Gordon Monson: BYU basketball is now a blue blood, with stacks of green cash

Money, money, money, money, mooooonnneeeeyyy!

That’s what’s flowing at and into BYU basketball, and, with that, it will be interesting to see if the Cougars get what they’re willing — and going forward, what they might be willing — to pay for.

Kevin Young was asked at Big 12 media day about “the NIL space” and about his transition from coaching in the NBA to coaching at BYU, and he said, in so many words, that it wasn’t that different, really.

“When I decided to make this move, leaving the NBA to do this, there were a lot of things I was nervous about just in terms of the unknown,” he said. “What I’ve found is that there’s a lot of similarities that I wasn’t necessarily accounting for. The NIL space is, it’s just a different word for kind of how things operate in the NBA. I find a lot of similarities there. Quite frankly, it’s been a real comfortable space for me to be in. We’ve got good people at BYU that have kind of helped sort of manage that, navigate that, but, uh, it’s been more like the NBA than I thought it would be.”

Which is to say, if you want good players, you’ve got to … 1) pay for them, and 2) make them want to play for you.

Young didn’t come right out and say that, but he didn’t have to.

When he was asked, in deciding to take the BYU job, how important it was for him to know he would get the NIL support he needed, Young answered: “Massively important. When BYU decided to make the move to the Big 12, in my mind, that was them saying that they wanted to compete with the best. And so, just trying to get a better understanding of what that looked like on the NIL space, and just wanting to be able to compete with the best programs in the country in that area, BYU has an unbelievable fan base and an unbelievable amount of support. And so, being able to see what that translated to from the NIL space has been something I tried to do my homework on quite a bit before taking the job.”

Yeah, he did think about that, and he did get assurances about what the Cougars — namely, their boosters — were willing and able to spend. Turns out, they’re willing and able to spend a lot. That’s the way it appears, anyway.

Young himself is an example of the same. The fact that he took the BYU job in the first place, jumping out of the NBA to head Cougar basketball, exemplified BYU’s newfound commitment, which is another word for devoted money, to the cause. He’s being paid millions — via the largesse of certain BYU boosters — to lead the way. One such booster reportedly goes by the initials Ryan Smith. It is joked that the tech billionaire now owns five major league professional teams in Utah — the Jazz, the Utah Hockey Club, Real Salt Lake, the Utah Royals, and BYU basketball.

Thereby, the Cougars are getting recruits and in the running for getting more high-level recruits now that they formerly couldn’t have dreamed of getting. To reiterate, that takes stacks of cash, and that’s what BYU has. It also takes young players believing that a college coach has the experience, the connections, the wherewithal to prepare them for and get them into the NBA. Did we mention that Jazz honcho and longtime NBA exec Danny Ainge is a BYU guy? Makes you wonder what the college and pro legalities are, or what they might or should be moving forward, when an NBA team owner and leader have such strong ties to a specific college team.

Good luck regulating that.

One of the players BYU has on its roster now is freshman Egor Demin, a highly-thought-of NBA prospect, some say a future lottery pick, who committed to the Cougars after Young was hired. This is what Young said about Demin, who had been on one of the rosters inside the Real Madrid umbrella: “Super unique. You don’t see a lot of 6-8, 6-9 guys that handle and pass the way he does.” Young mentioned that he can shoot, too.

There are other top newcomers in Provo, as well, such as Kanon Catchings, who de-committed from Purdue.

“I feel good about the blend of young guys that we added,” Young said.

Of course he does. He should. Coaches like talent, talent that will help them win.

Young was also able to hold onto some of the players that could have left, but that decided to stay put. The dynamics of one player making more than others, or two or three making more, while some of those others are counted on to be valuable contributors, too, will be of interest to watch. But, again, that’s how it works at the NBA level. Players make what they make.

And speaking of making more, there is talk that BYU is deep in the running for one of the top recruits in the country — some say the top recruit — in AJ Dybantsa, who currently is playing at Utah Prep. Whispers out of Dybantsa’s camp indicate that NIL bennies will not be a determining factor in the young star’s decision, and you can take that for what it’s worth. What Dybantsa is likely to receive for his services could climb into the multiple-millions.

BYU, which Dybantsa visited earlier this month, as mentioned, is smack dab in the middle of the chase, more than a few say a favorite to land him. The other suitors? Alabama, Baylor, Kansas, North Carolina, Kansas State, Auburn.

And … well, you get the idea. Blue blood, green Benjamins.

Whether Young is a good enough coach and coordinator of talent in that range, especially if it is spinning through the Marriott Center’s doors, all one and done, is yet to be determined, but he worked closely with some stellar players with the Phoenix Suns.

And since many elements of college ball are now similar to the NBA, Young seems well suited to make it work.

Some folks can’t stand the direction college sports is headed with young people turning pro before they turn pro, but that doesn’t matter a whole lot since the professionalization of college basketball and football has happened and will go on happening, whether certain corners approve of it or not. Significant to remember is that the money spent on such prospects is somebody else’s, not theirs. If it translates to higher ticket prices, maybe that should concern Joe and Jill Sixpack. But if it’s money coming from passionate boosters who can easily throw dollars whichever way they want, maybe everyone else will come around to the idea, at least everyone benefiting from it, everyone enjoying the ride. Specifically, if BYU turns into one of the best basketball realms in the country, with Young leading the way, who among the Cougars is going to complain?

It’s no great stretch to foresee a whole lot of corporate money coming onto the scene, too, and we’ll all see how that affects the direction of wealthy programs — of which BYU basketball is now one.

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