The Great Replacement in Utah
Unfortunately, one of the only states that would have multiple White friendly programs each season looks to end that trend starting this year. I am of course talking about the state of Utah. The state has produced many talented White players and teams, but this will only be the case for one program in the state this season:
Utah: While there were some dark years in the mid 2010s’, Utah’s best teams typically have had a combination of local White players as well as a few Europeans (and maybe even an Aussie or two). As far as I know, Utah was the most recent power five team to start an all-White starting five with it occurring several times in the 2023-24 season (and possibly in 2024-25?). The Utes have had a lot of success with White teams as well. In fact, 1998 Utah made the championship game starting four Whites and only having two blacks on the entire team. One of the starters on that team, Alex Jensen, was recently named as the next head coach of the Utes. Jensen will look to live up to the great 1998 team by building a roster that looks almost nothing like the team that made the Final Four and championship game. In fact, the team only rosters one White this season after having nine on the roster last year. This is one of the more drastic falloffs I have ever seen regarding team demographics. The team looks to be one of the worst teams in the power conferences this year too as the roster is made up of low efficiency mid major players and “project”-type transfers from the Power 5. German newcomer Jacob Patrick will be the only White on the roster.
Utah's team doesn't quite look the part compared to their gold standard 1998 team.
BYU: BYU started three White players last season en route to a Sweet 16 appearance; however, the number will fall all the way down to one starter this year in all likelihood. The main reason for this is BYU’s newfound interest in “elite” recruiting. As a result of this, BYU spent millions to acquire some of the top ranked high schoolers and transfers (mostly blacks). This leaves Senior guard Richie Saunders as the lone pale face in the starting lineup. Saunders was fantastic last season, averaging 16.5 points on 51.8% shooting and 43.2% from three. He was all Big-12 first team last season, but we will have to wait and see if his new teammates will give him the ball enough to replicate such numbers again this season. Look for senior guard Dawson Baker to get between 15 to 20 minutes per game off the bench in a role similar to last season. Idaho transfer Tyler Mrus and Serbian Mihailo Boskovic will both also likely get minutes towards the back of the rotation.
Richie Saunders - One of the best three point shooters in college basketball.
Utah State: Utah State is the least offensive of these three schools as they have 8 Whites on the team and look to start three of them. With that said, it is still a far cry from the 12 they rostered and five they started three seasons ago (Utah State is the most recent team to make the tournament with an all-White starting 5). Mason Falslev, a junior guard, will be Utah State’s best player this season. Falslev averaged 15 points per game last season to go along with 6.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists. Like most White guards, he is an efficient scorer shooting at a 49.7% clip from the field and 39% from 3. By the way, he achieves this efficiency despite only being 6-3. Beyond that, it is tough to say for sure as there are not a ton of articles discussing their upcoming season yet. I imagine that Tucker Anderson (SF), Drake Allen (G), Karson Templin (PF), and Zach Keller (C) will all get varying amounts of minutes (with probably Anderson and Keller starting). Utah State gave nine guys over 10 minutes a game last season, so our guys will definitely be on the floor even if they are not starting. It is funny that despite being in a lesser conference and having less resources that this Aggies team will almost certainly be better than Utah…I wonder why that is?
Mason Flaslev - 2024-25 All MWC 2nd Team