Before he ventured off to Shanghai to play in a high school basketball showcase this summer, Anthony Felesi’s phone was ringing.
It was Kevin Young — the new BYU basketball coach who has run down the top-50 recruiting rankings like a cold call sheet of late. Young wanted to introduce himself. Tell him a little about BYU. He also wanted to throw his hat in the ring for his services.
“That’s the only person I’ve been talking to over there [at BYU]. He’s been hitting me up and texting me,” Felesi said of Young.
Young has made a habit of going after the top talent in the country. He’s already recruiting the No. 1 player in the nation, AJ Dybantsa, in this class. Now, the Cougars have another four-star point guard on their recruiting list.
Felesi is a rising junior at Utah Prep in Hurricane. He is the fourth, highly-recruited guard Young has offered in that class. He joins Brandon McCoy, a five-star who is ranked the second-best player in the country. Ikenna Alozie, a four-star guard who is ranked 10th nationally, was also offered. Junior County, a four-star guard, has received a call from Young, too.
As for Felesi, he believes Young’s pro experience has made the difference in this new recruiting push. Not only is Young targeting different players than previous BYU coaches, his recruiting pitch is geared toward the NBA.
“I think it helps a lot, especially heading into college,” he said. “If you have dreams to, you know, make it past college, I think that’s a very good resource to have.”
Felesi did have a relationship with former BYU head coach Mark Pope. But Felesi said Pope was often non-committal about the recruiting process and not direct with his desire to have him on the roster.
“I think it’s like more energetic and more like [Young] wants you. He wants me,” Felesi said. “So he actually comes out and is not beating around the bush. Like, he’s actually real, like a straight to the point person. And I love that. So I think that’s one of the big differences that I noticed. The big shift about it.”
BYU will be in the running with several major schools. In the Big 12, Felesi is also considering Houston, Texas Tech and Utah. Outside the conference, Iowa, San Diego State, UCLA, Michigan Creighton, Alabama, Clemson, FAU and Michigan State have all been in contact.
Felesi has not set a visit schedule. He is more focused on playing right now.
He just wrapped up going to a U17 Team USA camp. Dybantsa and other top recruits, like Carlos Boozer’s twin sons, played alongside him.
“I went to three mini camps before that last [Team USA] trial,” Felesi said. “I went to my first trial when I was in my freshman year. And I’ve been talking to a lot of guys over there. I’ve played alongside the Boozer twins, Koa Peat (five-star, Arizona), Elijah Williams (five-star, Minnesota), Kiyan Anthony (four-star, New York). But I’ve been talking to the Boozer twins the most, because I was on their team almost every time I was there. So it was a good experience.”
Felesi also traveled to Shanghai with Utah Prep, a new Utah basketball powerhouse.
“Canada, Australia, New Zealand,” he said. “But it’s mostly a big tournament that we’re just playing in. We’re seeing around the whole country of China, too, and Shanghai.”
It will be the first time Utah Prep plays together this season.
And that is Felesi’s focus for now. The recruiting, and Young’s interest, will develop in the background.
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