No. 10 Cougars relishing opportunity to face ACC’s Clemson in Jimmy V Classic at MSG

How much has the BYU men’s basketball program changed, and how far has it moved forward, since Kevin Young replaced Mark Pope in 2024?

Tuesday’s nonconference game in the Jimmy V Classic at New York City’s Madison Square Garden for the No. 10 Cougars against the ACC’s Clemson Tigers (4:30 p.m. MST, ESPN) provides a clear answer to that question.

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That the 7-1 Cougars are playing in such a prestigious event in December — a month usually reserved for facing cupcakes at the Marriott Center — is a sign in and of itself.

“It is humbling for this event to want us to participate in it, particularly out here in New York City, and in the venue of Madison Square Garden,” Young said Monday in a Zoom call with reporters who cover the program. “It is great for our guys to be able to do it in a cool, marquee-type college event.

“It is great for just where BYU is trending, in all things, not just basketball. … It has only been several years since we’ve been in the Big 12, and it is really showing what the future of BYU athletics can look like.”

Obviously, these are not your father’s Cougars.

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Young has assembled a roster that includes not only probable NBA top-three draft pick AJ Dybantsa, but standouts from Delaware (Robert Wright III), Missouri (Kennard Davis Jr.), Mali (Keba Keita), France (Dominique Diomande), Austria (Aleksej Kostic), Serbia (Mihailo Boskovic) and Africa (Khadim Mboup).

Consider this: Clemson has two starters on its 7-2 squad from Utah: Provo’s Jake Wahlin (a transfer from Utah who originally signed with BYU before a church mission), and Draper’s Carter Welling (a Corner Canyon High product who also played at UC Irvine and Utah Valley).

BYU has three Utahns on its roster — Richie Saunders, Brody Kozlowski and Jared McGregor — but preseason all-Big 12 performer Saunders, from Riverton by way of Wasatch Academy, is the only starter from the Beehive State.

Clemson starting big man Nick Davidson also has BYU ties. His father, the late Kirk Davidson, played for the Cougars in 1989-90, appearing in three games. Kirk Davidson died unexpectedly last spring at the age of 53.

Senior forward RJ Godfrey leads Clemson in scoring with a 12.1 average, while the 6-foot-11 Welling is No. 2 in scoring with a 10.6 average. Wahlin, 6-10, averages 8.0 points per game, while Davidson averages 8.0. All told, eight Tigers average 7.7 points or more for coach Brad Brownell.

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“We are super familiar with Wahlin and Welling,” Young said. “Both good players, and they kind of fit how Clemson plays. They usually have a slew of bigger players, which they do now. Very physical team, they try to beat you up.”

Clemson is coming off a 90-84 loss to Alabama in the ACC/SEC Challenge, but has the size and talent to stay with the Cougars, who dropped from No. 9 to No. 10 in the AP Top 25 Monday after beating Cal Baptist 91-60 at Delta Center in Salt Lake City in their only game last week.

Clemson’s only other loss was a 79-74 setback to Georgetown on Nov. 15 in Washington, D.C.

“They’ve had a tough schedule, too,” Young said. “They’ve played some good teams. It will be a fun matchup against another power conference-type team.”

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BYU basketball arrives in the Big Apple

The Cougars arrived in New York City on Sunday and practiced Monday morning in a Nike basketball facility in the Big Apple near their hotel. They will get a shootaround Tuesday morning at MSG, often called the Mecca of basketball. Of course, Young has coached there many times as a longtime NBA assistant with the Philadelphia 76ers and Phoenix Suns.

“I try not to make things that aren’t a big deal a big deal, so I haven’t really hit on it,” he said. “It is important to get in there and just kind of take the mystique out of the evening. So that will be good. At the end of the day, basketball is basketball, and that’s kind of always been my philosophy.”

The second-year coach said it is “an honor to play in the Garden, especially as a collegiate player,” but the moment won’t be too big for the Cougars.

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Former BYU guard Egor Demin of the Brooklyn Nets checked out BYU’s practice Monday, and will go out to dinner with the BYU coaching staff after Tuesday night’s game, Young said after said practice.

“Great catching up with him,” Young said. “Such a good, good guy, and it was fun telling some NBA war stories together.”

Guard Dawson Baker and Nate Pickens are out for the season after having lower-leg surgeries, but generally the Cougars are healthy, Young said. Diomande missed the Cal Baptist game due to illness but is back with the team.

Young said the plan Monday night was to tour parts of the city on a bus and then have a team dinner together.

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“We will see the city and go out and have a good meal with the guys and enjoy each other’s company,” he said.