Over the last four years, Idaho State offered scholarships to Idaho high school stars McKay Cannon of Shelley, Jared Stutzman of Bonneville, Josh Fuller of Madison, and Steph Gonzalez of Highland. Cannon went to Weber, Stutzman selected San Francisco, Fuller picked Utah and Gonzalez selected St. Mary's. Fast forward to 2017:
--Cannon, whose mom played at ISU, went on a mission, then earned the starting PG job at Weber as a freshman on an NCAA tournament team. But he came back to school out of shape this fall, struggled defensively and with his shooting, lost his starting job and is now on the transfer market. The obvious question is could he land at ISU? Based on his diminished play last year, I don't know if the Bengals would use a scholarship on him, but they might take him as a walk-on who would be eligible in 2018-19, and could serve as a backup PG to the JC transfer point they are trying to recruit for next season.
--Fuller, whose dad played at ISU, also went on a mission and when he got back, he lost his roster spot at Utah in a head coaching change. ISU offered him another chance to stay in Idaho, but he chose Weber instead. After one season largely on the bench in Ogden he transferrrd to D-2 Dixie State.
--Stutzman, who was highly recruited out of high school, signed with USF, went on a mission, came back to find a coaching change and reopened his recruiting. ISU also gave him a second chance to stay in state, but he selected UVU. He averaged about 13 minutes a game, started four games and had several double figure scoring games in his first season in Orem. His highlight was scoring 11 points and blocking 3 shots in the Wolves' upset win over BYU. But by the end of the season his playing time had dried up and he tweeted today he is transferring to ISU. He will have to sit out next season, then will compete to replace Geno Luzcando at the 3 position in 2018-19.
--Gonzalez went to a nationally ranked St. Mary's program, where he was a productive role player as a freshmen. But his PT dried up this year and he announced this week he's looking for greener pastures. I would think ISU would welcome him, but he just doesn't strike me as the kind of kid who is going to be happy coming home to Pocatello. His celebrated sisters started at Kansas, then transferred to UNLV. Gonzalez was recruited by schools like Montana and EWU, as well as St. Mary's. I'm not sure UM is still in the market for guards, but I suspect he'll wind up somewhere other than Pocatello.
--Cannon, whose mom played at ISU, went on a mission, then earned the starting PG job at Weber as a freshman on an NCAA tournament team. But he came back to school out of shape this fall, struggled defensively and with his shooting, lost his starting job and is now on the transfer market. The obvious question is could he land at ISU? Based on his diminished play last year, I don't know if the Bengals would use a scholarship on him, but they might take him as a walk-on who would be eligible in 2018-19, and could serve as a backup PG to the JC transfer point they are trying to recruit for next season.
--Fuller, whose dad played at ISU, also went on a mission and when he got back, he lost his roster spot at Utah in a head coaching change. ISU offered him another chance to stay in Idaho, but he chose Weber instead. After one season largely on the bench in Ogden he transferrrd to D-2 Dixie State.
--Stutzman, who was highly recruited out of high school, signed with USF, went on a mission, came back to find a coaching change and reopened his recruiting. ISU also gave him a second chance to stay in state, but he selected UVU. He averaged about 13 minutes a game, started four games and had several double figure scoring games in his first season in Orem. His highlight was scoring 11 points and blocking 3 shots in the Wolves' upset win over BYU. But by the end of the season his playing time had dried up and he tweeted today he is transferring to ISU. He will have to sit out next season, then will compete to replace Geno Luzcando at the 3 position in 2018-19.
--Gonzalez went to a nationally ranked St. Mary's program, where he was a productive role player as a freshmen. But his PT dried up this year and he announced this week he's looking for greener pastures. I would think ISU would welcome him, but he just doesn't strike me as the kind of kid who is going to be happy coming home to Pocatello. His celebrated sisters started at Kansas, then transferred to UNLV. Gonzalez was recruited by schools like Montana and EWU, as well as St. Mary's. I'm not sure UM is still in the market for guards, but I suspect he'll wind up somewhere other than Pocatello.
