NCAA Basketball: 10 best players from state of Colorado of last decade

4. Gaige Prim – Missouri State

A native of Aurora, Prim was a 6’8 forward who went the junior college route, playing a season each at West Texas A&M and South Plains before landing at Missouri State in 2019. With the extra COVID year, Prim played three seasons for the Bears and was a force in the paint in all three of those years.

He’d average 13.7 points per game while dealing with an injury during his first year at Missouri State. His sophomore season got off to a great start and featured a 29-point, 21-rebound effort against Southern Illinois. In his very next game, he scored a career-high 33 points against Evansville and finished the season averaging 16.7 points and 9.1 rebounds per game. His statistics were comparable to his final season and his impact was just as important for the Bears, ending his career with an NIT loss at Oklahoma.

The former junior college stud put up great numbers and was named All-MVC First Team in each of his final two seasons. One of the MVC’s impact players, Prim led the conference in rebounds, field goal percentage, free throws, and blocks putting him in special company in Missouri State history despite playing just three seasons. While Prim’s next moves aren’t clear at this time, he likely has many years ahead of him of professional basketball.