Predicting BYU Basketball’s New Starting 5 After Jaxon Kohler's Commitment

After months of searching, the BYU basketball finally landed its starting center on Thursday when Michigan State transfer Jaxon Kohler committed to the Cougars. Now that Kohler is on board, BYU's starting lineup is taking shape.

Predicting BYU's Starting Lineup

There are a few locks to start. Robert Wright III will start - Kevin Young believes he can be the best point guard in college basketball next season. Collin Chandler will certainly start after transferring in from Kentucky. Chandler and Wright give Kevin Young a veteran backcourt to work with.

We know Bruce Branch will start as well. The Cougars aren't bringing in one of the top recruits in the class to come off the bench. Last but not least, Jaxon Kohler will start. Kohler was one of the best bigs in the Big Ten, and the Cougars really needed an experienced center.

The spot that is still up for grabs is power forward position. There are a few ways Kevin Young could go. He could go with a shooting lineup and start Tyler Betsey at the four. Young could also go with Clemson transfer Jake Wahlin. Wahlin isn't as good as a shooter, but he brings great length and the ability to distribute the basketball. He also brings a lot of starting experience from his time at Utah and Clemson.

Last but not least, BYU could start Jakub Urbaniak for greater size and rebounding.

At this point, we're giving the starting nod to Jake Wahlin. Starting experience matters in college basketball, and Wahlin is the only player with a lot of starting experience that is competing for that spot.

Robert Wright III
Collin Chandler
Bruce Branch
Jake Wahlin
Jaxon Kohler

Predicting the Bench Rotation

If Wahlin gets the starting nod, Tyler Betsey and Jakub Urbaniak will be two of the first players off the bench. Nate Pickens is finally healthy and ready to take on the backup point guard minutes. Assuming he is healthy, Dawson Baker can play a scoring role off the bench as well.

Khadim Mboup will play a role. The scope of his real might be contigent on whether he can provide more scoring than he did last season. If Mboup is in the core rotation, that would give BYU a 10-man rotation, similar to the team that took BYU to the Sweet 16.

Tyler Betsey
Nate Pickens
Jakub Urbankiak
Dawson Baker
Khadim Mboup

That would leave Brody Kozlowski and Brooks Bahr on the outside of the core rotation.

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