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August 12, 2025 13 mins
BYU men’s basketball is turning heads like never before—today we dive deep into the explosive 2025–26 recruiting class that’s set to elevate the program to new heights. After a strong 26-10 season and a Sweet 16 run in just their second year in the Big 12, BYU is adding elite talent, high-impact transfers, and a coaching staff committed to NBA-level player development. We break down the returning core led by breakout star Richie Saunders, instant-impact transfers like Rob Wright and Dominique Diomande, and the crown jewel of the class—five-star phenom AJ Dybantsa, a generational wing whose skill set and NBA potential have the basketball world buzzing.

Alongside this talent influx, Coach Kevin Young and his staff are revolutionizing BYU’s basketball environment with cutting-edge facilities, analytics, and training programs that rival NBA setups. Stay tuned for insider insights on player development, recruiting momentum, and what this means for BYU’s rise in college basketball’s power rankings.

Please consider engaging with us on TikTok, X, and Instagram @LifeintheStands. If you liked the content, ratings and reviews are most helpful!
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Episode Transcript

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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to Bive Sports Report, where we work our way
from the headlines to the locker rooms and on the way,
there's something for every Utah sports fan to get excited about.
Today we spotlight BYU men's basketball because of their offseason
has been absolutely electrifying. Coming off a twenty six to
ten campaign and their second year in the Big Twelve,
BYU brings a monumental mix of talent, elite transfers, and

(00:23):
a coaching staff redefining pro level preparation at the college level.
Without a doubt, the upcoming season is the most anticipated
season in program history. All Right, There's been lots of

(00:46):
movement this offseason with the BYU men's basketball team, so
we're going to make sure we cover every single piece
of it that's changed going in the next season. We're
going to start with the supporting cast. They're poison contributed
in some really big ways. We have have to hit
on the transfers as well. There's some instant impact editions
on that side of the house. And then obviously we'll
talk about Aji Debanza. He's kind of the crown jewel

(01:09):
of what has been a stellar offseason for BYU. And
then we'll wrap up with the coaching staff and the
NBA level development system with coach Kevin Young. Lots of
things to like there and means a lot for their
national relevance and the recruiting momentum that this BYU men's
basketball team has seen. So let's jump into the first
part of it, which is this supporting cast, and this

(01:32):
is really a foundation for something special. We begin with
the players whose names aren't giant headlines, but they do
deserve a ton of respect for filling their roles really effectively.
We've got to start by talking about Richie Saunders, and
this was BYU's breakout star last year for the most part,
other than some of the guys that went on to
get drafted. But Richie Sounders is a six to five

(01:52):
wing that averaged close to sixteen points per game. He
was the Big twelve Most improved player and earned First
team All Big Twelve honors. He shot fifty one percent
from the field, almost forty four percent from three, and
just under eighty percent from the line. So if he
was a ninety percent free throw shooter, he'd be a
part of that fifty forty ninety club in college. He's

(02:14):
one of just seven BYU Cougar players ever to join
the fifty forty seventy club, which obviously that seventy free
throw shooting percentage is not the same as ninety, but
still super impressive. And he's returning for his senior year.
You know he's going to be a great leader and
going to be dominant as you know, maybe a third,
maybe fourth option on this BYU team. It's he's not

(02:37):
really a glue guy anymore. You know, he's now a
go to secondary star. He can play off ball, he
can score off cuts, he drags defenses all around, and
he's a much better playmaker and rebounder than he was
early on in his collegiate career. If you watch during
March Madness, you saw him explode in an eighty to
seventy one win over VCU, and you also learn that

(02:58):
he is apparently an heir to the Tatar top throne.
So Richie Sunders got a lot of cool stiff going on.
But you know, to have this kind of a guy, this,
you know, this caliber of a player as again your third, fourth,
maybe even fifth option on this BYU team. No longer
a glue guy, really a star in the making. But

(03:18):
shows how much death this team has three other guys
I want to mention that are part of this sort
of core of supporting cast members is Xavier Statton, Chamberlain
Burgess and Kadeem the Boop. These are all young athletic
forwards with size. They got a lot of defensive upside
and skill. So this brings a bit of strength and
depth to the team, you know. And these are a

(03:39):
lot of incoming freshmen, you know, so young legs that
can make it through a tough collegiate season. That'll get
better as the year goes on as well. It's a
really talented nucleus. You know. You got scoring, you got size,
you got versatility, and they're all ready to be elevated
by the star power that's coming into the BYU locker room,
as well as the professional development that you get from

(03:59):
the coaching staff. But let's start again with you know,
all that talent that's transferring into BYU. This made big news,
but Rob Right, the third from Baylor, he averaged a
little over eleven points a game over forces per game.
He earned all Big twelve freshman honors, and he chose
BYU not for the money or the nil opportunities, but

(04:20):
for player development and fit. He mentioned coach Kevin Young
is a big reason why he wanted to come join
the BYU team. He felt like it was a fast
track for him to go play pro ball, and he's
not wrong. You know, Kevin Young spent a lot of
time in the league, and I think it's going to
be a constant theme is that players really want to
play for Kevin Young at the collegiate level to prepare

(04:41):
themselves for the NBA. But what I like about Rob
Wright in this role is that he's a true lead
guard who can distribute and defend. He's going to partner
seamlessly with Richie Saunders and Ahi dead Bantsa, you know
which again, we'll we'll talk about more later. But a
true lead guard who's comfortable with the ball in his hands.
It's gonna be super important for some of the young

(05:02):
superstars that are on this team. Another transfer I really
like is Dominique Diamonde. He's a PAC twelve transfer. He
was a former top fifty recruit. He brings a lot
of toughness and experience off the bench. He's a great
guy for those three young guards that I mentioned earlier
to learn off of. He's got a unique level of
speed athleticism that's going to help BYU compete in the

(05:23):
toughest ranks of the Big twelve. Elite level defender guards
multiple positions and again pairs nicely with some of the
offensive talent on the roster. And when you put all
of those kind of core pieces together, you get a
really solid foundation of star power, pedigree, experience, team chemistry.
Really excited about the way this team can kind of

(05:44):
mesh going into next season. Before we jump into the
part of the episode I know everyone has been waiting for, though.
If you've liked the content, please leave a rate or
review it's most helpful, and then please consider engaging with
us on social media at Life in the Stands. We're
going to be lots of fun things throughout the season,
live postgame reactions, maybe even getting some interviews with some

(06:06):
of the YU basketball players. But let's dive back into
it and talk about what everyone is probably here for,
and that is aj Dia Bansa. So everything in this
episode kind of leads to this one guy, and for
good reason. As a prospect, he was the number one
overall recruit in twenty twenty five. He's BYU's first ever
five star commitment, first ever five star commitment, a six

(06:29):
to nine wing, A generational talent. I mean when he
was described by coach Kevin Young, he was described as
a mix between Paul George and Lebron, with lebron Like
passing vision and Paul George's physical frame. Now, I'm not
a huge fan of taking kids fresh out of high
school and comparing them to some of the greatest scorers
and NBA players ever, but it's easy to kind of

(06:51):
see where Kevin Young is going with the kind of
frame that dia Banza has, and he already has the
NBA flexibility. He can play on ball, off ball, slash shoe.
He averaged over fourteen points a game, four rebounds, two
and a half assists, and over a steal and just
twenty minutes per game at the Phoeba U nineteen games,
and he also earned MVP honors and was a part
of the All Star five. So again, I'm not big

(07:15):
on placing those kind of expectations on the kid coming
in first freshman year at college, but I think it's
fair to say that he's got all of the elite
level tools and athleticism that it would take to get there.
In the Phoeba U nineteen gold medal game versus Germany,
d Banza recorded eleven point six rebounds to assist he
led the US to a thirty three point title win.

(07:39):
And he also was super efficient. He shot sixty eight
percent inside the arc, he shot eighty four percent at
the free throw line. He led the tournament in free
throw attempts at fifty So you know, this is elite
efficiency and aggression, and I think there's a lot of
things to like about a guy who can get to
the line a lot until everyone starts calling him a
free throw merchant like some of the other characters in

(08:01):
the NBA right now. But that's besides the point de
bants that can collapse defenses it will. He's got the
ability to power up through with a lot of strength,
or pull up before a defender and shoot over the top.
He does have some weaknesses in passing decision making. You know,
he did post a point ninety two assists the turnover ratio,

(08:23):
but that's a little bit to be expected for his age,
and the coaching staff is going to see that as
a teachable growth area for him this year. And then defensively,
he also flashed incredible athleticism, switchability effort. If you talk
to some scouts, they believe his motor and frame are
going to project well at the next level, even if
his three point shot, in which he was two for

(08:45):
eighteen at the U nineteen level, is going to be
a future focus as well. So Dabanca doesn't come without
things to work on. But again, he's got all the
physical tools, the frame, the skill set to be able
to do everything on a basketball court you could possibly
want him to do off the court. His reported NIL
package is around seven million dollars from BYU. He's also

(09:07):
got an eight figure Fanatics and Red Bull partnership. You
can see him sporting Ferrari shoes on Instagram right after
his Uniteen MVP win and he tagged red Bull. He's
already branding at an elite level. I don't think he's
gonna have any problems with the NIL world that we're
living in. But even though there's a lot of hype
around Da Bansa, he really is a generational prospect and

(09:28):
he brings BYU into a new stratosphere. You got right,
you got Saunders, you got the rest of the supporting cast,
and then you got Da bansa who arrives to experience
lots of high end role player talent, a pro level environment.
You can't possibly set this kid up for success more
than BYU is doing right now, and I think that's
why he decided to come here. He knows that his

(09:49):
next step after one year in college is to go
to the league, and he's preparing himself for that in
all of the right ways. And this is where the
magic really happens. Head coach Kevin Young is a former
NBA assistant. He spent time with the Suns, spend time
with the seventy six ers, and he's building a very
pro level environment all around at BYU men's basketball. He's

(10:11):
got an elite staff full of analytics people, strength and
conditioning people, nutrition, recovery. These are all top tier folks.
He renovated the Merriyout Center with NBA style practice facilities
with multi courts and film rooms and recovery suites. I
actually got a chance to tour these facilities myself, and
it is stunning. They even have tech enabled basketballs that
track your shot selection and making, so it gives you

(10:33):
after practice breakdowns of all your hot spots and your
shooting percentages. Make sure to check us out on socials
at Life in the Stands and you can see some
of that behind the scenes content of their facilities, but
really impressive stuff there, and it's working. On the recruiting end.
Three of the six highest recruits in program history have
signed with the Cougars since Kevin Young was named the

(10:55):
coach back in April of twenty twenty four. So the
track record there for Kevin Young that he brings is
obviously making a difference in the quality of talent that
BYU can bring in. So again, this isn't hype. BYU
is architecting an NBA preparation pathway. They're recruiting and developing
players that are ready for next level success. They're leaning

(11:17):
into that this system will lure top prep, portal and
pro aspirational players for years to come. I mean, as
long as Kevin Young is there. And this matters for
the future of this team in a lot of ways.
I mean, last year was their second year in the
Big Twelve. They went twenty six to ten. They had
a sweet sixteen appearance, which was fantastic, and now they're

(11:38):
bringing in even more high end recruits, returning stars. You know,
it's their third year in the Big Twelve. They know
how to kind of roll with the punches in a
super aggressive and competitive league there, and it's probable that
they could even end up in the preseason Top ten.
Like that's not a fantasy at this point. I think
a lot of the top talent across the country sees

(12:00):
BYU as a pathway they want to come to this system,
and it's really exciting for BYU to be in this
kind of a position. It's kind of revolutionary because there
they've been a Tier two maybe tier three program historically,
but you really see them becoming a Tier one destination now.
And BYU and Kevin Young really are are just getting started.

(12:23):
So this has been a wrap on Behive Sports Report,
a Life in the Stands. Production BYU basketball is rising,
Richie Saunders is returning, Rob Bright is transferring in, and
Ajda Bantsa is arriving as a generational talent and this
is all happening under Kevin Young's NBA style tutelage. If
you bleed blue, this is kind of your moment, but

(12:45):
don't blink because the future of BYU men's basketball is
happening right now. If you like this episode, please consider
engaging with us at life in the stands on socials
and ratings. Reviews are the most helpful if your course
side next season, come say what's up? And next week
we have part one of a two part series on
college football expectations for next year. Do you think b

(13:07):
YU or the University of Utah is going to have
a better season? We'll dive into it, but until then,
I'm Zach Quinn and thanks for listening to Beehive Sports Report.
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