Robert Wright III will help take BYU to new heights. (Aaron Cornia/BYU Photo)
With the 2025-26 college basketball season beginning in just a couple of weeks, we’re going to spend the rest of the month covering some of the bigger stories we plan to follow.
This week, Oklahoma Coach Porter Moser expressed sadness over the recent passing of Sister Jean, a key supporter of his old team Loyola-Chicago; defending national champion Florida will deploy transfer Boogie Fland as its new starting PG; and new Auburn Coach Bruce Pearl said the school had been planning for his dad Bruce’s retirement for some time. Other college basketball stories we’re following include…
BYU On the Rise
The BYU Cougars bottomed out in 2022-23, winning just 19 games to miss the NCAA Tourney for the second straight season and seventh time in eight years. The following season, BYU bounced back to 23 wins and returned to the tourney, and last season upped that win total to 26 while making it to the regional semifinal.
In their second season under coach Kevin Young, the Cougars are expected to be an even better club this season, ranked by some as high as eighth this preseason.
The reason for optimism?
Key returnees like senior Richie Saunders (83.5 FT shooting last season) and Keba Keita (almost eight boards per game as a junior); transfers like Robert Wright III (11.5 PPG as a freshman at Baylor) and Kennard Davis Jr. (45.5 per cent shooting as a sophomore at Southern Illinois); and newcomers like freshman AJ Dybantsa, the top recruit in the country.
Among the Cougars’ additions through the transfer protocol, Wright has a good chance to start, but it wouldn’t be surprising at all if he begins the season coming off the bench. He spent most of his freshman season as a starter for the Bears, getting enough touches to finish third in scoring while jacking up 2.5 treys per game and pitching in on the glass (although at 6’1”, that’s not a big part of his game).
For what it’s worth, Wright will be one of three players to represent the Cougars at the Big 12 Men’s Basketball Media Day next month, so take from that what you will in terms of him being a key cog on this roster.
Could Wright be a difference maker for BYU? As a true point guard with a dynamic game, it’s very possible. Thanks to his strong court awareness and ability to see what’s transpiring in front of him, Wright has the potential to be a very strong college player, but as a pro? Well, his size could hold him back, so we’ll have to wait to see if he can develop his game – especially his three-point shooting — enough to overcome that. Still, you have to love Wright’s ability to score in the lane and distribute the rock (see video below).
We’ve heard Wright compared to Chris Paul, and that’s obviously a very exciting prospect, but he’ll be a project, so we’re going to have to wait at least a year or two before seeing if he can approach that level.
Clemson’s Long Odds
In 2021-22, the Clemson Tigers finished just a game over .500 and missed the tourney for the third time in four seasons. Despite improving by six wins the next season, Clemson was shut out of the tourney again.
However, the Tigers returned to March Madness in 2023-24 thanks to winning one more game, and then upped that total to a school record 27 victories last season, earning another bid (and their highest seed since 2017-18) in the dance.
Still, the disappointment of losing in the first round was the enduring image of an otherwise brilliant campaign in which the school boasted a tremendous 18-2 record in conference play.
Of its four transfers, Clemson’s biggest addition through the portal was Nick Davidson, a senior forward who has gotten better each campaign with Nevada, last season scoring nearly 16 PPG despite some shooting regression.
His rebounding also slid last season, but he made up for that by showing a much better three-point game with more steals, assists and blocks. It’s possible this will be a rebuilding season for the Tigers (currently just +1900 win the ACC regular season title as per FanDuel), but adding a dude that’s been a second-team All-Mountain West selection in back-to-back seasons will definitely help as the school seeks just a second conference title in its 114-year history.
Davidson’s work this season against the higher competition of the ACC will inform us if he has a chance to play in the NBA.
RotoRob Tune of the Day
Through Jamiroquai‘s 30-plus year history, the only constant band member has been Jay Kay. Originally released on Travelling Without Moving, here’s the remastered version of “High Times” for the compilation album High Times: Singles 1992-2006.