More than practice: 2 weeks from tonight, 'KYU' gets real in Provo

PROVO — Kevin Young expected a learning curve when he changed lanes following an 18-year NBA career that included the past three as associate head coach of the Phoenix Suns for the college game at BYU.

He expected to figure out details of the collegiate experience, like when to use his timeouts during two 20-minute halves instead of four, 12-minute quarters, or how to handle the recruiting trail.

Young credits his assistant coaches, from Chris Burgess to Brandon Dunson to Tim Fanning and more — as well as a support staff that includes recently hired director of recruiting Justin Young, his older brother — for helping him adapt to many of those nuances.

But one thing really caught him by surprise.

"I think the biggest thing is the amount of practice time," Young said Wednesday at Big 12 basketball media day in Kansas City. "We've been going since way back in the summer. Everyone talks about NBA training camp, it's like four practices and then you're off to your preseason schedule, which is basically like the regular season."

Two weeks from media day, the Cougars will be playing against someone other than themselves, after they host Division II Colorado Christian in an exhibition game Oct. 30. Then it's off to the regular season, beginning Tuesday, Nov. 5 against Central Arkansas (7 p.m. MDT, ESPN+).

Don't blink; it's basketball season — and what a time for the season.

Picked No. 9 in the Big 12 men's basketball coaches poll, BYU enters a season with as much excitement as any other in recent history — and certainly well more than any other by a first-time collegiate head coach taking over in Provo.

Part of that, of course, has nothing to do with basketball; the school's football team is ranked No. 11 in the country, with a shot at the Big 12 championship game and potential College Football Playoff aspirations.

But with an incoming class that includes five-star freshman Egor Demin and four-star recruits Kanon Catchings, Brody Kozlowski and Elijah Crawford added to a returning core of Dallin Hall, Trevin Knell, Dawson Baker, Richie Saunders and Fousseyni Traore (among others), there has rarely been a time when the hype has been palpable leading up to a season.

"The energy is through the roof," said Knell, one of eight returning players who stuck with BYU after former coach Mark Pope went back to his alma mater at Kentucky. "The football team is doing really well right now, and it's fun for us to go to those games and see the rookies look up in the student section and see the juice."

But plenty of that hype is owed to Young, who hasn't coached a college game since he was an assistant at Utah Valley in 2006 but is also undefeated in the NCAA in that span after stints with the Philadelphia 76ers, Delaware 87ers, Iowa Energy and Utah Flash.

"Coach Young is an amazing coach," Knell said on the ESPNU broadcast set at media day. "I feel like he just brings a competitive nature to this team. He's really into the details; I feel like that's going to matter when it comes down to those close games in the Big 12."

In a transformational era of college sports with name, image and likeness rights, the transfer portal, and the upcoming House v. NCAA settlement that could pave the way for revenue sharing between athletes and universities, there's never been a more transactional time to be a part of college basketball.

Young admitted as much, noting that NIL discussions are similar to the talks his teams would have in the NBA — just by a different name.

Even for a one-time NBA lifer, the similarities between the college basketball and the pro ranks are narrowing. Add in the chance to coach in the Big 12 — what most consider to be the best basketball conference in America, or at least, certainly the deepest — and the attraction was real for Young, who was born in Salt Lake City but grew up in Marietta, Georgia, before starring at Division II Clayton State.

But Young also met his wife, Melissa, when he was an assistant coach in Orem — he was living in what is now BYU housing while with the Utah Flash, and she was a student at BYU — before raising the couple's three children.

If there was a college that could pull this NBA lifer from the Big Leagues, it was that one that produced Jimmer Fredette, Danny Ainge and Krešimir Ćosić. Add in the chance to compete in the "extremely competitive" Big 12, and it eventually became a no-brainer.

"It feels like the entire league is in the top 25 ... but you can sell the Big 12 when you are out recruiting," Young said. "Even for me: I've had my eye on BYU in the back of my mind (as potentially coaching there) … but once they made the move to the Big 12, it became a lot more attractive because of how good the league is and you're playing against the best players and best coaches every night.

"I think what I'm expecting is an absolute gauntlet of a schedule, and I'm looking forward to competing against the best coaches and players."

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