Jordan Kellier, a 6’6 Juco Wing with a 7’1 wingspan and 3 years of eligibility. Originally from Jamaica. Put up 18 points, 9 boards, 2 assists, 2 steals and 1 block last year in his only season at the JUCO level. 44/27/80 shooting splits.
This kind of came out of nowhere. He just got eligibility and his offer list is small schools. I do think there is some talent to work with here. Probably not an immediate contributor, but could be something in a year or 2.
I think any contribution here beyond the practice squad should be seen as a bonus.
With one scholarship left, Id like to see the staff go after a 4/5 combo. I think a possible selling point would be that they could be the 3rd big in the rotation. Outside ability would be aplus.
The biggest question is how he adjusts to serious basketball.
Love the wingspan, looks athletic, has 3 years. Lefty.
Coach trying to save face with Guys that have no business on the team. YAY!
I think this is a great point. Like you said, terrific wingspan, athletic…3 years to play. At this point in time, this is about as good as we can hope to get.
After what happened with Delon Wright - late pickup after the flip of Julian Jacobs to USC - I’m on a wait-and-see with guys like Kellier.
Nobody saw Delon Wright coming, the first hints were social media posts by his brother in a high-end hoops league in LA with NBA players. To be clear, it’s not fair to compare anyone to Delon, and I’m not laying that expectation on this guy.
I’m kind of past whether LK should be gone - completely out of my hands.
I’m just intrigued by guys that have a lot of upside. Maybe Kellier’s here a year, rides the bench and is gone. Or maybe he’s got a serious work ethic, and we’ll see.
There was a recent article about how Delon was gone to the NBA after his first year, before LK talked with him about the pros & cons, and Delon decided to come back and take his game to another level.
Like with Rawson, Taylor, Loveridge, Wright, Kuzma, Bachinski, Van Dyke… a work ethic can make a player far better than projected.
Ma-ake…a voice of reason, which is much needed in the sports world.
I don’t think most of the guys you listed were actually better than projected, some of them probably did worse than many thought they would.
Loveridge was a very highly rated recruit that was a decent college player, many thought he was an NBA kid. Van Dyke was also a highly rated recruit that did not have the results you would expect from the state’s top player. Kuzma was also a big time recruit who did not perform to his talent level while at Utah.
We needed to fill a hole in the roster. Hope this kid can help.
Kuzma went from not able to play as a freshman to first team all Pac-12 as a junior. He lived up to his talent level and then some at Utah.
Here’s the list of Utah’s Mr. Basketball:
Most of them do alright but not great in college. Every one of them was like Loveridge - people thought they’d end up in the NBA. Exactly two of them have been drafted into the NBA. Utah just hasn’t been a big state in producing basketball talent. Loverdige was great for us, and I doubt Jon Wooden would have squeezed much more out of him than we got.
I get that you’re very down on Larry…we all are. But you don’t have to distort the facts. The fact that we haven’t been to a tournament in forever is all the evidence we need.
I’m not distorting anything. You are simply misrepresenting what maake said. He said those players were better than projected, that is demonstrably false. I pointed that out, that’s it.
I’m not talking about external sites projections or star ratings or whatever… just the eyeball test of how they improved.
Loveridge was a tweener, not a 4 like we needed at the rebuild, didn’t have a good outside shot. He got better, playing in Europe.
Van Dyke was looking like a very uncomfortable local-hero bust, but he found his path, it was heartening to watch. (He’s still actually making money at the game, I believe.)
I thought Kuzma improved enough to make an NBA roster, he got serious kudos from Ivan Rabb at Cal. Nobody foresaw his big splash.
Taylor was undersized, but had the heart of a warrior.
Players like Taylor and Bibbins are rare, not because of their raw potential, but how they amplify the skills & contributions of everyone else.
With everything else going on in this world that is truly unsettling, if we even get a basketball season, I’ll be happy to see what this team does.
The difference is you are basing their projections off of what they showed their first few years at Utah. All the players I mentioned were supposed to be at least as good as they ended up being. In other words, none of them exceeded expectations. I
Excellent points. I feel the same way about Taylor and Bibbins. Was also glad to see Van Dyke transform in his time at the U.
Audio of Kellier. I like this kid.
I know Kellier has 3 years of eligibility - does he also have a redshirt year?
If he has a work ethic, he’s got a chance to contribute. The JC videos looked like ward ball, but at least he was only at that level one year, and decent numbers for a pretty raw talent.
Supposedly slotted as a D1 player out of that prep academy in upstate NY, had some HS credit issues, like Pita Taumoepenu did coming from Tonga, hence the trip to JC ball in N. Dakota.
Interesting story, we’ll see what happens.
Hopefully some of Timmy’s and Rylan’s intensity rubs off on him.
Speaking of Timmy Allen, what is the latest on his tenure at Utah?
Van Dyke did provide what is arguably the best non-tournament moment in Ute hoops history.
For sure…that game-winning shot at UCLA was epic.