DRAPER, Utah – The Chris PoPoola-fronted EAT Utah Camp was held Saturday at the APA Center in this suburb of Salt Lake City, with 80 or so players in attendance and each playing twice a day.
It offered an insightful look into the present state of the best high school players in Utah while also providing an in-depth opportunity to see the future of the state’s best prospects.
And there were also a handful of top-quality players from outside of Utah who stood out in their two games apiece, too.
Senior playmaker-deluxe Rylan Jones, who led his Salt Lake City Olympus squad to an unbeaten, state championship run last season, was selected the overall Most Outstanding Player of the event after his “Team Utah” squad rolled to a couple of wins.
Jones, who plans to signed a national letter of intent with the University of Utah in November, was the state’s Player of the Year as a junior and is one of the two-best point guards (with Boogie Ellis of San Diego Mission Bay) in the Western Class of 2019.
His Olympus classmate and teammate, 6-foot-3 Jeremy Dowdell, was selected the event’s Class of 2019 MOP after hitting seven 3s in each of the Team Utah games.
Selected the other class MOPs were:
Class of 2020: 6-7 Judah Brown (Pacifica Christian in Newport Beach, CA);
Class of 2021: 6-4 Isaac Vaha (Highland, UT, Lone Peak);
Class of 2022: 6-3 Dylan Jones (Home-schooled but expected to play for Pleasant Grove High as a freshman)
Class of 2023: 5-8 Jordan Ross (Utah)
Class of 2024: 5-5 Ace Reiser (Utah)
He played “up” (with Team UNLV in the games pitting players in the Classes of 2019 and ’20) so he wasn’t eligible for the Class of 2021 MOP honor Saturday.
But 6-6 Dallin Grant (Cedar High in Cedar City) was just about as impressive a prospect as was on display Saturday, demonstrated that he is one of the best players in his class, not only in Utah but in all of the west.
Grant (pictured), a member of the Exum Elite program and a standout for its 15s squad last spring and summer, was offered a scholarship by the University of Utah coaching staff last week.
Other “non-Utah” players who made the trek to the event and played well Saturday including 6-3 freshman Cole Webster (Vallejo, CA, St. Patrick-St. Vincent); 5-11 sophomore Luke Westermeyer (Clayton, CA, Clayton Valley); 5-10 sophomore Myles Phillips (Bothell, WA); 6-foot sophomore Preston Murphy Jr. (Omaha, NE, Elkorn); and 6-4 sophomore Houston Mallette (who also attends Pacifica Christian with Judah Brown).
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