The early-signing period for basketball opened yesterday, and the Utes are expected to announce the signing of their five incoming recruits for the 2009 class to binding letters-of-intent sometime this morning.

Coach Jim Boylen plans to discuss the players for the first time, too, after rules had forbid him from talking about them until they signed to join his team.

The Utes plan to add three high school players and two junior-college transfers, three of them from Texas and none from Utah. Forwards Matt Read of Collins Community College in Texas and Joseph Watkins of the College of Southern Idaho are the juco transfers -- Read is 6-foot-9, and Watkins 6-7 -- while 6-2 guard Marshall Henderson of L.D. Bell High School and 6-6 forward Shawn Glover of Cedar Hill High School comprise the Texas preps, along with 6-10 forward Jeremy Olsen of Collins Hill High School near Atlanta.

Center David Foster also is expected to return to the team with this class, having left the Utes after the 2006-07 season to serve a two-year LDS Church mission.

As we've mentioned before, signing five new players would technically give the Utes one player too many next season, but Boylen has decided to "oversign" in case of an academic casualty or other unexpected departure.