Dateline: 8/17/2008
Bad News for Utah State, Harward Verbals
Ian Harward has made his decision. "I just called coach [Dave] Rose and committed to BYU," he said Friday night. "I am just happy. I think it is going to be a great fit." Harward also had an offer from Utah State, which was his only offer for several months. But after watching him play for the club team Utah Pump N Run over the summer, BYU coaches apparently liked enough of what they saw to offer him a scholarship. "I've always dreamed of being a Cougar, and now it is going to happen," Harward said. The 6-foot-10 rising senior was injured with a bad back for much of his junior season. He will sign a national letter of intent with the Cougars in November, but that will mostly be symbolic because he intends to leave on a church mission in September of 2009 or even a little before then. Harward joins Lone Peak's 6-10 Nate Austin, who committed to the Cougars a few months ago.

Dateline: 8/9/2008
6'7" Texas Prep changes mind..
Kenny Onyechi Swing forward Sugar Land (TX) Kempner Ht: 6-foot-7 Wt: 210 lbs Class: 2009 (High School) Now that AAU basketball is over, Kenny Onyechi is trying to sort out the confusion. The tough 6-foot-7, 210-pound power forward from Fort Bend Kempner High School had gone into the summer having made a college verbal, now isn't so sure about that choice and has opened up his options. COLLEGE CHOICES : Rice (soft verbal) , Liberty , Long Island , and Weber State ...

Dateline: 8/9/2008
Montana State recruits pt. guard
Nathan Crabtree, a 5-foot-10 shooting guard, is trying to be more aggressive in taking the ball to the basket. Crabtree came off the bench and averaged 11.4 points for Poudre. Playing for the Colorado Chaos Blue, a highly competitive AAU club team, since April, Crabtree, Maag and McAuliffe have taken their respective games to Houston and North Carolina. Today they will leave for the Hoosier Shootout in Indianapolis before traveling back to Texas next week and then going to Las Vegas later this month. Hectic? Somewhat. Fun? Definitely. It's been a lot of fun," Crabtree said. "I mean just getting the chance to travel to all these different places and seeing all this athleticism from the teams you're playing against - it's really been an eye-opening experience." Crabtree has talked with coaches from Denver, Metro State and Montana State.

Dateline: 8/8/2008
Boise State and Weber State recruit off board
Ken Rancifer, Small forward El Cerrito (CA) El Cerrito Ht: 6-foot-7 Class: 2009 (High School) El Cerrito High's Ken Rancifer came on like gangbusters the last part of July. The 6-foot-7 senior wing showed his versatility as an inside outside threat, and played his way into several scholarship offers. Just days ago verbaled to San Diego. COLLEGE CHOICES : San Diego (solid verbal), San Francisco , Santa Clara , Boise State , CS Fullerton , CS Northridge , Texas Southern , Weber State , Colorado State ,and Fresno State ....

Dateline: 8/8/2008
Northern Colorado offers two local guards
McAuliffe, a 6-3 guard, is working on improving his defense, while Maag, a 6-5 forward/guard combo has been working on his ball-handling. "When you're playing against a lot of bigger and more athletic people, you really need to know how to utilize space more," Maag said. "I've been working on that a lot and just being more aggressive." Because college coaches get more bang for the buck at big AAU tournaments like the Hoosier Shootout, Crabtree, Maag and McAuliffe are not flying under the radar. Fort Collins coach Monty Alcaraz said Maag and McAuliffe recently were both offered scholarships to play at Northern Colorado. "That's pretty rare because they are just now entering their junior year," Alcaraz said. "The offers usually don't come this early. It's exciting."

Dateline: 8/7/2008
Weber State and NAU with Boise St recruits wing.
Gage Wooten (6′4″ SF Eaglecrest HS 2009, Aurora, CO) Incredibly athletic wing player who can score from all over the floor. Finishes well inside and hits shots from the perimeter. Great motor and natural winner. First Team All State and Player of the Year in the toughest conference in the state while leading his team to a conference title and Final Four appearance. Fantastic upper mid to high major prospect. School List: Colorado, Colorado State, Weber State, Denver, Northern Colorado and Boise State, amongst others.

Dateline: 8/6/2008
Utah top fifteen players for 2008-09
Ian Harward 6-9 C Orem HS Nate Austin 6-10 PF Lone Peak HS BYU Verbal... Austin Gamblin 6-9 C/PF Riverton HS Brandon Davies 6-9 PF Provo HS Jordan Barney 6-8 PF Bingham HS Sean Carey 6-7 F Bountiful HS Corbin Green 6-7 F Olympus HS Wade Bronson 6-6 F Bear River HS C J Wilcox 6-5 W Pleasant Grove HS Tyler Haws 6-4 W Lone Peak HS Kyle Maughan 6-4 W Hillcrest HS Travis Parrish 6-4 W Bountiful HS Tommy Tebbs 6'3" PG Lone Peak HS Rayes Gallegos 6-3 SG West Jordan HS Mason Sawyer 5-11 PG West Jordan HS

Dateline: 8/6/2008
Southern Utah and Montana State recruit guard
Michael Williams has patiently waited for his opportunity to contribute on a significant basis over at Taft in the Valley. In fact, he's been paying his dues for three-plus years now, first learning the ropes as a freshman, followed by a brief stint on the varsity as a sophomore and then a key role last season as the Toreadors' sixth man. Things, however, promise to be different once the coming season starts, considering Williams played well during the spring and summer. The 5-foot-10 guard played so well, in fact, he earned himself a spot as a starter in the backcourt, essentially replacing the irreplaceable Larry Drew Jr., who moved on to North Carolina. "Michael won't make any of our fans forget Larry, but he's a pretty darn good playmaker in his own right,'' Coach Derrick Taylor said. "Best thing about him is, he's hungry. He's always been hungry. He wants to prove he belongs. Honestly, this kid could have been starting for any team in the City last year, no doubt about it.'' "I'm telling your right now, mark my words, Michael is going to have a breakout year,'' Taylor added. "I've been getting calls from a lot of the mid-major colleges about him, schools like Montana State, Santa Clara and Southern Utah. This kid can play, flat out play, and he's going to prove it to everyone out there this season.''

Dateline: 8/6/2008
Weber State offers 6'4" Colorado Prep
Craig Von Allman (6′4″ SG Windsor HS, Windsor, CO) Lefty is very versatile on offense. One of the best shooters in the state with a very smooth release. Finishes very well at the rim and has a great motor. Tenacious defender who always plays hard. First team All Conference and All State. Wonderful upper mid major prospect who has had a tremendous spring and also excels in the classroom. School List: Air Force (offer), Weber State (offer), Colorado State, Boise State, Denver, Northern Colorado, Northern Arizona, Montana State, Harvard, Penn and Dartmouth

Dateline: 8/5/2008
Weber State Looks at lots of Utah talent
Rayes Gallegos, a 6-3 wing player from West Jordan High, is drawing the most college interest, especially from Weber State and SUU. A UCLA coach even asked about him. Weber State head coach Randy Rahe watched him closely as well as the transfer to Lone Peak H.S..

Dateline: 8/5/2008
Meet Utah Prep Joel Einfeldt 6'1" point guard
Incoming Cedar High School senior Joel Einfeldt is getting a lot of national exposure this summer playing for a Salt Lake Metro Basketball team. Last week, he played in the Los Angeles Nike Cream of the Crop tournament and this week he will play in the Reebok Main Event tournament in Las Vegas. The National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) sanctions both tournaments. College scouts from around the country attend the tourneys. Two summers ago, both of these elite tournaments featured teams that included recent NBA draftees Michael Beasley, O.J. Mayo, and Kevin Love. Started in 1995 by Coach Dave Hammer, the Salt Lake Metro Basketball teams consist of top players from around Utah. This year there are 16 total players on two different teams, the Metro Gold and the Metro Black. Einfeldt is on the Metro Black team. He emerged as the starting point guard over the other two players that were ranked ahead of him during the Los Angeles tournament, his older brother, Blair, said. In the Cream of the Crop Tournament, Joel’s Salt Lake Metro team beat Belmont Shore, (ranked number 2 in the nation) by 12 and lost by 4 to the San Diego All Stars, which include Scout.com’s number one unsigned prospect, Blair said. Blair said not only is Joel playing against the best, he is playing with some of the best players in the state. Joel’s teammates include Lone Peak’s Tyler Haws, two-time Utah Mr. Basketball, and Pleasant Grove’s C.J. Wilcox, Utah’s 2007-2008 state scoring champion. Invited to try out for the team in April, Joel made the cut. The team has practiced once a week since April. Joel, living in Cedar City, has not been able to attend every practice. Hurricane High School’s Zach Sorensen is the only other player from southern Utah on the two teams. “I’ve had a lot of fun playing different kinds of players,” Einfeldt said of his Salt Lake Metro experience. “It’s opened my eyes to more physical basketball.” Joel said playing with Salt Lake Metro Basketball has made him a more efficient player, learning to play with players he does not know well. He said he has enjoyed getting to know the other players on the team. He has also benefitted from the instruction of Coach Hammer. Joel said Hammer “gets intense when he needs to,” stays positive, and “just lets us play.” The competition his Salt Lake Metro team faces is better than he sees during the high school season, he said. He said he hopes playing this summer will help him be sharper for the high school season. Joel has recently begun receiving interest from colleges around the country, his older brother Blair said. He has received letters of correspondence from University of Southern California, San Diego State University, Denver University, Louisiana Tech, and Southern Utah University. Joel gained his love of basketball at a young age. As a 7-year-old, he was a member of the “BruKru,” the cheering section for the Canyon View High School basketball team, on which Blair played from 1997-1999. Also at that age, he had an amazing knowledge of NBA players. “If you named an NBA player, he would tell you the player’s jersey number, team and where they played their college ball,” Blair said. Joel’s mother, Maureen, said he would pretend to dribble and shoot as he walked around his second grade classroom. “With that in mind, he has been working on his shot for many, many years,” she said. The family would regularly find a gym to play H.O.R.S.E. or ‘Fry ‘em,’” Maureen said. At a young age, Joel played against children older than him because his father said the only way he would get better was playing against people that were better than him, his mother said. As a sixth grader, he earned a starting spot on a Cedar High School seventh grade team that lost by one point in the semifinals to the eventual champions of the league, taking third. “Early on we saw some potential, but his hard work has been the difference,” Blair said. Joel comes from a competitive family of 10 children. His father, Tim, played college baseball at Snow College and the University of Utah. One of his sisters ran track at SUU, and another sister played soccer at a college in Alabama. Joel used to play baseball and football as well. He runs cross-country in the fall to stay in shape. Blair said basketball is Joel’s favorite sport and the one he is best at as a player. As a junior at Cedar High School, he earned first team all-region honors as well as third team all state in both the “Deseret Morning News” and “Salt Lake Tribune.” The coaches voted him second team all-tournament at the 3A state tournament last season. He carries a 3.98 grade point average. He will also keep busy as Cedar High School’s Student Body President during the upcoming school year. Joel said he is “really excited” about the high school basketball season. He said many Redmen players are working hard this summer to have an even better basketball season. Blair said Joel is leading the charge. “His hard work has become infectious,” Blair said. “Many of his teammates have begun seeing him work hard and have begun spending that extra time to get better.” Blair said all of the individual accolades Joel will receive this season will be recognition for a team effort. “Joel would be the first one to tell you that,” Blair said. His mother echoed that sentiment. “I am particularly grateful for the way Joel focuses on everyone around him,” she said. “He wants to get better for the betterment of the team. He’s unselfish and I think that’s a benefit that comes with being number 6 of 10.” Maureen said Joel is glad his brother Rand, who is serving an LDS mission in Singapore, will be returning in time to watch him during his senior season as well as run with him. She said Joel and Rand are best friends. After high school, Joel will go to college wherever he can play basketball, he said. His mother said that if basketball did not work out, Joel would be just fine. “He’d love to do well in basketball, but he won’t have to worry about having something to ‘fall back on,’” she said. “Whatever it is that he chooses to do and learn while he’s playing basketball will be firmly in place if basketball isn’t.”

Dateline: 8/5/2008
Meet Junior 6'9" Neil Monson
Waterford's 6-9 Neil Monson, expected to be one of the state's top recruits next year and the son of former Ute Reid Monson. Runs the floor ok. Needs strength but has great 10 foot shot. Good free throw shooter. Rebounds good, but learn to block out rather then let the ball come to him. Should be a mid major to High major recruit. The Junior Class in Utah looks to be about 15 deep of Division One players..

Dateline: 8/4/2008
6'6" Corbin Green has Weber State top of his list.
Corbin is 6-foot-6 now, having grown 2 or 3 inches the past year, and has steadily improved since his junior season at Oly, where he averaged only seven points a game. He scored 52 points in a summer tournament game a few weeks ago against one of the better club teams in California, making eight three-pointers. Corbin is more slender than Shaun, and will probably end up an inch or two taller, 6'8" at least. Corbin said he is really interested in Weber State because coach Randy Rahe is a family friend who helped recruit Shaun to Utah when he was an assistant there. "I really like the Weber State program," he said. Asked if he wants to go to Utah, Corbin said, "I kinda do, kinda don't. I don't really want to follow my brother, exactly, but I would like to stay in-state. I am really interested in Weber State. That's my top school."

Dateline: 8/3/2008
Montana and Weber out with Mn. Pt. Guard
Mike Felt Point guard Redwood Falls (MN) Redwood Valley AAU: Dakota Schoolers Ht: 6-foot-1 Class: 2009 (High School) The Latest: State's leading scorer makes D1 decision. Last year as a 6-foot-2 junior combo guard Redwood Valley's Mike Felt averaged a massive 30.3 points per game and that mark led the state of Minnesota in scoring. Felt drew division one interest and yesterday made his Division One dream come true. COLLEGE CHOICES: North Dakota State (solid verbal), South Dakota State , Nebraska , Montana ,and Weber State ....

Dateline: 7/30/2008
6'4" Idaho Prep going to IMG Academy in Florida
Pocatello High standout Alex Drecksel is heading south to finish his high school career at the IMG Basketball Academy in Bradenton, Fla. Aside from his extreme skill on the court, Drecksel is a genuinely good kid who always gives thoughtful and genuine responses during interviews, and reporters hate to see athletes like that disappear. The guess is that high school basketball fans in the area -- especially those partial to the Indians -- felt a similar twinge of displeasure after learning of Drecksel's plans. With him, Pocatello would've been the clear favorite to capture the 4A Fifth District title, and the Indians would've had a legitimate shot at improving on their third-place finish at the state tournament. Basketball players of Drecksel's caliber don't grace the courts of southeast Idaho all that frequently, and it's only natural if followers of the sport felt a tad bit betrayed when reading about the 6-foot-4 star's decision to cap his prep tenure in another state. He's one of Idaho's own, and Idahoans should have the pleasure of watching him shine in his last season as he chases a Division-I scholarship.

Dateline: 7/29/2008
Lone Peak point guard is going Div. One
New move-in to Lone Peak's boundaries that prep basketball fans are going to hear a lot about -- 6-3 point guard Tommy Tebbs. I know, just what two-time defending 5A champion Lone Peak needed -- a point guard with Division I ability. Yes, he's related to the Tebbs' clan that shined for Bingham in the 1990s. Tommy Tebbs has been living in Las Vegas, but has moved in with his grandmother in Alpine, squarely in Lone Peak's boundaries. The senior-to-be doesn't have any offers yet, but he is "hearing a lot" from Weber State and a little from Utah, Utah State and BYU. He said he's already earned a nickname from his Lone Peak teammates, with whom he's already played 42 games this summer: "Dime."

Dateline: 7/24/2008
Meet 6'9 Senior Jordan Barney Bingham H.S. Utah
Jordan Barney Bingham 6'9 2009 Post player with great instincts. Need to bulk up and learn to block out better. Has good touch around hoop, but must learn to look for double team in the post. Just needs to play alot. Good lower major to Juco player.

Dateline: 7/23/2008
Meet Junior 6'7 Ricardo Saldana West H.S. Utah
Ricardo Saldana from West H.S in Utah, is a 6'7 Post player class of 2010. Has the ability to have a break-out year at West High School. Needs to be the man. Wants the ball. Runs good, shots better, and rebounds well. Now must take over games as a junior. will get great looks after junior year.

Dateline: 7/22/2008
Meet Junior 6'7 Xan Ricketts Brighton H.S. Utah
Xan Ricketts Brighton Utah 6'7 2010 Lead team in rebounds last summer and is a double double player. Will get bigger and stronger, post player major college ability needs grades. Great shot up to 18 feet.

Dateline: 7/21/2008
Best Junior post for 2010 Meet Ben Clifford 6'8
Ben Clifford is from Bingham H.S. in Utah. He is a 6'8 post class of 2010. Lead team as a Soph. to State play-off run. Leader on and Off Court. Excellant in Classroom. great skills for youg talent. Coaches from Utah, all aware of his talents and already getting offers.

Design by Level Five Interactive                             © 2003 CMC Enterprises