Why BYU vet Dallin Hall wondered if he made a mistake coming back to the Cougars — and what changed

Denver • Dallin Hall didn’t need to hear the criticism as BYU struggled in January. Everything people were saying, he already was thinking to himself anyway. It weighed on him, rolling around in his mind.

The Cougars' veteran guard was even questioning if he messed up coming back to Provo in the first place.

For two years, Hall was the heartbeat of the BYU program. He started as a freshman, made the West Coast Conference all-freshman team and led his group to an NCAA Tournament berth a year later. It was his shot, his clutch minutes, that took down Kansas inside Phog Allen Fieldhouse.

When he returned to BYU for a third season, even after he flirted with Creighton and other high major schools, he was hailed as the leader.

But with another dismal loss to Texas Tech in January, where the Cougars' offense deflated down the stretch, people were wondering if Hall should start anymore. He struggled to coexist with freshman phenom Egor Demin — another ball-dominant guard — and BYU’s offense suffered because of it.

And if Hall couldn’t play with Demin, would he have a role moving forward? Hall wondered too.

“I think I got caught up a little bit in it,” Hall said of the Demin-Hall debate.

It has been perhaps the biggest dilemma of BYU’s season: whether head coach Kevin Young should hand the keys to Demin or opt for the reliable Hall. One had been to the tournament, but the other was a potential top-five NBA Draft pick.

And when BYU started 1-3 in the Big 12, and then 2-4, Young made his choice. He pulled Hall from the starting lineup and gave Demin minutes. BYU’s ceiling was higher when its 6-foot-9 point guard was on the floor.

But almost two months removed from that decision, the reason BYU finds itself at the doorstep of the Sweet 16 isn’t because of Demin’s minutes or Hall’s role. It’s because they’ve both had a resurgence together.

Looking back, Hall admits he got lost for a time.

“I was worrying too much about it instead of just going out and playing basketball,” Hall said. “We’re both really good players. We both understand how to play the game. So we were just thinking about it too much, about how it would work.”

The problem, as Young saw it, centered on Hall’s aggressiveness. Through his first two seasons, he was getting up over seven shots a game.

Former BYU head coach Mark Pope made him the gravitational force of the offense — dishing out over five assists a night and playing almost 30 minutes.

But under Young, Demin was the driver. His ability to see over the defense made him one of the best passers in college basketball. He could generate looks with cross-court darts and lobs at the rim.

Playing off the ball now, Hall looked timid. His shot volume decreased to under five a game and he was struggling from the field.

“He’s been reserved, for lack of a better term,” Young said at the time.

Internally, Hall knew Young was right. He didn’t know if BYU was the right fit anymore.

“I think there always is doubt. That’s life, overcoming doubt and choosing faith, you know,” Hall said. “So that’s been a process for me this year, just controlling what I can control and finding ways to help this team win in whatever facet that looks like. So yeah, there’s definitely doubt.”

His mind wandered back to how difficult it was to come back to Provo in the first place.

“It was a really hard decision,” he said. “I don’t really like decisions like that, that are super big and require a lot of prayer and time and things like that.”

So Young made a compromise. Demin started, but Hall would get the stint right after the under 16-minute timeout where he was alone on the floor.

“We both get a stint at just playing true point guard, and then that helps us both be in a really good position,” Hall said.

His aggressiveness came back, even when Demin played with him. He had 22 points against Iowa State and 16 against Kansas State. He’s attacking the rim more, similar to 2024, and it’s opened up BYU’s offense.

To adjust to Demin, he’s worked on playing without the ball. His three-point percentage is back up to 36%, where it was as a freshman.

“Attack close outs, get more catch and shoot threes,” Hall said of the formula.

It’s made a nice pairing. Hall comes in when Demin is struggling and Young feels comfortable closing out games with them on the floor. As he’s expanded his rotation 10-deep, having a backup guard with starting experience has anchored the second group.

“Now we’re both comfortable. We can play off the ball, on the ball,” Hall said. “We feel like we’re one of the best duos in the back court in the country.”

Last year at this time, Hall was playing golf with Creighton guard Steven Ashworth. He could have followed the former Utah State guard’s path — taking the mantle from Ashworth to lead a Big East contender.

But he decided to stay. BYU was family, he said. As BYU nears a Sweet 16 bid, and he’s logging over 20 minutes a night, Hall feels vindicated now.

It’s not the journey he envisioned last March. But it works nonetheless.

“There’s definitely doubt. The team faced doubt,” Hall finished. “But we’ve overcome it, and feel like that’s just a product of who we are as a team.”