PROVO, Utah, April 16, 2024 (Gephardt Daily) — BYU enjoyed success with an offensive-minded head coach with NBA experience, so the Cougars went out and got another one.
Phoenix Suns associate head coach Kevin Young was announced Tuesday as the new head men’s basketball coach at BYU, replacing Mark Pope, who last week accepted the head coaching job at Kentucky.
Young, 42, was born in Salt Lake City and has been the top assistant in Phoenix since 2021, first under head coach Monty Williams and currently under Frank Vogel.
He’s viewed as the Suns’ offensive coordinator and this past season became the NBA’s highest paid assistant coach at more than $2 million per year, according to the Arizona Republic.
CBS Sports’ Matt Norlander says Young’s deal at BYU is believed to be worth as much as $30 million over seven years.
“Kevin is someone we have had our eye on for a while,” said Tom Holmoe, BYU’s director of athletics. “He has risen to the top of NBA assistant coaching ranks. He has been a lead candidate for NBA head coaching jobs and has been instrumental in developing top-level NBA talent.
“Kevin will bring a new perspective, with an extensive NBA background to our program. He is a phenomenal fit at BYU. He is humble, fun and super intelligent. Cougar Nation is going to love getting to know Kevin.”
Young is expected to continue in his role with the Suns through the NBA Playoffs. Phoenix is the No. 6 seed and opens a best-of-7 series against the third-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday. The Suns finished the 2023-24 season with the NBA’s 10th best offensive rating at 116.8 points per 100 possessions.
Young also will be working immediately to retain current BYU players, contact recruits and put together a coaching staff, Holmoe said.
Former BYU star Jimmer Fredette celebrated the decision on social media, calling it a “massive hire.”
Young was a finalist for the Suns’ head coaching job when Williams was fired in May 2023 and was retained when Vogel got the job, in part due to the relationship he’d developed with Phoenix All-Star guard Devin Booker.
Young spent eight years coaching the NBA’s G League, back when it was know as the NBA Development League or D-League. He was the head coach of the Utah Flash, Iowa Energy and Delaware 87ers.
He has been a candidate for several NBA head coaching jobs the past two seasons, and had been considered a finalist for the Brooklyn Nets’ current head coaching vacancy.
Young got his start in the NBA with the Philadelphia 76ers, where he served as an assistant coach from 2016-2020. He joined the Suns as an assistant under Williams for the 2020-21 season, and was promoted to associate head coach in 2021-22.
Young played college basketball at Clayton State, a Division II school in Morrow, Georgia. He began his coaching career in Dublin, Ireland, with the Shamrock Rovers Hoops.
Young also served as an assistant coach with Utah Valley University (2005-06) and Oxford College (2008-09) before joining the Utah Flash in the D-League. He spent one season as an assistant with the Flash before being promoted to head coach.
Pope, who was introduced as the new head coach at Kentucky on Sunday, played six seasons in the NBA.
