The Salt Lake Tribune
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Lone Peak Center's Stock Rising
News at the end of last week that Logan High's Charles Abouo is bound for Brigham Young University's basketball program -- after a stint at prep school in New Hampshire -- prompted several readers to wonder about some of the better players in Utah's Class of 2008 -- and where they could be headed.

After a couple calls to some trusted experts on the local hoops scene, I learned that it is not going to be a fabulous crop, but that there could be some hidden gems out there.

For instance, Lone Peak's 6-foot-9 center, Justin Hamilton, is said to have had a phenomenal summer. His stock is rising, and it doesn't hurt that some recruiters believe he could grow another inch or two.

Hamilton played sparingly for Lone Peak's varsity as a junior, scoring only a few points at that level. He mostly played for the junior varsity. He has played for the club team Salt Lake Metro this summer.

The recruiting Web site scouthoops.com has Hamilton as the No. 3 center in the West, up from No. 6 at the start of the summer. He's the fourth Metro player to receive top-10 center recognition by scouthoops.com in the last five years.

He's also smart and studious, with a reported grade point average in the 3.8 range.

Hamilton told the site he has received interest from Utah, Weber State, Portland, Oregon, San Diego UC-Davis and Washington State, but only UC-Davis has offered a scholarship at this point. He's been on unofficial visits to Weber State and Utah State.

Hamilton could benefit from the attention that will be paid to the state's top junior, Tyler Haws, who happens to be his teammate at Lone Peak. Haws, a 6-foot-4 shooting guard, will see heavy recruitment unless he commits early.

Another center to watch is Bountiful's Ben Aird, although interest in the Braves' three-year starter has slowed a tad, sources say.

Perhaps the best center prospect in the state is Sky View 7-footer Jordan Stone, who verbally committed to Utah State in the spring, according to a reliable source.

Judge's 6-9 Noel Hollingsworth and Olympus' 6-10 Elliott Bullock also get high marks, along with Hamilton and Aird, according to the Web site intermountainhoops.com.

Heat Check at Snow

Steve Wilkerson of Sandy wants to know what happened to Ryan "Heat Check" Brimley, the Hillcrest High star who was in shooting range the minute he stepped through the gym doors.

Brimley, who helped bring the Huskies back to basketball prominence with Donnie Lao the past two or three years, will play for Snow College this winter.

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About Jay and Lya
   Jay Drew and Lya Wodraska cover high school and college recruiting for the Salt Lake Tribune. If you have recruiting news, e-mail drew@sltrib.com.