Projecting the BYU Basketball Rotation Now That the Roster is Finalized

Casey Lundquist | Jul 12, 2024

BYU center Keba Keita / BYU Photo

The BYU basketball roster has been finalized. On Thursday, BYU added NBA Academy Africa prospect Khadim Mboup to round out the roster. Now that the roster is full, it's time to look ahead to the potential rotation in the first year under Kevin Young.

The Starting Lineup

BYU's starting lineup could feature a lot of new faces. As of this writing, we're projecting three of the five starters to be newcomers.

1. Dallin Hall
2. Egor Demin
3. Richie Saunders
4. Mawot Mag
5. Keba Keita

Kanon Catchings is a noticeable absence from the starting lineup. Catchings has been projected as a late first round pick in the 2025 draft. If Catchings is truly NBA-worthy, it's hard to argue that he won't crack the starting lineup. For the start of the season, however, we have him coming off the bench since he is competing against veterans Richie Saunders, Mawot Mag, and Trevin Knell for a starting spot. Catchings has the highest ceiling among those four players, but it's never easy for a true freshman to beat out an experienced player.

BYU needed someone at the four, and Mawot Mag fills that role. Mag was the obvious starter at that position until the Cougars signed Catchings. Mag would bring more defensive prowess, strength, and athleticism to the starting lineup. Catchings would bring more offensive firepower. As of today, we expect Mawot Mag to be a starter. By season's end, however, Catchings could take over that spot if he's able to acclimate to the college game. Catchings could also take over the three spot. If Catchings becomes a starter, BYU suddenly becomes a very long team with Demin and Catchings on the court at the same time.

Dallin Hall is a lock to start at point guard, at least in the opinion of this author. Getting Hall back in the fold was one of Kevin Young's most important wins during his young tenure as a head coach. Hall was arguably BYU's most valuable player last year, but he is just scratching the surface of his scoring potential. Hall is a candidate for a breakout season as an upperclassman.

Egor Demin, a projected lottery pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, is the best bet to start for the Cougars at shooting guard. Demin is young and he will need to get acclimated to the college game, but he's simply too talented to keep off the floor. The combination of Hall and Demin as distributors opens up endless possibilities for the BYU offense. Demin is a true lottery talent in a loaded 2025 NBA Draft.

Like Dallin Hall, getting Richie Saunders back for his junior season was a massive win for Kevin Young. Saunders was the glue guy for BYU last season, and he got much better from his freshman year to his sophomore year. Saunders is too impactful on both ends to be kept off the floor, so we're putting him in the starting lineup. Trevin Knell could also be plugged in as a starter here, but we like his scoring punch to come off the bench.

At the five, we've got Utah transfer Keba Keita in the starting lineup. Keita fits the exact description that Young wants in a starting five. Keita will be a rim runner on offense and a rim protector on defense. He's also built like a Greek god, and that should help BYU make up for the lack of height in the frontcourt.

The Rotation

Like last year, BYU will be a deep team next season. In non-conference play, BYU had a nine-man rotation. Coach Pope trimmed that to an eight-man rotation during conference play. If BYU plays only eight guys, a few really talented players will be on the bench. For now, we expect a ten-man rotation to start that will be trimmed to eight or nine by season's end.

1. Fousseyni Traore
2. Kanon Catchings
3. Trevin Knell
4. Dawson Baker
5. Elijah Crawford

Fousseyni Traore will play a critical role for BYU as a senior. He will be BYU's best post scorer by a wide margin.

As mentioned earlier, Kanon Catchings could slide into the starting lineup at some point. He is simply too long and skilled to keep off the court. Since he is a true freshman competing against a fifth-year senior for playing time, we expect him to come off the bench to start.

Trevin Knell, another senior, will give BYU some shooting off the bench. Knell will need to be productive to keep his spot in the rotation.

Assuming he is healthy, Dawson Baker will give BYU a scoring punch with his ability to create and get to the rim.

Elijah Crawford will be one of BYU's best creators as soon as he steps on campus. If he can get acclimated to the college game, it will be hard to keep his scoring abilities on the bench. Crawford could play the backup point guard minutes for the Cougars.

In these projections, that leaves three scholarship players outside the rotation: Trey Stewart, Khadim Mboup, and Brody Kozlowski. If BYU's lack of shooting in the frontcourt becomes a problem, Kozlowski could find a role for himself as a true freshman. Stewart will need to improve his jumper to crack the rotation. Mboup will be the youngest player on the team since he was originally set to graduate from high school in 2025. He has the length and athleticism to contribute, especially if he can make some slight improvements to his jumper. If he does that, then he's another guy that will be hard to keep on the bench given his athleticism and defensive abilities.