Had a nice chat this morning with an old friend of mine -- Provo basketball coach Craig Drury -- about Brandon Davies, the 6-foot-9 senior who will play for the legendary coach this winter before moving on to what should be an outstanding college basketball career.

I've been getting a lot of reports about the recruitment of Davies, some conflicting with each other, and I figured the coach with the most state titles in Utah prep basketball history would give it to me straight. Over the years, Drury has been one of the most frank, honest coaches I have covered.

"He's good," Drury said. "He barely turned 17, so he's still going to grow a few more inches. He's got a 7-foot-4 wing span, he runs well and he's an adequate shooter for a 6-9 kid."

Fast fact: Davies is actually younger than Timpview's 6-foot-6 Bronson Kaufusi, the junior-to-be who has committed to play football for BYU but could very well get some basketball offers.

Drury confirmed that Davies has been "blowing up," as they say, with some great games against some of the best competition in the country this summer. Lately, almost every school in the Pac-10 has called Drury, as well as what he called "a prominent basketball power in the Pacific Northwest." That would be Gonzaga, obviously.

Locally, BYU, Utah and Utah State have extended scholarship offers and have been on him for years. Davies is African-American, LDS, and was adopted at birth.

So, coach, which lucky school is going to get this kid?

Drury said he talked with Davies two weeks ago before the Utah Pump-N-Run Red team left for Las Vegas, and that Davies was "entirely open" at the time.

"When he gets back, we will talk and start narrowing it down so we can be fair to the schools he won't be considering so they can make other plans," Drury said.

Then the coach said something that might make coaches at BYU, Utah and other places cringe: "I would love to see him play for Stew. Of course, every player I have had, I wanted them to play for Stew."

Stew, of course, is Utah State basketball coach Stew Morrill. Drury and Morrill grew up together and are close friends.

Drury quickly added that ultimately it will be Davies' decision, and Davies' decision alone.

"My role with Brandon will be more as a veto voice," he said. "If I say anything, it will be to discourage him from going somewhere he won't fit. I've had tons of players go to BYU and have good experiences there, so I am not going to tell him not to go there, obviously."

Drury is more involved in Davies' recruitment than he would usually be because Davies has been raised by a hard-working single mother who adopted him when he was a baby. She is not savvy to the recruiting game and has asked for help.

The parents of Provo junior Kyle Collinsworth, who will be one of 2010's top in-state recruits, are very involved because they went through the process a few years ago with their son, Chris, a BYU player who is currently on an LDS Church mission. Church leaders, caring neighbors and his club team coaches are also involved.

"His mother has done a wonderful job raising him, but the neighborhood around him has helped raise him, too," Drury said. "He has sat at a lot of kitchen tables in this area, doing his homework."

Speaking of which, Drury said that while Davies is not a super student, he is on track to pass the NCAA clearinghouse "if he does everything he's supposed to do" this coming school year.

Another source very close to Davies, who asked to remain nameless, said "he would like to go to BYU. His mother wants him to go to BYU. He is not the type of kid to leave town too far. He will probably want to play in front of his family and friends. He has potentially an NBA or European career ahead of him."

The same source, however, painted a far bleaker picture regarding Davies' academic progress than Drury did.

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Provo basketball fans have a lot to look forward to because the younger Collinsworth will be just as good as Davies and just as heavily recruited, Drury believes.

He said Kyle Collinsworth, who can play point guard, shooting guard or on the wing, has grown a couple of inches since last year and is now 6-5 or 6-6. He could get to 6-8 or so.

"He might be the best player in the state right now," Drury said, making that early season matchup with Lone Peak and Tyler Haws a little more anticipated than it already was.

The same local schools that have offered Davies have offered Collinsworth. Out of state, Washington State knows the family well, having recruited Chris Collinsworth, and seems the most interested right now, Drury said.

The coach said some schools aren't after Kyle because they believe he will follow his brother to BYU. "That would be a mistake, because he's going to listen to everybody and make up his own mind," Drury said.

-- Jay Drew

The Utah Pump-N-Run Red club team featuring several of the state's top high school basketball players was eliminated 61-55 by a team called High Intensity on Wednesday night at the Best of Summer club basketball tournament in Southern California.

P&R Red went 5-1 in the tournament, beating the Bay Area (Calif.) Warriors 67-62 earlier Wednesday in bracket play before falling to High Intensity in the Round of 16. The team concluded its two-week run with a 9-2 record, having started the stretch at a tournament in Las Vegas last week.

Utah Pump-N-Run White, another 17-under team, went 0-4 in the tournament and "kind of ran out of gas" because it had just seven players, according to P&R Red coach Todd Phillips.

The Utah Pump-N-Run 16-under team went 3-2 in its division and made it the Sweet 16, but was eliminated Wednesday night by the Heroes of Dallas.

-- Jay Drew

Scout.com is reporting that Cottonwood High lineman John Martinez, rated as the No. 1 prospect in Utah's class of 2009, has pretty much put UCLA and USC at the top of his list and is saying it is a toss-up between the two Los Angeles-area schools for his services.

"UCLA has the facilities, but USC has my game," Martinez said. "It's going to be a hard decision."

However, he still plans to visit LSU when it plays host to Georgia on Oct. 25 and says the Tigers are No. 4 on his list, just behind Ohio State.

Contacted Wednesday, Martinez's father said there was "some truth" to the report, but didn't exactly give it a ringing endorsement.

John Martinez told the Web site he will make his final decision when Cottonwood's season is over.

By the way, the elder Martinez took exception to a previous blog here that said Cottonwood could have more than four Division I football recruits if a couple more players get their grades up. Turns out, one of the players I had in mind has left the program and is reportedly trying to get into another Region 6 school.

Steve Martinez says other potential scholarship kids for the Colts this season (who are not struggling academically) include Jason Bilanzich, Cole Peraza and Alo Moli.

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A source tells me that Lone Peak baseball star Dillon Robinson has committed to BYU's baseball program. Robinson, a third baseman, will be a junior this fall and is believed to be the first incoming junior ever to commit to the Cougars.

I haven't been able to verify that, but it sounds plausible.

Robinson led the Knights in hitting with a .479 average last year. He had 35 hits, 22 RBIs, scored 21 runs and had five stolen bases.

-- Jay Drew

Former Cottonwood linebacker Lynn Katoa pleaded guilty Wednesday for assaulting a fellow Colorado University student last spring, but will not have to serve jail time, it appears.

Katoa, a five-star recruit who graduated early from Cottonwood so he would be in Boulder in time to participate in spring drills, was one of the most-recruited football players in state history last winter.

He has been suspended from playing for the Buffaloes this season, but the deferred sentence he received in a Boulder courtroom means he can re-join the team in time for the 2009 season.

Katoa, 19, was arrested in March after he allegedly assualted a fellow student while holding a rock in his hand during an off-campus party. Katoa slammed 22-year-old Cameron Shafer into a wall of Shafer's apartment and struck him on the head because Katoa incorrectly believed Shafer was involved in a Taser incident outside the apartment.

The Taser had been fired at one of Katoa's friends, former CU linebacker Justin Nonu, and Katoa received an "indirect shock" from the Taser, according to his attorney. The man who fired the Taser left the scene and has never been found.

Katoa, who apologized for his March actions in Wednesday's hearing, was sentenced to 60 hours of community service, placed on monitored sobriety and ordered to have no contact with the victim.

Katoa, who was immediately suspended from the team by coach Dan Hawkins and by CU's Office of Judicial Affairs for the spring and summer semesters, will not play for the Buffaloes this fall. However, because his sentence was deferred, he won't have a felony on his record if he stays clear of trouble for the three years.

That clears the way for him to re-join the team in time for the 2009 season, Hawkins has said.

-- Jay Drew

We told you a few days ago about Casey Oliverson, the 6-foot-8 high school freshman from Preston, Idaho, who was moving into American Fork's boundaries and was likely to perhaps even start for the Cavemen this season.

Well, the situation has changed -- dramatically.

Oliverson's father, Mike, will not accept a job teaching special education at American Fork after all. Instead, he has taken a job at Simsboro High in Simsboro, La.

Yes, Louisiana!

That means the family will move to the town near Ruston, La., and Louisiana Tech on Friday, Mike Oliverson confirmed this afternoon. Some lucky coach is going to get a 6-foot-8 athlete with Division I potential dropped into his lap from Idaho, of all places.

And he will have him for four years, presumably.

The tie to Louisiana is that Casey's older brother, 6-11 Shaun Oliverson, signed to play for La Tech and former Utah interim coach Kerry Rupp last spring. Shaun Oliverson played a year at Cornell before a church mission, but was recruited to La Tech by Rupp and assistant Curtis Condie, a Preston native who has coached at Wasatch and South Sevier highs and Snow College and Utah Valley University.

A teacher in Idaho for 20 years, Mike Oliverson said American Fork dragged its feet about matching his years, wanting to pay him what a seven-year teacher makes, while the Louisiana school was willing to give him a pay raise, when benefits and bonuses are figured in.

The family has another boy, Shane Oliverson, who will be a senior this fall but will remain at Preston High and live with his grandmother. Shane, 6-4 and 240 pounds, is a football star who doesn't have any offers yet, but has drawn interest from Boise State, Idaho State, Idaho, Utah and, of course, Louisiana Tech.

Mike Oliverson has been an assistant football coach at Preston for many years, and plans on helping out at Simsboro, if they'll have him.

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For you hardcore recruiting junkies, the Chronicle of Higher Education has an in-depth article on its Web site this week about the incredible amount of money that colleges spend to recruit athletes.

You can get to the article (and avoid having to register) by going to fanblogs.com and following the links about recruiting spending.

The Chronicle reports that nearly half of the nation's largest athletic programs -- those at BCS schools, basically -- have doubled or tripled their recruitment spending over the last decade.

The journal looked at more than 300 Division I institutions and found that 21 of those spent more than $1 million pursuing talented athletes for the 2007 academic year.

Knowing that, aren't you glad the ol' Recruiting Trail is free?

The Best of the Summer basketball tournament in Southern California, which is going on this week, hasn't drawn quite as many good teams as the tournaments in Las Vegas did last week, but college coaches still flock to the games in and around Carson, Calif., to check out some of the best high school-age players in the country.

This year, one of those very good teams happens to be from Utah.

Utah Pump-N-Run Red is 4-0 at the tournament heading into today's game against the Bay Area Warriors. UP&R Red went 3-0 in pool play Sunday and Monday, then blasted Team Kentucky 84-48 Tuesday night in the first round of bracket play.

Several sources who have been providing updates tell me that Provo senior-to-be Brandon Davies and Provo junior-to-be Kyle Collinsworth are playing so well that big-time college coaches are now making it a point to attend UP&R Red's games in SoCal.

Tuesday night, a "full contingency" of coaches from the Pac-10 and other schools watched them destroy Kentucky. Head coaches from Arizona State, USC, Washington State and Washington were there, along with BYU' head coach Dave Rose, Utah head coach Jim Boylen and Weber State head coach Randy Rahe were there.

Utah, BYU and Utah State have offered Davies and Collinsworth, but should have some company at the end of the tournament. Several Pac-10 schools will offer Davies and Collinsworth by the end of the week, I've been told by reliable sources.

"Brandon Davies is as good as there is here," UP&R Red coach Todd Phillips said Tuesday.

That's saying something, because in the past few weeks the team has defeated some of the top-rated club teams in the country. In SoCal, they also defeated the Blue Chips from Texas, Oregon's top-rated Team Jones, and one of the better teams from Ohio.

Along with Collinsworth and Davies, Orem's Ian Harward, Timpanogos' Skyler Halford, Bountiful's Sean Carey and Granger's Ray Tupusoa help the team go. Halford, expected to walk on at Utah State, is the only player on the team who has completed his high school eligibility.

Speaking of Phillips, the Westminster assistant has been hired as an assistant at Salt Lake Community College. He will replace Russell Beck, who left to replace Barret Peery at College of Southern Idaho. Of course, Peery left CSI to join Boylen's staff at Utah.

Phillips said his new job at SLCC will not diminish his involvement with Utah Pump & Run.

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Utah Pump-N-Run White is also playing in the Best of Summer tourney, but not faring as well. The team features three West Jordan High seniors-to-be -- Rayes Gallegos, Jordan Wierick and Johah Blanchfield -- along with Delta's Jaron Jeffries, Highland's Taylor Brightwell and Taylor Ginoh(sp) and Jordan's Garrett Lundsford.

The 6-8 Jeffries will probably walk on at Southern Utah; the others are still in high school.

Phillips said Gallegos, a 6-3 wing player, is drawing the most college interest, especially from Weber State and SUU. A UCLA coach even asked about him.

------------------------

The two aforementioned teams are playing in the 17-under open division. Pump-N-Run also has a team in the 16-under division that is comprised of all Utah kids who will be juniors this fall. They won their first two pool play games and are led by 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.

Lehi's Will Walker, Olympus' Joe Bourne, Provo's Ryan Durrant, Davis' Josh Van Weezep, Orem's Sean Peterson and Judge's Zach Meyer, Walker Gale and Tyler Falafoa are also on the team. Falafoa was in the Judge system before moving to California, but is returning to Utah and is undecided about which school he will attend, Phillips said.

-- Jay Drew

Snow College football coach Steve Coburn confirmed today that preseason All-American defensive end James Aiono has indeed committed to the University of Utah.

Aiono is so firm in his commitment that Snow coaches are not listing him among their recruitable players, a list they send out to Division I schools every year, Coburn said.

Aiono is the 6-foot-3, 275-pounder out of Murray High who signed with Utah in February of 2007 but did not qualify academically and went to Snow. He had an outstanding freshman season at Ephraim, and is listed as a five-star recruit by Scout.com.

"He's definitely better than he was when we got him, and he was dang good then," Coburn said.

The Snow coach said that Aiono tinkered with the idea of opening up his recruitment again, but after meeting with Utah coaches Kyle Whittingham and Gary Andersen, decided to re-commit to the Utes.

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As outlined on our BYU sports blog, Snow College is getting one recruit who failed to qualify academically for BYU (Atem Bol), but the other (Seta Pohahau) is going to sit out this season and re-take the college admission tests rather than go to a junior college.

However, Snow is getting Kahuku (Haw.) lineman Anthony Siilata, the recruit who signed with Oregon State. Siilata was one of those Kahuku guys who committed to Utah, then apparently de-committed a week later.

He failed to qualify academically, and is now bound for Snow.

Another Kahuku product, Benji Kemoeatu (I know, longtime RT readers, I promised not to bring up his name again) also did not qualify.

Coburn said that Snow offered him a spot, too, but that the last he heard Kemoeatu was going to attend West Virginia as a Prop 49 student, which means he has to pay his own way and will not be eligible to play football his first year.

My guess is that he can afford it, with two brothers (both former Utes) in the NFL.

-- Jay Drew

Chris Fetters of Scout.com is reporting that Percy Taumoelau, a 6-foot-6, 300-pound offensive tackle from Cottonwood High has received a scholarship offer from Arkansas.

I've been covering prep football recruiting in Utah for about 18 years, and I don't ever remember writing that last sentence before: "has received a scholarship offer from Arkansas."

Good for Taumoelau, who is rated as the No. 17 prospect in Utah by Scout.com and the No. 77 overall prospect in the Scout.com Northwest Hot 100.

With lineman John Martinez (Utah's No. 1 prospect), Taumoelau, running back Isi Sofele and safety Asi Hosea, Cottonwood could have four Division I recruits this February, maybe more if some others get their grades up.

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Defensive end James Aiono of Murray High signed with the University of Utah in February of 2007, but didn't qualify academically and headed off to Snow College.

After an outstanding freshman season for the Badgers, Aiono has been named a first-team preseason All-American heading into 2008. The 6-foot-3, 275-pounder will anchor a defensive that gave up just 186 yards a game last year, best in the nation.

And guess what?

Aiono is suddenly a big-time recruit again, drawing five stars from Scout.com. Utah appears to have the inside track for him.

-- Jay Drew

At first blush, high-scoring Texas guard Marshall Henderson's commitment to the University of Utah on Monday was a signal, to some, that the Utes are conceding they are no longer in the picture for Lone Peak's Tyler Haws.

Nothing could be further from the truth, according to sources close to Utah's coaching staff. The Utes believe the 6-4 Haws and 6-1 Henderson could play together at the same time because of coach Jim Boylen's offensive style of employing two wing players at once.

Also, Haws will be leaving after the 2009-10 season on an LDS Church mission, so he would only be playing alongside Henderson two seasons, barring redshirt seasons. Jeremy Olsen, the 6-foot-10 center from Georgia who committed to Utah a few months ago, is also considering a mission.

As the Tribune's Michael C. Lewis noted in his Ute basketball blogthe Utes have two scholarships left to hand out to the class of 2009 because after this coming season they will lose Luke Nevill, Tyler Kepkay, Shaun Green and Lawrence Borha to graduation.

David Foster returns from an LDS Church mission, but Josh Sharp is expected to leave on one, so those offset.

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Speaking of Shaun Green, his younger brother, Corbin, is having a pretty good spring and summer playing on the all-star circuit with his club team, Salt Lake Metro Black, and his high school team, Olympus.

However, Corbin Green told me in Vegas last week that he still doesn't have any scholarship offers.

Are the Utes interested?

"I wish I could tell you," he said. "I honestly don't know."

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, 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."

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As for BYU's recruiting situation, the Cougars have only two scholarships to give out come November's signing period as they fill the two expected to be vacated next spring by Lee Cummard and Archie Rose.

Lone Peak's 6-10 Nate Austin committed to BYU, but he won't "count" as one of the two because he is going on a church mission first. The same could be said of Orem's Ian Harward, another 6-10 prospect that BYU is watching, but has not offered yet.

It is no secret that the two guys the Cougars are focusing on are Tyler Haws and Brandon Davies, the 6-8 forward/center from Provo High. If they don't get one, or both, of those guys, I expect them to turn to the junior college ranks.
I'll have some more info on Davies' situation in a later post.

Bingham High baseball coach Joey Sato has let us know that the some of the top prep baseball players in the state will be on display Tuesday at the Mountainwest Summer Leagues Prospect Games.

The games will be played at Cate Field, 9000 S. Bangerter Highway, in West Jordan.

The Class of 2011 events begin today at 2 p.m. with a 60-yard dash timing and a home run derby at 2:30 p.m. The game is at 3:30 p.m.

The Class of 2009 events begin at 5:30 p.m. with a pregame meal. The 60-yard dash timing is at 7 p.m. and the game begins at 8:30 p.m.

Prospects from the Class of 2010 and the Class of 2012 competed on Monday.

It should also be noted that the State American Legion baseball tournament is going on this week at Oquirrh Park in Kearns.

The University of Utah has received an oral commitment from Marshall Henderson, a 6-foot-1, 165-pound shooting guard from L.D. Bell High School in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area.
Sources confirmed the commitment happened Monday morning, after Henderson returned from a tournament in Las Vegas. Henderson plays on the Dallas Mustangs club team.
The Tribune's Michael C. Lewis will have more on the commitment on The Tribune's Web site and in his University of Utah basketball blog. According to TexasHoops.com, Henderson averaged almost 25 points a game as a junior, along with five rebounds, four assists and four steals. His father, Willie, is Bell’s head coach.
Henderson has made 340 three-pointers and could become most prolific three-point shooter in state history this winter, the site said.

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Except for that first year, former Utah basketball coach Ray Giacoletti had a tough time beating BYU. He couldn't wrestle many wins away from the Cougars, but maybe he can get a player from under their noses.
After watching Provo High's 6-foot-8 Brandon Davies tear it up in Las Vegas last week, Gonzaga is starting to show some big interest in the rising senior, sources told The Recruiting Trail today. Giacoletti is now an assistant on Gonzaga's staff.

-- Jay Drew

One of the players I got a chance to see play for the first time at the recent Las Vegas all-star tournaments was Box Elder's Brant Mecham, the 6-foot-5, 191-pound rising sophomore.

Mecham played for Salt Lake Metro Black's under-17 team, so he was going against guys two years older than him, but still showed remarkable shooting range and poise for a 15-year-old.

It was also Mecham's first time playing with that particular collection of players.

"I played OK," he said. "I was just getting used to playing with them, and against better and older players. I was just trying to contribute."

Mecham said he doesn't have any offers yet, but that BYU and Utah State seem the most interested. He said he hasn't heard from Utah since assistant coach Chris Jones left to join the USU coaching staff.

"I've got a long, long way to go in my high school career, so I am not worried about offers or a timetable [to decide] or anything like that," he said. "My only [focus] is working hard and getting better."

Mecham said he doesn't have plans to play in any more tournaments or camps this summer.

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Timpview's Xavier Su'a-Filo drew the praise of Rival.com's Jeremy Crabtree for his performance at LSU's camp last weekend. Here's what Crabtree, quoting another national recruiting analyst, wrote about Su'a-Filo in USA Today:

Many top prospects flocked to LSU's camp, but the main headliners had to be offensive linemen Chris Faulk of Northshore (Slidell, La.) and Xavier Su'a Filo of Timpview (Provo, Utah). Recruiting analyst Barton Simmons came away impressed with both, especially Faulk.

"On the day, there may not have been a better overall performance than that of Faulk," Simmons said. "He has a terrific frame (6-6/280) and has great strength and balance. He has that ability to keep his weight back and still have the strength to deal with a defensive rush. He also showed some nimble feet that don't always come out on film.

"Athletically, Su'a Filo (6-4/285) was the best lineman in attendance. You never catch him off-balance, and he is always technically sound. He had great consistency all day and looks the part of an athletic offensive tackle."

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Who in the heck is Michael Yeck? Well, he's a 6-foot-7, 260-pound offensive lineman from Keller, Texas, who signed with BYU last February. However, Yeck won't be joining the Cougars when they start fall camp on Saturday because he will first go on an LDS Church mission.

Nevertheless, Yeck will be playing football tomorrow. He will play in a Texas all-star football game for graduated seniors, the Ft. Worth Star-Telegram reports
in an interesting article on the giant lineman.

-- Jay Drew

We found another Utah-based club basketball team that fared well in Las Vegas last week.

The Salt Lake Select team, a 17-under team, went 3-0 in pool play and advanced to the championship bracket of the adidas Super 64 tournament.

The team lost to the New England Playaz, one of the top 10 club teams in the country, in the first round of bracket play.

The team is comprised of Jordan's Jordan Bernardo, Brighton's John Sherwood, Riverton's Corey Cardwell, Lehi's Corey Smith, Riverton's Scott Friel, Viewmont's Tommy Barrett, Hunter's A.J. Patailli and Jordan's Ryan Corlett.

The latter stages of the all-star boys basketball tournaments in Las Vegas didn't end all that well for Utah's top club teams.

Salt Lake Metro Black won its first game in bracket play (after going 1-2 in pool play), but lost to Texas D-I in the second round of bracket play and was eliminated. That's the team that included Hillcrest's athletic Kyle Maughan, Bear River tough guy Wade Bronson, Box Elder sophomore-to-be Brant Mecham and Olympus' rapidly improving Corbin Green.

Salt Lake Metro Gold went 3-0 in pool play to make the most-elite platinum bracket, but lost Friday in the first round to the Portland Legends. Metro Gold's 17-under team included East's Christan Brown, Layton Christian's Justin Brown, Timpview's Tanner Brockbank, Alta's Nate Nielson, Riverton's Austin Gamblin, Clearfield's Jordan Hansen, American Fork's Isaac Pedrosa (2010) and Brighton's Xan Rickets (2010).

Viewmont and Olympus also played in The Main Event tournament with their high school teams. Viewmont went 2-1 in pool play, but lost in the first round of the gold bracket. Olympus (playing without Green) went 0-3 in pool play and lost in the first round of the bronze bracket.

A team calling itself Team Utah went 0-3 in pool play, but turned it around and advanced to the finals of the bronze bracket.

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Utah Pump N Run teams played in the adidas Super 64 Tournament.

Utah Pump N Run Red went 3-0 in pool play, but lost in the first round of bracket play to EBO, 83-68. That's the team that included Provo's Brandon Davies and Kyle Collinsworth, Orem's Ian Harward, Bountiful's Sean Carey and Grangers Ray Tupusoa, among others.

Pump N Run White went 2-1 in pool play, then won its first two games in bracket play, beating D.C. Assault 75-72 and the New Orleans Jazz 80-69. Alas, it lost 70-54 in the qurarterfinals to the New England Playaz. That team was led by West Jordan's Reyes Gallegos and Jordan Wierick.

Utah Pump N Run also had an entrant in the 15-under division which went 1-1 in bracket play.

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LSU's pursuit of Timpview offensive lineman Xavier Su'a-Filo could get a little more intense with news Friday that Florida offensive lineman Henry Orelus has switched his verbal commitment from LSU to Florida State. Orelus is rated by Rivals as the No. 6 center prospect in the country.

The Tigers still have four offensive linemen among their 15 commitments.

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Rivals.com has a story on its Web site about Austin Gumucio, a 6-foot-3, 190-pound linebacker from Grantsville High in Utah. Gumucio has drawn interest from Missouri, where he was born, along with Utah State, BYU, Air Force, Washington and some Ivy League schools. But he is still waiting for his first offer, he told the site.
Gumucio participated in BYU's Junior Day last month and held his own in drills against some of the more highly touted guys, but seemed a little undersized for a linebacker.

We've talked about a couple of transfer students who are going to change the landscape of Utah County high school basketball this winter, Lone Peak's Tommy Tebbs and Orem's Pablo Coro, in blogs earlier this week.

Now we've found out about a player who could change the scene for the next four years.

Sources say a young man from Preston, Idaho, by the name of Casey Oliverson is moving into American Fork's boundaries and could play for the Cavemen's varsity as a ninth-grader.

Oliverson is already 6-foot-8 and will play for the club team Salt Lake Metro as well. By the time he is close to graduating (2012), Oliverson will be the highest-rated prospect in the state, one recruiting expert told me a few days ago.

Oliverson is the brother of Shawn Oliverson, a 6-11 center who recently signed with Louisiana Tech. Shawn Oliverson played for Cornell for a season before going on an LDS Church mission and will has three years of eligibility remaining.

He helped Preston win the Idaho state title in 2004.

Timpview lineman Xavier "X-man" Su'a-Filo is apparently leaning away from BYU.

Su'a-Filo, rated as the nation's No. 7 offensive tackle prospect, told an LSU-based Web site, TigerSportsDigest.com, that "BYU, depth wise, is not the best fit for me right now."

I took that statement to mean that Su'a-Filo believes he has a better chance at playing early for LSU, or other BCS schools that are recruiting him, than he does at BYU.

I have also heard from sources close to Su'a-Filo that he is worried about competing for playing time at BYU against the sons of coaches on BYU's staff. Running backs coach Lance Reynolds, defensive line coach Steve Kaufusi and offensive coordinator Robert Anae have, or will have, sons on BYU's lines now or in the near future.

My take is if X is really one of the best offensive line prospects in the country, he will get on the field at BYU, regardless of who else is on the team.

Anyway, here's what writer Shea Dixon had on Su'a-Filo, who visited LSU last weekend along with Spanish Fork tight end Richard Wilson, as it pertained to BYU.....

While the 1,700 miles between Provo and Baton Rouge may seem like too much for many prospects, Su'a-Filo is certain that his decision won't face any restrictions as a result of distance.

"My parents want me to do what is best for me, to follow my dreams," he said. "That is what I am doing. We have already talked about it and it is not going to be a problem for me to leave the state."

Though a devout Mormon, Su'a-Filo has decided that passing up the traditional route of attending BYU is something that he feels comfortable moving beyond.

"The bottom line is that BYU, depth wise, is not the best fit for me right now," he said. "I know that there are opportunities out there where I can still feel at home, but be in a better position depth wise."

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We don't have a grip yet on the number of scholarship offers Utah has made to the class of 2009, but it must be high because almost every day it seems there's a report of a recruit committing who said he also had an offer from Utah.

The latest is Nick Ash, an offensive guard from Keller, Texas, who committed to Nebraska on Thursday, according to the Grand Island (Neb.) Independent. The 6-foot-5, 265-pounder said he also had offers from Arizona, Purdue, Texas Tech, Vanderbilt, Washington State and the Utes.

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Utah State soccer coach Heather Cairns announced today that the Aggies have signed Andrea Seledee, a midfielder who played for two seasons for Texas State.

-- Jay Drew

Utah and BYU lost the battle for one in-state basketball star from the class of 2009, Pleasant Grove's C.J. Wilcox -- who has committed to Washington -- and now it appears they will both have a tussle on their hands for another: Provo forward/center Brandon Davies.

The 6-foot-8 Davies is blowing up in Las Vegas this week, according to several scouts and club coaches I've talked to today. He's played so well that even Louisville coach Rick Pitino has asked about him. So have coaches from Arizona State and Gonzaga.

"He's been a monster down here," said his club coach, Todd Phillips of Utah Pump N Run Red. "He has turned the corner these last few months."

Utah Pump N Run Red went 3-0 in pool play in the adidas Super 64 Tournament, and plays Team A.C.C.E.S.S. out of Washington Thursday afternoon in the first round of single-elimination bracket play.

Phillips said Davies has averaged more than 20 points and 15 rebounds a game so far, and he dropped 24 points on the Southern California All-Stars in an 81-68 win on Tuesday.

"When we were in Phoenix, a college scout told me that if Davies were from California, he would be a top-100 recruit [in the country]," Phillips said.

Davies is still sitting on offers from BYU, Utah and Utah State, and I know for certain that BYU wants him desperately. African-American basketball players who are LDS and in the Cougars' own backyard don't come around all that often, obviously.

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Davies' top teammates on Pump N Run Red include Provo's Kyle Collinsworth (who will be a junior), Granger's Ray Tupusoa, Timpanogos' Skyler Halford (who has graduated, but has not earned a college scholarship and is still 17, so he's eligible to play), Orem's Ian Harward, Bountiful's Sean Carey and Pablo Coro, the Chilean we mentioned in a previous post who will play at Orem High this winter.

Collinsworth has also played well and "his stock is definitely going up," Phillips said. "We are outplaying teams with kids who are going to Louisville and other places."

Tupusoa, a combo guard, is averaging 13-15 points a game in Vegas and is starting to get some interest from Weber State and Montana. "He's our best penetrator," Phillips said.

Halford is already listed on Utah State's roster and will probably walk-on with the Aggies, unless a last-minute offer comes in that he likes.

Harward, the 6-10 big guy from Orem, is still sitting on an offer from Utah State, but sources say he wants to go to BYU and he is still waiting for an offer from the Cougars, who have told him to give them a couple more weeks to decide. My guess is that it hinges on what Davies decides.

Bountiful's Carey, a 6-5 or 6-6 wing, is drawing interest from Weber State and Southern Utah, but doesn't have an offer yet.

Phillips confirmed what we had in a previous post about Coro. He's a big, strong, 6-2 guard who jumps well and is in the mold of Juan Pablo Silveira, the guard from Murray's Mount Vernon Academy who played for Weber State for a few years but has left the program a year early.

Woods Cross' Tyler Staheli and Skyline's Ryan Osterloh come off the bench for the team and are probably junior college-type players.

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Utah Pump N Run's other 17-under team in the tournament, Pump N Run White, went 2-1 in pool play and will meet D.C. Assault from the nation's capitol Thursday night. That team features West Jordan's Reyes Gallegos and Jordan Wierick and other top rising seniors from around the state.

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One of the better prospects in Vegas this week is Andy Brown, a 6-8, 210-pound small forward from Mater Dei High in Santa Ana, Calif. Brown recently said he has narrowed his choices to five schools, and the University of Utah is on the list. He is also considering Arizona, San Diego, Stanford and Cal.

Ran into Matt Logan, the former Orem High and Salt Lake Community College coach, in Las Vegas today. Logan is serving as chauffeur and translator of sorts for a group of Chilean basketball players who are playing in one of the major Las Vegas high school basketball tournaments this week.

Anyway, Logan said that Lone Peak isn't the only Utah prep basketball power that will benefit from a transfer player this coming season. Logan said that Pablo Coro, who is playing with the likes of Brandon Davies and Kyle Collinsworth on the Utah Pump N Run team this week in Vegas, will play for the Orem Golden Tigers this winter.

Coro, from Chile, is a nice player who will really help Orem, he said.

Also, Orem's Ian Harward is still undecided. The 6-foot-10 big man has an offer from Utah State and a cell phone, but never seems to answer the latter.

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Speaking of which, I've got a call in to Elliott Bullock, the recently graduated Olympus High big man, because I heard that Bullock will be a preferred walk-on at Stanford next season. At 6-foot-10, Bullock is seen as a player with tremendous potential who is still growing into his frame.

Corbin Green, who will be a senior at Oly this fall, confirmed today that Bullock is going to Stanford, and there's a little talk that he might even get some playing time with the loss of the Lopez twins inside.

"He's certainly smart enough to go to Stanford," said Green, younger brother of University of Utah forward Shaun Green.

-- Jay Drew

The University of Washington has received a commitment from a California prep quarterback in a development that could have implications for the future signal-calling situations at both BYU and Utah.

Keith Price, a 6-foot-1, 181-pounder from Bellflower, Calif., gave Huskies coaches the word earlier today, according to Bob Condottaa's blog on the Seattle Times' Web stie.

Price recently received an offer from Utah, which still does not have a commitment from a QB in the class of 2009.

He's expected to be a possible replacement for Jake Locker, the phenomenal sophomore quarterback that BYU will face in September. Price said he also had an offer from Nevada and that Louisville, Oregon and Washington State were starting to take interest.

Of course, Washington taking Price could mean that it will have less interest in junior-to-be Jake Heaps, the big-time QB recruit from nearby Issaquah, Wash., that BYU is pinning its hopes on.

Heaps recently led a 7 on 7 team of Seattle-area standouts to a national passing league championship that was sponsored by the NFL.



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Utah has also offered Nik Abele, a 6-foot-6, 250-pound senior lineman from Irvine, Calif. Boise State and San Diego State have also offered, and Arizona State and Colorado are showing interest.

-- Jay Drew

After the Mountain West Conference football meetings concluded down here in Las Vegas, I swung by Canyon Springs High School in North Las Vegas and ran into......former Utah Blaze assistant coach Hunkie Cooper.

Hmm. Small world.

Actually, I drove over to the school to catch a couple of summer all-star basketball games played by Salt Lake Metro's entrants in The Main Event tournament. Metro Gold won its game to improve to 2-0 in the tourney, while Metro Black lost 54-53 on a three-pointer with four seconds left to De La Salle, the California private school known for its football prowess, to drop to 1-1 at the tourney.

I saw coaches from BYU (John Wardenburg), Southern Utah (Ron Carling), Weber State (Randy Rahe), Utah Valley University (Dick Hunsaker) and even Louisiana Tech (Curtis Condie) there watching the Utah kids play. I didn't see any Utah coaches, but I did see former Ute assistant Marty Wilson, now head coach at Pepperdine.

Coaches at these type of events have to sit on the opposite side of the gyms from the parents and fans, and can't have any contact with players, their club coaches or their parents. They are there to be seen by the recruits, and to evaluate talent.

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Metro Black is considered the better of coach Dave Hammer's Metro teams, but some of the guys who have played for Metro Black in the past -- Lone Peak's Tyler Haws, Pleasant Grove's C.J. Wilcox, West Jordan's Mason Sawyer, Brighton's Corbin Miller and Bingham's Ben Clifford -- are not competing here for an assortment of reasons.

Haws has enough offers and no longer needs to showcase his abilities, Wilcox has committed to Washington, Sawyer had a scheduling conflict, Clifford is with his Bingham teammates at the National AAU Tournament in Orlando, Fla., and Miller has shin splints.

Still, Metro Black has some considerable talent, led by Olympus' Corbin Green, Box Elder's Brant Mecham, Hillcrest's Kyle Maughan and a 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."

I will have more from my chats with Tebbs, Mecham and Green in a subsequent post.

-- Jay Drew

Hillcrest High senior Sean Martin, one of the players who refused to quit this past season when a chunk of players walked out and then were not allowed to return, has seen his perseverance pay off.

Martin a 6-foot-2, 225-pound lineman, just signed a national letter of intent to play football at the University of Montana-Western in Dillon, Mont.

Martin was a three-year letter winner and was first-team all-region last season.

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According to the Dallas Morning News' recruiting blog, (http://recruitingblog.dallasnews.com) a cornerback who says he had a scholarship offer from BYU has committed to Rice.

Andre Brackens of Parish Episcopal High, a 5-9, 190-pounder, said he also had offers from Arizona, Georgia Tech, Kansas and Air Force.

One of The Recruiting Trail's sources familiar with BYU's recruiting efforts said he is unfamilair with Brackens and could not verify the Cougars made the offer.

BYU football coach Bronco Mendenhall spent a good chunk of time at the MWC media gathering Monday in Las Vegas talking about his recruiting philosophy.

He shed some light on the current scholarship situation in Provo.

Most notably, though, Mendenhall reiterated that he expects recruits -- be they highly rated or barely known -- to persuade BYU coaches that they want to attend BYU, rather than be begged to come.

"I think it is degrading as a coach to try to convince at 18-year-old young man why he should come to your place," Mendenhall said. "I know that's contrary to most recruiting thoughts, but I like young men who know what they want."

Mendenhall said BYU currently has 12 commitments from the class of 2009 (including USU transfer Riley Nelson), then he added, "the players left [that BYU has offered] that haven't committed are probably the highest level of recruits we've ever had a chance to get, collectively as a group."

On that list is Hawaii linebacker Manti Te'o, Timpview lineman Xavier Su'a-Filo, Bingham linebacker L.T. Filiaga, Spanish Fork tight end Richard Wilson, Highland lineman Latu Heimuli, Northridge safety Chris Washington, California receiver Brett Thompson and Kyle Van Noy, a linebacker from Reno, Nev.

"I hope they choose BYU and convince us why we ought to take them," he said.

Asked whether that philosophy makes it hard when the recruits are also hearing from the likes of USC and Notre Dame, Mendenhall gave the following reply, then laughed as hard as many reporters who have covered him for years have ever heard him laugh.

"No question," he said. "They have one program telling them, ‘come here and we promise this and this and this.' And then they have [Mendenhall] asking them, ‘Why should I take you?"

Among the other recruiting revelations:

* The Cougars started recruiting for the class of 2009 as if they would have 15 scholarships, but Mendenhall now says he will give out as many as 19.

"I have always oversigned each year, but it has worked out, and I've never actually been over. We've been under [every year] because of attrition, graduation, players getting married, leaving the program, etc.," he said.

* The coach said BYU could get a couple more commitments before fall camp starts. "The benefit of [thinking they would only have 15] is that it has made us more thorough. It has made us more diligent in all the evaluations. We've done a better job of narrowing it down faster than we normally do."

* One scholarship is available to a walk-on this fall camp because Texas receiver Atem Bol did not qualify and is likely headed to Snow College or another junior college. Another scholarship may open up if California running back Seta Pohahau, who is on the bubble, fails to qualify.

Mendenhall said the criteria to earn a scholarship as a walk-on is to have a 3.0 GPA and be in the two-deep on the depth chart. If no player emerges, he could use the scholarship for the following year's signing class.

* Asked whether BYU's facilities are a big recruiting draw, he said, no.

"Our [recruiting] strategy is very unique in that I have to be convinced that they want to come, and why they should be able to be on our team. And players that want to be coddled and catered to, don't come, and some are good LDS players...I want players that really want to be ...We just call it passion for BYU. We want them to be passionate about the chance to play for BYU. And I really don't have any time for those that want to be convinced. Many have said that's why we wouldn't succeed. I would argue that is the reason we are. There are walk-ons that are pretty darn close to scholarship players that are proving to help us win games."

-- Jay Drew

Miles Community College in Miles City, Mont., has added several Utahns to its team rosters in preparation for the 2008-09 seasons.

West High's Fusi Lutui, a forward/center, and Riverton's Melissa Ingram, a guard, have signed wi the Miles women's basketball team.

Riverton guard Shannon Hildreth will return for her second season with the Pioneers.

In baseball, Miles could almost field an entire team of Riverton products.

Riverton products who recently signed with the baseball program include first baseman Nic Johnston, infielder Vance Howard, outfielder Alex Newman, outfielder/pitcher Connor Woodward and pitcher Ian Snell.

Lone Peak pitcher Jared Christensen has also signed with Miles, while Matt Newbold (Riverton), Andrew Sanchez (Riverton) and Brenton Orullian (Taylorsville) return for their sophomore seasons.

I've gone on record saying that I think Logan High's Jeff Manning will be the best prep quarterback in the state this year. I also think that BYU and Utah are going to regret not offering a scholarship sooner to the 6-foot-4, 185-pound all-stater who led the Grizzlies to the 3A state title last year.

Manning has yet to receive his first offer, but his family thinks Oregon might be close to offering.

Reading between the lines of an email I recently received from Manning's father, I would say that BYU is probably never going to offer Manning, who would seemingly fit the Cougars' offensive system as well as anyone not named Jake Heaps or Taysom Hill.

The thing is, Manning won't begin helping a team until 2012 because he has unequivocably said he plans on going on an LDS Church mission on the fall of 2009. He would be a nice little insurance policy for the Cougars down the road.

Utah continues to show as much interest as Oregon, and Washington coaches have told Manning they want to talk to him after their vacations on July 23.

Manning said Colorado State has also been communicating weekly with him, and has invited him to their Junior/Senior Day camp on July 26. New CSU quarterbacks coach Daren Wilkinson is a former Ricks College quarterback.

Utah State is also still in the picture, but shouldn't the Aggies be rolling out the red carpet for the hometown kid?

Makes you wonder.

Manning's father, Paul, said his son has turned down numerous invites to Nike Combines, Elite 11 Camps and the like, opting instead to pick schools he is interested in and attending their camps.

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Jeff Manning sent the following letter to Chris Fetters of Scout.com a few weeks ago, and to me on Thursday as an update of what his summer has been like.

I'm going to print it in its entirety, because I think it is a fascinating look into the recruitment of a prep athlete. It also reflects well on the English Department at Logan High, for what that's worth....

I have attended camps at BYU, U of Oregon, Utah, Utah State and Washington.

At BYU Jr. Day, "It was good to see the caliber of QB's that attended. I walked away feeling confident that I can compete with them even though they have the offers and more exposure. BYU is a great place but you could see that they are pretty set on who they want. The camp was good, I was reminded of the little things that I need to keep working on. It was nice talking to the coaches but their attention was really focused on the players that they offered. As I was leaving, one sports writer said that they would be crazy not to offer me. Well, we'll see.

"Oregon was a great visit. I only had one day to stop in because of our high school camp. I got there on the last day of the Oregon HS camp where I was met by O/C and QB Coach Chip Kelly. He wanted to work with me for about an hour, one on one. It was a great experience. He put me through one of the most difficult evaluation drills that I have ever gone through. I threw around 100 balls to a designated receiver covering various locations/routes on the indoor practice field. It was a thorough test of QB speed, accuracy and response, happy to say, I only had one bad pass through it all. I finished with him asking me to stand back in the middle of the end zone and throw two balls as far as I could. The first calculated out to be a 64 yarder and the second was a little shorter at 61. (I guess my arm was a little tired) Coach Kelly is a very impressive and amazing teacher of the game. His detailed workout was great. At the end he took me and my dad up to meet with Coach Mike Bellotti in his office. Dad and I waited for Coach Kelly to finish talking to Coach Bellotti and then we were invited in. The first thing that Coach Bellotti said was, "Well young man, it looks like Coach Kelly sure would love to have you here at Oregon". We spent the next 45 minutes talking about everything from my LDS mission plans to playing at Oregon. Coach Bellotti gave me his cell number and wanted me to call him every week or two, even while they are on vacation. As I was leaving he said, "We want you here at Oregon, I just need some time to work through our scheduling and reviewing an offer around your mission plans". I had another 45 minute visit on the phone with Coach Bellotti last Monday night. He was in Bend Oregon with his family. It was fun to see the more casual side of him as we talked about a lot of things other than football. At the end he reminded me that they want me as much, or even more than anyone else that is recruiting me. He talked about the importance of a commitment and asked me to think if I could be happy with Oregon to make a long term commitment. I'll be talking to both Coach Kelly and Coach Bellotti over the next few weeks and plan on taking them up on their offer to attend some Ducks games this year.

I spent a day at the Washington camp. It was another good visit. Coach Willingham met me and my dad at the check-in table and pulled us aside to visit for about a half an hour. It was great to get to know him. Coach Lapano's wife took us on a mini tour of UW. It was a good camp day with a lot of good drills. I felt that I had a strong showing through all of the routes and throwing to new receivers. There were a couple of "highly exposed" QB's that attended but once again I felt that my performance was as good and even better at times as the blue-chip players. Coach Lapano did say that I was in their top finalists for consideration. However, I know they need a QB soon. I'm not sure how the LDS mission thing would work with UW.

Utah State had a team camp and they invited me to come for a day and work out with their renegade team. Coach Guy and Coach Dickey spent some time with me and I was told in front of my HS coach that they would have a home for me if I were to chose USU.

I spent a couple hours each day at the two day U of Utah HS Camp mixed between the "two-a-days" of our own HS camp. It was good to spend time with Coach Ludwig and get to know him better. He worked with a few of us on the side. At the end of the camp he said my mission plans would work out well with their future plans and was excited that I was interested in Utah. They are looking at getting their 2009 slot filled and consider me as their 2012. Coach Ludwig asked me to continue calling and emailing him throughout their vacation break. I look forward to exploring the possibilities of Utah and going to some of their games this fall as well.

Colorado State has been showing increased interest as I have been getting emails from Coach Wilkinson. He invited me to spend a day at their Jr/Sr day in July so they can evaluate me as well. I liked my unofficial visit back in the spring. Coach Wilkinson understands where I'm at with my future plans and seems like a great person to work with. It will be great to get to know Coach Fairchild a little better as well.

I feel that it will all work out how it's supposed too in the end. For now I'm focusing on doing what I can to help my teammates and myself prepare for another state championship.

Jeff Manning

Western Wyoming Community College in Rock Springs continues to load up on talented Utah high school athletes.

Men's soccer coach Jeff Atkinson announced the signings of several freshmen who played prep soccer in Utah last spring.

Signing with the Mustangs are Hunter's Franchelli Albernoz and Omar Jaimes, Wasatch's Cameron Lowry and Devin King, Pine View's Ricardo Arreola, Grantsville's Steven Sharp and Bountiful's Chris Byers.

Wasatch's Tyson Day and Taylor Ford will walk on to the program, while Nic Gonzalez of Snow Canyon will return for his sophomore year.

Utah Valley University track & field coach Scott Houle has released his list of 2008-09 signees. The list includes 30 athletes -- 12 men and 18 women -- that will help the Wolverines compete for a Great West Conference championship.

Among the men Houle is excited about are Akwasi Frimpong, a sprinter from the Netherlands; Ben Felix, a distance runner from American Fork;' Ty Bunting, a state champion shot put thrower from Kanab; and Levi Ball, a state champion pole vaulter from Viewmont.

Among the women Houle singled out Rosina Amenebede, a hurdler from Ghana who is in contention to represent her country in the upcoming Olympics; Krystal Harper, a track and cross country state champion from Orem; Nicole Knight, a shot put state champion from Bountiful; and Melissa Morris, a pole vaulter from California.

Here's the complete list of signees:

Men

Wes Swaney, Pine View, multiple events

Chris Burr, Timpanogos, hurdles

Akwasi Frimpong, Netherlands, sprints

Ty Bunting, Kanab, throws

Ben Felix, American Fork, distance

Levi Ball, Viewmont, pole vault

Michael McPherson, Parker, Colo., multiple events

Andy Mecham, Springville, middle distance

Josh McCabe, Timpview, distance

Jared Keller, Mountain View, distance

Zach Pitts, Jordan, throws

Skyler McDonald, La Grande, Ore., throws Women

Krystal Harper, Orem, distance

Kelli Roach, Spanish Fork, throws

Rosina Amenebede, Ghana, hurdles

Erica Porter, Pleasant Grove, hurdles

Melissa Morris, Cypress, Calif., pole vault

Stephanie Talbot, Box Elder, middle distance

Sonja Ponis, Spanish Fork, middle distance

Nicole Knighton, Bountiful, throws

Kamee Bentley, Snow Canyon, multiple events

Angela Baker, Weber, distance

Nancy Romer, Weber, hurdles

Megan Brown, Las Vegas, sprints

Becky Reeves, Orem, throws

Kalina Zufelt, Brighton, middle distance

Janeece Baumgartner, Cedar City, distance

Zandrea Nelson, Hazelton, Idaho, sprints

McKell Camp, North Sevier, throws Shalise Walker, Weber, middle distance

Chris Washington still has just three football scholarship offers, but the safety from Northridge High in Layton continues to gain more respect nationally where the major recruiting and scouting services are concerned.

Whether that translates into more offers for the 6-foot-2, 195-pound rising senior remains to be seen.

Washington has jumped from No. 77 to No. 24 in Scout.com's latest ranking of safeties in the country. Since he is given three stars and the No. 23 guy is given four stars, it is safe to assume that Washington -- virtually unknown a few months ago before the camp season began -- is a spot away from being a four-star recruit.

By the way, the No. 14 safety, Jray Galea'i of Kahuku, Haw., and the No. 18 safety, Timpview's Craig Bills, have committed to BYU. Cottonwood High's Asi Hosea is No. 137 and Jerrad Stewart, a safety from Pearland, Texas, who has committed to Utah, is No. 132.

Hosea recently picked up an offer from Kansas State.

As for Washington, people close to him are saying he is going to take a little longer to decide than he previously intended in hopes that some more offers come in. Utah, BYU and Utah State have offered him so far.

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We've got this up on our BYU blog and our prep sports blog, so I will mention it just briefly here: Timpview lineman Tui Crichton, who has committed to BYU, will miss his senior season with the Thunderbirds due to a torn labrum in his shoulder.

-- Jay Drew

We wrote about Tom Whitehead, the basketball player from St. George's Dixie High, and his long and winding road to Creighton University last winter.

Well, it turns out that Whitehead won't play for coach Dana Altman's team this year after all.

According to a detailed report in the Omaha World-Herald, Whitehead and Altman have had a falling out and Whitehead has returned to St. George. It is not certain what is next for the talented return missionary who averaged 22 points and eight rebounds a game at Yavapai College last year.

Local fans may remember that Whitehead was headed to Weber State out of high school, but lacked a sufficient amount of core classes and was termed a non-qualifier by the NCAA.

After a two-year LDS mission, he enrolled at the junior college in Prescott, Ariz., and was the Arizona Community College Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year.

Whitehead sat out the entire 2007-08 season, but was still quite heavily recruited, getting offers from Miami, Colorado State and others before choosing Creighton.

-- Jay Drew

Just got word that Ben Clifford, the rising junior from Bingham High, has been offered a basketball scholarship by Utah State.

Clifford, 6-7, recently played for Salt Lake Metro Black at the Pangos Cream of the Crop tournament in California (see post below). He had 18 rebounds in one particular game.

Anyway, when Clifford returned home on Tuesday, the Aggies apparently contacted him and offered the scholarship.

It is Clifford's first offer (remember, he's only a junior), but more are expected in the next year.

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Just got an email from Darren Denucci, a lineman from Bountiful High who will be a senior this fall. Darren says LSU offensive coordinator Gary Crowton just emailed him and "said he would love me to come to LSU's camp the week of July 20-22."

Denucci says he sent film to LSU last week, and has also sent a tape to Washington.

Another Bountiful athlete, two-sport star Travis Parrish (football and basketball), is also drawing a lot of interest for his football talents, especially from the University of Utah.

The 6-4 outside linebacker has the type of frame and athleticism Utah coaches like for their defensive ends, a la Paul Kruger.

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A good source (who has always been on the money) emailed me tonight with word that Hunter High lineman Ryan Mulitalo will meet with BYU football coach Bronco Mendenhall on Friday and is expected to commit to play for the Cougars.

Mulitalo is listed as a 6-foot-3, 310-pound rising senior on ESPN's Web site. Hunter is the same school that produced BYU's all-conference lineman, Ray Feinga.

Mulitalo's mother recently died and his father is in poor health.

At BYU's camp last month, line coach Bruce Weber reportedly worked with Mulitalo one-on-one for 30 minutes. Mulitalo is considered a raw talent, but camp witnesses say he held his own against Timpview's Bronson Kaufusi, a BYU commit from the class of 2010.

-- Jay Drew

Move over Tyler Haws, C.J. Wilcox, Brandon Davies and Nate Austin....There may be another rising senior in the state who plays his way into the minds and hearts of college recruiters.

His name is Corbin Green, and he's a 6-foot-5 wing who will be a senior at Salt Lake City's Olympus High this fall. Yup, he's the younger brother of University of Utah forward Shaun Green.

Corbin Green scored 40 points, making eight three-pointers, as the club team Salt Lake Metro Black defeated national powerhouse Belmont Shore 72-64 in the Cream of the Crop tournament in Hawthorne, Calif., recently.

Metro Black also beat the Arizona Rebels 55-52 in the tournament, but lost 76-72 in its final game to the L.A. Dream Team.

Bear River's Wade Bronson added 14 points to Green's phenomenal shooting and Bingham's Ben Clifford, one of the top players in the class of 2010, had 17 rebounds against Belmont.

Clifford's three-point play with four seconds remaining was the difference in the win over the Arizona team, but Brighton sophomore-to-be Corbin Miller was the star with 21 points.

Against the Dream Team, Miller led the way with 17 points and Hillcrest's Kyle Maughan added 12.

Other members of the team: Judge's Dee Crandall, Cedar City's Joel Einfeldt and West Jordan's Mason Sawyer.

Our colleague at the Tribune, Tony Jones, has posted an interesting story on the newspaper’s Web site about a huge pickup for the Utah women’s basketball team.
Diana Rolniak, who is listed as one of the top 100 girls high school basketball players in the country, has committed to Utah, according to her AAU coach, Carl Mattei.
Rolniak will be a senior at Regis Jesuit High in Colorado this fall. She is 6-foot-4, athletic and a decent perimeter shooter as well as being a monster inside.

Rivals.com came out with its list of the top 15 football prospects from Utah's class of 2009 recently.

It's a solid list, although it clearly favors guys who have committed, especially in the last few spots. And it says running back Peni Maka'afi, who recently committed to BYU, plays for Bingham. He actually plays for Northridge.

The Web site gives four stars to four Utah prospects -- Cottonwood's John Martinez, Timpview's Xavier Su'a-Filo and Craig Bills and Highland's Latu Heimuli -- and has the 6-3, 265-pound Martinez as the state's top recruit.

Can't argue with that.

Here's the list, with the college if the player has committed:

1. John Martinez, OL, Cottonwood

2. Xavier Su'a-Filo, OL, Timpview

3. Craig Bills, DB, Timpview -- BYU

4. Latu Heimuli, DT, Highland

5. Richard Wilson, TE, Spanish Fork

6. LT Filiaga, LB, Bingham

7. Chris Washington, DB, Northridge

8. Tui Crichton, OL, Timpview -- BYU

9. Isi Sofele, RB, Cottonwood

10. Vyncent Jones, OL, Jordan -- Utah

11. Adam Timo, RB, Snow Canyon -- BYU

12. Remington Peck, TE, Bingham -- BYU

13. Keenyn Walker, DB, Judge

14. Peni Maka'afi, RB, Northridge -- BYU

15. Anthony Heimuli, RB, Mountain View -- BYU

At 5-8 and 165 pounds, JD Falslev of Sky View High in Smithfield, Utah, is pretty realistic about his chances at landing a Division I football scholarship.

Although he was a first-team all-state kick returner as a sophomore and a second-teamer in both Utah daily newspapers as a junior, the running back/returner with 4.6 speed in the 40 knows he doesn't exactly have the physical attributes college coaches are looking for.

Perhaps that's why Falslev and his family are thrilled to death with what BYU football coach recently offered the rising senior: preferred walk-on status.

"He's excited about it because now he knows he will be playing college football somewhere," said his father, Dave.

JD has attended a couple of BYU camps this summer, and apparently caught Mendenhall's eye with his quickness and grittiness. He didn't commit, although he would love to play for BYU.

Mendenhall told him to go through the recruiting process first, in case a program with more scholarships to pass out offers him a full ride.

So far, his father said Utah, Stanford, Brown and Princeton have shown some interest. The Ivy League schools are watching because he's an excellent student (both parents teach at Sky View) with a solid ACT score.

I just wrapped up our five days of coverage of the Utah State Amateur golf tournament at Soldier Hollow Golf Club on Sunday with a
story about the terrific final match as New Jersey transplant Dan Horner edged USU golfer Devin Daniels for the title.

The event is an important one for college golf recruiters because it provides a great opportunity for coaches to see the top up-and-coming junior golfers in the state.

One of those is Fremont's Zach Blair, who will be a senior this fall at the school in Plain City (new Ogden).

I couldn't help but notice that Blair -- son of famed Utah professional Jimmy Blair -- was wearing a BYU cap on Thursday after he shot a round of 4-under 68 on the Silver Course. Wednesday, Blair shot a 69 on the Gold Course, so he was seeded fourth heading into match play on Friday.

However, Blair was knocked out in the first round of match play by Jeff Jolley, a former high school state champion from Alta.

Jimmy Blair was an all-American golfer at BYU many moons ago, so it will be interesting to see if his son follows his footsteps to Provo.

Three other young golfers to keep an eye on that surfaced at the State Am were Fremont's 15-year-old Patrick Fishburn, South Summit's 15-year-old Taylor Haws and Layton's 15-year-old Brandon Kida. All three made match play, but all three lost in the first round.

College coaches I noticed in attendance at the State Am were BYU's Bruce Brockbank, UVU's Clark Rustand, Weber State's Dave Kearl and Southern Utah's Richard Church, who played in the event. Utah State's coach may have been there -- I just didn't see him.

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Four high school girls basketball players from the intermountain area, including three from Utah, have been selected to attend the adidas Superstar Camp at Texas A&M's Reed Arena on Tuesday.

Invited to attend are Grantsville's 6-foot Sammie Jensen, Bear River's 5-8 Felicity Jones, Bingham's 5-6 Nicole Yazzie and Tayler Anderson, a 6-footer from Lyman, Wyom.

The camp consists of group workouts and all-star games, and many of the top players in the country have been invited to attend.

A tight end from Oaks Christian School in Westlake Village, Calif., who had a scholarship offer from the University of Utah has committed to play football for Arizona State, according to the Arizona Republic.

Chris Coyle, a 6-foot-3, 235-pound rising senior, committed to ASU coaches on Saturday.

Coyle told the newspaper he also had offers from UCLA, Washington, Washington State, Boise State and Air Force.

Oaks Christian's roster includes the sons of Joe Montana, Will Smith and Wayne Gretzky, according to Coyle. ----------------------

The University of Utah is conducting its final summer basketball camp for 2008 on July 28-30, and space is stil available.

There will be a Future Utes camp for second- and third-graders from 9 a.m. to noon each day, and an All-Skill Camp for fifth- to 12th-graders from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. each day.

Contact Matt Legerski at (801) 581-4366 for more information.

OK, back to come recruiting-related news.....

Three girls basketball players from Utah have been selected to play in the adidas Superstar Underclassmen Camp at Texas A&M on Friday.

Layton Christian's 6-foot-2 Jasmine Porter, Alta's Rebecca Beaudoin (5-9) and Syracuse's Meagan Butler (5-4) received the honor.

The camp consists of group workouts and all-star games. Many of the top players in the class of 2010 (juniors-to-be) will be in attendance.

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One reader let me know that Brittney Martin, the up-and-coming girls basketball phenom who will be a freshman at West Point Junior High this fall, is the granddaughter of Curtis Nations, a standout point guard for Weber State in the early 1970s.

I've also been told to keep an eye on Erica Nish, a senior-to-be at Fremont High who has been all-state in basketball and volleyball since her sophomore year. Nish already has college offers in both sports.

Her brother, Jake Nish, is a 6-foot-8 rising junior who could be one of the more highly recruited basketball players in the class of 2010. The Nish's father, Martin, played basketball for Weber State under Neil McCarthy.

Reader Russ Swonson responded to my Utah Golf Survey with some fantastic insight and is giving me permission to post his thoughts here as an example of what I'm looking for and to get some dialogue going. Send your responses to drew@sltrib.com.

Utah Golf Survey Best Overall Course: Wasatch - Nothing better than a morning of golf in the fall with your buddies at Wasatch
Best Private Course: Willow Creek - Eric Nielsen and staff are the best in the state at making you feel welcome at their place.
Best Public Course: Bountiful Ridge - Best views and the course is always in country club shape
Best Rural Course: Roosevelt - Just a great golf course in the middle of nowhere
Best Golf Value: Mountain Dell - $40.00 for $18 holes with a cart, 10 - 15 degrees cooler than the valley
Best Greens: Bountiful Ridge - well kept, smooth, fun to read while trying to remember everything goes to the lake
Best Hole: #18 Bountiful Ridge. You can get home in two if you like to gamble with water, trees and grass bunkers. Great waterfall surrounds the green. You can lay-up but now you have a tough uphill, blind wedge shot
Worst Course: Eaglewood - Too many homes built to close to the course. JUST STAY AWAY
Worst Hole: # 12 Eaglewood - If you like paying for broken windows on top of your green fee's, play this hole a few times. Check out the nets on the right side of the fairway. UGLY
Best Unknown Gem: I'm going to go back to Roosevelt. It is just a real fun course if you are ever in the area

I apologize for this post that is not at all related to recruiting, but I am looking for a little help on one of my other beats today.

I am working on a story for the newspaper in which we will grade Utah's golf courses, and am looking for all the responses I can get to an informal survey.

If you play even a little golf in Utah, I would appreciate your thoughts. Send responses to drew@sltrib.com, and include your full name if you wouldn't mind being quoted in the article.

Utah Golf Survey
Best Overall Course:
Best Private Course:
Best Public Course:
Best Rural Course:
Best Golf Value:
Best Greens:
Best Hole:
Worst Course:
Worst Hole:
Best Unknown Gem:

Looks like Cottonwood High lineman John Martinez can't be swayed by promises of extraordinary looking cheerleaders.

A few weeks ago at the Nike Combine, I asked the 6-foot-4, 267-pound offensive lineman about the craziest sales pitch he has heard while being recruited by 25-30 of the top college football programs in the country.

"I got a letter from Oregon saying they have the hottest cheerleaders in the country," Martinez said. "Arizona sent one of those, too. I got a kick out of them."

Apparently, though, they didn't work.

Martinez told the Web site buckeyesports.com recently that he has pretty much narrowed his choices to four schools, and the Ducks and Wildcats aren't on the list.

Who is?

Ohio State, USC, UCLA and LSU.

Martinez, a four-star prospect according to scout.com, made an unofficial visit to Ohio State's senior advanced camp on June 20 and spent a few days in the Columbus area. He was impressed enough to add the Buckeyes to his list.

"I could see myself going there," he told the site.

Scout.com ranks Martinez as the No. 3 offensive guard prospect in the nation.

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Martinez isn't the only member of Cottonwood's 2008 football team drawing recruiting interest outside of Utah.

Running back Isi Sofele told me last month he has offers from Washington, Washington State, UNLV, Utah, UConn and Weber State.

Safety Assi Hosea said he has offers from Kansas State, SMU, Hawaii and UConn. Hosea said he is leaning toward Hawaii because he used to live there, having attended Kahuku as a sophomore.

Offensive tackle Percy Taumoelau didn't have any offers a few weeks ago, but I have a feeling that has changed. Taumoelau was receiving interest from Washington State, Washington and Arkansas, but said he wants to go to Michigan State, where his cousin, David Rolf, will be a freshman linebacker this fall.

Several posts last week touched upon the top up-and-coming boys basketball players in the state, and how Bingham's Ben Clifford and Provo's Kyle Collinsworth (rising juniors) and Brighton's Corbin Miller (rising sophomore) were going to be players to keep an eye on in the coming years.

So, who are the top girls basketball players out there?

Some club coaches and recruiters say the next Michelle Harrison (now at Stanford) could be Brittney Martin, a 5-foot-11 forward from West Point in Davis County who will be attending the new Syracuse High in a year.

Yup, Brittney is just a ninth-grader, but already the West Point Junior High star has drawn the interest of schools such as Stanford, Duke, UCLA, BYU and Utah. All have invited her to their elite camps, and she attended elite camps at Utah and BYU recently.

Brittney, 14, is playing with her Utah Flight team at the End of the Trail tournament in Oregon this week. They won their first two games, with Brittney scoring 27 points, but lost their third game.

As an eighth-grader, Brittney averaged 25 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks a game for her junior high team, and she helped her AAU Under-14 team win the state championship.

The phenom was also the junior high state champion in the high jump, 100 meters and 100-meter hurdles.

The question recruiting experts have about Brittney center on whether she will continue to improve. If she does, watch out.

Certainly, she is the top player in the class of 2012 right now, but many players in that age group have yet to surface.

As for the class of 2011, I'm told that Springville's 5-9 guard Lexi Eaton is probably the top player.

The top 2010 player is Jasmine Porter, a 6-2 post player at Layton Christian. Her brother, B.J., was a standout at LCA and currently plays for Portland.

A Layton High football player has received a football scholarship offer, but it is not the one who posted the best score at a talent combine last month and shined at various camps around the state.

While Layton running back LaVaughn Jackson awaits his first offer, another Lancer who will be a senior this fall -- fullback/linebacker Karl Williams -- got an offer from Air Force last week, his father confirmed.

Williams got the offer while he was at Stanford's camp, and is scheduled to attend Princeton's camp this week.

The 6-foot-2, 220-pound athlete would really like to hear from Utah and Utah State, but has yet to draw any interest from the Utes or Aggies although he reportedly played well at a USU camp his team attended.

An Eagle Scout who carries a 3.5 GPA, Williams reportedly ran a 4.6 40 at Stanford's camp.

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I haven't seen anything official from Utah State on this yet, but it appears that Timpanogos guard Skyler Halford will join the Aggies' men's basketball program this upcoming season.

Halford, 6-foot-1, 170 pounds, is listed on USU's roster on its Web site.

Halford was the second-leading scorer in 5A last season, behind C.J. Wilcox and ahead of Tyler Haws.

He played for the Salt Lake Metro club team last summer and will join former Metro players Tyler Newbold and Jaxon Myaer at USU.

Kyle Collinsworth doesn't have the same name as a former famous NFL receiver like his brother does, but his game at this juncture of his basketball career might be just as good.

The brother of BYU freshman Chris Collinsworth, who just completed a standout freshman season at BYU, Kyle Collinsworth will be a junior at Provo High this coming season.

He's the odds-on favorite to win the the 2010 Gatorade Player of the Year award, just as his brother did in 2007.

Kyle, who helped lead Provo to the 2008 4A title last spring (along with 2009 recruit Brandon Davies), already has four scholarship offers -- from Washington State, BYU, Utah and Utah State.

He is now 6-foot-5 and 180 pounds.

Washington State and BYU have targeted Kyle as one of their primary recruits from the class of 2010, and Utah and Washington State invited him to play in their elite camps. He had to skip Utah's because of a conflict.

A Provo High source said new schools get into the mix almost daily.

Kyle plays for the Utah Pump N Run club team that has had a solid spring and summer against some of the top club programs in the country. For instance, the team made it to the finals of the Las Vegas Easter Classic before losing by three points to an elite SoCal team coached by former UCLA coach Jim Harrick.

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Salt Lake Metro's 17-under girls teams have received invitations to attend the Oregon state jamboree tournament.

Metro Golf will play Lewis & Clark at 4 p.m. today (Saturday) and Metro Black will play the Spokane Sandpipers at 5 p.m.

The games will be at Gill Coliseum on the Oregon State campus.

Sunday, Metro begins play in the End of the Trail tournament in Oregon City, Ore. Both Metro teams are in the National (top) Division of the tournament.

Happy Independence Day, everyone.

If you are a BYU or Utah football fan, I'm afraid I've got some bad news for you.

Taysom Hill, the highly sought-after LDS quarterback from Pocatello, Idaho, who had offers from BYU and Utah, has committed to Stanford, according to Scott Eklund of Superprep.com.

Hill apparently called Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh and made the pledge on Thursday.

I met Hill at a 7 on 7 camp at Las Vegas a few months ago, and have spoken to him by phone probably six times since then. He is one of the most poised and articulate high school athletes I have dealt with in my reporting career, and (selfishly), I'm a little dismayed that he won't be playing his college football in the state of Utah.

Besides, he's darn good -- just ask high school coaches from Davis and Sky View who have faced him the past few years.

Certainly, I can't argue with his choice; A Stanford education is second to none.

Hill had offers from Arizona, Washington State, Boise State, Utah and BYU, but told the Web site that he had pretty much narrowed his choices to BYU and Stanford before picking the Cardinal.

He said he turns 19 next summer and will go on a mission before enrolling at the Pac-10 school. He told me last month that he will need to get a little bit better score on the ACT to qualify for Stanford, but is confident he will do better on his re-take.

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Hill's decision might be positive news for the top quarterback prospect in Utah, Logan High's Jeff Manning, who doesn't have an offer from BYU yet but could move into the Cougars' plans. Like Hill, Manning plans on going on a mission before enrolling.

BYU has also looked at 6-3 Jamie Jensen from Gilroy, Calif., who threw for more than 4,300 yards as a junior. Jensen is LDS but has said a mission is not likely in his future.

Of course, with the announcement that former USU quarterback Riley Nelson is transferring to BYU and will be part of the 2009 signing class, the Cougars might not be looking to sign a high school quarterback next February now that Hill is not an option.

But his decision seemingly makes it all the more important to BYU to land Jake Heaps, the highly touted LDS QB from Issaquah, Wash., who will be a junior this fall.

Harvey Langi, a running back/linebacker who will be a sophomore football player at Bingham High this fall, has been named one of the top 100 prospects in the Class of 2011 in the country by maxpreps.com.

Langi, 6-foot-1 and 200 pounds, reportedly has an offer from Utah. He is the younger brother of 2007 Bingham star running back Sam Langi, who signed with Snow College.

Harvey Langi has been part of a Bingham Little League team that has lost just game since the fourth grade, according to maxpreps.com. He's part of an outstanding class at Bingham that includes Bridger Peck and Baker Pritchard.

The Web site quotes Bingham coach Dave Peck saying Langi could have an impact on both sides of the ball as a sophomore for the Miners.

_________________________________

The Sacramento Bee has an interesting story on its Web site about receiver Brett Thompson, a 6-foot-3 rising senior who attends the same high school that produced star BYU receiver Austin Collie.

According to the story, Thompson has offers from Nebraska and BYU.

The same article mentions that a linebacker from Sierra Community College, Bryson Littlejohn, has an offer from the University of Utah.

Go to www.sacbee.com/100/story/1054637.html

We mentioned earlier this week that the top basketball player in Utah's class of 2011 (guys who will be sophomores this coming year) was undoubtedly Brighton's Corbin Miller, a 6-2 combo guard who helped the Bengals get to the 5A state semifinals last year as a freshman.

Well, there's apparently another 2011 prospect in the state who might be just as good, I've been told.

His name is Brant Mecham, and he is a 6-5, 191-pound phenom at Box Elder High in Brigham City. Mecham was the Bees' sixth man as a freshman most of last year, but still led the team with 33 three-pointers.

The kid can shoot it with Danny Ainge-type range, one college source told me.

His father, Keith, is also his high school coach, and his mother, Robin, is Box Elder's volleyball coach. He's got athletic bloodlines and has grown up in a gym.

Keith Mecham told me this morning that his son doesn't have an official offer yet, but that Weber State coach Randy Rahe has jokingly reminded him that when the big boys come around to remember that the Wildcats offered him first.

Recently, Utah State invited Brant to play in their weekly pickup games, and he ended up guarding Tyler Newbold for an hour.

"For his age, he's getting some nice attention and some good exposure," Keith Mecham acknowledged.

All the locals are familiar with the young man's skills, from Southern Utah coach Roger Reid to BYU coach Dave Rose to Utah's Jim Boylen. Louisiana Tech, with former Ute assistant Kerry Rupp at the helm, sends him three letters a week.

Brant spent much of the past two weeks at BYU's team and individual camps, and assistant coach Dave Rice is said to have kept a close eye on him in every game. Last October, he attended a Utah practice and got some one-on-one time with Boylen.

Mecham plays for Dave Hammer's Salt Lake Metro club team in the spring and summer, and helped Metro's 15-under team reach the championship game at the Las Vegas Easter Classic.

He will play on Metro's 17-under team later this month at a tournament in Vegas alongside Lone Peak's Tyler Haws and some of the state's other top rising seniors.

Keith Mecham said his son is good friends with Brighton's Miller and that the two have joked about being a package deal for some lucky college.

Mecham turns 19 the September after his senior season ends, so he will likely go on an LDS Church mission before enrolling at a college, his father said.

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A little more information has trickled in from the BYU summer tournament for high school teams last week. As mentioned before, Lone Peak defeated Provo in the championship game.

The other teams in the Final Four were Olympus and Mountain View. Olympus defeated Davis in the round of 16 and Bishop Gorman of Las Vegas in the quarterfinals before falling to Lone Peak and the greatness of Tyler Haws (24 points).

Provo beat Bountiful and the talented combo of Sean Carey/Travis Parrish in the quarters and then downed Mountain View in the semis.

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Pierce Hornung, a 6-foot-5, 200-pound forward from Arvada, Colo., has commited to Colorado State, according to a story in today's Coloradoan newspaper. Hornung is CSU coach Tim Miles' first in-state recruit.

The article says that Hornung, who averaged 18.6 points and 10.7 rebounds a game last year for Ralston Valley High, was also receiving interest from Utah, Utah State and Weber State.

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I talked to a very credible source this morning who told me that I am sorely mistaken if I think the recruiting battle for Tyler Haws has turned into a two-way struggle between BYU and Stanford and that Utah is out of the running.

Evidence: Haws participated in Utah's elite camp on Tuesday afternoon and spent a good chunk of time talking to Boylen.

Then again, Pleasant Grove's C.J. Wilcox participated in the same invitation-only camp, and he has committed to Washington.

I've also been told that powers such as UCLA and Duke still have Haws in their sights, but are waiting to see how he does in the all-star tournaments in Las Vegas later this month.

Chris Washington, the safety from Northridge High, just received an offer from Utah State, his father said in an e-mail today.

Washington now has three offers, all from in-state schools: Utah, BYU and Utah State.

However, as stated earlier, he was the defensive MVP of the B2G Camp in Thousands Oaks, Calif., over the weekend, and many analysts out there believe it is just a matter of time before the 6-foot-1, 195-pound rising senior with 4.5 speed in the 40 gets some out-of-state offers. Boise State and Oregon State are believed to be close to offering.

Washington received the USU offer a few days after he returned from California.

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Davis High coach Jay Welk and former BYU coach Steve Cleveland are good friends, which is probably why Welk's Davis team traveled to Fresno State, where Cleveland is now head coach, recently.

Turns out, it was a very profitable trip.

The Darts won the Fresno State University team camp tournament, defeating teams from California and Oregon.

I mentioned that Lone Peak, Bingham and West Jordan were going to be the teams to beat in 5-A this winter, and obviously should have included Davis, which lost just one game last year (to champion Lone Peak) and has a couple solid contributors returning.

Just got some more information about Ian Harward, the 6-foot-10 post player from Orem High whom we recently reported has a scholarship offer from Utah State. Harward will be a senior this fall at Orem.

Harward is kind of shy, according to his high school coach, Mike Conner, and doesn't enjoy talking to newspaper reporters. Who can blame him?

Anyway, Harward has not committed yet. He is going to wait a few more weeks to see what other opportunites spring up, but will likely commit before the end of July.

Whichever school gets Harward will have to wait for him to play because he turns 19 in September of 2009 and plans to go on an LDS Church mission before ever enrolling in college.

Conner said Harward has improved immensely since the high school season while playing on Orem's summer team and for the club team Utah Pump N Run.

"In just the past few months, I have gotten calls from back east, the Ivy [league] schools, from everywhere," Conner said. "He has definitely blossomed into a fine basketball player."

Harward averaged 12 points and seven rebounds a game last year for the Golden Tigers, all while nursing a bruised tailbone that limited his practice time.

He's also smart, with high college entrance test scores and close to a 4.0 grade point average, all while taking AP (advanced) classes.

"Someone is going to get a good player and an excellent student," Conner said.

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Jeremy Crabtree of rivals.com has reported that J.J. Holliday, a wide receiver from Tucson, Ariz., has a football scholarship offer from the University of Utah and is leaning in the Utes' direction.

Holliday, a 6-foot-1, 160-pound burner, also has an offer from Wyoming. He caught 17 touchdown passes and amassed 1,257 receiving yards as a junior.

Readers of this blog are familiar with the top boys basketball players in Utah from the class of 2009: Lone Peak's Tyler Haws and Nate Austin, Pleasant Grove's C.J. Wilcox, Provo's Brandon Davies, Bountiful's Sean Carey and Travis Parrish, West Jordan's Reyes Gallegos, Oly's Corbin Green and Orem's Ian Harward.

It's also apparent that the top player in the class of 2011 is Brighton guard Corbin Miller.

But what about the class of 2010?

Provo's Kyle Collinsworth is probably the top prospect who will be a junior this coming season, but another player has emerged this summer: Bingham's 6-foot-8 Ben Clifford.

"Clifford is getting a ton of college interest," Bingham coach Mark Dubach said.

Clifford told me Monday that he doesn't have any offers yet, but expects some shortly. He said Utah, Utah State, Southern Utah, Portland, Miami of Ohio and Louisiana Tech have shown the most interest.

His aunt went to Miami of Ohio and told her former school about the rising star.

"I think Utah State is close to offering, and maybe Utah," Clifford said.

He said he has not been contacted by BYU. No matter, he said, because he has no interest in the Cougars, partly because he is not LDS.

Clifford and 15-20 other top prospects will play at an elite camp at Utah today (Tuesday) from 3-10 p.m.