5 Takeaways Grassroots Utah

First: Circuit or No Circuit?

Playing on a shoes circuit is no joke, but not every good high school basketball player can play against the dudes you see every game across the country on a shoe circuit team. Utah has a few shoe circuit teams attached to Utah but there is only one official shoes circuit team in the state. The Utah Prospects 3SSB play on the Adidas Circuit which has proven to have some of the best players in the country and this platform has helped many players stock rise with that level of competition. Players like Collin Chandler Collin Chandler 6'5" | CG Farmington | 2022 State #28 Nation UT , Yoeli Childs, Frank Jackson to name a few. Currently a player that continues to rise on this platform is Quentin Meza Quentin Meza 6'0" | PG Cyprus | 2023 State UT (Cyprus) who is scoring and defending at a high level. 

The next level you have teams like the Utah Stars who play on the UA Rise circuit which is a notch below UAA Circuit. The Utah Stars overall have done well on this platform and seem to get their players some good exposure as college coaches track their athletes as well. Recently players like Keba Keita Keba Keita 6'9" | C Wasatch Academy | 2022 State #157 Nation UT and now a player like Chudi Anosike Chudi Anosike 6'5" | CG Murray | 2023 State UT (Murray). 

A few clubs have taken players from Utah to bolster their rosters like: Vegas Elite EYBL ( Lyman Simmons Lyman Simmons 6'10" | PF RSL Academy | 2023 State UT ), Syndicate EYB (Donnovan Averitte), Colorado Hawks 3SSB ( Kolton Smith Kolton Smith 6'4" | SG Skyline | 2022 State UT )

Salt Lake Rebels, Kongo Elite, UBC, Utah Hard Knox, Salt Lake Metro, Cache Valley Elite, Salt City Hustle, Utah Supreme and Utah Hype are other teams here that are notable at getting their players on a platform to get their players recruited. At the end of the day if teams can get their players at the highest platform these independent clubs could get their players some great opportunities, but it is hard to compete with clubs that play the best players in the country every event. 

Second: We Got Shooters

It is always a running joke among coaches across the state when teams from out of state decide to zone Utah teams, because every team has dudes that can shoot. It is a compliment when teams go zone because they’re basically telling you that they cannot guard you. With guys like Dutch Dowdell Dutch Dowdell 6'6" | SG Olympus | 2024 State UT (Utah Stars), Diego Mulford Diego Mulford 5'10" | PG American Fork | 2024 State UT (Salt City Hustle), Quentin Meza Quentin Meza 6'0" | PG Cyprus | 2023 State UT (Utah Prospects 3SSB) teams just have no shot at stopping a Utah team while in a zone. 

Third: Ready for a Shot Clock

Utah teams have been overdue for this shot clock because grassroots teams play very fast. They get up and down the floor in a hurry. If you simply watch a team like the salt Lake rebels play you can see them fast break after a made shot. Almost everyone that gets a rebound can push the ball. I mean the Utah Prospects have a 6’11 F that shoots 3-pointers and he has a nice shot. 

Fourth: Any Style of Play

Utah teams across the board can play small or big it really doesn’t matter. Utah teams can play any style of play. They can get up and down or press or trap. In the half-court these Utah club teams have great sets that often times lead to quality buckets. Iv’e seen team just run other teams this year and my favorite is watching teams just out physical other teams and win. 

Fifth: Prepping for High School

A lot of really good players developing and it makes the high school season wide open. You have a youth movement with talent hitting Orem with Anthony Felisi and Kai Wesley Kai Wesley 6'8" | PF Orem | 2026 State UT . You have a few veteran teams like Cyprus with Quentin Meza Quentin Meza 6'0" | PG Cyprus | 2023 State UT , Diego Mulford Diego Mulford 5'10" | PG American Fork | 2024 State UT and Justus Jackson-Fobbs Justus Jackson-Fobbs 6'6" | SF Cyprus | 2023 State UT . teams like American Fork that have major size with Aaron Dunne Aaron Dunne 6'9" | C American Fork | 2023 State UT and Kean Webb Kean Webb 6'10" | C American Fork | 2023 State UT . Corner Canyon has a lot of pieces coming back in Max Toombs Max Toombs 6'3" | CG Corner Canyon | 2023 State UT and Brody Kozlowski Brody Kozlowski 6'8" | SG Corner Canyon | 2024 State #126 Nation UT . The top scorer in the state comes back at Murray in Chudi Anosike Chudi Anosike 6'5" | CG Murray | 2023 State UT . it is going to be a wild year when high school is back in the swing of things.