Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes
PROVO — First-year BYU men's basketball coach Kevin Young has had plenty of moments of wearing his heart on his sleeve, so it wasn't necessarily a surprise when he caught his emotions after the Cougars' 80-65 win over Kansas State in a key Big 12 bubble contest Saturday night.
Perhaps more surprising was the specific emotion that caught the 43-year-old first-time college head coach.
After the game, Young brought to the postgame locker room the family of former BYU post Jake Shoff, and said he "wanted to win this game so bad" for the group that included Shoff's wife Emily and his four sons, among others.
"Sometimes it's bigger than basketball," he said, before his voice was caught in his throat and he asked the family to lead a postgame cheer.
No words, actions or deeds can bring back a loved one after a tragedy such as the one Shoff's family suffered Feb. 6 from a fatal car accident near Point of the Mountain in Lehi.
But the Cougars, nevertheless, honored the family of Shoff, with his wife, children, parents Carl and Mary Ann Shoff and in-laws Mike and Leah Criddle on the court for a special halftime memorial.
Some 50 or so members of the Shoff and Criddle families — two clans that have become so intertwined that they affectionally call themselves "the Shiddles" — were in attendance at Saturday night's basketball game, which is exactly where lifelong Cougar fan Jake Shoff would've wanted his family to be.
Just a day after the family laid the 46-year-old Shoff to rest with one final rendition of the Cougar fight song, BYU went out and played inspired basketball against the Wildcats, much like the way the 6-foot-9, 265-pound center from Alpine inspired his teammates in his three seasons.
Our hearts are still broken over losing our Jake Shoff, but we had the opportunity to celebrate his life yesterday and it was everything we had hoped for.
— Ben Criddle (@CriddleBenjamin) February 16, 2025
Jake was so many things….. being a BYU Basketball player and fan was only a small portion of his life, but man was he… pic.twitter.com/bFt78h9Dvm
"We really wanted to get the win for their family as he kind of got honored tonight," Young said. "We had a bunch of them in the locker room after the game, which was pretty neat. Prayers to their family, and I'm just glad that we could do a small little part to honor him and show them a little bit of support during this time."
Shoff undoubtedly would've been proud of the Cougars' execution Saturday, as well.
He probably would've loved the way BYU attacked the paint for 40 points and ran so many sets through 6-foot-8 center Keba Keita — who finished with 9 points, 11 rebounds and a career-high five blocks on 4-of-5 shooting — or Dallin Hall's downhill penetration that led to 16 points and three assists on 4-of-8 from the floor.
A cherished alum whom former BYU players and his coach Steve Cleveland called "a great teammate," Shoff also would've been impressed by the Cougars' 18 assists on 27 made field goals, and holding the Wildcats to just six dimes on 25 made shots. He might even have looked at the 41-31 rebounding margin that included a career-high 14 boards from Richie Saunders and smiled, as well.
Shoff's brother-in-law, former BYU football cornerback and sports radio host Ben Criddle, said the family could "feel the love and presence of Jake" amid the 17,228 at the Marriott Center.
lots of love for the Shoff family💙 pic.twitter.com/xCb2oYBVB1
— BYU Men's Basketball (@BYUMBB) February 16, 2025
He might even have been sitting next to the head coach on the bench. Shoff was a lot of things to a lot of people, including the founder of the Phoenix Recovery Center and a pioneer in the mental-health services field.
Basketball made him known to plenty of people, first as the Region 4 Tri-Player of the Year as a senior at American Fork before a 57-game career at BYU that averaged 2.7 points and 2.8 rebounds in 11.5 minutes per game that included NCAA Tournament appearances in 2003 and 2004.
But above all else, he was a husband, a father — and a coach on his sons' youth basketball teams.
"That's really been heavily on my mind and my heart," Young told BYUtv after the game of the Shoff family. "We've got a couple of family connections, with some of (Shoff's) extended family. Man, he was just coaching a game against my son about three weeks ago.
"I hope they had a special night. He's a member of our BYU family. ... Sometimes it's bigger than basketball, and I'm just glad that he could get honored tonight."
