Richie Saunders had looked forward to a religious mission halfway around the world. The Mormon Church had assigned the BYU forward to a two-year stay spreading the faith in Madagascar, a remote island nation 250 miles off the southeastern coast of Africa.
“Then,” the Cougars’ leading scorer said. “COVID.”
The world shrank and so did Saunders’ vision of the world a little bit. He was assigned closer to home in Seattle.
“That was one of the hardest things I ever had to go through mentally wanting to go to Madagascar but having to be in the rain,” Saunders said. “I attribute so much of my basketball to that. Because of the grind of having to get up and knowing I’m going to be soaking wet all day, today. I’m going to be outside and not see the sun.”
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It’s fair to say the sun has risen on Saunders and BYU. The Cougars head into the NCAA Tournament tied for their highest seed (No. 6 in the East Region) since 2011. But as much as this season has been about a resurgence in BYU basketball, it is about something bigger for the program and university.
Big catch for BYU
It is the season before AJ Dybantsa arrives. The 6-foot-9 forward from Massachusetts shocked college basketball when the nation’s top recruit signed with BYU in November. The Cougars beat out Kansas, Baylor, Kansas State, Alabama and North Carolina among others.
That was a huge upset in itself. BYU isn’t a basketball power. It hasn’t been to a Sweet 16 since that 2011 NCAA Tournament run. The last and only Elite Eight was in 1981 with Danny Ainge.
Dybantsa is viewed as a one-and-done program changer. Think Carmelo Anthony at Syracuse or the two dozen or so at Duke. So as much as BYU has surprised going 24-9 in coach Kevin Young’s first season, the signing of Dybantsa sends a message before the prospect even bounces a basketball.
BYU matters in hoops.
“I’m excited to see what he means …,” Saunders said. “He’s so talented, it’s crazy … If people do it right, I don’t think there’s anywhere else that you can win at basketball as well.”
And BYU is doing it right by drawing the nation’s best prep player. There had been a relationship between the school and Dybantsa before Young arrived. Dybantsa played at Utah Prep Academy, 265 miles south in Hurricane, Utah.
Utah Prep advertises itself as an “international preparatory boarding school.” But BYU is different and different played with Dybantsa. The player’s business advisor Leonard Armato told CBS Sports’ Matt Norlander the decision was more about a culture fit.
At other schools that sound like a cliché. At BYU, the reference is very specific and carries weight.
“It’s the honor code you’re talking about right?,” Saunders asked. “That’s scary if you’re coming from the outside. If you get past that you see [how good it can be]. I really believe that helps us win.”
Dybantsa agrees. Or at least those around him have indicated he agrees. That honor code is part of what sets BYU apart as the Mormon faith flagship school. It states that students abstain from “sexual relations outside of marriage, “same-sex romantic behavior” as well as alcohol, tobacco, tea, coffee, vaping and marijuana.
While Dybantsa is becoming one of the most impactful athletes at BYU before he sets foot on campus, Tom Holmoe is taking it all in on his way out the door. The 64-year-old former BYU football player and grad assistant is retiring this summer after 21 years as AD.
“I think the church is more mainstream now than it was 20, 30, 40, 50 years ago,” Holmoe told CBS Sports. “No one would go to Utah. Now you’ve got people coming through Utah, there’s resorts, there are the parks. They’ve always been there.”
“It’s not fair to bring people into a culture [where they’re not comfortable],” he added. “Here is the word of wisdom that we have — which means the honor code and dress and grooming standards. … If they don’t know the rules it can be very uncomfortable.”
Dybantsa’s arrival basically blesses what should be a celebration this week. BYU hasn’t been this good in both football and basketball in more than 40 years. In 1981, football, led by Jim McMahon, went 11-2 and reached No. 8 in the AP poll before finishing at No. 13. Basketball, led by Danny Ainge, won 25 games and went to the Elite Eight before losing to Virginia.
Kalani Sitake’s football program started 9-0, rose as high as No. 6 and won 11 games for only the second time since 2009. In Kevin Young’s first season as basketball coach, the 17th-ranked Cougars have settled in at No. 25 in the NET Rankings, with more Quad 1 wins (eight) than Louisville, Texas A&M, St. John’s, Gonzaga and Kansas.
BYU didn’t necessarily pay the most for Dybantsa – Matt Norlander reported the figure at approximately $5 million. It did recruit the best. That’s a first in basketball for BYU.
“We didn’t pay players 10, 15, 20, 40 years ago. We didn’t do that,” the AD said. “Now with it being NIL and rev share and this is the way of the world, we’re in it. People say, ‘How can you do that?’ I’m thinking, ‘What do you mean ‘how can we do that?’ This is how you do it.’ “
Young had his introduction into the hypervortex that is college recruiting shortly after he took the BYU job last April. He was still a Phoenix Suns assistant coach preparing for an NBA playoff game in Minnesota last spring when he got the word Dybantsa’s parents were visiting campus.
Young quickly adjusted.
“I’ll never forget, we were practicing at the University of Minnesota,” Young recalled. “The second it was over, I ran out to the Uber. My first time on a private jet, flew back to Provo. AJ’s mom and dad were there for about six hours. We met, I got back on the jet, flew back, got in at about 3 in the morning and had Game 4 that night.
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Matt Norlander
“I said, ‘This was definitely different. You don’t have to do this in the NBA.’ “
Young has taken that professional approach to Provo. He got into the NBA as a Philadelphia assistant in 2016. When the time came for Holmoe, Young wasn’t exactly a first choice but he was impressive having risen to No. 1 assistant with the Suns.
“My thing with AJ was, ‘You’re going to the NBA no matter what. I’ve coached 41 NBA lottery picks. I’ve coached a handful of first overall picks. A couple of third picks,’ Young recalled. “Point being, when I talked to AJ I said, ‘This isn’t about the NBA. This isn’t about being the No. 1 pick. This is about being more than the No. 1 pick.’ “
There were references to Markel Foultz, the NBA’s No. 1 overall pick in 2017, who has been underwhelming. Same for Ben Simmons as the 2016 No. 1 overall pick.
“I can take that knowledge base and help you be way more than that,” Young said he told Dybantsa.
Holmoe put it even more succinctly.
“Do you want to win a national championship or develop in that time, make the most of your time and if it all comes true, great?,” he said rhetorically.
Young makes instant impact in Provo
In his first season Young has developed a program and a team that is fun to watch. Saunders leads a typical rotation of 11. Seven players average at 7.3 points. Ten players average at least 11 minutes. Almost 38% of the scoring comes from the bench. That bench is 13th nationally averaging 31 points per game.
The Cougars come at you in waves and are on the brink of history. A win in the first round against VCU would mark the most wins (25) in nine years. BYU hasn’t been to the second round since 2014.
“We’re a developmental program,” Young said. “Richie Saunders is the poster child.”
Saunders grew up in the area, cried when the Cougars lost (as a child) before working his way up to all-Big 12 status this season while being named the conference’s most improved player. That was after Saunders started three games in two seasons.
“Our situation is unique,” Young said. We’re one of the few teams that can put forth [an NBA culture]. Our head strength coach was with the Bucks for eight years. Our nutritionist is from the Suns with me. Our director of analytics was with the Suns. I have two coaches on my staff who were G League coaches.
“We run our operation identical to how we ran things when I was in the NBA. There are people like AJ that want to get there. We don’t have to talk about that.”
The increased transactional nature of college sports, then, fits perfectly with Young’s culture which by extension is BYU’s culture. It isn’t the only program that leans professional, despite religious foundations.
Ryan Smith is an example. The owner of the NHL’s Utah Hockey Club moved the franchise from Phoenix last year joining his other pro investment in Salt Lake City, the NBA’s Utah Jazz. The 46-year-old BYU alum lives in Provo and is dyed in BYU blue having hustled tickets outside football games as a child.
“Go figure out what to do and how you’re going to get in,” Smith recalled his parents telling him.
Being a private school, BYU doesn’t reveal its finances. It’s fair to assume the school will be able to afford the $20.5 million revenue share number. That’s where the stories of Saunders, Dybantsa, Holmoe, Young and Smith congeal into a philosophy.
“People say, ‘How could you pay money for a player at BYU?’ The answer is, ‘If there is any Power Five school and he’s going to choose and you’re in the top five, you’re going to find the money to pay him,’ ” Holmoe said.
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