Just a little heads-up ... the blog will be going quiet for most of the next six weeks, while I head off to cover the Beijing Games in China and enjoy some downtown around Asia afterward.

There might be a post here or there depending on developments -- maybe Andrew Bogut will commit to donating some of that $72.5 million to the Utes -- but the chances are good that things will be dark for awhile.

Meantime, coach Jim Boylen and his staff are hosting their final basketball camp of the summer this week, then will get on with preparing for their second season -- including their first big recruiting weekend when the football team plays UNLV on Sept. 6.

The Utes already have two recruits committed to the 2009 class -- center Jeremy Olsen and guard Marshall Henderson -- and they have two more openings.

With that, I'll say zaijian for now ...

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.