Marshall Henderson took a particularly studied approach to deciding he wanted to join the Utes after his standout high school career at L.D. Bell High School in suburban Dallas.

According to his father and coach, the sharp-shooting combo guard whittled all of the scholarship offers he had received down to six favorites. In part because his mother works for American Airlines and enjoys discounted airfares, Henderson was able to visit all six schools -- Marquette, Bradley, Gonzaga, Notre Dame, Stanford and Utah -- before creating a list of 16 questions focused on things that were important to him in a college choice.

From there, the 6-foot-1 Henderson ranked each of the six schools according to how well they answered each question, and "Utah kind of kept coming up as the top one," father Willie Henderson said. It didn't hurt that the Utes have a good football program; the younger Henderson is a big football fan, and wanted to go out of state for college.

"Believe it or not, that had a lot to do with it," his father said, especially because some of his other candidates don't have football at all.

The result is that the Utes have landed their second recruit in the 2009 class, after 6-foot-10 center Jeremy Olsen of suburban Atlanta. That leaves them two open spots in that class, and they're still pursuing Lone Peak's Tyler Haws, whom they envision being able to play alongside Henderson and the other guards who still will be in the program then, including Luka Drca and Carlon Brown, as well as incoming freshmen Jordan Cyphers, Jace Tavita and Chris Hines.

Henderson has averaged at least 20 points and made more than 100 three-pointers in each of his three high school seasons so far -- he averaged 24.9 points last season for a 15-15 team that made the Class 5-A playoffs but lost to powerful Duncanville -- and his deep shooting ability "is what put him on the map," his father said.

And don't think that Henderson might only contribute to the Utes on the basketball court. He's "great friends" with teammate Josh Mauro, a 6-foot-6 defensive end who's being recruited for football by Utah's Kyle Whittingham.

The Utes have picked up an oral commitment from guard Marshall Henderson, a 6-foot-1 shooting guard from L.B. Bell High School in Hurst, Texas.

We'll have more details coming shortly, but Henderson is a member of the 2009 recruiting class who would be a freshman for the 2009-10 season, along with previously committed 6-10 center Jeremy Olsen of suburban Atlanta.

Tyler Kepkay called his time playing for Team Canada in its 120-65 exhibition loss to Team USA in Las Vegas last week "one of the funnest times I've had playing basketball."

And with some reason.

While Kepkay played only five minutes in the first half and hit just 1-of-5 shots -- why coach Leo Rautins didn't give him at least a few more minutes after halftime, I don't know -- he hardly embarrassed himself. Sure, his talent doesn't exactly measure up to some of the best players in the world, but he didn't get dunked on, didn't get burned, and didn't look anything close to starstruck. He even nearly drove to the rim on the Jazz's Deron Williams once, though his shot bounced away after Williams recovered.

"I thought I had him, but Deron just gave me a bump," Kepkay said. "He's pretty strong."

Overall, Kepkay said it was a great experience that will help him improve for his senior season with the Utes. "Yeah, I missed a couple of shots," he said, "but I was aggressive, I was getting by guys and into the lane. It was good."

While talking to Tyler Kepkay for today's article on his meeting with Team USA in an exhibition game in Las Vegas, the senior point guard was explaining that he wasn't worried about being worn down after spending the summer playing for his Canadian national team.

"After this, I have a month off, basically, before going back to Utah for school," he said. "So I won't do as much up-and-down stuff, I'll just work a lot on my skills and in the weight room and stuff, just relax a little bit, then get back down to Utah and get ready to win that championship this year."

Did he say "championship?"

Yes, he did. Believe me, I double-checked.

And though it might seem pretty bold to suggest such a thing for a team that finished 18-15 overall and just 7-9 in the Mountain West Conference last season, it's no doubt the confidence that coach Jim Boylen will love to see out of a player who struggled so mightily with that last season.

In any case, playing internationally is bound to help Kepkay -- as it will guard Luka Drca and forward Kim Tillie, who have played for their respective national teams this summer -- especially in adjusting to a faster game.

The international game "is a lot faster" than college, Kepkay said, noting the 24-second shot clock and the mere eight seconds allowed to advance past halfcourt. "Everybody is skilled. Every guy, from one through five, can shoot threes, put it on the floor. Everybody can do it. ... I learned a lot."

The dream ended today for Tyler Kepkay and his fellow Canadians.

Team Canada lost badly to Croatia at the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Athens, falling 83-62 in the quarterfinals and assuring they won't qualify for the Beijing Games in China.

It was an embarrassing loss for a team that now has failed to qualify for the last three major international competitions -- the 2004 Athens Games, the 2006 World Championships and the 2008 Beijing Games -- and isn't sure about the future of coach Leo Rautins. It still will play Team USA in an exhibition in Las Vegas next week, though, where perhaps Kepkay will get a little more work.

"I got the USA minus-50," journalist Doug Smith of the Toronto Star wrote.

Kepkay scored his first basket of the qualifying tournament in his five minutes against Croatia, but played just 15 minutes in three games and did little to stand out. The Canadians "still don't have a back-up point guard," Smith wrote on his blog, "and as much as Tyler Kepkay and Andy Rautins might think they are, they are not good enough against even mid-level international teams at the moment."

It didn't help that center Samuel Dalembert was thrown off the team in the middle of the tournament, depriving Team Canada of one of its precious few NBA players. Evidently, coach Rautins dismissed Dalembert "as the team bus was about to leave for the arena" for its second game against South Korea, which the Canadians ultimately won with a riveting second-half comeback.

They're down to the final eight.

Tyler Kepkay and his fellow Canadians made a surprise comeback at the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament today, rallying from 18 points behind to beat Korea 79-77 and advance to the quarterfinals against either Croatia or Puerto Rico on Friday.

Of course, Kepkay hasn't had a ton to do with it.

The backup point guard played just two minutes against Slovenia and only eight against Korea (he missed two shots, and did not score). But still, the experience can only help. The Canadians must finish in the top three of the tournament in Athens to reach the Beijing Olympics in China.

The pressure is really on Tyler Kepkay and Team Canada, now.

The Canadians lost their first game of the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Greece this morning, 86-70 to Slovenia. That means they must beat Korea on Wednesday in order to advance to the quarterfinals.

If not, they're going home -- and not to the Beijing Games.

Coach Leo Rautins complained that his players weren't able to get out and run against Slovenia the way he believes they must, especially with starting point guard Jermaine Anderson in foul trouble. Back-ups Andy Rautins and Kepkay "were overwhelmed when Anderson was on the bench," according to the National Post in Canada.

Point guard Tyler Kepkay and his teammates on the Team Canada are about to take their final shot at reaching the Beijing Olympics this summer, at the FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament that begins today in Athens, Greece.

Only the top three teams at the 12-team, last-chance tournament will join the field in Beijing, and Canada's prospects are questionable. Even coach Leo Rautins acknowledged that "we have to do everything right" to qualify.

The Canadians meet Slovenia in their first game on Tuesday, followed by Korea on Wednesday.

One writer at the Toronto Star expects them to win at least one of their preliminary games, but wonders what effect having a player as inexperienced as Kepkay will have on the roster.

"Point guard is a question mark only because Canada has no proven backup when Jermaine Anderson isn't on the floor," journalist Doug Smith wrote. "Tyler Kepkay of Vancouver and Andy Rautins -- Leo's son -- both played minutes there in exhibition play, but are untested at the position internationally.

"In a short tournament, it's a weakness they might be able to work around or it might be exploited by smart, veteran teams."

By the way, you might have seen that Kepkay is not the only Utah collegian in the tournament. Rival Jonathan Tavernari of Brigham Young is playing for Brazil, along with former Cougar and former Jazz player Rafael Araujo, though they can't meet Kepkay and the Canadians until the semifinals.

Looks like it might be time for Andrew Bogut to donate another locker room renovation.

Or maybe a whole new arena.

According to his agent, the former All-American and No. 1 draft pick who donated $125,000 to his alma mater for a new locker room at the Huntsman Center is about to sign a 5-year contract extension with the NBA's Milwaukee Bucks worth as much as $72.5 million. Evidently, $60 million is guaranteed, with the rest available through bonuses and incentives.

"He's thrilled," agent David Bauman told The Associated Press. "He feels like Milwaukee really stepped up and demonstrated to him he's a valued member of this team."

Signing the deal not only will keep Bogut with the Bucks through the 2013-14 season -- it does not take effect until after next season -- but it allows the 7-footer to play for his native Australia at the Beijing Olympics.

Until now, Bogut had not been able to participate with the Boomers in their Olympic preparations because he had opted out of his contract with the Bucks and was not insured against injury. Now, he's expected to join the team after an appearance in Milwaukee on Friday, and has said it's realisitic for the Australians to shoot for a top-four finish in China.

Uh-oh.

Tyler Kepkay and his fellow Canadians experienced a power outage while dropping the second of two exhibition games against New Zealand last night, reviving questions about whether superstar Steve Nash might rejoin the team if it qualifies for the Beijing Olympics.

"The guys on the team would love to have him," coach Leo Rautins said. "Jermaine Anderson said he would go pick him up from the airport."

If that were to happen, Anderson probably could drop Kepkay off at the same time. For while The National Post's Eric Koreen notes that Kepkay is the only "true" point guard on the team, the Utah senior is a young backup -- Rautins used two converted point guards ahead of him against the Tall Blacks -- who has little international experience. He probably would be first to get bumped from the 12-man roster if Nash returned.

"Canada lacks a true elite-level point guard to make the offence hum," Koreen concluded after the Canadians shot just 34 percent in the 77-69 loss in Toronto, three days after a 27-point victory over the same team. Team Canada plays Lebanon tonight before heading to Germany for two more exhibitions ahead of its final Olympic qualifying tournament in Greece.

Of course, maybe Kepkay will get a shot to make a difference, if Anderson and Andy Rautins (the coach's son) can't get the job done in its upcoming games.

Coach Jim Boylen had been hoping to attract some attention with the challenging non-conference schedule he arranged for next season.

And it looks like he's done it.

Aside from my colleague Lya Wodraska's worthwhile column about it from last weekend, The Sporting News also has addressed it, saying the Utes could "approximate" the Final Four run that Michigan State -- the model for Boylen's scheduling philosophy -- made in 2005 after losing games to Duke, Kentucky, UCLA and Kansas during the 2003-04 season.

"Boylen might settle for that," writer Mike DeCourcy concluded.