PROVO, Utah — Brigham Young University director of athletics Tom Holmoe has announced Phoenix Suns associate head coach Kevin Young has been hired as head men’s basketball coach at BYU.
“We are excited to announce Kevin as our new head men’s basketball coach and welcome him and his family to BYU,” Holmoe said. “We had a variety of excellent candidates and a lot of interest in this position. Kevin is someone we have had our eye on for a while. 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.”
Welcome, Coach Young! 🤙 pic.twitter.com/Dz1ZMoTMDl
— BYU Men's Basketball (@BYUMBB) April 16, 2024
Young, who was born in Salt Lake City, will continue working with the Suns in the playoffs, but will begin working on retaining current BYU players, contacting recruits and assembling a coaching staff immediately. He is considered one of the most respected assistant coaches in the NBA, having worked with Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Joel Embiid during stints with the Suns and Philadelphia 76ers.
Young spent eight years coaching in the NBA G League — including head-coaching jobs with the Utah Flash, Iowa Energy and Delaware 87ers. Young began to gain momentum as a head-coaching candidate in openings a year ago, including interviews with the Milwaukee Bucks, Toronto Raptors, Houston Rockets and Suns. Young previously interviewed for head-coaching jobs with the Philadelphia 76ers, Utah Jazz and Washington Wizards.
After finishing his collegiate career at Clayton State, he spent a year as an assistant at Utah Valley State College and Oxford College before being named the head coach with Shamrock Rovers Hoops. Following his season in Dubin, Ireland, Young spent three seasons as as assistant for the Utah Flash.
He was promoted to head coach of the Flash in 2010 after serving as an assistant under Brad Jones for a year. After leading the team to a 28-22 record, he was hired as the head coach for the Iowa Energy, replacing Nick Nurse. He spent three seasons with the Delaware 87ers, including the last two as head coach.
He was promoted to assistant coach for the 76ers, helping them reach the playoffs three times, including second-round appearances in 2018 and 2019. In October of 2020, he was named assistant coach for the Suns, where he helped them reach the NBA playoffs for the first time since 2010. He was elevated to associate head coach a year later, where he served as acting head coach for a four-game stretch.