Dallin Grant used to play pickup basketball with former Utah State players Sam Merrill and Abel Porter. Little did he know that he would one day follow in their footsteps.
Grant, a senior at Cedar High School, committed to play basketball for the Aggies on Wednesday. He announced his decision on an Instagram Live video.
The 6-foot-7 forward is a three star recruit and the only high school basketball player in Utah from the class of 2021 yet to commit to a university, per 24/7 Sports. He fielded offers from several schools, but landed on USU because he felt its style of play fit his game the best.
“It fits well with my game because I’m a really versatile player,” Grant told The Salt Lake Tribune before his announcement. “I can play a lot of different positions. The way they play allows for me to do that.”
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, NCAA programs have restrictions on recruiting prospects, including being unable to meet with them in person. Recruits also can’t make official visits to campuses.
So Grant relied on text messages and phone calls with Aggies coaches. He said Utah State was the university that recruited him the most aggressively.
“It was pretty hard, but we made the most of it,” Grant said.
Grant also he saw Aggies players improve greatly under the coaching staff, which also swayed him to pick them for his college career.
In three years playing on the varsity team for the Reds, Grant has averaged 12 points, 1.9 assists, 4.9 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game. He led the team in scoring and blocks last season, the Cedar lost in the quarterfinals of the 4A state championship tournament.
