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Conner Becker
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BYU third-year guard Robert Wright III revealed at Big 12 Men’s Basketball Media Days that there isn’t another coach in the country he’d want to play for than Kevin Young. The AP recently ranked BYU at No. 25 in its preseason poll.
Speaking with BYUtv Sports Nation, Wright, who began his career at Baylor before transferring to BYU last year, was asked about what brought him back to Provo, Utah, with three years of eligibility remaining:
“Ultimately, just the environment,” Wright said. “I didn’t really be at another place than (Young); he was the ultimate deciding factor. I didn’t wanna play for another coach… He’s coached guys that I kind of model my game after (and) looked up to, guys like Chris Paul. Just so much experience and just teaching me so much, it’s just great.”
Wright, name-dropping Chris Paul and the experience Young has coaching similar NBA-caliber talent, clearly built a connection with Young and his staff in his first season as a Cougar.
Teamed up with star AJ Dybantsa, drafted by the Washington Wizards in the first round of the 2026 NBA Draft, Wright contributed 18.1 points, 4.6 assists and 3.5 rebounds during his sophomore campaign; Wright briefly entered the portal and visited with Kentucky last spring.
Wright, a projected second-round pick in the same draft as Dybantsa, ultimately announced in June that he’d be returning to BYU to play another season under Young. Instead of losing Wright to Kentucky, BYU ultimately won the offseason battle, netting former commit Collin Chandler, a former four-star Utah high school standout, leaving Mark Pope for the Cougars.
The projected BYU starting five includes two veterans in Wright and Chandler; Bruce Branch III is a long-awaited five-star recruit at small forward; Former Utah and Clemson forward Jake Wahlin also returns to his hometown of Provo; 6-foot-10 center Jaxon Kohler, transferring home from Michigan State, adds another Utah native to the lineup.
No. 25 BYU tips off the season at home against Ohio State on Nov. 2.
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