BYU's Sweet 16 appearance brings Mawot Mag full circle on college career

NEWARK, N.J. — The most popular player in BYU's locker room Wednesday afternoon wasn't leading scorer Richie Saunders, five-star freshman Egor Demin, or veteran guard Trevin Knell.

It wasn't even head coach Kevin Young, who brought the Cougars back to the NCAA Tournament in first season and propelled his club to places it hasn't been since the days of Jimmer Fredette in 2011.

No, the most popular man in BYU's locker room was Mawot Mag, the graduate transfer from Melbourne, Australia, and BYU's best defender who was making a return to a place he called home for four years ahead of the Cougars' Sweet 16 opener against second-seeded Alabama (5:09 p.m. MDT, CBS).

"I was here not too long, and for four years," said Mag, who averaged 9.1 points and 3.2 rebounds in 26.8 minutes per game as a senior in 17 games with 16 starts. "It's great to be here, and I'm just excited to play and hopefully get the W.

"I'm very familiar with this arena, too. I played here against Seton Hall three times, I think, and it was always a good note," he added. "It's nice to be back here; it's pretty cold, but it's Jersey. You can't really complain."

One of Mag's Rutgers teammates was Clifford Omoruyi, the 6-foot-11, 250-pound center from Nigeria who earned All-Big Ten defensive honors and became the first Rutgers player to lead the team in scoring, rebounding and blocked shots since 1991 before transferring to Alabama.

Mag and Omoruyi were friends in Piscataway, even roommates during road trips. That doesn't mean either one wants to lose to their former teammate.

But speak with the Sudan native who grew up in Australia before moving to Prolific Prep in California in high school for a few moments, and you'll quickly see how much Rutgers meant to him.

Even in a place where he lost most of a season with a devastating ACL injury.

"It was everything. I went there as a young man, and left as a grown adult," he said of Rutgers. "I felt like I grew a lot. I'll always cherish my moments at Rutgers; we won some battles, lost some battles. But I have nothing but respect and love for all my teammates and coaches over there."

Still, his BYU coaches and teammates are happy to have him in Provo, where Mag has started 21 of 33 games, averaging 5.8 points and 2.1 rebounds with a 39.1% 3-point field-goal percentage while helping the Cougars to a 16-4 record since he moved into the starting lineup.

"He's been a tone setter, a guy who gives us some physicality and tenacity out there," Young said. "It's been great, too; when he comes out, we can bring Trey (Stewart) in, too, to do some kinds of similar things. We feel like that gives us a 1-2 punch."

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