The Marriott Center Annex is a basketball palace where BYU basketball answers could emerge this summer.
You have the long and arduous rehab of striker / center Gavin Baxter from ACL knee surgery. It’s Baxter Rehab Part II. Despite his bad luck with injuries, he remains one of the most gifted athletes in the program.
Mark Pope’s staff see and like the progress of Redshirt rookie combo guard Hunter Erickson, who didn’t get a glimpse of the game time during the COVID-19 season.
Then there’s the arrival of newcomer Atiki Ally Atiki from Tanzania via London, Ontario, Canada, American fork guard Trey Stewart from Mission Service, and the arrival of West African striker Fousseyni Traore from Wasatch Academy.
And on June 1, potential recruits and signatories banned from campus visits can officially inspect things firsthand as the NCAA is set to lift their dead time for personal meandering in university towns where they may end up one day.
After all, the time for serious skills development under staff supervision is about a month away.
“Gavin’s rehab is progressing perfectly,” said BYU assistant coach Chris Burgess.
Baxter had knee surgery in January and is well on his way to recovering in time for the fall season. “He’s healthy, he always trains with the boys and he does physical therapy six times a week with trainer Rob Ramos.
“Every week he tries to do more in small steps and works on his core. He is able to get into the appendix and shoot contactlessly and complete drills. He does all of our passing drills and point shots without contact. He is on the right track and we hope to have him again in the fall. “
Baxter injured his knee while beating New Orleans on Thanksgiving Day.
Another player who took off a red shirt season last year is freshman Erickson, a 22-point all-state guard from Timpview High School. Erickson’s progress has been impressive, Burgess said.
The Erickson factor comes into play because Pope has lost senior Brandon Averette and Alex Barcello, the other sidekick backcourt leader, has yet to make public his decision to stay or go professional.
BYU has worked intensively with potential customers in the transfer portal to get an answer to the position of the point guard. On Wednesday, Penn State Guard Izaiah Brockington, who has had BYU in his last five, decided to go to Iowa State. BYU reportedly made the last two for Florida Gulf Coast Guard Jalen Warren.
A Carrot Pope employee can use transfers in his program is a December trip to Hawaii to play in the Diamond Head Classic on Oahu.
“I think Erickson is going to have a great off-season. He’s always been kind of a combo guard who made a big leap this year, ”said Burgess. “I know a lot of people haven’t seen him this year because he hasn’t logged any minutes this season. He used it as the COVID-19 year where he’s getting back this year. But he worked hard in the weight room and on the court. “
Burgess said he expected Erickson’s progress to mirror that of Trevin Knell, who increased his 3-point shooting accuracy by 20 points in the off-season a year ago. “This is a big off season for him to make such progress for Hunter. He’s another kid to kick out of there to be a ball handler. “
The way the Cougars offense works requires multiple ball handlers like TJ Haws and Jake Toolson in 2019 and Barcello and Averette in 2020, according to Burgess. “We need playmakers, and Barcello could be one of those, along with Hunter , as well as Spencer (Johnson) and Trevin, to be able to get the ball up, deal with pressure, and get into ball screens. They are all working on certain things to make this off-season better. “
Incoming freshmen like the Tanzanian Atiki are expected to be on campus on June 21st to train. “He will not return to Tanzania until he comes here,” said Burgess.
It will be his first visit to Provo.
Comments are closed.