After Saturday's 80-65 victory over Kansas State, one local reporter asked BYU head coach, Kevin Young, "Did you think that this late in the season, you would have an 11-man rotation?"
"No. I did not," Young responded.
Young has had to make a plethora of changes to the starting lineups, bench units, and late game situations, but now at 6-2 in its last eight, BYU might have found something that can stick in these "unique" lineups.
The Starters
Young's original vision for the starting lineup —- when healthy — was this:
| Egor Demin | Guard |
| Dallin Hall | Guard |
| Richie Saunders | G/F |
| Kanon Catchings | F |
| Keba Keita | C |
But as the season progressed, veteran point guard, Dallin Hall, and likely first round draft pick, Egor Demin, could not seem to mesh.
This led to Young's first big move: Bench Hall and bring in sharp shooter, Trevin Knell.
Hall still was having a slow season for his standards, but has seemed to pick up momentum as of late. In Saturday's win, Hall poured in 16 points, three assists and two steals.
Giving Demin the green light as the floor general gave him room to grow. While their definitely have been growing pains along the way, staggering Hall and Demin's minutes seemed to have been the best move for Demin's development.
The next tough decision that Young had to make, was benching five-star freshman and stellar athlete, Kanon Catchings, for senior transfer and defensive presence, Mawot Mag.
This came after a loss to TCU, where Mag's defensive ability was too much for Young to not play him.
That same game, Catchings only logged nine minutes as a starter, and didn't produce much in those minutes, only scoring three points.
Catchings, who was consistently getting 25-plus minutes of play in non-conference, is now averaging closer to 15.
Mag has flourished in his new role, and when he has the hot hand from the corner 3, he is the prototypical 3-&-D player.
The Cougars are 7-3 with Mag and Knell now implemented into the starting lineup.
The Bench Unit
BYU's bench unit has consisted of four players:
| Dallin hall | G |
| Dawson Baker | G |
| Kanon Catchings | F |
| Fousseyni Traore | F/C |
Dawson Baker is a score first guard, which is a breath of fresh air for the Cougars. He is the only player that consistently gets midrange shot attempts up and in, a different look for a BYU team that plays an NBA-esque style of offense, only shooting 3-pointers and shots in the paint.
Fousseyni Traore is also a complete 180 from starting center, Keba Keita. Traore is an efficient post up player and has some of the best footwork of any big man in the country.
Where Keita shines on defense, Traore matches on offense.
This group of players — which have often all played at the same time — is much more offensive minded, and when paired with the length of Richie Saunders, doesn't get completely blown out on defense.
The Wild Cards
In the last three games, two players have thrown themselves into the mix: Trey Stewart and Mihailo Boskovic.
While previously only getting garbage-time minutes for the vast majority of the season, Both Stewart and Boskovic are averaging eight and 11 minutes respectively in the last three games.
Stewart is a defensive minded guard that has made a 3-pointer in the last three games. As one of the best athletes on the team, he is a clear energy guy and a fan favorite.
"Trey is a Big 12 athlete, he's a Big 12 defender as well," Young said. "There were times where I had to tell him, 'life's not fair. You're playing extremely well and not in the rotation and that may not change.' He's a guy that just stayed ready."
Boskovic provides BYU with a center that can shoot threes. Something that neither Keita nor Traore can do. This opens up the offense and his height — the tallest on the team at 6-foot-10 — allows for a big body on defense.
Boskovic and Stewart combined for 14 crucial points in a close road win at West Virginia last week. Had both players been on the bench, BYU would not have won the game.
Kevin Young on having an 11-man rotation
"Having depth is a blessing and a curse," Young said. "It would make my job a lot easier if I was playing eight guys like a lot of teams do."
This depth was key for BYU's most recent victory over Kansas State, as the Cougars scored 41 bench points.
"I understand that its not normal," Young said, "but I'm proud of our guys for being mature about it."
Players like Hall, Catchings, and Stewart may not have had the amount of play they would have liked to start the season, but Young has repeatedly said that they are team players.
While strange, this 11-man rotation just might be BYU's ticket to the big dance.