Big week for BYU basketball begins with big news

BYU fans cheer on the Cougars during game against the Texas Longhorns Jan. 27, 2024, at the Marriott Center in Provo, Utah. | Brooklynn Kelson, BYU Photo

If BYU assistant basketball coach Chris Burgess is right, the next few days will be very significant for Kevin Young’s program.

“We have four scholarships to fill,” Burgess told the “Y’s Guys” podcast. “We are super positive that we are going to get that down to two to three over the next 72 hours. You are never 100% confident until the ink is on the paper but there are a couple of kids that we’ve had on campus that we think fill big needs in our roster.”

Tuesday morning, ESPN’s senior NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski reported Real Madrid’s Egor Demin has committed to play at BYU. According to Wojnarowski, the 6-9 Russian guard is a projected lottery pick in the 2025 NBA draft. He said Demin will arrive in Provo as one of the most talented recruits in program history.

Since Young’s hiring, the Cougars signed a pair of four-star players including Utah’s 6A Player of the Year Brody Kozlowski from Corner Canyon High and Elijah Crawford from Augusta, Georgia. BYU also added former Utah center Keba Keita from the transfer portal, and now Demin (according to Wojnarowski).

“There is a lot of momentum right now with BYU basketball and BYU Athletics,” Burgess said. “It’s an exciting time. It’s why my family and I got super excited to come back here to Provo. We want to be a part of this again.”

The return

Burgess was an assistant coach for Mark Pope at BYU between 2019-22 before leaving for the same position at Utah, where he spent the last two seasons.

“The decision was always about growth as a coach. What (Craig Smith) allowed me to do with game prep, recruiting and practice has really helped me,” Burgess said. “I feel I’m more prepared now (for a head coaching job) than I have ever been.”

A phone call with Young changed his plans.

“All Kevin Young knows is the NBA. The NBA is so forward…


Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/big-week-byu-basketball-begins-155926684.html

Author : Deseret News

Publish date : 2024-05-28 15:59:26

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.

........,,,,,,,,||||||||||||||||||||]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]][[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[||||||||||||||||||||