It may be way too early, but I think Caleb Lohner is the next face of BYU basketball. Think a mix of Yoeli Childs with Jimmer Fredette, only with his signature blonde curls.
The freshman put on a clinic last week, recording a combined 37 points, 16 rebounds and three assists at Pacific and LMU. Impressively, Lohner shot 12 of 18 from the field, including 7 of 9 from the arc in those two games.
The latter stat stands out even more considering he missed his first 13 3-point field goal attempts to start the season.
His improvement has been even more noticeable in West Coast Conference play, in which he’s shooting 60.7% from the field, 60% from the arc and 65.6% from the charity stripe for an average of 9.2 points per game.
He leads all Cougars with a rebounding average of 6.7, and Lohner is the next best shooter after the three seniors.
So what do you think? Do you agree with me?
I decided to point-blank ask Lohner that during the most recent availability. The freshman was quick to answer.
“I’m just here to win games and help the team however I can,” Lohner said. “I’ve been put in a special situation right now to help these three seniors accomplish their goals. And I’m just going to keep riding, keep doing what I’m doing, and we’ll see how that pans out. But yeah, I love BYU, and I hope that I just keep going up and up.”
However, I think part of what makes Lohners’ growth and success at BYU more intriguing is that he almost wasn’t a Cougar at all.
From the moment Lohner initially committed to play basketball — remember, it was for Utah — to now being a starter for BYU and on track to make the NCAA Tournament, Lohner hasn’t known what to expect.
“I think this is a very exciting team, exciting people,” Lohner said. “I really didn’t know what to expect, but [I’m] having the time of my life.”
