BYU Basketball 2020 Late Signing Period Updates

PROVO, Utah – Despite the shutdown of all on-campus and in-person recruiting due to the novel Coronavirus pandemic, the late signing period in college basketball rolls on and begins today (April 15th) and runs through August 1st, 2020.

BYU basketball has already signed two players for the class of 2020 this past November. Now Mark Pope and his staff are expecting another two more signatures from a pair of verbal commits.

Keep checking back to this article for updates on the latest with BYU basketball’s late signing period recruiting activity.

BYU Late Signing Period Signees

Dallin Hall | Fremont High School (Signed)

6:24 p.m. MDT: Hall signed his LOI and it was announced by BYU.

A state champion out of Fremont High School, Hall intends to serve a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints before enrolling at BYU. Utah Jazz star Donovan Mitchell called Hall a “hooper!” during Hall’s run in the state tournament this past February.

COMMITTED😤#gocougs #BYU 💙 pic.twitter.com/1VVFoeyMi2

— Dallin Hall (@DallinHHall) March 13, 2020

Turned down offers from Utah, Saint Mary’s, Utah State, Oregon State, and Utah Valley to commit to BYU.

Pope on Dallin Hall: “I’ve been recruiting Dallin for a long time and we’re very excited to get him to Provo. He captured the attention of basketball fans throughout the state, including Donovan Mitchell, with his incredible state title run this year” #BYUhttps://t.co/30aJf5nxjX

— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) April 16, 2020

Could fit in as BYU’s next TJ Haws as a point guard of the future in Mark Pope’s program.

Gideon George | New Mexico Junior College (Signed)

4/16/2020, 5:14 p.m. MDT: BYU announces George’s signature.

3:25 pm MDT: George signed his letter of intent. Hasn’t been announced by BYU yet.

Congrats to @GideonOmohkudu for signing with BYU today! pic.twitter.com/MEZZB5ZjDG

— New Mexico JC MBB (@NewMexicoJCMBB) April 15, 2020

During BYU’s win over No. 2 Gonzaga in February, they hosted one of their top targets in the class of 2020 and that was Gideon George. A 6’5″ forward who hails from Nigeria and started his college basketball career at New Mexico JC.

Gideon George’s (@GideonOmohkudu) message to #BYU fans: “Let’s go Cougar Nation! Your boy is coming to town. Let’s go!”

Getting to know Gideon in a new #CougarTracks.#BYUhoops @kslsports https://t.co/12JbkQdH4L pic.twitter.com/5a4Yn7BflX

— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) February 25, 2020

George is fairly new to the game of basketball but has been successful in the JUCO ranks scoring 14.5 points and pulling down eight rebounds per game while shooting 50 percent from the field and 36 percent from three-point range.

BYU’s Early Signing Period Signees (last November)

Richie Saunders | Wasatch Academy

The leading scorer of one of the nation’s top high school teams, Saunders averaged 14.6 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 1.9 steals per game in 29 games played his senior season. The 6’5″ guard plans to serve a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints before enrolling at BYU. Saunders is the 163rd ranked prospect nationally in the class of 2020 by 247Sports.

#BYU signee and @WATigersBB star Richie Saunders is here for this big game against the Zags.#BYUhoops @kslsports pic.twitter.com/Yg0UslCbZA

— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) February 23, 2020

BYU head coach Mark Pope on Saunders: “You talk about a kid that’s got a pure heart and loves this game. He eats, sleeps, and drinks this game and he cares. Like he’ll be in tears after practice if he doesn’t feel he played well or played hard enough to accomplish what his goal was. He shoots the ball at an unbelievable rate. He actually didn’t make shots this [past] summer, he was so focused on trying to guard. He was so committed to guarding. He didn’t really shoot well this summer, but he made every play defensively this summer.

“He’s going to end up with a really big body, a man-sized body, and he’s going to be a problem. He’s gonna be a great player.”

Spencer Johnson | Salt Lake Community College

Johnson helped lead SLCC to a 29-4 record and an undefeated 12-0 mark in conference play before the season came to an end due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In his one year at SLCC, Johnson was the Bruins second leading-scorer averaging 13.2 points on 49 percent shooting from the field and 37 percent from three-point range.

Johnson prepped at American Fork High School where he signed with Randy Rahe and Weber State. After half a season with the Wildcats, Johnson transferred to UVU to play for Mark Pope and was with the Wolverines for a semester. Then Johnson ended up at SLCC.

When Johnson arrives at BYU, he will have three years to play three with the Cougars.

#BYU signee Spencer Johnson on why he picked the Cougars. #BYUhoops @kslsports pic.twitter.com/6qrDqhBtzu

— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) November 13, 2019

Mark Pope on Johnson: “I knew him as a high school player and I loved him because he had these intangibles about him where he made every play. He just made every play. It didn’t matter what athletic level he was going up, it didn’t matter what age group level he was going against, it didn’t what style of play, he just made every play.

“He went on his mission and he turned me down. Broke my heart and he went on his mission and he came back and I think it took him a year to find himself because I was with him at Utah Valley for a couple of months (he wasn’t playing). But then my guys went and watched him at SLCC and they’re like, coach, you’re not going to recognize [him]. This was the guy you fell in love with in high school.

College Basketball’s late signing period begins today. #BYU has two players who signed last November. One of which is SLCC’s Spencer Johnson (@spoonce32) who will join the Cougars next season.#BYUhoops | @kslsports https://t.co/30aJf5nxjX pic.twitter.com/rPBFzFsRId

— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) April 15, 2020

“Then I went and saw him in a JUCO tournament in Colorado. This guy was the best JUCO player [in the tournament, and they had every team in the western United States. He’s just a tough kid and he just wants it really bad. He can really shoot it, he’s really clever around the rim, he’s got an unbelievable I.Q., he’s a combo guard who can play the one, can play the two, and the three. He’s just going to be really good for us.”

BYU Basketball Missionaries

Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, missions for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have stopped and missionaries have returned home until they are cleared to go back into the field again.

.@byubasketball signee Hunter Erickson finishes off this play to pull @timpviewsports within one, 46-45 of Skyline after 3 quarters. pic.twitter.com/K6fEZEMjPN

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) February 27, 2018

Timpview High’s Hunter Erickson was already scheduled to be back for the 2020-21 season. Erickson is a high-flyer who was a top 247 prospect according to 247Sports class of 2018 rankings.

Then there’s American Fork High guard Trey Stewart who has been out on the mission field for less than a year. Stewart, the son to BYU Women’s Basketball assistant coach Ray Stewart, has been serving in England since July. An explosive athlete on the guard line, depending on Stewart’s mission status going forward, he could be another scholarship athlete on the 2020-21 roster.

Transfer Portal

During the late signing period, BYU like nearly everyone else in college basketball these days will be very active in the transfer portal market. The Cougars have been linked to a lot of transfers already including 7-foot-3 Purdue center Matt Haarms. UNLV’s Jonah Antonio and Fresno State’s Jarred Hyder are two other names to watch from the portal. Transfers will be a key component of how BYU forms their rosters in years to come.

Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and host of the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (Saturday from 12-3 pm) on KSL Newsradio. Follow him on Twitter: @Mitch_Harper.