Dawson Baker, Nate Pickens, KJ Perry, Brody Kozlowski and Xavion Staton.
Cougar Insiders predictions
Question of the Week: Heading down the homestretch with an NCAA Tournament bid and Big 12 seeding on the line, predict what BYU needs from its roster now that star Richie Saunders is lost for the season due to a knee injury.
Jackson Payne: The loss of Richie Saunders is undoubtedly brutal for the Cougars, who will miss his leadership, veteran presence and all the non-box score hustle plays he provides.
But to borrow from “Moneyball,” while BYU can’t replace Saunders, maybe it can replace his production in the aggregate.
Saunders was averaging 18.8 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.8 steals per game at the time of his ACL tear. AJ Dybantsa and Rob Wright III will clearly shoulder a heavier workload to make up some of that difference, while reserves Mihailo Boskovic, Tyler Mrus and Aleksej Kostic should provide more scoring with their imminent increased minutes. Recent riser Khadim Mboup will need to continue his solid defense and rebounding, and big men Keba Keita and Abdullah Ahmed, while each slumping as of late, need to improve on the glass and in their offensive output in the post.
BYU is not a better team without Saunders — not by a long shot. But if the Cougars can band together to replace his production each night, perhaps they can still live up to some of their lofty preseason expectations come tournament time.
Dick Harmon: Losing Saunders is not a fixable issue for Kevin Young. Take away his scoring and you still lose his hustle, rebounding and energy.
There is a theory out there about this team, however, that the Big Three focus this year, with a lot of isolation plays, has kind of let the air out of the rest of the players as far as their roles as scorers and contributors and that has led to a lack of focus on both ends of the court.
If you stretch that theory a bit, this might trigger a run by Kennard Davis Jr., Tyler Mrus, Aleksej Kostic and Mihailo Boskovic. They can all definitely play as hard as Khadim Mboup has when he comes onto the floor. If Young can just use Saunders’ injury to inspire his team to come together and find more energy, focus and involvement, Dybantsa and Wright are elite scorers who could find enough points and shots to win some games heading into the seeding for the Big 12 tournament.
Make no mistake, Saunders will be missed. He may be one of the most engaging athletes BYU has had in some time. His many creative ways of impacting a game were fun to watch.
Cougar tales
- BYU’s Riley Chamberlain shattered the NCAA record by nearly three seconds this past week.
- BYU drops in AP rankings despite going 2-0 last week with a win on the road.
- In the game where the Cougars lost Richie Saunders for the season, the Cougars held on for an overtime win over Colorado in the Marriott Center. Here is Jackson Payne’s analysis of the game.
From the archives
From X-verse
Extra points
- Remembering Patti Edwards, RIP (Deseret News)
- Parker Kingston is no longer part of team (KSLsports)
- With Saunders out, what’s BYU to do? (Deseret News)
Fanalysts
Comments by Deseret News readers:
With Saunders in the lineup, I believe the Cougs would finish 4-2. Without Saunders in the lineup, I think 2-4 is a likely possibility and 3-3 is my wishful thinking. Go Cougs!
— CougfaninTX
Richie is an inspiration to all of us and is virtually impossible to replace. I do think his tenacity, hustle and relentless energy will be missed the most. I’m hoping that some of the players will learn from him that effort can be controlled. What this team needs now is a much more aggressive, fundamental and effort-based defense.
— Wallyball
Up next
- Feb. 18 | 7 p.m. | men’s basketball | @ Arizona
- Feb. 19 | 4 p.m. | softball | CSUN, Cathedral City, California
- Feb. 19 | 6:30 p.m. | softball | Hawaii, Cathedral City, California
- Feb. 20 | 7 p.m. | baseball | Nebraska-Omaha, San Diego
- Feb. 20 | 11 a.m. | women’s tennis | Weber State
- Feb. 20 | 11:45 a.m. | track and field | DMR
- Feb. 20 | 4 p.m. | softball | Long Beach State, Cathedral City
- Feb. 20 | 5 p.m. | women’s tennis | Colorado State
- Feb. 20 | 7 p.m. | men’s volleyball | Fort Valley
- Feb. 20 | 7 p.m. | baseball | @ San Diego State
- Feb. 20 | 7 p.m. | gymnastics | Denver
- Feb. 20 | 9 p.m. | softball | Auburn, Cathedral City, California
- Feb. 21 | noon | men’s tennis | Idaho State
- Feb. 21 2 p.m. | women’s basketball | @ Utah
- Feb. 21| 4 p.m. | women’s softball | Washington, Cathedral City
- Feb. 21| 7 p.m. | men’s volleyball | Fort Valley
- Feb. 21 | 7 p.m. | baseball | UCSD, San Diego
- Feb. 21 | 8:30 p.m. | men’s basketball | Iowa State