PROVO, Utah (AP) — Kevin Young wants to turn BYU into a breeding ground for NBA talent. Young, who was introduced as the Cougars’ new head basketball coach on Wednesday night, said he plans to use his NBA experience and player development skills to turn Provo into an NBA pipeline for the players while building a consistently successful program in the Big 12. It’s a major selling point Young used when he first met with his current roster that’s already seen three major contributors — Dallin Hall, Aly Khalifa and Richie Saunders — enter the transfer portal since Mark Pope left to coach Kentucky. “These guys are all hungry to get better,” Young said. “That’s been obvious since I talked to them. They’re just dying to get better and dying to have a little specificity on what that looks like for each one of them.” BYU has a coach who has the experience to back up the NBA development talk. He spent four seasons as an assistant coach with the Philadelphia 76ers before joining the Suns in 2020. After one season on the Phoenix coaching staff, Young was promoted to associate head coach in 2021. Joining BYU qualified as an

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — The Arizona Coyotes are officially headed to Salt Lake City. The NHL Board of Governors voted unanimously Thursday to approve a $1.2 billion sale from Alex Meruelo to Utah Jazz owners Ryan and Ashley Smith, clearing the way for the franchise’s move to Utah next season. The deal includes a provision for Arizona to get an expansion team if a new arena is built within the next five years. The deal will be facilitated through the NHL, with $200 million going to league owners as a relocation fee. “We expressed our interest publicly with the NHL,” Ryan Smith told The Associated Press. “It’s probably been two years where we’ve said, ‘Hey, look, we really believe Utah can be an incredible hockey town.’ You look at all the demographics, we were just talking about the Olympics and you think about the Olympics coming back. It all kind of made sense.” Smith will take over the franchise’s hockey operations and Meruelo will maintain his business operations in Arizona in an effort to secure and develop a tract of land for a new arena in north Phoenix. Meruelo also retains ownership of the Tucson Roadrunners, the franchise’s AHL affiliate,

PROVO, Utah (AP) — BYU hired Phoenix Suns associate head coach Kevin Young to replace Mark Pope, who left to coach Kentucky, the school’s athletic director announced Tuesday. Young will continue to coach with the Suns during the NBA playoffs before joining BYU, but he will work on retaining current players, contacting recruits and assembling a coaching staff during the playoffs. “Kevin is someone we have had our eye on for a while,” BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe said in a press release. “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.” This is Young’s first head coaching job at the NCAA Division I level. The Salt Lake City native spent eight seasons coaching in the NBA G-League, with head coaching stints at the Utah Flash, Iowa Energy and Delaware 87ers. Young spent four seasons as an assistant coach with the Philadelphia 76ers before joining the Suns in 2020. He was promoted to associate head coach in