Utah basketball picked up a commitment earlier today from Shawnee C.C. shooting guard Kobe Caldwell. Kobe is a guy who kind of flew under the radar, but will be joining the team this Sunday for the 2017-18 season. I just got off the phone with him, and here's what he had to say.
On his scholarship offer from the coaches - "I went to a JUCO showcase... in Las Vegas, Nevada, and they saw me, head coach, Coach K and Coach Slocum saw me there. They said they really liked my game and talked to me heavily. They knew I was a qualifier coming out of JUCO this year, and they just really wanted me to come out now, and they offered."
On why Caldwell chose Utah - "Utah... its a great background they come from. Coach K, he's coached in the NBA... Utah is a winning program, I knew I needed to be in that program to help me further my basketball career, whether it's going to be in the NBA or overseas."
On playing against high-level PAC 12 competition - "I'm looking forward to that. As I kid I always dreamed of playing at the highest level of D1 basketball... Having this opportunity is just a dream come true,"
On what he brings to the team - "I'm more of a versatile player, I'm 6'5", I played point guard all my high school career, I can play the one through the three. I'm just a versatile player."
One more note, we've been working to get into contact with 2019 PG commit Rylan Jones. He was with his family on the Utah trip for the first few days after his commitment, but hopefully I'll be able to get a hold of him tonight.
On his scholarship offer from the coaches - "I went to a JUCO showcase... in Las Vegas, Nevada, and they saw me, head coach, Coach K and Coach Slocum saw me there. They said they really liked my game and talked to me heavily. They knew I was a qualifier coming out of JUCO this year, and they just really wanted me to come out now, and they offered."
On why Caldwell chose Utah - "Utah... its a great background they come from. Coach K, he's coached in the NBA... Utah is a winning program, I knew I needed to be in that program to help me further my basketball career, whether it's going to be in the NBA or overseas."
On playing against high-level PAC 12 competition - "I'm looking forward to that. As I kid I always dreamed of playing at the highest level of D1 basketball... Having this opportunity is just a dream come true,"
On what he brings to the team - "I'm more of a versatile player, I'm 6'5", I played point guard all my high school career, I can play the one through the three. I'm just a versatile player."
One more note, we've been working to get into contact with 2019 PG commit Rylan Jones. He was with his family on the Utah trip for the first few days after his commitment, but hopefully I'll be able to get a hold of him tonight.
