Utah Basketball: We Have A Real Recruiting Class

In a moment I’m going to give you the very reason you read this blog.

If you are or have been following the Larry Lapdogs, you’ve been led to believe that Kareem Storey, Anthony Odunsi, Glen Dean, Aaron Dotson and Renan Lenz were all going to be world class all Pac-12 players which would lead us back to the promise land.  What they have in common is they all sucked, four aren’t with the program and we all kind of wish the 5th wasn’t either.

If you were reading Hoyo’s Revenge, you knew that Storey and Odunsi had no business being here.  You knew that Glen Dean was a Big Sky guard who struggled against size and athleticism.  And you knew that despite having as many shots as he wanted at LSU, Aaron Dotson averaged 7 PPG at LSU and when he went to transfer, Gonzaga didn’t want him.

So you know it’s the real deal when I tell you that our new class is a serious class.  You all know about Brekkott Chapman.  The day I was going to discuss him was the day Gaius passed away, then I went into new baby mode and by now you all know about him.  But the real jewel of this class is Kyle Kuzma.

If you look up at the rafters of the Huntsman Center, most of the retired jerseys have one thing in common, they’re not from Utah.  For Utah to have real success, despite what the old timers and Lapdogs have been telling you, we have to have real out of state talent.  And Kuzma fits the bill.  He was wanted by a bunch of serious schools and we should celebrate that we nailed him.  He’s 6-7/6-8 and can play a variety of positions.  Kuzma is the prize here.

I also have to give you kids a warning.  Everyone seems to be in an equal tizzy about the guard we signed from Boise, Isaiah Wright.  Unlike Kuzma and Chapman, most of Wright’s offers were from WCC schools not named Gonzaga.  So I’m going to tell you to take at least a wait and see approach with this one, if not think back to Glen Dean and wonder why the Lapdogs are freaking out over this.

We’ll discuss the ramifications of all this in the coming days, but for now, be happy, we have the first real recruiting class in the Larry era.