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Kevin Young is expected to pass another milestone within the span of one year. He signed and played five-star freshman Egor Demin last season and he will have two five-star recruits, AJ Dybantsa and Baylor transfer guard Robert Wright III, on the court this coming year.
To put it in perspective, BYU has never had even one five-star recruit on its roster. The closest thing to that was Danny Ainge back in the late 1970s, way before the star ranking system was created by online recruiting analysts in 2002.
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Back in his day, Ainge, out of North Eugene High in Oregon, was the first high school athlete to ever earn All-America honors in basketball, football and baseball. In his graduating class of 1977 recruits, Ainge was among the top 12 in a group that included Magic Johnson. He would have been a five-star recruit if those rankings had existed and he indeed did earn the Naismith Trophy as college basketball’s national player of the year in 1981.
When BYU signed Wright this past week, it certainly became a watershed moment for the BYU program: two five-star recruits on one team.
Question of the week
Baylor guard Robert Wright III officially signed with BYU. What does this mean for Kevin Young and what he is trying to do?
Jay Drew: One of the worst-kept secrets in Provo was finally announced Monday morning, as former five-star point guard Robert Wright III was announced as BYU’s latest addition from the transfer portal. It’s just another step forward for second-year BYU basketball coach Kevin Young as he attempts to bring a Final Four-caliber team to the school that has never made it to a Final Four, in 32 NCAA Tournament appearances.
Young simply continues to deliver on his promises. (Now if he could learn how to defend the 3-pointer!)
With the expectation in most circles that Richie Saunders and Dawson Baker will both return in 2025-26, BYU should have one of the most potent perimeter attacks in the country with Wright and superstar prep phenom AJ Dybantsa enrolling at the end of the month. Is this all for BYU? Nope, according to several sources. Look for Young to continue his offseason momentum with at least one more high-profile acquisition.
I’m of the opinion that the next player added should be a defense-first kind of guy, much like Mawot Mag proved to be after coming in from Rutgers. Mag and Trey Stewart will be difficult to replace, from that aspect. Remember, even with those guys, BYU’s defense was just average last year, ranking in the 80s. That’s not good enough to win the Big 12, especially with Houston, Kansas, Arizona and Texas Tech all reloading in a big way.
Dick Harmon: Robert Wright is a one-man wrecking crew off the dribble. He can finish at the rim and has the speed to get by practically anyone who tries to defend him. When defenses worry about a player like AJ Dybantsa, it makes Wright’s pathway to the paint even easier. This is gold for Kevin Young and his staff.
What got Wright to Provo? Wright and Dybantsa are close friends and played together at the Slam Summer Classic in 2023. Here is a photo of them on that team together as 16-year-olds. Dybantsa likely is a prime reason Wright’s interest in Provo piqued after the season because Young and Dybantsa wanted “more dynamic” guard play.
It is evident Dybantsa’s influence nationally is a huge boon to Young. Back in 2023, current BYU director of recruiting Justin Young, older brother of head coach Kevin Young, was co-owner and editor-in-chief of HoopSeen.com and longtime board and voting member of several prep-America teams and camps. Back in 2023, before he was hired at BYU, he tweeted out the following about Wright: “I’ll say it again and again — I’ll take @MVABasketball Robert Wright as my PG all day. Love his control, speed, vision, ball protection. In two days, he’s racked up 44 minutes played, 14 assists, 2 turnovers. Dude just does it.”
Like Jay, I do think the Cougars need to find some defensive stoppers to go with what appears to be a potentially extremely potent if not elite offense — especially if Richie Saunders returns with Dawson Baker. Athletically, Washington transfer Dominique Diomande and Khadim Mboup are possibilities to provide defensive talent. Both are on campus.
I don’t think BYU has ever put a point guard on the court with the skills of Wright as a ballhandler and finisher. It will be fun to watch how he fits, what he does and what a five-star recruit like him does along with another five-star player like Dybantsa.
Cougar tales
This past week, Dybantsa was key in a USA all-star win over an international all-star roster. Here are some highlights of his performance. On the BYU cruise to the Mexican Riviera, there are a couple of newsworthy interviews by BYUtv, including this one with athletic director Tom Holmoe and former Cougar DB turned preacher Derwin Gray. If you are a big Jim McMahon fan, the record-breaking Hall of Famer was also on the cruise and this interview is filled with a lot of lore and stories.
Brynlee Andersen is the latest BYU gymnast to qualify for nationals, according to this report by Trent Wood. Here is how the Cougar volleyball team will deal with House settlement issues in the coming season.
In women’s basketball, new coach Lee Cummard flipped Nebraska-bound star Olivia Hamblin from Utah and details are in this report by Jackson Payne.
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Comments from Deseret News readers:
The Y keeps getting better and better and the Y haters are jealous. No reason to be jealous just build your NIL, have an honor code like the Y, pass out free ice cream to visiting team fans, put on your school TV program a short episode highlighting a Y alum when the Y visits, and create a family friendly atmosphere.
— blue&white
I love Jay Hill and everything about his defensive schemes. He walks the walk that so many other defensive coordinators talk. He exploits the strength of each one of his players and his schemes are difficult for offenses to read. I would love to see him stay at BYU for 10 years. I hope that he can be happy doing that.
— TJ
Up next
- April 16| TBA | Women’s tennis | Big 12 Championships | @ Waco, Texas
- April 15-17| TBA | Track and field | Bryan Clay Invitational | @ Azusa, California
- April 17 | 4:30 p.m. | Baseball | Arizona | @ Provo
- April 17 | 6:30 p.m | Softball | Utah | @ Provo
- April 18 | 4:30 p.m. | Baseball | Arizona | @ Provo
- April 18 | 6:30 p.m. | Softball | Utah | @ Provo
- April 19 | 11:30 a.m. | Baseball | Arizona | @ Provo
- April 19 | 1:30 p.m. | Softball | Utah | @ Provo
- April 22 | TBA | Men’s golf | Big 12 Championship | @ Tulsa, Oklahoma
