The Salt Lake Tribune
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Girls basketball: Rich's Eastman signs with Westminster
Rich High School's Allie Eastman, the 2008 and 2009 Class 1A girls basketball MVP, has signed an NAIA letter of intent to play basketball for Westminster College in Salt Lake City.

Eastman's teams went 85-11 overall in her years at Rich, a tiny school in Randolph, Utah.

Eastman averaged 17.8 points per game her senior year and led 1A with 2.8 three-pointers per game.

She finished with 167 three-pointers in her career, second-most on the state record list.

"Allie is long, skilled, and can really shoot it," said Westminster coach JD Gustin. "She is a tremendous student-athlete and will fit in nicely to our program."
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Basketball: SLCC's Magnusson bound for BYU
As expected, Salt Lake Community College forward Logan Magnusson has committed to BYU, the former Wasatch High star told me this afternoon.
Check out more by going to our BYU blog here.
Basketball: Lone Peak's Tebbs, Oly's Green sign with Snow College
Snow College's Ryan Brimley, a Hillcrest High product, is moving on to play basketball at Southern Utah University.

But the Badgers will re-stock with Utah talent, as usual.

Lone Peak guard Tommy Tebbs and Olympus forward Corbin Green recently signed to play for Snow College, a member of the Scenic West Athletic Conference.

Tebbs, a 6-3 transfer to Lone Peak from Las Vegas, was an honorable mention all-state selection last season despite working through a couple of injuries.
Green, 6-8, is the brother of former University of Utah player Shaun Green and considered one of the top three-point shooters in Class 4A.

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In other local prep basketball recruiting news, Judge Memorial guard Dee Crandall, who has played for the Salt Lake Metro club team, has accepted preferred walk-on status at Weber State. Crandall was a Tribune first-team all-state pick after the 2008-09 season.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Basketball: SLCC guard Robinson signs with Alaska-Anchorage
Another member of Salt Lake Community College's national championship-winning men's basketball team has announced his four-year college decision.

Drew Robinson, the 6-foot-1 guard from Lehi, has signed with Alaska-Anchorage, head coach Rusty Osborne said Tuesday.

Robinson helped SLCC go 63-10 in his two seasons. As a sophomore, he averaged 7.3 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game. He shot 45.9 percent from the field and was 31-for-77 on three-point attempts.

Prior to joining SLCC, Robinson took a redshirt season at Southern Utah in 2004-05 before serving a two-year church mission to the Phillipines.

At Lehi, he was a two-time first-team all-stater and helped the Pioneers reach the 2004 state championship game.

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Former Riverton High star Eric Dearden and former Wasatch High standout Jake Woodruff made the All-Conference First Team in the Wyoming Community College Athletic Conference. Deardon played for Western Wyoming and Woodruff played for Central Wyoming.

Dearden also made the All-Defensive team and the Academic All-Conference Team.

Dearden and College of Eastern Utah product Aaron England, who played high school basketball at Cyprus High, recently signed with Utah Valley University.
Swimming: Judge's Schwarz signs with Linfield College
A 12th student-athlete from Judge Memorial has committed to a college sports program.

Judge swimmer Maria Schwarz has committed to attend Linfield College, an NCAA Division-II program in McMinnville, Ore.

Schwarz was named to the 2008-09 Class 3A All-State Swimming Team and was nominated for academic all-state. She was a member of the Judge team that won its sixth state title in seven years.

Schwarz also made the Academic All-State Women's Golf Team.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Basketball: Salt Lake Select wins its bracket at Vegas tourney
A Utah club basketball team called Salt Lake Select won the Gold Division of the Star Vision Sports Spring Premiere in Las Vegas last weekend.

SL Select defeated Idaho Select in the first round of bracket play and the Agassi (Las Vegas) Stars in the championship game at Doolittle Community Center.

The team consisted of Jordan Bernardo, Corey Smith, Ken Masic, Jake Obioma, Chris Barnes, Will Walker, Javon Goodman, Ryan Thomas and Colton Burgon.
Basketball: Utah State lands a transfer from Air Force Prep
Tyrone White, a 6-foot-6 wing player who spent last season playing for the Air Force Academy prep school, has committed to transfer to Utah State.

White will sign a national letter of intent with the Aggies this week, according to a source close to the Utah State coaching staff.

White graduated from Jefferson High in Portland, Ore., in 2008 after helping his team win a state championship.

He recently asked for and was granted a release from Air Force.

He played 22 games for Air Force Prep last season, averaging 16 points, eight rebounds and four assists per game.

He was also recruited by Portland, Portland State, Boise State, San Francisco, Pepperdine, Florida International and Sienna after sending out tapes when he decided to leave Air Force.
Basketball: Weber State signs 6-2 junior college star
Weber State's men's basketball program has signed a junior college star to a national letter of intent, coach Randy Rahe announced today.

Franklin Sessions, a 6-foot-2, 170-pound guard/forward from Saddleback Junior College in Mission Viejo, Calif., has signed with the Wildcats.

"We are excited with Franklin's decision to join the Weber State family," said Rahe. "We have been recruiting him for quite some time and feel he has the ability to make a positive impact on our team next season. Franklin is very athletic player who has tremendous quickness and speed. He has a high skill level and has the ability to affect the game in a lot of ways. Though he's only 6-2, 170, our fans are going to be impressed with his rebounding skills and his uncanny ability to find the ball when it is missed. "

Sessions attended Jordan High School in Los Angeles. He enrolled at Irvine Valley JC his freshman season where he played for Coach Andy Ground and helped lead his team to a conference championship.

He followed Ground to Saddleback JC for the 2008-09 season where he was named the Orange Empire Conference MVP. He averaged 14.6 points, 10.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game. Saddleback reached the finals of the California State Junior College championship where it lost to Riverside CC.
Basketball: Utah Pump-N-Run falls in championship game
The Utah Pump-N-Run club basketball team made it to the championship game of the Las Vegas Spring Classic on Sunday, but fell 67-56 to California Supreme, one of the top six adidas-sponsored teams in the country.

It was the second-straight year that Utah P-n-R's elite team of 17-year-olds advanced to the tournament's championship game.

The team went 6-1 at the tourney, beating the Sacramento IEBP All Stars 77-56 to advance to the finals.

In one particular game, the state's most-recruited junior, Provo's Kyle Collinsworth, had 27 points, including seven dunks.

In another game, Olympus' Nicholas Paulos scored 22 points and had six three-pointers.

Other local players on the team: Bingham's Ben Clifford, Oly's Connor Brady, Springville's Raul Delgado, Copper Hills' Tyler Fa'alogo, Waterford's Neal Monson, Bingham's Shad Sommerville.

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Utah Pump-N-Run took five teams to Vegas to compete in the 15-under, 16-under and 17-under tournaments.

The 16-under team advanced to the semifinals before losing a 65-56 to Arizona Premier Black.

The team lost 48-43 to BTI Elite of Pasadena, Calif., in pool play, then downed Arizona Premier Blue 59-48 to avenge a loss two weeks ago in the semis of the Las Vegas Easter Classic.

In bracket play, Utah P-n-R defeated California Supreme 64-60, then downed Valley City (Burbank) All-Stars 50-47 to advance to the semis.

The team is coached by Westminster's Jason Long and Dave Thompson.

Players include Wasatch's Mike Brown, American Fork's Nate Ensign, Highland's Nate Fakahafua, Juan Diego's Morgan Hesleph, American Fork's Tanner LeBaron, Timpanogos' Chris Melville, Highland's Sam Orchard and Lehi's Zach Stanley.

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Former Hunter High girls basketball standout Alex Dunn, a 5-6 guard, has signed to play basketball for Carroll College in Helena, Mont.

Dunn earned first team all-region honors her junior and senior years at Hunter and was a third-team all-state selection. She played the last two seasons at Otero Junior College, where she led her team to a 21-9 record last season.

Otero J.C. is in La Junta, Colo.

Dunn averaged nine points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game at Otero and had a 3.79 GPA.
Basketball: Riverton's Dearden, Cyprus' England, sign with UVU
A couple of former Utah high school basketball standouts have signed to play for Utah Valley University next season.

Eric Dearden, a 6-foot-2 point guard from Riverton High who played last season at Western Wyoming CC, and Aaron England, a 6-foot-6 shooting guard from Cyprus High who played the last two seasons at College of Eastern Utah, have signed with Utah Valley.

Both Dearden and England will have two years to play for the Wolverines. Both played for the Salt Lake Metro club basketball program during their high school years.

Dearden averaged 13.7 points per game last year at WWCC. He played his freshman season at CEU.

England originally signed with Utah State before transferring to CEU. He led the Scenic West Athletic Conference in three-point shooting percentage (51.1 percent) last season.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Basketball: Utah club team still undefeated in Vegas tourney
The Utah Pump N Run red team continues to roll at the Las Vegas Spring Classic.

Utah PNR won its quarterfinal game Sunday morning, downing San Francisco ACA 70-63 to advance to the semis.

Provo's Kyle Collinsworth had 21 points, while Oly's Nicholas Paulos and Bingham's Ben Cifford had 10 apiece.

Saturday, the team of 17 year olds (high school juniors) won three games to advance to the quarterfinals. They beat CABC of Los Angeles 106-42, then downed the NorCal Pharoahs 80-67 and Double Pump Elite of Los Angeles 70-46 in the round of 16.

Double Pump Elite was the No. 1 seed in the tournament.

While Collinsworth, Paulos, Clifford and Waterford's Neal Monson have been the big scorers and rebounders, the assist leaders have been Bingham's Shad Sommerville and Tyler Fa'alogo.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Basketball: Utah PNR club team opens with a win at Vegas tourney
Utah Pump N Run's team of 17-year-olds defeated the East Los Angeles All-Stars 71-55 in the first round of the adidas Spring Classic in Las Vegas on Friday night.
The UPNR Red team consists of Connor Brady (Olympus), Ben Clifford (Bingham), Kyle Collinsworth (Provo), Raul Delgado (Springville), Tyler Fa'alogo (Copper Hills), Neal Monson (Waterford), Nicholas Paulos (Olympus) and Shad Sommerville (Bingham). The team is coached by Todd Phillips (SL Community College) and Reid Monson (Waterford).
Friday, April 24, 2009
Football: USC latest school to offer Brighton DT Ricky Heimuli
Brighton High's Ricky Heimuli, a 6-foot-4, 295-pound defensive tackle and center, participated in a camp at USC over the weekend. Monday, USC coach Pete Carroll took a look at film from the camp and called the Brighton senior.

By Tuesday evening, Heimuli had his 16th scholarship offer -- from USC.

"That was the school he was waiting to hear from," said his brother, Sefa Heimuli.

Having been offered by every Pac-10 school except Oregon, and with invitations from BYU, Utah, Utah State, Michigan State, Oklahoma, Nebraska and Colorado before he has even completed his junior year, Heimuli is on track to be the most-recruited prep football player in state history.

He's right up there with Highland's Haloti Ngata (Oregon), Cottonwood's John Martinez (USC) and Timpview's Xavier Su'a-Filo (UCLA).

Sefa Heimuli said that Notre Dame, Michigan and Florida have been in contact and are close to offering. Florida coach Urban Meyer wants Heimuli to attend a camp in June in Florida before he extends an official offer.

He's scheduled to attend USC's Rising Stars camp this summer as well.

Scout.com ranks Heimuli as the 12th best DT in the country (Class of 2010).

Sefa Heimuli said his brother probably won't decide until after his senior season at Brighton, and might to commit until the week before signing day. He said the prospect has grown up a BYU fan, but has some fondness for Utah because that was the first school to offer him. He likes Utah State because of its new head coach, former Ute assistant Gary Andersen.

"He's been saying that he doesn't have any big favorites yet," Sefa Heimuli said.
Basketball: Former Riverton star signs with Minnesota-Crookston
Former Riverton High star Mike Larsen, a 6-foot-9 power forward who spent the last two years playing at Western Wyoming Community College, has signed to play for the University of Minnesota-Crookston.

Larsen averaged 10 points and five rebounds per game for the Golden Eagles last season and shot 44 percent from the field.

He helped WWCC make it to the second round of the National Junior College Athletic Association Region IX Tournament.

At Riverton, Larsen was a first-team all-state pick after averaging 13 points and seven rebounds his senior year.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Girls basketball: Former MV coach Houle misses out on Wyo juco job
Former Mountain View High girls basketball coach Dave Houle, a member of the High School Coaching Hall of Fame, was bypassed for the head women's basketball coaching position at Northwest Community College in Powell, Wyo.

Houle was one of three final candidates for the job, but the position went to Janis Beal, an assistant coach at Snow College in Ephraim last year.

Beal is a Lovell, Wyo., native and Northwest alum. She played college basketball at Southern Utah University.

Northwest went 12-20 last year and usually features a couple of Utahns on its roster each year.

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A junior college guard who at one time had an offer from Utah State -- Alex Garcia-Mendoza -- has signed with Arkansas-Little Rock.

A 6-foot-3 guard, Garcia-Mendoza played at Northeastern Junior College in Sterling, Colo., last season and averaged 14 points and seven rebounds per game.
Football: Granger OL Mulitalo named MVP of USC camp
About 15 high school football players from Utah -- at least 10 from Brighton, two from East and two from Granger -- traveled to the Long Beach (Calif.) Nike Combine last weekend.

Of the 300 or so prospects at the camp, Granger offensive lineman Manu Mulitalo and Brighton defensive tackle Ricky Heimuli were among 30 prospects invited to attend the NFTC the next day at USC.

Mulitalo continued to shine, and was named the offensive line MVP by the coaches who worked at the camp.

Here's what ESPN.com's college recruiting page said about Mulitalo:

Mulitalo was solid throughout the day and then really stepped up his game during the one-on-one drills. He's a physical road grader type at guard and plays with an edge. He finishes his blocks very well, moves his feet well and has a great punch. There were a handful of prospects, who entered the camp still waiting for their first offer to roll in. Mulitalo was one of those players, but his performance showed he's definitely a solid Division I prospect.

A family friend said via e-mail that Mulitalo, 6-foot-2, 300 lbs., does not have any offers yet but that BYU, Utah and Utah State have all been in contact with his high school coach.

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As for Heimuli, the Brighton defensive tackle has so many offers it is getting difficult to keep track of them.

The latest school to extend a scholarship invitation: USC.

It is Heimuli's 16th offer, and he is quickly becoming one of the most-recruited prep football players in state history.

At the USC camp, Heimuli was edged for defensive line MVP honors by Ronald Powell of Rancho Verde High in Moreno Valley, Calif. Powell is also one of the highest-rated DTs in the country.

The USC offer to Heimuli is significant because his uncle, Deuce Lutui, played for the Trojans and is now with the NFL's Arizona Cardinals.

Every Pac-10 school except Oregon has now offered Heimuli. He also has offers from Utah State, Utah, BYU, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Colorado and Michigan State.
Girls soccer: Park City's Ritter commits to Arizona State
Rachael Ritter, a junior midfielder at Park City High, has orally committed to play soccer for Arizona State University, according to her club coach, Richie Breza.

Ritter was a second-team all-state selection after last fall's 2008 season and plays for the Park City-based Black Diamond Soccer Club team.
Football: BYU offers cornerback from a New York juco
BYU football coaches have offered a scholarship to Andre Kates, a cornerback at Eric Community College in Orchard Park, N.Y., according to the Web site jcfootball.com.

"I got offers from BYU, Baylor, Memphis and Washington State," Kates said. "I'm real excited about all of them because my goal is to be the number one recruit in the country."

Kates had 49 total tackles and three interceptions in 2008 and will be a sophomore at Erie in 2009. He will attend a combine at Orange Coast College in California on May 2.

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Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Volleyball: Four SLCC stars moving on
Four members of Salt Lake Community College's highly successful women's volleyball team have signed letters of intent to play for various four-year colleges next fall.

Sophomore Camilla Phillips signed with BYU and former SLCC head coach Shay Goulding. Phillips led the Bruins with 374 kills this season and played in all 122 Bruin games this season.

Sophomore Thyele Rechatiko signed with South Dakota State University. Rechatiko was SLCC's main setter and finished the season with a team-high 1015 assists and 121 kills.

Sophomore Tamara da Silva signed with Hampton University in Virginia. She led the team with 34 service aces for the season. She also finished with 165 kills.

Sophomore Jenika Bird signed with and has already transferred to Lewis and Clark State College in Lewiston, Idaho. She broke the all-time block assists record this year with 125.
Girls basketball: SL Metro Prospects shine at Vegas tourney
The Salt Lake Metro Prospects, a local girls club basketball team predominantly comprised of the top sophomores in the Intermountain West, went 2-2 at the recent adidas Spring Classic tournament in Las Vegas.

The tournament features many of the top adidas-sponsored programs in the country and was held during the recent NCAA open evaluation period, April 17-19.

The Prospects' most impressive win came against the Vegas Elite (NV), 74-69. Vegas Elite features junior point guard Aaryn Ellenberg, who is ranked no. 17 in country and recently committed to Oklahoma.

The Prospects were led by Springville's Lexi Eaton who had 13 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists in the win. The Prospects had a very balanced scoring effort. In addition to Eaton's 13 points, Stacey Kerr (Spring Creek HS NV) added 12 points (2 threes), Morgan's Ashley Garfield had 11 points, Shelby Rudd (Mt. Crest) 10 points (2 threes), Pine View's Sadi Dias and Layton's Addison Moore added 9 points each.

The nation's top sophomore shot blocker; Rachel Morris (Virgin Valley HS NV) added 8 points and 15 rebounds while Springville's Mackenzie Nielson tallied 6 boards in the winning effort.

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Judge Memorial's Tina Fakahafua, who helped the Bulldog girls basketball team go 23-4 last season, has signed to play for the College of Southern Idaho.

Fakahafua was recently named to the Tribune's 3A all-state team and the all-Region 10 team.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Football: Defensive tackle from Kansas commits to BYU
Totalbluesports.com is reporting that BYU has received a commitment from Travis Tuiloma, a defensive tackle from Washburn Rural High School in Topeka, Kan.

Tuiloma is a 6-foot-3, 290-pound junior who plans on signing with the Cougars next February.

Last week, the Cougars received a commitment from a defensive lineman in Hawaii, Graham Rowley.

Tuiloma told the Web site he is LDS and plans on going on an LDS mission during his time at BYU.

He said he committed to BYU defensive line coach Steve Kaufusi and then head coach Bronco Mendenhall on Monday.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Basketball: Lone Peak's Haws, a BYU signee, plays well in Florida
Lone Peak's Tyler Haws, the Tribune's 2009 Class 5A MVP, played in the Senior Showcase All-Star Game in Florida on Saturday night.

Haws was continually shuttled in and out of the game, but still managed seven points, four rebounds and two assists as his Team USA defeated Team Florida 118-11.

Haws was 2-for-3 from the field and 3-for-4 from the free-throw line.

Before the game, organizers put on a three-point shooting contest. Haws competed in that competition, which was won by Ray Taylor of Florida.

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Southern Utah has signed seven new basketball players for the 2009-10 season, but the Thunderbirds apparently aren't done recruiting.

Coach Roger Reid has one more scholarship available to dole out, a source close to the team confirmed.

One player the T-birds are looking at closely is Logan Magnusson, the former Wasatch High star who recently helped Salt Lake Community College win the national junior college championship.

Magnusson, a returned missionary who transferred to SLCC from Dixie State, will reportedly make a visit to Cedar City some time this week.
Friday, April 17, 2009
Basketball: Riverton's Grim transferring to Utah State
Former University of Utah basketball player Morgan Grim will transfer to Utah State University.

Grim visited USU last week and committed to join the program. The 6-foot-8, 220-pound center will have to sit out next year, per NCAA rules regarding transfers, and will be eligible to play the 2010-2011 season.

"He is thrilled to get the opportunity to be able to stay in his home state and join such a high quality program," his mother, Tracy Grim, said.

A sophomore after playing two seasons for Utah, Grim has two years of eligibility remaining.

The former Riverton High star who was The Tribune's Class 5A MVP his senior year averaged 0.8 points and 0.9 rebounds per game in his career at Utah and blocked 14 shots in 42 appearances.

Grim seldom played in 2008-09 and suffered a broken foot that sent him to the bench for most of the second half of the season.
Basketball: Southern Utah signs five more, including three Utahns
Southern Utah University's men's basketball team will have seven new faces next season -- two guys the Thunderbirds signed last November and five more that they signed earlier this week.

Locally, the T-birds got the signatures of West Jordan's Jordan Weirick, Riverton's Scott Friel and Ryan Brimley, a Hillcrest product who played at Snow College the past two seasons.

All three signed on April 15 when the late signing period began.

Also, Southern Utah signed Damon Heuir, a 6-foot-3 guard, and Dallin Bachynski, a 6-foot-11 post player.

Heuir prepped at St. Ignatius Park High School in Queensland, Australia. He averaged 20.1 points and five assists last season in the Australia under-18 championships.

Bachynski prepped at Sir Winston Churchill High in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. He averaged 22.3 points, 14.6 rebounds and 4.1 blocks per game last season and made the all-Canada All-Star game.

Bachynski drew some interest from Utah State, BYU and Louisiana Tech.

In November, Southern Utah signed two other Australians -- 6-11 Matthew Hodgson and 7-0 Nathan Crombie.

The T-birds will now have three Australians, and four players 6-10 or taller.
Basketball: Weber State signs junior college star from Alabama
The regular signing period for high school and junior college basketball players began Wednesday, and Weber State has announced it has signed a junior college star from Tuscaloosa, Ala.

Josh Noble, a 6-foot-2, 190-pound junior, signed a national letter of intent to play for the Wildcats in 2009-2010.

"We are excited about Josh joining our program," said Weber State coach Randy Rahe. "He is the perfect fit for what we were looking for. First, and foremost, he is a terrific young man with very high character and an excellent student in the classroom. On the court, he is a gifted athletic player with a high skill level. He has the ability to score in a variety of ways, is a great defender and has a team first, unselfish attitude. Josh has the ability to make our team better next season and will be a valuable addition to our program."

Noble spent the 2008-09 season at Snead State Community College in Boaz, Ala., and attended Hillcrest High in Tuscaloosa.

This past season he averaged 13.2 points, 5.2 assists, 3.9 rebounds and 5.0 steals per game.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Football: Hawaii prep lineman commits to BYU
Graham Rowley, a 6-foot-4, 270-pound defensive end from Waialua School in Hawaii, committed to BYU football coach Bronco Mendenhall on Wednesday.

To learn more about Rowley and his background, follow this link to our BYU sports blog.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Basketball: Lone Peak's Haws picked to play in Florida all-star game
Lone Peak senior Tyler Haws, who was recently named 5A MVP by The Salt Lake Tribune, will play in the Senior Showcase All-Star game for high school players on Saturday at Freedom High School in Orlando, Fla.

Haws, who has signed with BYU, will play for Team USA against Team Florida in the game.

Here is Team USA's Roster:

Darius Morris, Los Angeles, 6-4 (Michigan); Kenny Hall, Stone Mountain, Ga., 6-9 (Tennessee); Aaric Murray, Concordville, Pa., 6-11 (LaSalle); Glenn Rice Jr., Marietta, Ga., 6-5 (Georgia Tech); Shawn Kemp Jr., Marietta, Ga., 6-10 (Alabama); Jeronne Maymon, Chicago, 6-7 (Marquette); Tyler Haws, Alpine, Utah, 6-5 (BYU); D.J. Richardson, Chicago, 6-3 (Illinois); Zeke Marshall, McKeesport, Pa., 6-11(Arizona); Lamar Patterson, Lancaster, Pa., 6-5 (Pittsburgh); Victor Rudd, Van Nuys, Calif., 6-8 (undecided); Jared Cunningham, San Leandro, Calif., 6-3 (Oregon State).

The Showcase will also include a three-point shooting contest and a slam dunk contest.
Monday, April 13, 2009
Basketball: Davis team also makes semis in Vegas
Another 16-and-under boys basketball team also played well at the recently concluded Las Vegas Easter Classic.
The Jammers, a team comprised entirely of sophomores from Davis High, made it to the semifinals of the platinum division before losing 42-38 to Arizona Premier Black.
The Jammers were down by a point with a minute remaining, but two separate three-point attempts wouldn't fall.
Trevor Webb, Blake Harris, Morgan Dunford, Drake Turner and Daniel Moffett shined for the Jammers.
In pool play, the Jammers defeated the San Diego Ballers 81-46 and Gamepoint Basketball of Oceanside, Calif., 62-37 to win their pool.
They beat the Las Vegas Dynasty 58-40 to advance to the semifinal game.

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Viewmont football player Matt Cahoon has signed to play for the University of Montana-Western. Cahoon, a 6-foot-2, 190-pound linebacker, recorded 98 tackles for the Vikings last season.
He made the All-Region 1 football team.

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Taylorsville's Nicole Huntsman has signed a national letter of intent to play softball at Southern Utah University.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Basketball: Utah Pump-N-Run 16s reaches semis of Vegas tourney
Utah Pump-n-Run Under-16, a collection of some of the top prep basketball players (sophomores, mostly) in the state, reached the semifinals of the Las Vegas Easter Classic last week.

The Utahns lost 53-48 to Arizona Premier in the semifinals of the platinum bracket (pool winners).

Nate Fakahafua had 19 points and eight rebounds and had a possible game winning basket roll out in the last minute. Tanner LeBaron added 10 points and four steals. His three pointer with less than two minutes to go brought the Utah team to within one. Zach Stanley had five assists.

The Utahns downed the Granger Hurricanes of New Mexico 58-46 to reach Saturday's semis. The NM team is sponsored by former Lobo Danny Granger.

Fakahafua's 17 points led the Utah team; Michael Brown chipped in 10, Morgan Hesleph added 6 assists and five steals and LeBaron had four assists, three steals and just one turnover.

In pool play, the Utahns defeated the Baja (Mexico) Cadets 58-26 as Lehi's Stanley had 12 points and Highland's Sam Orchard had six assists.

The Utahns then beat PolyNation of Las Vegas 70-51 to advance out of their pool to the platinum bracket.

The Utah Pump-N-Run 16s are coached by Jason Long and Dave Thompson.
Friday, April 10, 2009
Camp still on
Clearing up some confusion from earlier in relation to an article in the The Honolulu Advertiser , the All-Poly camp is still on for Utah this summer, however, there is another that will be starting in Hawaii according to organizer Alema Te'o.
Wednesday, April 08, 2009
Football: Offer list growing for Pleasant Grove QB Lloyd
How much is the recruitment of Pleasant Grove quarterback Dallas Lloyd blowing up?

Consider this: the junior just received a scholarship offer from Syracuse.

Has a Utah prep football player ever been offered by Syracuse before?

Not as far as I can remember.

Lloyd's father, Casey, said Wednesday morning that his son now has seven offers: BYU, Utah, Stanford, Wyoming, Utah State, Tulsa and Syracuse.

He said that Oklahoma, Miami, Nebraska and Vanderbilt have called recently, and that Vandy is likely to offer any day now.

Lloyd was 93-for-169 for 1,689 yards and 15 touchdowns last season, but the number college recruiters really like is this: 4.0

That's the young man's grade point average. He's got an ACT test score that will get him into Stanford, Casey Lloyd said, but the Cardinal want him to take it again because he didn't do the optional writing component of the test the first time around.

Dallas Lloyd spent last weekend at Stanford, taking part in Junior Day activities. His father said he has also checked out Junior Day events at BYU and Utah and that right now those three schools are his favorites.

Casey Lloyd played college basketball at Weber State and BYU-Hawaii, but noted that the decision will be made by Dallas, who will go to USC's Nike Camp this spring. He has also been invited to attend the Elite 11 quarterback camp in California for the top prep QBs in the West.

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We didn't get a chance to talk to quarterback Jake Heaps, rated as one of the top prep QBs in the country, when he visited BYU on Monday. However, here's a link to Heaps' MySpace page, if you are interested in the junior from Skyline High in Issaquah, Wash.
Monday, April 06, 2009
Football: Nevada offensive lineman will walk on at Utah State
Parker Robertson, a 6-foot-4, 275-pound offensive lineman from Douglas High (near Carson City) in Nevada has accepted an offer to be a preferred walk-on at Utah State, according to a report in the Record-Courier newspaper.

Robertson will receive a partial academic scholarshp at USU.

A mid-season knee injury caused recruiting interest in Robertson to drop off. Robertson visited Logan a few weeks ago and received the offer to walk on.

The lineman was ranked as the 29th best high school player in Nevada by Rivals.com and the 11th best in the state by Scout.com.
Football: Utahns shine at California combine
Timpview's Chris Badger already has a college football scholarship wrapped up (from Stanford), but he still took the time a week ago to participate in an Under Armour talent combine in Santa Monica, Calif.

Badger, who is on the ESPNU 150 Watch List, showed nice range, according to ESPN's recruiting Web site, and solid footwork. He benched 185 pounds 18 times to show he has better upper-body strength than some suspected.

Brighton's Ricky Heimuli, a defensive tackle, and Timpview defensive end Bronson Kaufusi also took part in the combine. Kaufusi has committed to BYU, while Heimuli has as many as 10 offers.

Heimuli, 290 pounds, turned heads with a 27.5-inch vertical leap. He ran a 4.91 40.

Kaufusi, 6-8 and 242 pounds, ran a 4.72 40 and posted a 32.5-inch vertical leap. At tight end, he was a major mismatch for smaller linebackers, according to the Web site.
Friday, April 03, 2009
Football: BYU offers Heaps' prep teammate
Scout.com is reporting that BYU has made a scholarship offer to Jase Butorac, a 6-foot-3, 280-pound offensive lineman from Skyline High in Issaquah, Wash.

Skyline, of course, is the school attended by Jake Heaps, the LDS quarterback who is widely regarded as the top prep quarterback (junior) in the Western U.S., and maybe the country.

Butorac is not LDS, according to Chris Fetters of Scout.com.

Butorac said BYU line coach Mark Weber made the offer on Friday.
Thursday, April 02, 2009
Basketball: SUU lands Riverton's Friel, WJ's Weirick and Snow's Brimley
Former BYU coach Roger Reid said he would bring more Utah players to Southern Utah University when he became the Thunderbirds' coach a few years ago, and he continues to deliver on that promise.

SUU got commitments recently from two of the best players in Class 5A basketball, and one of the best junior college players in the state.
West Jordan guard Jordan Weirick, Riverton guard Scott Friel and Ryan Brimley, a former Hillcrest High standout who played the last two years at Snow College, have orally committed to SUU.

Weirick helped the Jaguars win the 5A state championship last month. The 6-3 senior averaged 14.5 points and 5.0 rebounds a game for coach Scott Briggs' team. He's the third member of the team to earn a Division I scholarship; Rayes Gallegos has signed with Nebraska and Mason Sawyer has signed with Boise State.

Friel, a 6-5 guard, averaged 15.3 points per game for Riverton and helped the Silverwolves make it to the 5A quarterfinals.

Brimley averaged 12.8 points per game for the Badgers last season. Known as "heat check" when he played at Hillcrest, due to his deadly outside shooting, Brimley also drew interest from Northern Arizona, UC Irvine and Weber State.
Wednesday, April 01, 2009
Football: Alta linebacker Ho-Ching gets first two offers
Timpview's Chris Badger and Bronson Kaufusi have committed to Stanford and BYU, respectively, and Brighton's Ricky Heimuli is getting offers from all over the country.

Now, an Alta High linebacker is quickly moving up the list of the state's most sought after high school football players who are currently juniors.

Alta's Toloai Ho-Ching, a 6-foot-1, 220-pound all-stater from the Hawks' 2008 state championship team, has received written scholarship offers from Wyoming and Wisconsin, Alta coach Les Hamilton said.

Ho-Ching has also drawn interest from Utah and BYU, but no offers as of yet.

He is the nephew of former BYU stars Gabriel Reed and Spencer Reed.

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Judge Memorial senior Zach McKown, a linebacker and fullback who earned second-team all-state honors will attend the Fork Union (Va.) Military Academy to play football. The prep school has had a nice record of putting players into Divison-I programs.

McKown is the son of Utah Jazz strength coach Mark McKown.

By the way, Fork Union has produced some notable professional football players, including Vinny Testaverde, Plaxico Burress and Eddie George.
Girls Basketball: Springville soph Eaton commits to BYU
We have some more news to report from the basket-playing Eaton family of Springville.

Lexi Eaton, a 5-foot-10 guard who just completed her sophomore season at Springville High, has orally committed to play basketball for BYU's women's program, after receiving a scholarship offer from coach Jeff Judkins on Tuesday night.

"She was very impressed with the coaching staff and the school, so she committed," said her father, Alan Eaton.

Lexi is the younger sister of Preston Eaton, who will walk on at Utah State when he returns from his church mission to Chile.

Lexi Eaton averaged 15.9 points, 7.6 rebounds and 1.8 steals per game last season in helpng the Red Devils get to the 4A state championship game. She was a first-team all-state selection.

Her teammate, senior Ashley Kroneberger, has signed with UNLV.

Lexi Eaton plays for the Salt Lake Metro club team program in the spring and summer.

Another member of Salt Lake Metro, Danika Sharp of West Wendover (Nev.) High, has committed to Nevada.

Sharp, who just completed her junior season for the Wolverines, was averaging 31.8 points and 6.2 rebounds a game for West Wendover in mid-January.
Basketball: Former scoring champion Eaton will walk on at Utah State
Preston Eaton, a 6-foot-1 point guard from Springville, was one of Utah's top prep basketball players in 2007, but he left on an LDS Church mission a few months after graduating.

Well, Eaton returns home from Chile in August, and he has already made a decision where he will play college basketball.

Eaton's father, Alan, confirmed Wednesday that Preston will walk on at Utah State. Preston has been guaranteed a spot on the Aggies' 2009-2010 roster.

Eaton led the entire state in scoring his senior year at Springville, averaging 23.4 points per game. He also averaged seven rebounds and five assists for the Red Devils.

Eaton had a half-dozen or so scholarship offers from junior colleges and smaller four-year schools, but has decided he would rather walk on at Utah State, his father said.
A look at Utah's recruiting
USA Today has a look at the depth of recruiting in the state of Utah, check it out if you'd like, here.
About Jay and Lya
   Jay Drew and Lya Wodraska cover high school and college recruiting for the Salt Lake Tribune. If you have recruiting news, e-mail drew@sltrib.com.