KSL BYU and college sports reporter
PROVO — It started as a thought, developed into a plan, and turned into a viral social media moment.Richie Saunders looked at his roommate, walk-on point guard Jared McGregor, during BYU's stay in the Big 12 men's basketball tournament in Kansas City and uttered four words that hatched a plan: I gotta get out.
The only problem? The stir-crazy Saunders, who tore his ACL nearly a month prior in the first minute of a game against Colorado, could hardly move. Locked into a knee brace that ran the length of his leg and bound to a pair of crutches, walking the short distance from the team's hotel to a late-night rendezvous with Insomnia Cookies in downtown Kansas City in question.Even an Uber or Lyft might be difficult.The solution?"We figured that the hotel bell cart was the best vehicle for the trip," McGregor told KSL.com.And that's how McGregor's latest post on his Instagram — with over 400,000 views in less than a week — was born.Saunders, the Cougars' third-leading scorer who averaged 18.0 points in 25 games of his senior campaign, has found a new way to contribute to a BYU men's basketball team that will open its 33rd NCAA Tournament all-time Thursday against the winner of an 11th-seeded "First Four" game between Texas and North Carolina State in Portland . View this post on Instagram A post shared by Jared McGregor His work was on display in an 82-76 win over then-No. 10 Texas Tech in the Cougars' regular-season finale. But it was in Kansas City that "Coach Richie" was fully activated, head coach Kevin Young acknowledged."He's showing a bit more of his personality," Young said. "I don't want to speak for him, but when I'm watching him from afar and looking at his body language and the vibes he puts out, I feel like he's in a good place mentally. He knows that this is just a minor step back in his career, and he can't change what has happened."I think he feels good about the plan that is in place for him, personally," he added. "And I think that's allowed him to put his own self aside and just be there for the guys as an older brother type."BYU will count on Saunders for his experience with the tournament that Young holds in high esteem.So will McGregor, Keba Keita, Mihailo Boskovic and the rest of the squad that experienced last year's run to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2011. Talent is one thing, and no moment has been too big for leading score
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