BYU’s Richie Saunders nearly went to Kentucky. He’s made a Sweet 16 legacy because he stayed.

Denver • Richie Saunders wants you to know it was close.

A year ago, when Mark Pope fled to Kentucky and Kevin Young was desperately trying to keep a roster together, Saunders and his wife, Sierra, were 31,000 feet in the air en route to Lexington, debating what would come next.

“Honestly, it was close. Just the little nudge here. Little nudge there. It was so close,” Saunders recalled recently.

Pope wanted his 6-foot-5 guard to play for one of the most iconic brands in basketball. They toured an empty Rupp Arena, looked up to the rafters and dreamed of NCAA Tournament wins. The championship banners spoke for themselves: eight of them lined up in a row, the second-most of any program in the country.

But on the flight back, Saunders decided to give Young the last word. And Young’s pitch was something grander than history: hope.

This wasn’t a choice between winning in March and staying home, Young argued. Young could remake Saunders, remake the program — all he had to do was give him a chance.

“He’s helped me to raise my sights. That’s been the biggest thing,” Saunders said. “I wouldn’t want to go somewhere just because of the history. I want to go somewhere where I can succeed. Where I can help move [a place] forward as a program.”

And standing in the hallway of Ball Arena fresh off a 25-point performance to send BYU to the Sweet 16, Saunders felt vindicated on Saturday.

Hope became history after all.

BYU is going to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 14 years — just the third time in program history. Saunders is BYU’s best player, joining the elite list of Jimmer Fredette and Danny Ainge as the only others to lead the Cougars to these heights.

He’s dancing right alongside the Kentuckys of the world — as equals now.

And he built this one himself.

“Words can’t really describe it,” an exhausted Saunders said, carrying the last of BYU’s locker room signage as keepsakes with him.

BYU got here in no small part because of the players who stayed, who didn’t follow the shiny name of Kentucky.

In an instant classic of a game, where the Cougars withstood multiple roaring comebacks from Wisconsin to win 91-89, it was the veterans who pushed BYU over the edge.

Guard Trevin Knell banged four threes and poured in 14 points to build BYU’s lead to 10 in the second half. As Wisconsin got close, his relocation corner three calmed the waters.

He admitted he was pursued by Kentucky and even West Virginia. But he wanted to finish the rebuild at BYU.

“Kentucky was up there,” Knell said. “A lot of people wrote us out. But BYU was home. It would be cool to rewrite the history that Jimmer wrote back in his day.”

Knell did so with Fredette looking on from the second row.

There was also Fouss Traore, a four-year veteran, who believed in what BYU could be. He banged with Wisconsin’s duo of 7-footers all night, limiting the Badgers to just 28 points in the paint. Severely undersized, BYU was the aggressor with 39 points at the rim and outrebounding Wisconsin by nine.

“We always talked about,” this moment, Traore said of the guys who stayed. “It’s big time. It’s awesome to be here. We can beat anybody.”

And then there was Trey Stewart, who couldn’t stop crying as he hugged Knell in the locker room. Those two had been through so much — Pope leaving, BYU transitioning to the Big 12, experts saying the Cougars had no chance. If anybody had every excuse to head out for greener pastures, he was the guy.

“You were a WCC guard. People didn’t think you could compete in the Big 12,” Stewart said.

But the senior gave BYU 14 minutes, seven points and buried a three in front of his bench to stymie a Wisconsin second-half surge. So much for being left for dead.

“This team is built for March right now,” he said. “Trevin gave me a hug and embraced me. It was the weight of emotions of my whole career.”

But when the chips were really down, and Wisconsin made their final gasp, Saunders was the one Young called on.

With under five minutes left, he hit a midrange jumper. He slashed into the lane to find a layup. With just over a minute, he calmly stepped to the line to hit two free throws to push BYU over 90.

Saunders personal transformation has been indicative of this team. He started one game last year and fought to score just under 10 points a night. Pope used him as a slasher, a defensive stopper.

Now he’s shooting 43% from three, dicing up defenses and become an NBA prospect. Young urged him to see a brighter future. He’s realized it now.

“He challenged me,” Saunders said.

Young’s challenged this program too, to see what it could become. He kept telling them they were among the best teams in the country, history be damned.

For the players that stayed — because of the players who stayed — it paid off.

“Put a lot of trust in KY,” Saunders finished. “It’s been a really fun little journey.”

To the Sweet 16 they go.

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