Basketball recruiting once again has Colorado focus

If you’d told me six years ago that the Colorado Buffaloes men’s basketball program would reach the NCAA Tournament starting four players who prepped in the Centennial State, I’d have called you crazy. Maybe the words would be more extreme, as “You’re a ******* lunatic,” sounds more realistic.

But there they were, trotting out four homegrown talents: Josh Scott, Wesley Gordon, Xavier Talton, and Dominique Collier.

Head coach Tad Boyle made no secret upon his hiring that recruiting the state of Colorado would be a focus of his and that names like Jorge Guttierez, Matt Bouldin, Nick Fazekas, and Reggie Jackson (among others) should have been convinced to stay home and play for the state’s flagship university. Since making that proclamation, Boyle has done his fair share of local recruiting, signing five CO preps out of high school. Throw in UCCS transfer Derrick White and the program’s walk-ons, and you’ve got plenty of in-state representation for the Buffs. With more young talent in the pipeline, that number has a chance to keep growing in the years to come.

First up, you have the 2017 class and Sand Creek High School star D’Shawn Schwartz, ranked as a consensus four-star prospect.

Schwartz has consistently listed Colorado as one of his top choices, along with Stanford and California. Recently, he’s said that he hopes to make a decision by the end of the summer and end his recruitment, which could bode well for the Buffs. Boyle and his staff have hosted Schwartz on campus multiple times, as well as having conducted an in-home visit not long ago. At this point, things look good for CU to pick up their third prospect from the Colorado Springs area in Boyle’s tenure.

Should Schwartz commit, that would also mean that Colorado would have gotten commitments from three of the six four-star prospects to play in Colorado since Boyle arrived. Of those who went elsewhere, Josh Perkins signed with Gonzaga after spending his senior year in West Virginia, while De’Ron Davis signed with Indiana this past cycle. Ronnie Harrell, who played at Denver East with Collier, was never offered by CU and signed with Creighton.

Also in the 2017 class are two prospects that are intriguing for their owns reasons. At point guard, Jaizec Lottie (Cherokee Trail HS) hasn’t been healthy very often but when he is, there may not be a better second option in the state than him, behind Schwartz. Lottie is a bulldog on defense and can knock down shots from deep if given some space. He has room to grow as a creator, but performed admirably when I watched him at the adidas All-American camp on Long Island last summer. Lottie already has several mid-major offers. Up north, Braxton Bertolette continues to showcase scouts that he could be the best shooter in the west. Bertolette averaged nearly 24 points per game last season for Fossil Ridge High School and has continued that tear on the AAU circuit for the Colorado Hawks.

Further down the line, a trio of prospects have caught the eyes of the Colorado staff.

In the class of 2018, Daylen Kountz and Sam Masten look to be the state’s top two prospects, potentially. Kountz, who will spend next season at Denver East, already holds offers from Portland State, Rutgers, and Denver, and is being closely evaluated by CU, sources inside of the program told BSNBuffs.com. Masten, who was named Centennial League Player of the Year as a sophomore for Rock Canyon last season, continues to impress scouts with his motor, skill level, and basketball IQ. While neither currently hold offers from the Buffs, one would think that Boyle’s program would be firmly in play for either should they come through with that offer.

The final name that Colorado hoops fans need to be familiar with would be Kenny Foster of Smoky Hill High School. Foster was a force for the Buffaloes and immediately caught the eyes of the staff.

How many freshman move like that? Indeed, Foster comes from a talented family. One of his older brothers, Chase, plays for San Francisco. In speaking with the coaching staff down at Smoky, they continually praise his work ethic, meaning that Foster is unlikely to be a name that fades over time.

As always, names will continue to pop up on the recruiting radar for the Buffaloes, even here in Colorado. But this is a good place to start for fans looking for recruits to follow this summer.