Provo • Nate Hansen is a “tenacious competitor with an ability to really score the ball,” BYU basketball coach Dave Rose said Wednesday while announcing the Cougars have signed the 6-foot-3 guard from nearby Timpview High.
College basketball’s early signing period began Wednesday, but the two other high school players who have committed to BYU — China’s 6-11 Shengzhe Li and Brazil’s 6-9 Bernardo Da Silva — apparently have not sent their national letters of intent yet and were not announced as signees Wednesday.
Having defeated Northwestern State 82-57 Tuesday night, the Cougars (2-1) return to action Thursday against Oral Roberts (1-3) at the Marriott Center.
Hansen helped Timpview to a 17-7 record as a junior last season and averaged 15.1 points per game. He made 53 3-pointers and scored in double figures 18 times for Timpview coach Kevin Santiago, a former BYU player.
Hansen also plays for the Utah Mountain Stars traveling all-star club team and plans to go on a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints before enrolling at BYU.
“We love Nate’s feel for the game and believe he will be a great player here,” Rose said in a school news release.
Last November, BYU signed Hansen’s high school teammate, Hunter Erickson, who is currently on a church mission and is scheduled to return prior to the 2020-21 season. The Cougars also signed Woods Cross High product Trevin Knell in 2017. Knell is also on a mission in Uruguay and will return in July 2019.
Shengzhe Li is a 6-foot-11 center from Shanghai, China, who moved to California as a foreign exchange student last year. He plays at Santa Margarita Catholic High for former BYU assistant and Utah Valley head coach Jeff Reinert and averaged 6.8 points and 5.6 rebounds per game last season, his first in the United States.
Li also had offers from San Francisco, Cal State Fullerton, Denver and Cal State Northridge, according to the website vanquishthefoe.com.
Da Silva is a 6-9 senior at Wasatch Academy in Mount Pleasant and committed on Oct. 20. He is a native of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and also had offers from Utah State, Grand Canyon, Southern Utah, Florida International and Cal State Fullerton.
He is rated as a three-star prospect by ESPN.
Pleasant Grove senior Casey Brown committed to the Cougars two months ago as a preferred walk-on and is also expected to go on a mission before enrolling.
Oral Roberts at BYU
At the Marriott Center, Provo
Tipoff • Thursday, 7 p.m.
TV • BYUtv
Radio • KSL 1160 AM, 102.7 FM
Records • BYU 2-1, ORU 1-3
Series history • BYU leads 5-0
Last meeting • BYU 72, ORU 62 (Dec. 30, 2006)
About the Golden Eagles • Coach Paul Mills is 12-24 in his second season at the helm. … They lost a 70-69 heartbreaker to Cal Baptist Tuesday night when a CBU player made a halfcourt shot at the buzzer. They have also lost to Missouri State and TCU and defeated Southwestern (Kan.) … They are 0-3 in Provo, having lost there in 2006, 1986 and 1978. … They are averaging 65 points per game and giving up 73.8 points per game. … Emmanuel Nzekwesi, a 6-foot-8 forward, leads them in scoring with a 17.3 average.
About the Cougars • This is their second game this week, having knocked off Northwestern State 82-57 on Tuesday. They will host Alabama A&M on Saturday at 4 p.m. … Junior F Yoeli Childs has posted double-doubles in all three games, including 18 points and 15 rebounds against the Demons. He has 23 career double-doubles, tied for 13th-most in BYU history. … Junior wing Zac Seljaas has hit two 3-pointers in all three games.
