{"id":749639,"date":"2026-06-20T22:33:09","date_gmt":"2026-06-20T22:33:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/749639\/"},"modified":"2026-06-20T22:33:09","modified_gmt":"2026-06-20T22:33:09","slug":"byu-basketball-recruiting-notebook-who-is-the-mystery-big-man-recruit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/749639\/","title":{"rendered":"BYU Basketball Recruiting Notebook: Who is the Mystery Big Man Recruit?"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you would have asked me after BYU\u2019s season ended March 19 when BYU would get a starting big man, I would have told you I certainly I expected someone before the end of April. Definitely by Mother\u2019s Day. Before the end of June, of course! Now, we\u2019re on the eve of Father\u2019s Day and BYU still doesn\u2019t have its starting big man for next season. Depending who BYU gets, we may not have one by Fourth of July.<\/p>\n

BYU\u2019s staff wanted a big man by this point. Summer workouts are going on, and every team would like to have the main pieces of its roster in place. BYU has many of its core pieces already, but has a big, gaping hole in the middle.<\/p>\n

Kevin Young in a media press conference earlier this week said \u201cwe\u2019ve (BYU) been locked in with one guy in particular.\u201d BYU\u2019s preference throughout the offseason has been to get a big man that is more skilled. That\u2019s why BYU went after big men like Luigi Suigo, Michael Ruzic, and others. \u201cWe\u2019re trying to pair Rob with maybe someone that can play away from the basket a little bit more, not just shooting, but just functionality-wise, (dribble hand-offs), pocket passes, things like that, but then still be able to be a lob threat,\u201d Kevin Young said.<\/p>\n

Below are some of the big guys I am watching. BYU has still been communicating with other players despite Kevin Young saying they are focused mainly on one starter at this point. This is not an exhaustive list, just a few guys I am monitoring.<\/p>\n

I first heard about BYU\u2019s involvement with Xu Xin around the middle of May and first publicly wrote about the 7-foot-5 China big man back in late May<\/a>. At the time, I was told BYU and Ohio State were the two frontrunners, but that admissions was a question.<\/p>\n

Multiple sources have told me that BYU remains involved with the 22-year-old Chinese big man as they try to get him into BYU and eligible to play college basketball.<\/p>\n

Xin\u2019s top quality is that he is massive (duh). At 7-foot-5 he is a great rim protector, active on the offensive glass, and can finish around the basket. In 43 CBA games this season<\/a>, he averaged 10.9 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks on 72% shooting from the field. He shot 73% from the foul line, which shows that he has some shooting touch. One scout with whom I talked and has watched Xin gave me the below breakdown.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s massive, moves well for his size, skilled, and definitely moves the needle as a skilled 5. Don\u2019t think teams necessarily have to slow down tempo, as he can always be a trail big who\u2019s connecting or screening and rolling to the rim, as opposed to rim running every possession. Potential issue is eligibility, like all international kids.\u201d<\/p>\n

I spoke with one of Xu\u2019s trainers, Basi Prokofyev, who has trained and worked with Xin for years and has been involved with his recruitment. Basi believes Xin is a high-major center and would be a great for BYU and what Kevin Young is looking for.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople don\u2019t realize that he can do guard skills,\u201d Basi told me. \u201cIn the USA, they see a very small sample of his highlights. He can run the floor. On his team in China, he would take the ball up floor at times. He\u2019s not the best vertical athlete, but he has a great feel for when to jump, when to rotate, and when to go for the block. People will be surprised about his soft touch around the basket. He\u2019s developed a floater and is agile for his size.\u201d<\/p>\n

Basi said within the team in China they would call him \u201cChinese Wemby\u201d after he would take the ball up the floor after a missed shot.<\/p>\n

Basi will have some bias after he talks up his guy, but both he and the other scout I talked to said that Xin is skilled and can play high major college basketball. He went on to tell me that Xin is pursuing college basketball so he can prepare for the NBA. I\u2019ve heard that Ole Miss has gotten more involved with him recently.<\/p>\n

I first mentioned Backo back on May 16<\/a>. Backo is a 7-foot Serbian big man who turns 19 in July. Backo went through the NBA Draft process and had some second round buzz, but decided right at the deadline on June 13 to pull his name out of the NBA Draft. Backo could return back to Europe to develop there, but colleges have been on him.<\/p>\n

BYU had been in contact with Backo, and I\u2019m continuing to monitor him since he is one of the few high-major caliber big men available. He is a skilled big man, who recently made the Adidas All-Eurocamp First Team by showing his offensive skill. Backo is a big body with a soft touch around the rim, the ability to hit outside shots, and is developing his passing game. He\u2019s not a stiff at his size, but he\u2019s not very vertical and can be taken advantage of in space. He has the size to matchup with some of the bruising Big 12 bigs and would give BYU some offensive punch\/creativity at the five spot and a big body that can hold his own against the more physical Big 12 centers. You can watch some highlights from the recent Adidas Eurocamp. Washington is a recent school I\u2019ve heard associated with him. I don\u2019t see BYU getting both Xin and Backo.<\/p>\n

Lewis Uvwo, Prolific Prep<\/p>\n

Uvwo is a member of the 2027 class and has been one of the standouts of the Spring AAU period. Uvwo has been a fast riser in recruiting boards this year, recently jumping to #7 in the 247 Sports 2027 class rankings and a 5-Star prospect. At 6-foot-10 with a 7-foot-6 wingspan Uvwo is a menace on the defensive end. He is the best shot blocker in high school and an absolute menace on defense. One scout I talked to earlier this week told me Uvwo is a \u201cmonster\u201d with how well he patrols the paint. Uvwo offers little on offense at this point, but he is an elite defender and rim protector.<\/p>\n

Industry sources have indicated to me that Uvwo has mulled over reclassifying to the 2026 class. He is already 18 years old, and whether he stays in 2027 or reclasses to 2026 and joins a college team this next season, BYU will be one of the favorites. BYU was his first offer and has been on him the longest. Uvwo is a native of Senegal, and Will Voigt has known him for years dating back to Uvwo\u2019s Africa NBA Academy days. Uvwo joined Prolific Prep in the middle of last season, where he was teammates with BYU wing Bruce Branch. Uvwo is also friends with Khadim Mboup, who is fellow Senegal native. BYU has the coaching connections, player connections, and playing time opportunity if Uvwo reclasses to 2026. He doesn\u2019t offer much on the offensive end at this stage of his basketball journey, but he would give BYU a huge defensive presence and be one of the top shot blockers in college basketball whenever he comes to the college ranks. My guess is that he remains in the 2027 class, but he is one to watch for BYU whenever he decides to go to college.<\/p>\n

Mach is a 7-foot-6 center who is considering playing college basketball next season. His agent told me earlier this week that BYU has been in contact, but that it hasn\u2019t progressed beyond that. Haven\u2019t gotten any recent indication that will change, but listing him here since he is intriguing at his size.<\/p>\n

BYU has four roster spots to fill, and they won\u2019t all be big men. I talked to an international guard\/wing last weekend who told me BYU is his top school. This player asked me not to give his name publicly yet as he goes through the recruiting process, and I will respect his wishes. He\u2019s already taken official visits to multiple Power Conference schools and would likely be a rotation player for BYU this next season.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"If you would have asked me after BYU\u2019s season ended March 19 when BYU would get a starting…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":749640,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[574],"tags":[64,63,726,153455,360027,85],"class_list":["post-749639","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-basketball","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-basketball","tag-byu-basketball","tag-byu-basketball-recruiting","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/749639","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=749639"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/749639\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/749640"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=749639"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=749639"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=749639"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}