BYU Star Dallin Hall Found Immediate Alignment With Kevin Young
May 3, 2024, 11:07 PM
PROVO, Utah – Sometimes, in the Transfer Portal era, the best additions in college basketball are the players you retain.
Truer words have not been spoken for BYU as they regained point guard Dallin Hall.
Hall had a brief visit to the Transfer Portal in the aftermath of Mark Pope taking the head coach job at Kentucky.
Dallin Hall has “unfinished business” with BYU basketball
Programs such as Creighton, Duke, Utah State, Clemson, Oklahoma, and others pursued the Honorable Mention All-Big 12 guard, who was fifth in assists in the nation’s number-one-rated conference.
“Unfinished business,” Hall wrote on Instagram when he announced that he was stepping out of the portal to return to BYU last month.
That business now involves new BYU basketball head coach Kevin Young.
Young leaves the top assistant role with the NBA’s Phoenix Suns to take over a BYU program looking for its first NCAA Tournament win since 2012.
After talks with Young, Hall wanted to be part of the new era of BYU basketball heading into his junior season next winter.
Dall Hall joined the KSL Sports Zone’s JJ & Alex (Weekdays, 3-7 p.m.) on Friday to discuss his return to the Cougars.
“When Coach Young got the job, he reached out to me pretty quickly and let me know that they really wanted me back,” Hall told the KSL Sports Zone.
View this post on Instagram
“Through a series of conversations, we were able to kind of talk about game plan, how he envisions using me this upcoming season. And just overall, I felt like I could really trust him. What he says, he’s a man of integrity, it seems like he really carries himself well. And his basketball mind is off the charts. Obviously, he was a top coach in the NBA.”
Hall averaged 9.0 points, 5.1 assists, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.0 steals per game last season, all of which increased from his freshman season.
He was a star performer in BYU’s win at Kansas inside Allen Fieldhouse. The knockdown three over Hunter Dickinson will live in BYU basketball lore for years to come.
Since Dallin Hall signed with BYU in 2020, even when the Cougars were in the WCC, he made it clear that his goal was to one day play in the NBA. Kevin Young has stepped into the BYU program with a desire to turn Provo into a place that prepares hoopers for the NBA.
“He’s a relationship-kind of a coach. I think you get that from him as you hear some of those NBA guys talk about him,” Hall said. “Devin Booker, Chris Paul, and those guys talk very highly of him. You can tell immediately in my conversations with him; he shot me straight about what he thought of my game and how he pictured things going. He’s just easy to have a conversation and relationship with.”
“The Avengers” are assembling in Provo
Since Hall announced his return, BYU has hired Chris Burgess as an assistant coach on Young’s bench. A move that Hall was thrilled to see.
“It was huge. Obviously, he’s been here. He knows how to recruit, especially to BYU. Burgess is my guy. He recruited me since I was a freshman in high school,” Hall said. “I just love the way he treats others and how he carries himself. He’s a phenomenal recruiter and an incredible coach.”
Burgess joins Brandon Dunson as the two assistants on Young’s staff so far.
“Coach Young seems to be putting together a super staff,” Hall said. “Like the Avengers of all staff’s for basketball. So we’re super excited.”
Dallin Hall lays out goals for the 2024-25 season
While the “Avengers” put the finishing touches on the roster for next season, Hall and the returning BYU players are getting back to work, with their sights set on achieving more than a first-round NCAA Tournament exit next season.
“We have huge goals. I think the possibilities are endless. I think we need to gel together this summer. Get these new guys in and figure out how coach wants us to play. But the thing about the culture that we’ve created here within the team is everyone buys in. It’s all about the team. Like you saw last season, it was a different guy stepping up every game. So there’s no egos. It’s just about winning. We love each other.”
Hall later added, “…We want to make sure we’re back in that tournament in March. We want to make a deep run. Getting to the tournament is awesome now that we’ve been able to taste that. But if anything, it just makes us more hungry because we now know what that’s like. We want to make a deep run. Obviously, I know Coach Young is anxious to get to work and prove himself. So we’re all just ready to get after it.”
Beyond chasing NCAA Tournament success and NBA preparation, Hall saw traits in Young that he immediately connected with as he decided to “run it back” for another season.
“From the jump, I could tell he’s just really focused on relationships and winning basketball. Those two things align well with my value system.”
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for KSLsports.com and hosts the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYU in the Big 12 Conference on X: @Mitch_Harper.
