BYU’s Kevin Young Compares NCAA Tournament Stage To NBA Finals
Mar 19, 2025, 4:19 PM | Updated: 4:23 pm
DENVER – BYU basketball head coach Kevin Young is going through his first experience at the NCAA Tournament.
He’s noted earlier this week it’s “surreal” to be in an event he has watched for years.
The No. 6 seed BYU Cougars will take on No. 11 seed VCU Rams, the champions from the Atlantic 10 Conference, on Thursday.
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Before the big First-Round matchup in the “Big Dance,” Young’s BYU squad, along with the seven other teams in Denver for the opening rounds of the NCAA Tournament, held open practices and press conferences on Wednesday.
The games will take place in the Ball Arena, home of the NBA’s Denver Nuggets.
Kevin Young shares memories from coaching in Denver as an NBA assistant
Young, a former assistant coach with the Phoenix Suns and Philadelphia 76ers, was asked if he had any memories of his trips to the Mile High City during his time in the NBA.
“I don’t remember the record. I know the last go-around in the Playoffs, they (the Denver Nuggets) obviously got the best of us. But yeah, I think the year we made the NBA Finals. We swept them in the Playoffs. That’s always been my fondest memory of playing here,” said Young.
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“I also have nightmares trying to guard the (Jamal) Murray, (Nikola) Jokic two-man game, which is, I stand by, one of the hardest teams to guard in all of basketball. So I’m glad we’re not having to deal with that.”
Young is the first BYU coach since Roger Reid in 1990 to guide BYU to an NCAA Tournament appearance in his first season as a head coach.
NCAA Tournament reminds Young of the NBA Finals
The first-year headman at BYU was asked for his impressions of the March Madness setting.
“It reminds me of when I was in the background, obviously, but it’s not like the NBA Playoffs. It’s more like the NBA Finals,” Young said. “That’s just what it feels like where everything is amped up. There’s more media.”
Young experienced the NBA Finals when he was with the Suns in 2021. The Suns lost to Giannis Antetokuounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks.
“I’m big on reference points both with our team and even me, as I’ve gone throughout my career, so that’s kind of what it feels like. It’s exciting, honestly. This is something that, as a kid, I was a huge fan of this tournament. I think I’ve made this comment before, but every year in the NBA, every March would roll around. You’re watching this stuff from afar, and always like, man, I bet it’s just so fun to coach in March Madness. So here we are.”
Young is looking to lead BYU to its first NCAA Tournament victory since 2012. The Cougars haven’t reached the Round of 32 since 2011, when Jimmer Fredette was BYU’s star player.
If BYU advances in the Dance, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better debut season from a BYU head coach. The moment has arrived for Young’s program.
“It’s a little bit of a surreal moment, to be honest with you,” Young said. “But I’m just really excited for our players to be able to experience this with the group of guys that we have.”
BYU vs. VCU
First Round – 2025 NCAA Tournament
Location: Denver, Colorado
Arena: Ball Arena
Tip-Off: 2:05 p.m. (MDT)
TV: TNT
Radio: KSL NewsRadio (102.7 FM, 1160 AM in Utah – Extended pregame begins at Noon)
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for KSLsports.com and hosts the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYU in the Big 12 Conference on X: @Mitch_Harper.
