BYU Basketball 24-25-Bring out the Jelly!

[Green Monstah]

Catchings is gone. Adios kid.

I think he has a bright future, but it’s no coincidence that our winning streak and his diminished playing time were simultaneous.

[byufan4ever]

My first post season player review is for Richie Saunders.

Stats: 16.5 Pts (51.8% FG% / 43.2% FT / 83.5% FT), 4.5 Reb, 1.6 Ast, 1.2 Stl, 0.4 Blk, 1.3 TO

Season Average PER: 17.71 per game

Best OOC Game: Idaho; 40.4 PER, 26 Pts (10-15 / 4-8 / 2-3 shooting), 4 Stl, 3 Blk, 0 TO. Despite that awesome game he was bested by Foos in PER by 0.1.
Worst OOC Game: Wyoming: 4.0 PER; He played just 1 minute as he got injured that game.

Best Conf Game: ASU; 32.8 PER, 30 Pts (11-18 / 6-11 / 2-3 shooting), 6 Reb, 0 TO. Richie started conference play off with a banger!
Worst Conf Game: Houston; 4.3 PER, 9 Pts (3-8 / 1-5 / 2-3 shooting), 2 TO

Big 12 Tourney Games: ISU - 28.2 PER; Houston - 8.9 PER
NCAA Tournament Games: VCU - 16.4 PER; Wisconsin - 27.7 PER; Alabama - 32.1 PER

# Times he had the highest PER for BYU: 10 - all in conference or tournament play
# Times he had the lowest PER (min 15 mins) - 3 - all before conference play

Richie's PPG have gone from 5.5 --> 9.6 --> 16.5. He also really upped his game this season once conference play started. He was back-to-back B12 Player of the Week and was selected for B12 First Team All-Conference. Every year I hope that a player makes a huge jump during the offseason. Saunders far exceeded anything that I thought that he would do. He proved that he could shoot the 3 and drive to the basket and score in the paint. He was good on defense and rebounded very well for his size. The big question is will he come back next season? He's probably a late 2nd round NBA pick at best. He could probably get a better NIL deal than he currently has if he comes back. He'll get to play with Dybantsa if he comes back. So, why wouldn't he? He's not getting any younger. Apparently even being 22 is almost "too old" by NBA standards. He won't be the main player next season and it stands to reason that his stats won't be as good. His draft stock, as slim as it is now, won't be better next season. Some players are just ready to move on. I was really surprised when Eric Mika left BYU to go pro. He still could have played two more seasons at BYU. Granted NIL wasn't a thing yet, but still. Drew Timmie could have gone back to Gonzaga for a 5th year with a really good NIL deal, but didn't and also didn't get drafted. So, who knows? As a selfish BYU fan, I defnitely want him back, but I just wouldn't be surprised to see him move on. He has said that Kevin Young is the first person/coach that has told him that he really has NBA potential. If that's his goal, then he may test the draft waters.

[falafel]

Catchings is gone. Adios kid.

I was bummed about that, I think he could be really good in year 2. He certainly showed flashes. Maybe KY convinces him to come back, or maybe he doesn't even want him, I dunno.

[byufan4ever]

I was bummed about that, I think he could be really good in year 2. He certainly showed flashes. Maybe KY convinces him to come back, or maybe he doesn't even want him, I dunno.

He put a "do not contact" on his transfer portal info which usually means he already has a destination in mind. He also deleted all of his social media references to BYU from what I heard. 99.5% he is gone.

[Jeff Lebowski]

I was bummed about that, I think he could be really good in year 2. He certainly showed flashes. Maybe KY convinces him to come back, or maybe he doesn't even want him, I dunno.

His defense is terrible.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Elijah Crawford gone.

Embedded Tweet

[Goatnapper'96]

I think he has a bright future, but it’s no coincidence that our winning streak and his diminished playing time were simultaneous.

I agree. I think he will blossom into a good player somewhere. While I am not pleased at him departing I think BYU will keep its core group (Richie, Demin, Hall, Keita, Baker and Boskovic) who played last year and will add Kozlowski, Dybantsa and a couple of transfers and losing Catchings and Crawford will not hurt.

[SteelBlue]

He put a "do not contact" on his transfer portal info which usually means he already has a destination in mind.

Is this still true? It seems like more and more it just means their agent is handling things. My question has nothing to do with believing Catchings might stay. I know that’s not happening.

[SteelBlue]

Re: Crawford do people think he got the “we don’t see minutes for you next season” talk? He seemed to really be a team guy and I was looking forward to seeing him get minutes.

[myboynoah]

Elijah Crawford gone.

Embedded Tweet

That's a bummer. I like Crawford and wish he would stick around. But with playing time not looking any more likely next year, I understand this.

[byufan4ever]

Re: Crawford do people think he got the “we don’t see minutes for you next season” talk? He seemed to really be a team guy and I was looking forward to seeing him get minutes.

I'm not saying this does not make him a team player, but I remember that game where he had a perfect shooting night and didn't see a second of playing time in OT. He was visibly upset at the end of that game. I also recall KY calling him a "sweetie" multiple times during a press conference. Oof, that's not a word I want my coach calling me in front of media.

Edit: oops my comment is about Catchings and yours was about Crawford. My bad. Yeah, I did not see anything that showed that Crawford was not happy.

[falafel]

His defense is terrible.

Yes, and that's clearly why he lost his spot to Mag.

[falafel]

Re: Crawford do people think he got the “we don’t see minutes for you next season” talk? He seemed to really be a team guy and I was looking forward to seeing him get minutes.

I hope it was that - he really seemed to be enjoying the season, even if he didn't get much playing time. I was excited for him to get more time.

[byufan4ever]

Next up is Keba Keita.

Stats: 7.4 Pts (67.3% / 0% / 41.1%), 7.9 Reb, 1.2 Blk 0.8 TO

Season Average PER: 14.58

Best OOC Game: Fresno St - 23.1 PER, 12 Pts (6-6 / 0-0 / 0-0 shooting), 8 Reb, 3 Ast, 2 Blk
Worst OOC Game: Wyoming: 3.7 PER, 2 Pts (1-3 / 0-0 / 0-0 shooting), 6 Reb, 2 TO

Best Conf Game: KSU - 26.1 PER, 9 Pts (4-5 / 0-0 / 1-2 shooting), 11 Reb, 5 Blk, 0 TO)
Worst Conf Game: West Virginia - 4.8 PER, 2 Pts (1-1 / 0-0 / 0-0 shooting), 3 Reb

B12 Tourney Games: ISU - 15.2 PER; Houston - 23.7 PER
NCAA Tourney Games: VCU - 17.8 PER; Wisconsin - 20.8 PER; Alabama - 19.6 PER

# Times he had the highest PER for BYU: 3
# Times he had the lowest PER (min 15 mins): 0

My initial expectations for Keita was for him to simply be an upgrade over AAA. That he was, but he grew into so much more. Over the last 12 games of the season (starting with KSU) he averaged a PER of 18.5. He never had the lowest PER the entire season. He played within his game. He gave us dunks, rebounds, and blocks. His rebounding was phenominal. Remember, he's only 6'8. If he had played 30 minutes a game he would have averaged 11.3 rebounds. His shooting range is quite limited, but a FG% of 67.3% is awesome. His FTs need work. Despite having some great blocks, and having a "chiseled" body, at times he got pushed around too much in the paint. For the most part he set some very good screens (which BYU has really been lacking at over the last 10+ seasons), and the pick and roll lob dunks were fun to watch. As just a junior, I'm excited to see what he can do next season in KY's offense (and defense).

[BigPiney]

that block against Iowa State was amazing. He was awesome this year.