- Kevin Young's epiphany led to a less-is-more approach for BYU basketball.
- Young realized over-coaching hindered players; simplified strategy boosted team performance.
- BYU's newfound confidence showed in wins, despite earlier setbacks and Saunders' injury.
PORTLAND, Ore. — Less than a minute into the latest in a series of humbling BYU losses, Kevin Young experienced an epiphany that practically slapped him across the face.
In his second year as a college head coach, Young knew the Cougars needed to change before the once-promising season slipped away in disaster. And it all started with him.
"Sometimes coaches get in their own way, and I'm not immune to that," Young said, standing in a hallway inside the Moda Center on Wednesday, one day before his team takes on Texas in the NCAA Tournament.
Finally securing a win over a ranked team on Feb. 21 against Iowa State, the Cougars played as if they were over the shock of losing Richie Saunders to a season-ending injury the week before. Beating the sixth-ranked Cyclones was the catalyst that would provide the momentum BYU needed going into the Big 12 and NCAA tournaments.
So much for that theory.
Three days later, UCF ran the Cougars off the Marriott Center floor in the most embarrassing loss of the season. The two-game road trip that followed was no different, as the West Virginia and then Cincinnati losses seemingly reduced BYU to playing out the string in what would rank among the program's most disappointing seasons.
It took less than a minute into the Cincinnati game for Young to know his approach was not working. Leading up to the game, BYU practiced defending a specific play the coaches scouted out.
Come the game, the Bearcats scored off the play on their first possession. The Cougars were defenseless — if not entirely soulless, too.
"Everything we did in practice looked great and then they couldn't do it in the game," Young said. "That's when I was like, we've got to do something different. This isn't resonating with the group."
The ensuing cross-country flight gave Young ample time for introspection. By the time the plane touched down in the early morning hours of March 4, he conjured up a plan to breathe new life into his downtrodden team.
From then on, the players were able to fully grasp the new message. Backing off over-coaching, Young preached the less-is-more concept, meaning all he wanted was for his team to play harder, longer and faster.
"By simplifying things, it allowed us to hold the guys accountable," he said.
The results were immediately apparent in BYU's win over No. 11 Texas Tech to end the regular season on March 7. The Cougars carried it over in wins over Kansas State and West Virginia in the conference tournament.
Instead of looking as if they had no interest in playing defense, BYU showed the type of effort required to compete against better Big 12 teams and in the NCAA Tournament. Even the effort in losing to No. 5 Houston in the quarterfinals was enough to increase the collective confidence going into the Texas game on Thursday.
"I've been at this for 20-plus years and, like, you just never stop learning," Young said, "and this has been a great example of that."
As the Cougars take on the Longhorns, who beat North Carolina State on a last-second shot in Tuesday's play-in game in Dayton, Ohio, the slew of losses earlier in the season are a distant memory. The four-game losing streak with a healthy Saunders that began in late January and the empty road trip two weeks ago don't matter anymore.
The new breed of Cougars is a different bunch now, players and coaches believe. They reject the notion that Texas is primed for an upset, which seems to be a theme espoused by some college basketball experts.
"You want to get to this point with confidence," Young said. "You want to be playing your best basketball of the year."
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