Blank notebook of blue, white scrum

Provo, Utah – BYU basketball fans got their first look at the upcoming 2024-2025 team at the Blue vs. White scrimmage.

The blue team beat the white team 49:39 in the first half. The second half was shortened due to different squads, so there was no clear winner.

Overall it's a meaningless game, but there were some interesting little things that help paint a picture of what this team could become.

Let’s get into some of my notes from the scrimmage.

Newcomers played early

There is a lot of hype surrounding newcomers like Egor Demin, Keba Keita and Kannon Catchings.

It didn't take long for them to introduce themselves to Cougar Nation. The opening play of the game was an alley-oop dunk by Keita following a pick 'n' roll pass from Demin.

#BYU Basketball scrimmage squad

Blue
– Canon Catches
–Elijah Crawford
– Egor Demin
– Keba Keita
–Trey Stewart
– Max Triplett
–Townsend Tripple

White
– Dawson Baker
– Mihailo Boskovic
– Dallin Hall
– Mawot Mag
– Jared McGregor
– Brody Kozlowski
– Richie Saunders
-…

— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) October 10, 2024

Demin's playmaking ability was evident and will help Dallin Hall with the ball handoff, something that was missing last season.

Kanon Catchings started the second half with Demin, Keita, Richie Saunders and Dallin Hall on the white team. They were coached by Kevin Young. Maybe this will be the starting lineup when they play Central Arkansas on election night.

Catchings led all players in plus/minus in the first half. He made several three-point shots while showcasing his elite range and athleticism.

Improved ball handling

BYU has four guys who can run the offense. Dallin Hall will take over the starting duties, but Dawson Baker, Demin and Elijah Crawford showed their skills

In the first half, Crawford used a nasty crossover to get into the lane before firing a perfect pass to Trey Stewart, who hit a corner three-pointer (he made the shot).

Dawson Baker, who never got healthy last season, looked fluid and agile. Baker is one of the team's best finishers at the rim.

Kevin Young has a lot of options to work with when it comes to initiating the offense.

BYU basketball has depth

The final player added to the roster performed well in his first appearance as a BYU Cougar.

Mihailo Boskovic was an important addition to head coach Kevin Young due to his experience, size and ability to stretch the floor.

The depth of it #BYU The basketball team is off the charts.

It will be fun to see how Kevin Young puts the whole thing together. #BYUBasketball #Big12

— Matthew Baiamonte (@baiamontematt) October 10, 2024

He made two three-pointers in the first half. He will provide a nice change from Keita and Fousseyni Traore.

Boskovic, Keita, Catchings and fan favorite B Traore will be fighting for minutes all season long. This is a big problem.

The returning players showed improvement

Given the excitement of having Demin, Catching and other highly recruited players on the roster, what's somewhat forgotten is that Kevin Young retained several key players from last year's team.

Trey Stewart was one of the first players to return to BYU after Mark Pope left for Kentucky.

He showed remarkable improvement from last season. Stewart was decisive in his decision making and showed better three-point shooting

Richie Saunders is another returning player who appears to have taken a leap in his game. His high motor skills were on display as usual.

He shot quickly when he was open and made several layups off the baseline.

It was an exciting debut for a team with high expectations. Nothing seen at the scrimmage will diminish those expectations.

You can hear Matt Baiamonte every Saturday on KSL Newsradio for Cougar Sports Saturday from 12:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. or you can find him on Twitter @baiamontematt Here.

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