Then I see what Linardi has in his 1st 2026 projection:
[NCAA Bracketology: 2026 March Madness men’s field predictions]
(NCAA Bracketology: 2026 March Madness men's field predictions)
He has BYU as a #2 seed.
A lot of expectations for BYU with a roster made of 3 new starters. AJ, Wright and Davis along with all star Richie Saunders and center Keiba means BYU has tons of Potential and offense but the big question will be, can these guys gel and play to each other’s strengths.
unlike Jim, I was sold on KY and his recruits from the get-go. I had the opportunity to watch several practices and see first hand how the new Transfers would fit in. Going back almost a year ago, I remember that BYU had a core of starters that remained after the dust settled of Mark Pope leaving and the hiring of KY.
The first thing KY did was secure starters Hall and Saunders. That was KEY!
I looked at the roster, we had coming back Knell, Hall, Baker, Saunders and Foos…
2023-24 BYU Cougars Men’s Roster and Stats | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com
We had lost Waterman- easy to replace-he was a 3 pt specialist.
our biggest loss- Robinson followed Pope to Kentucky.
Spencer Johnson to graduation. our best defender
and lastly, Khalifa, great passer and 3pt specialist.
but the guys KY brought in:
Keba for Khalifa- huge upgrade, Khalifa had no lateral movement due to a bum.
Saunders took over where Robinson left and Mag completely changed the script with his defense. He was my MVP even before the season started I could see Mag as the reason why BYU would win more games. My big question was, We knew Mag’s lock down D but Catchings would be the starter at the 3 because of his reputation and that was a failure, once Mag got the nod, BYU beat Az and ISU at their place and had we played TTU, we would of beat them as well. all because of Mag.
Demin saved his best for last, in the Big 12 tourny as well as the Dance. So not only did BYU replace all of our scoring prowess, We added enough D to get Dance 2 wins. Think about it. Spencer Johnson and Saunders were our two D stoppers, We now had Mag, Saunders, Stewart and Keba. and towards the end, Boskovic was getting good minutes.
What is lost on me was how the media completely missed on how good BYU would be this last season. We had a core that got us to the dance in 2023…and added 2 NBA recruits, a defensive stopper and a true rim protecter and the media whiffed again.
Today:
How is this team different vs. last season?
We will miss Foos impossible to stop inside scoring and no one to fill that void. We will miss Knell’s 3 point frenzies. And we will miss Demin/Hall’s running the show. And Mag’s D.
Our core of Saunders, Keba, Boskovic and Baker. About 40% of last season’s output. Add 3 players that average close to 16ppg EACH, all stars on their past teams so in terms of experience, BYU may be a little ahead of last years team.
Why do I think BYU will make a jump over last year. Easy anwser:
KY was clear when he said, “I learned that college Defense is key in winning the Big 12 or going far into the Dance”. Paraphrasing.
BYU will not be hiding players like we did in the past. all of the new guys are quick, explosive and are going to get lots of open looks because teams will have to double AJ. Players like Boskovic will be big games this season. I predict that he will become the offensive threat that Mag worked into. Mag was not supposed to score and yet, he developed a 40% 3. Kboup could be his replacement on D
BYU has, I think, 2 more spots to fill. We need one more big and one more 3 point specialist.
This guy would be a great addition:
[Idaho Transfer Tyler Mrus Sets BYU Visit - Vanquish The Foe]
(Idaho Transfer Tyler Mrus Sets BYU Visit - Vanquish The Foe) Tylar Mras has serious offensive skills and 77% FT at 6’7.
Dominick Harris from UCLA in interesting, 44% from 3 and 6’6.