We’ve got our guy in Jensen. Now, who is coming down the pike on the local scene that has what the Runnin’ Utes need?
Well, for 2025, the top 8 (3-star) Utah players have all signed. link
AJ to BYU (for $6M, mostly endorsements though), Harwell to Houston, Staton/Burgess (duh with his dad there) to BYU, Mandaquit to UW. There is a 3-star PF committed to Idaho and a SG committed to UC-Irvine that could flip, but not sure if they are exciting.
HS recruiting is more meh now - portal is usually more productive. Get someone from lower conferences or from P4 that want more playing time.
Seems like if we want good ‘local’ talent, have to have ties with Wasatch Academy or Utah Prep (but neither SLC).
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A 4 star guy that committed to UNLV I guess would be able to enter portal since the coach was fired. Best offers UNLV and UNM.
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I think he’s a nephew. Not a son. Even still… the Burgess pipeline appears kaput.
It goes to show how far we let our own program fall.
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I saw a poll that included D1, D2, and Juco coaches about recruiting. Basically, high level D1 coaches said they don’t really recruit high school kids anymore unless they are projected to be a one-and-done to the NBA. They are focused on recruiting from the portal and lower level programs. D2 recruits high school and Juco, and Juco recruits high school.
I guess there is a new rule for Juco that they can play 2 years and only have it count as one year against their eligibility at a higher level. So they will still have 3 years of eligibility if they can get on at a 4 year school.
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It seems like most good HS recruits in Utah are at the prep schools and come from other states. There don’t seem to be as many home grown players, that are highly recruited, as there used to be.
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This. And for the most part, the old days of ‘church ball’ in Utah (and elsewhere) and waking up at 5 to shoot at the church gym is pretty much gone. Rather watch TikTok and play video games.
And to @chrisrenrut 's point, I saw that too - let lower level D1 and D2 prove some of the kids out then poach them when rebuilding your team each year. Drake brought over 4 D2 players (from the new coach’s prior 15 year stint) and they just went 30-3 and won their 1st round game as an 11 seed (they do have a unique SLOW style). It’s possible to turn around a program, but developing not-ready HS players at high level D1 usually isn’t it.
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