Prep & College Recruiting

Provo High star Kyle Collinsworth, who has signed with BYU, is the 2010 Utah Gatorade Boys Basketball Player of the Year.
Here’s the news release from the sports drink maker:


CHICAGO (March 18, 2010) — In its 25th year of honoring the nation’s best high school athletes, The Gatorade Company, in collaboration with ESPN RISE, today announced Kyle Collinsworth of Provo High School as its 2009-10 Gatorade Utah Boys Basketball Player of the Year.  Collinsworth is the second Gatorade Utah Boys Basketball Player of the Year to be chosen from Provo High School.



The award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the court, distinguishes Collinsworth as Utah’s best high school boys basketball player.  Now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade National Boys Basketball Player of the Year award to be announced in March, Collinsworth joins an elite alumni association of past state boys basketball award winners, including Chris Paul (2002-03, West Forsyth HS, N.C.), Kevin Garnett (1992-93, Maudlin HS, S.C.), Chauncey Billups (1993-94 & 1994-95, George Washington HS, Colo.), Jason Kidd (1991-92, St. Joseph Notre Dame HS, Calif.), Paul Pierce (1994-95, Inglewood HS, Calif.) and Chris Bosh (2001-02, Lincoln HS, Texas).



The 6-foot-6 senior guard led the Bulldogs (19-4) to the Class 4A state semifinals this past season, averaging 23.7 points, 10.4 rebounds and 8.0 assists per game.  A three-time First Team All-State selection, Collinsworth recorded six triple-doubles this year and was chosen Class 4A MVP for the second year in a row.



Collinsworth has maintained a 3.78 GPA in the classroom.  An Eagle Scout with the Boy Scouts of America, he is an active member of his church community and has volunteered locally on behalf of youth basketball camps.



“Collinsworth has the full package,” said Craig Gladwell, head coach of rival Lehi High. “He can run the offense, he can post you up, he can hit the outside shot. What he does best is really attack the basket, and he can do it with either hand.”



Collinsworth has signed a National Letter of Intent to play basketball on scholarship at Brigham Young University this fall.



The Gatorade Player of the Year program annually recognizes one winner in the District of Columbia and each of the 50 states that sanction high school football, girls volleyball, boys and girls cross country, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls soccer, baseball, softball, and boys and girls track & field, and awards one National Player of the Year in each sport. The selection process is administered by ESPN RISE and the Gatorade high school sports leadership team, which work with top sport-specific experts and a media advisory board of accomplished, veteran prep sports journalists to determine the state winners in each sport.



Collinsworth joins recent Gatorade Utah Boys Basketball Players of the Year Tyler Haws (2008-09 & 2007-08, Lone Peak) and Chris Collinsworth (2006-07, Provo) among the state’s list of former award winners.

Remember Justin Hamilton?
He’s the former Lone Peak High basketball star who left the Beehive State to play his college basketball in the Big 12 -- at Iowa State.
Well, Hamilton might be coming back to a school near you.
According to the Des Moines Register, Hamilton announced to ISU coach Greg McDermott on Thursday that he plans to transfer out of the Ames, Iowa, school.
Hamilton did not say which school hs is transferrring to, but noted that he wants to play closer to home, which is Alpine, Utah.
A 6-11 post player, Hamilton started in 31 games for the Cyclones, averaging 6.4 points and 5.4 rebounds a game.
“He really hadn’t indicated in any way that there were any problems,” McDermott told the newspaper.  “He wants his family to see him play in person. As a parent happy that his son stayed within 90 miles from home — I guess I can’t fault him for that decision.”
The newspaper reported that Iowa State generally allows players to transfer to schools not on future schedules without penalty.

Springville High junior Lexi Eaton, who has committed to play women’s basketball for BYU, is the 2010 Utah Gatorade Player of the Year, the beverage-maker announced Thursday.
Eaton led the state of Utah in scoring, averaging 25.1 points per game. She was selected as the Utah state 4A tournament MVP while leading Springville to the Utah 4A state championship  Springville finished the season 23-0.
Eaton plays club basketball with the Salt Lake Metro club basketball team.
She’s the first player from Springville to win the award.
The 5-11 guard averaged 6.3 rebounds, 2.5 steals, 2.3 assists and one block per game for the Red Devils. She shot 48.2 percent from the field and 76.2 percent from the free-throw line this past winter.
Also an accomplished pianist, organist and violinist, Eaton has maintained a 3.97 GPA in the classroom. 
Eaton joins recent Gatorade Utah Girls Basketball Players of the Year Haley Holmstead (2008-09, American Fork), Dani Peterson (2007-08, Skyline), and Tasha Dickey (2006-07, Brighton) among the state’s list of former award winners.

Southern Utah University in Cedar City struggled in basketball this past season, failing to make the Summit Conference tournament, but it appears that help is on the way.
Two of SUU’s early signees helped lead their teams to state championship games in Utah recently.
Alta High’s Kyle Davis, who signed with SUU last November, helped the Hawks win the 5A state championship with a win over Davis. He had 14 points and 12 rebounds in the championship game.
Mountain Crest’s Cal Hanks helped the Mustangs get to the 4A title game, where they lost to Timpview. Hanks also signed with SUU in November.
Hanks had 12 points in teh championship game.
“We’re excited about the way our two early signees played intheir state tournaments,” SUU Coach Roger Reid said in a school news release.
Last year, the Thunderbirds signed Jordan Weirick of West Jordan, who was the 5A tournament MVP in 2009.

Springville senior forward Jessica Jensen has accepted a scholarship offer from Idaho State University and will sign with the Bengals in April, according to the coach of her club basketball team, the Utah Swoosh.
Jensen, a 6-foot-1 post, visited Idaho State last week and accepted coach Seton Sobolewski's offer during the visit.
Jensen helped the Red Devils win the 4A state championship last month.
She averaged 10 points and seven rebounds a game her senior year.