Where in the world is Brandon Dunson?
4 Games the Cougar Coaches will be at this Weekend
This weekend marks the first evaluation or “live” period of the summer recruiting season. Every shoe company will host an event this weekend and college coaches will have thousands of choices in which games and players they watch.
If you’ve ever been to a high level national event, you’ve seen BYU assistant Brandon Dunson, he may have sunglasses on and will likely be on the phone. He will know everyone in the building and be sitting by other elite coaches. While all BYU coaches contribute to recruiting, Dunson is often the first point of contact for nationally ranked prospects. Which begs the questions, where will Coach Dunson be this weekend?
Currently the only players with public BYU offers are on the Nike(EYBL-Memphis) or Adidas(3SSB-Iowa) circuits, but the coaches will also be scouting at the UAA(UAA-Ohio) and Puma (PRO16-Kansas) events. Let's take a closer look at 4 games where you could see Coach Dunson:
Vegas Elite vs AZ Unity, May 16 2 p.m.
Vegas Elite features Utah Prep’s Anthony Felesi (6’5”, Orem, UT, Utah Prep) who will be a big priority for the Cougars this summer. Felesi has taken an unofficial visit to BYU, spent many years growing up in Orem and recently told a national blog of his interest in BYU. Felesi was hampered a bit by injury in the first EYBL session and was forced to miss a game. He still managed to average 9 points a game helping Vegas Elite to a 2-1 record.
BYU offered AZ Unity’s Cameron Holmes (6’5” Goodyear, AZ, Millennium) last summer. Holmes is the brother of Denver Nugget DaRon Holmes II. Holmes is ranked 19th in the ESPN rankings and averaged 16 points a game in the first EYBL session. Holmes, like recent BYU signee A.J. Dybantsa, has let his father handle much of the early recruiting process. It’s unknown if BYU is making progress, Holmes has a visit to Oregon scheduled for September.
Utah Prospects vs Team Final, May 17 8 p.m.
The Utah Prospects feature more players with BYU offers than any other club team and went 2-1 in the first EYBL event in April:
Ikenna Alozie (6’2” Glendale, AZ, Dream City Christian)
Dean Rueckert (6’6” Provo, UT, Timpview)
Junior County (6’4”, Highland, UT, Wasatch Academy)
Jamyn Sondrup (6’9”, Springville, UT, Springville)
Alozie averaged 21.7 points in the first session, with County and Rueckert also averaging in double figures.
April 30, was the last day Coaches could visit players at their high schools and the Cougars visited Team Final’s Luca Foster. Foster is from Pennsylvania and the 36th ranked player in the nation. Foster averaged 14 points and 6 rebounds a game in the first session.
Wildcat Select vs Washington Warriors, May 17 12:30 p.m.
Darius Bivins (5’10” Alexandria, VA, Bishop O’Connell) leads the 3SSB league in steals and assists after one event. He scored 16.5 points a game to lead his Washington Warriors team to a 4-0 start on the circuit. The Cougars offered Bivins last summer and his stock has only gone up. The Warriors will be challenged by the Select who feature Adam Oumiddoch who is fourth in the 3SSB in scoring at 22.0.
JL3 vs Oakland Soldiers, May 18 2 p.m.
The Cougars have offered JL3 star Elijah Williams (6’6” Birmingham, MI, Texas Military Institute). Williams had a slow start in the first EYBL session, but finished by scoring 27 and 35 in his final two games. Williams is the son of Monty Williams who coached the Phoenix Suns with BYU Coach Kevin Young. This matchup will be especially fun to watch as it’s just been announced that the number one player in the country, Tyran Stokes, who did not play in the first EYBL session will play for the Oakland Soldiers in this event.