Another to add to the list:

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The D1 transfer portal was extremely hot yesterday. For Utah, Mike Saunders Jr. hitting the portal was expected and also needed for both sides.

Until end of year meetings are over, this is the only anticipated departure. Can something surprise everyone? Absolutely.

Utah will do everything they can to convince Branden Carlson to stay. Marco Anthony has no eligibility left. They’d like Bostyn Holt back, so we’ll see. It’s anticipated that Jaxon Brenchley will choose life after basketball.

So, with Saunders Jr. out, Utah currently has two open scholarships and they want to also keep continuity by avoiding a mass exodus of transfers. They know that’s been a reoccurring issue at Utah for far too long.

If it just remains at two open scholarships, look for them to target size and an athletic point guard. Ideally they’d love to add a physical center and an athletic true point guard. I feel like they need one more shooter, too.

Give it a listen

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I caught wind of this being about to happen a couple days ago, but reached out to him to see if he’d chime in since it’s not a typical time to hit the portal. It’s unfortunate. They were anticipating a big role for him in 2023.

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This is great. This is going to stoke flames all day.

This tweet confirms what I’ve heard from three other people over the last week. The remaining Pac-12 members are confident a solid TV deal will get done. I’ve been told for over the last few weeks that the Big 12 was resorting to disinformation tactics, but I wanted to let this play out, as the bickering back and forth has just gotten nasty as hell, at times.

The TV deal is taking longer because the streaming groups that are a part of the bidding rights are new to this game. As has been all along according to my sources — and this tweet is proof of — Utah currently has no interest in the Big 12.

I’m not discrediting some of the reporters that are reporting otherwise. This tweet by Harlan however, shows that he’s sick of the lies being put out there to Big 12 media and some national reporters and I don’t blame him. This whole thing has gotten insane and I continuously hear the remaining Pac-12 schools are in lock-step.

Anyways, this tweet will troll a lot of people today, assure others, and ignite a lot of flames.

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Pretty impressive

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Luke Moga is a name to watch. He’s a high priority for them this coming class. He asked if we could connect later in the week, but this is what he had to say briefly today:

“The back to back champs have established a winning no BS culture throughout the facility. I enjoyed my time.”

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A Ute through and through. Good luck to him. Some thought he might hang it up, but he’ll go into the portal for his final year of eligibility.

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Barton signs a one year deal with the Commanders. I’m surprised it’s only one year. Good for Cody, though! I’m interested to see the what the final figures are.

https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.c...mmanders-agree-to-terms-with-cody-barton/amp/

This is from a guy who is unrelated to 247 Sports.

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Jennings had Utah in his final six before going to Texas Tech this year. He’s now in the portal and already hearing from Utah.

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Here’s some Utes nuggets from the Rivals LA Camp Series. I’ll be reach out to some of the guys, as well:

https://n.rivals.com/news/rivals-camp-series-rumor-mill-from-los-angeles

They’ll have the Friday and Saturday games:

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Cam's helmet is made by Light Helmets. Light Helmets CEO is a longtime friend of mine. He's in the process of looking for $500k of bridge investors with a minimum of $25k. If anyone would like more information, please let me know and I'll happily provide you with more information.

I’ve been told receiver Tao Johnson has made the move to cornerback and that there’s a lot of optimism around the move.

No surprises at all with the captains.

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Colorado is still out ahead although Utah closed the gap today.

Colorado 279.52
Utah 263.03
Denver 230.54
Dartmouth 153.55
Alaska Fairbanks 150.06
Montana State 138.07
New Hampshire 122.02
Vermont 121.09

Some well deserved recognition for a guy who has been extremely crucial to Utah’s recruiting efforts. Give it a read:

https://n.rivals.com/news/next-up-ten-up-and-coming-recruiters-in-the-pac-12

Obviously, this team (MBB) has been ready for the off-season for a while. If either of the NIT or the CBI comes calling Utah should decline. This team is done.

Carlson graduates, Anthony graduates. Madsen and Stef are the only two returning players with 10+ points per game. Speaking of Madsen, Stef and Exacte. Is that enough of a core to build around? What if Madsen elects to enter the portal?

This team seems to have regressed the last month of the season. Yes some of it could be blamed on injuries but this team is headed in the wrong direction.

Smith needs a huge influx of talent out of the portal for next year. Or the program slides back intobe sliding back into the abyss

I’m trying to keep everything positive or looking at the men’s basketball program but it’s almost as bleak as it was last year.

Spring football can’t get here fast enough.

The 3-star DL commit remains committed to Utah, but is garnering plenty of interest

Not planning on an NIT bid so here's my report card. Overall, solid forward progress that was marred by the crash and burn at season's end.

BC - A. Did everything we hoped he would do. If I'm going to quibble, he still gets pushed around in the post. But, an excellent season. We desperately need him to return for next season.
Ben Carlson - C+. Gave us some badly needed size inside. Decent rebounder. Not an offensive threat at this point.
Marco Anthony - B+. Gave us toughness, defense, experience and could score a bit in the high post. We will miss him.
Gabe Madson - B. Our only backcourt scoring threat. His game took a solid step forward from last year to this. Good athlete, good defender. Needs to improve shot selection and cut down on turnovers. he and BC are a solid inside-outside combo. Has had signficant injuries both seasons.
Rollie - B. Tough and reliable. Very good A/T ratio. Shot poorly from the field.
Lazar Stefanovic - C. Volume shooter who is not a good shooter. Below average defender/rebounder. Seems like a nice kid and good teammate, but he needs to get a lot better.
Keba Keita - B. An impressively raw talent. Should be a key roster piece moving forward. He was inconsistent this year. But, has some impressive tools.
Bostyn Holt - C+. Didn't do much positive or negative when on the floor. Needs to become an offensive threat in Marco's mold if he's going to get minutes.
Will Exacte - B-. Very inconsistent this year. Highs made you think "ok, let's go!" but too many lows. Would have like to see more consistently growth during the season. Still, a solid roster piece.
Micahel Saunders - D. He must have been terrible in practice if he couldn't get minutes this year. High level athlete with some offensive pop. But his defense was poor and decision making not much better.
Jaxon Brenchley - C. Didn't expect much from him. Didn't get much from him.
Luka Tarlac - D. Can't shoot at all. His ball rotates sideways. Gave up an and-1 seemingly every first trip down the floor after entering the game.

Coaches - B. Team effort was good. Game plans were good. Need to borrow a page from Whitt and ramp up the recruiting.

For next year, we currently have the SLCC recruit who looks like a role player and one open scholarship. Saunders is all but gone. IMO Tarlac isn't a Pac12 level guy. Brenchley is a loyal Ute, good teammate and good ambassador for the program. Not a Pac12 level guy either but I would keep him if he wants to stay. So, there will likely be a couple more spots open up.

Big off season for the coaches.

Bummer of an end to the season. Here are the takeaways:

https://utah.rivals.com/news/takeaways-runnin-utes-season-comes-to-a-close-against-stanford