yahoo
Brooks Bahr's path to BYU has been anything but straightforward. Committing in November 2023 under then-head coach Mark Pope, the Texas native saw the program undergo a seismic shift before ever stepping foot on campus. Pope departed for Kentucky, making way for Kevin Young, who has since guided the Cougars to a 60% win rate in Big 12 play, a Sweet 16 appearance, and two first-round NBA draft picks—all while Bahr was serving a mission in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.
Now, four months after completing his mission, Bahr is finally on the roster, and the freshman guard has no regrets about his choice. 'BYU is just the place where I want to win the most,' Bahr said on BYUtv's BYU Sports Nation. 'No matter where in the country I go, there's money elsewhere and stuff like that, different coaching staffs and everything, but winning at BYU to me is the most special. Since I was a kid, it was my dream to win at BYU, to bring a banner, bring a championship to this university, so that's why I stayed.'
Bahr's high school credentials are impressive: at Keller High, he averaged 17.2 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 5.6 assists per game, earning a No. 25 ranking as a combo guard by 247 Sports. He chose BYU over offers from Utah, USC, Wake Forest, and others. Young, who has never coached a freshman straight off a mission, sees a kindred spirit in Bahr. 'He's got that attitude where he's got a chip on his shoulder, which is right up my alley,' Young said in June. 'He's got some Richie Saunders in him, with that kind of psycho gene, and I say that very complimentary where he just is a maniacal-type worker. But he's going to help us because he's a super competitive kid. I think he's got the physicality to do well in our league. What I've seen out of his offensive game, he's a guy who can dribble, pass and shoot, stuff I've been talking about for a while. So I think he'll fit in, he'll fit in well.'
Key Analysis
At 6-foot-4 and well-built, Bahr's physique could easily be mistaken for a linebacker, a testament to his dedication even during his mission. 'In my mission we were lucky, we all had weights and benches in our apartment,' Bahr explained. 'We would just wake up, I would put some peanut butter on toast, eat that as I was lifting, and that was good. But coming back, just getting into shape, we've been running a lot as a team, so it's been good.' Young added, 'I don't know how many pushups the dude did on his mission, but quite a few would be my guess. He's in really good shape physically. He's bigger than I thought.'
Bahr joins a deep backcourt featuring Rob Wright III, Nate Pickens, Dawson Baker, and Collin Chandler, but he's focused on earning minutes and contributing to the team's chemistry. 'I love the emphasis that we've had of just being together as a team,' Bahr said. 'I think we're just going to be a team that plays super fast and plays super hard. We rebound, we make shots and we play together. That was the emphasis today in practice, it's been the emphasis all summer. We've got guys that just love to win. We're diving for loose balls, taking charges, doing the things that other teams don't want to do. I'm just excited (for) every night (in the Big 12) playing against guys that are hungry to win, big, strong, fast. It just gets me excited, man. I'm ready to go, I'm excited to play.'
Originally reported by yahoo.