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

7. Branden Carlson – Utah

Carlson is a 7’0 center from South Jordan who has really come alive very recently on the college basketball stage. A former top 100 prospect, he’s spent the last three years playing at Utah, growing into a formidable role with the Utes this past season. He was originally a prospect in the class of 2017 but serving a two-year LDS mission before his playing career began.

When he got onto the court, he was a starting piece of the Utes’ frontcourt right away, averaging 7.0 points and 3.9 rebounds a game in his freshman campaign. He put up similar numbers as a sophomore before having a bit of a breakout season last year. His junior year saw him average 13.6 points and 6.0 rebounds per game on a Utes team that struggled this season. Carlson did have career-highs with 25 points against Colorado and 13 rebounds against Tulsa.

Despite his program’s struggles, Carlson was named Second Team All-Pac-12, recognizing his big step forward as an upperclassman. He was second in the conference in field goal percentage and has ranked among the league leaders in blocks each of these last four seasons. He’s already climbing Utah leaderboards in that statistics and could soar even further. He’ll return next season for his senior year, hoping not only to take another step forward as a center but to propel Utah back into contention.