BYU Basketball Faces Kansas on Saturday on 92.5FM KDXU

BYU travels to Lawrence, Kansas to take on one of the hottest teams in the country on Saturday.

Jay Drew of the Deseret News joined us to discuss all things BYU hoops.

Andy: Jay Drew from the Deseret News is joining us today in BYU. Everything BYU. Check out Jay on X at Drew Jay. He has been doing it in Utah for I do not know how long, Jay, but I want years. How long?

Jay: 36 years. Yeah, I started at the Salt Lake Tribune in 1989.

Andy: Okay. So I was going to ask you, what is this era of covering sports in Utah like? With all the new stuff, I can imagine it could be argued these are kind of glory days with them being in power conferences and stuff like that. But how do you compare it to the earlier phase of your career covering Majerus and LaVell and some of those teams?

Jay: Yeah, it is totally different. I mean, both, you know, Utah joining the Pac 12, whatever it was, 15 years ago and BYU going independent in football, and then it has just transformed into totally different. It is pretty much as close to the big time as you can get in college sports, where before they were at what they would call the mid-major level in basketball or, you know, the non-power four power five conference or so. They have both come a long way. The whole state has come a long way in sports. With the addition of even recently, Utah Mammoth hockey. Yeah, obviously the Utah Jazz. And then, you know, we got RSL soccer, which is not on that same level. I am not putting it on that same level, but it was still significant. So the state has just grown by leaps and bounds throughout the entire state. High school sports have become better. Basketball and football in particular, Utah kids are being recruited all over the country now. Yes. Yeah. Overall, in my 35 years, I have seen tremendous growth in sports throughout the whole state. It is amazing.

Andy: And I am curious from your view. I know BYU is king, or at least that is my assumption. As far as you put out an article about BYU, I am assuming that is going to get the most views and stuff like that. But then where is that Jazz stuff? Is it Utah stuff? What is kind of the hierarchy in the state right now for interest in whatever you publish?

Jay: Yeah, it is kind of interesting. I work for the Deseret News now. I worked for the Salt Lake Tribune until 2019. Yeah, I have been at the Deseret News for almost seven years. It is a little bit different as far as what we prioritize. No question about it, BYU is king at the Deseret News for obvious reasons. The University of Utah and the Utah Jazz are probably a rung below that, or even two rungs below that. That is at the Deseret News. When I was at the Tribune, I would say the Utah Jazz were king. They were the number one priority in sports. And then BYU and Utah were maybe on a second level as far as kind of almost even for Tribune readers, Tribune subscribers. Sure. So it has changed. But for me now, I am the full-time BYU sports beat writer. So 95 percent of what I do is BYU related.

Andy: Yeah, absolutely. We read just about every day. I wanted to ask you first about the last play in the wild finish of the Arizona game. What was your reaction to the play call itself where Rob Wright went into the lane? What did you think about that call? And I found out reading your article, from Kevin Young's quote, that it was an option play. But what were your thoughts on that last play there for BYU?

Jay: Yeah, I did not have a problem with it. I think some people might have had a problem with it. If there was one thing I would not have done, it is throwing the ball way back in the backcourt. That gave Arizona a chance to kind of set up a defense. And it was obvious at that time that they were going to have the ball in Rob Wright's hands. Yeah, both Wright and AJ were struggling to shoot, and AJ was also—basically they were double-teaming him and he did not even have the ball yet. So I do not blame them. And that was option one obviously, to go to AJ. So option two was for Rob to penetrate. In all the games I have covered BYU basketball this season, I have not seen anybody that has been able to get in front of Rob Wright and stay in front of him. He has been able to get to the hole almost at will. He was blocked from behind, which you just cannot account for sometimes. So I had no problem with the play call. I thought it was well-designed. One thing people might not realize is Richie Saunders had fouled out, and he is a very valuable guy kind on that wing. So that took an option away from Rob, perhaps. But yeah, it was just a great defensive play. I just think you have to just hand it to the guy, Braden Berry, for coming up with the block from behind. He slacked off his guy and made a great play.

Andy: What was it like watching that Arizona team, who people are saying could be a generationally good team? I was amazed at just how big and strong they are and how they do not rely on the three-point shot. I think they made four all game. I kind of like that kind of throwback, whatever that is. How impressed were you by that team?

Jay: Yeah, I was super impressed. You know, when they had the 19-point lead, I was starting to write that this might be the best team that has ever visited the Marriott Center. And that is saying—it is not—obviously they have had Gonzaga in there many times. But I was ready to write that. And then BYU got hot a little bit. Kanon Davis started making some threes and—but yeah, that was a great team. I mean, it is—we still have what, a third of the season left to go? But it is a phenomenal team. They have got no weaknesses. And the scary thing is some of their best players are freshmen. So they could be good for several years unless they are one-and-done guys like we have seen in the college ranks a lot the past few years.

Andy: I think AJ Dybantsa has lived up to everything that people thought he was going to be. But in these last—what—a game against Utah, but going back to Texas Tech and then this game against Arizona, you know, after the game, I think you just said they did not really do anything that I want to talk about. It was different. I just wasn't making shots. What is your evaluation of AJ in some of these tough—tougher, I should say—Big 12 games where his efficiency has gone down?

Jay: Yeah, I would agree with you that he has lived up to the billing. The expectations were high and he has delivered. I will say that he does not create the separation that I thought he could. A lot of his shots are very, very difficult shots sometimes. Only recently have we seen him force some shots. The first half of the season, I thought his shot selection was outstanding for a guy who has everything on his shoulders. But recently, he has forced it a little bit. And like you mentioned, the Texas Tech game and then the Arizona game. Yeah, I think he has got to get better as a three-point shooter. I think if you look at some of these guys he is compared to in the NBA, like a Kevin Durant or a Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, they are really good three-point shooters. I think the Utah game obviously AJ was great from the three-point line. But that would be, if there is an Achilles heel, I think that might be it. But otherwise, yeah, he has been as good as advertised. No question about it.

Andy: One of the biggest things, I guess, is the depth of this team being a concern after the big three, who score like 70 percent of the points or whatever. How big of a concern do you see that being, you know, just in general, but kind of on a tournament run or a conference tournament run where you do not have a lot coming from the bench, especially with Baker being hurt?

Jay: Yeah, I think it is a huge concern. I think BYU is probably a Sweet 16 team as constituted now. But I think if they really want to start beating some of the elite teams such as the Arizonas, the Texas Techs—yeah, obviously Kansas coming up this weekend—they need more contributions from Kanon Davis, for instance. They need a guy off the bench, kind of like a Trevin Knell was last year. That kind of a sharpshooter sniper off the bench? Yeah, we saw a little bit of that from Keba Keita the other night. But you are right. They really miss Dawson Baker in that regard. They had brought in Nate Pickens from UC Riverside, I think it was, or one of the UC schools. And he obviously got hurt in the summer and has not been able to play this season. So it is not a deep team by any stretch, not even close to last year. Last year they could go ten deep. They do not really have that this year. So I think the Big Three can take them maybe to the Sweet 16 level. But I think to get beyond that, they really need to develop or find some other key cogs to be like they were last year where they could throw a lot of the kitchen sink at almost anybody.

Andy: How would you describe Kevin Young as a coach, either in-game coach or just a coach in general? You know, he has been here about a year and a half. We know most of the headlines are about all the talent he has been able to bring in. But what kind of coach is he?

Jay: Yeah, I do not want to cop out and say the jury is still out, but last year he proved that he was a good tournament coach. Getting them to the Sweet 16, I think in-game adjustments—if you look at it this year, they are almost totally better in the second half of games than the first half. So you could say, well, maybe those are great adjustments. Or you could say, why does he not have his team ready from the get-go to play well? But overall, no complaints from my end. I think he is a good coach. I think he is really knowledgeable in terms of basketball. He is obviously adjusting to the college game as opposed to the NBA game. But I think he has been just what the doctor ordered. When Mark Pope left for Kentucky, there were a lot of BYU fans that thought the sky was falling, that there was no way they could keep it up or find somebody. And obviously, Mark Pope is struggling at Kentucky a little bit by their standards. And if you would ask any BYU fan, would you be happy with a Sweet 16 run last year and where they are this year, I think 99 percent of them would be really happy. So I think you have to point towards Kevin Young as the reason for that.

Andy: Absolutely. I was going to ask you about—I know BYU just had another five-star recruit in the building for that game, and I think there is a contingent of BYU fans who look at the Dybantsa thing and like, oh, this is an aberration. I do not think we're going to be able to land a guy like this every year. But I am curious what your view is on the apparatus or whatever that BYU has at not just getting this guy, but getting guys for years to come. Do you think that is an expectation every year for BYU?

Jay: I think it is the expectation from a large group of the fan base. I think it might be a little unrealistic. AJ was a guy that BYU got on—or maybe not BYU itself, but BYU boosters, the people that knew him for four or five years and kind of laid the groundwork. And then they obviously got him to play at Utah Prep. So that familiarity with the state and the culture kind of came along. I do not know if there is a guy like that—a big-time five-star top recruit like AJ Dybantsa—he is just kind of a special person in that regard that really fits BYU, unbeknownst to a lot of people before he came. But those guys do not grow on trees, obviously, especially for a place like BYU. So I would just caution BYU fans that this might not be repeatable a lot. BYU has obviously been in the top with a lot of these five-star guys because everyone knows they have some money to spend and NIL and all that. But they have struck out on a lot of these guys, really, that they went down to the wire with. And AJ is kind of the only guy that they have landed. So they had the guy in the building the other night—Bruce, I cannot remember his last name off the top of my head—but if they can get him, maybe I will eat my words. But I would just caution BYU fans that this is not going to happen every year.

Andy: Alright, Jay, let me ask you a football question. My reaction to Whittingham stealing Jay Hill from the football program was kind of the biggest, I guess. What is your opinion of Jay Hill leaving that program and the impact or the concern that maybe BYU fans should have, or your perspective on just losing that guy because of how big of a deal—you know, how good he was at what he did?

Jay: I think it should be a huge concern. I think Jay Hill was a great defensive coach. He came in—I was there before he came and the BYU defense was really struggling. He came in there the first year in the Big 12; the first year was not great, but he laid the groundwork. The last two years, the BYU defense has been a strength of the team. I think he will be missed. I think he is just one of those guys that has it all. He has the X's and O's. He is a recruiter. He is a motivator. All those things you want in a coach. I know he was not the head coach, but yeah, I think he will be missed. I think they made a good choice with Kelly Poppinga to replace him. But I do not think you can write that off. And I do not think you can write off the loss of Jernaro Gilford. He was a really key cog for BYU being African-American, being not a member of the LDS church, but being able to lure that type of kid to Provo and explain it all to them—to these prospects and their parents. Jernaro will be missed in that regard, along with being a good scheme guy, a good X's and O's guy. They replaced him with Demario Warren, who I think people down in Southern Utah know from being a head coach. But I think that is another good replacement. But those are two key guys from the BYU defensive coaching staff that will really be missed a lot.

Andy: They really will be. Talking with Jay Drew, Deseret News. He writes about BYU every day. We love your stuff, Jay. Thank you so much for making time for us. And of course, you can follow him on at Drew Jay for all the best in BYU sports.

Jay: Thank you so much. I appreciate it. I mean, I love Saint George, love all the people down there. Spend a lot of time down there at Coral Canyon golfing. Wish I was there right now, but thanks, Andy.

Andy: I know you are a huge golfer, Jay. And I thought I saw somewhere that you have golfed every course in the whole dang state. Is that true?

Jay: I have, yeah. I wrote an article in the Tribune when I did that in 2014. And then as new ones have come on, like Copper Rock and Black Desert, I have managed to play those. So yeah, that is my sole claim to fame, playing every golf course in Utah.

Andy: Well, that is awesome. Well, we would love to see you down here. We will go golfing with you wherever you want. Thanks for making time for us and we will talk to you again soon.

Jay: Appreciate it. Have a great day.

Andy: Quick break. Back with more right after this on the Andy Thompson Show.