He may not be Andrew Bogut, but he's the best 18-year-old basketball player in Australia, according to Utah coach Ray Giacoletti, and he'll follow in Bogut's footsteps and be a Ute next year.
Stephen Weigh, a 6-foot-6, 215-pounder from Rockhampton, Australia, has signed a letter of intent to play for Utah, concluding the Utes' recruiting for the 2006-07 season with five players signed.
"We're excited to have Steve become a part of our basketball family at Utah," said Giacoletti. "He's the best 18-year-old down there right now, and he's a really great fit for our recruiting class and for the future."
Weigh is currently in his second year on scholarship at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra, the country's junior national development program that also produced Bogut. Weigh, whose second season with the AIS team will begin in February, will join fellow Australian Luke Nevill on the Ute squad.
Weigh has an impressive resume. He was the MVP of the Australian Under-20 National Tournament in 2005 and was also the MVP of the Adidas Asia Superstar Camp in 2005.
He led the AIS team in scoring last July at the 2005 Jones Cup, a FIBA International Tournament in Taipei, averaging 18 points and five rebounds per game. Against Team USA, comprised mostly of CBA players and overseas professionals, Weigh scored 26 points. He also had a 32-point game against the Japanese National Team.
"I built up a rapport with the Utah coaches over the past year and a half," Weigh said in a prepared statement. "Then when I visited, it all just seemed right."
Giacoletti said Weigh signed the letter of intent on Nov. 16, when he visited the U. campus two weeks ago, the last day of the weeklong early signing period. Weigh still made visits to New Mexico and St. Mary's after that and could have changed his mind and signed a letter with one of those schools next spring. However, he had 21 days after he signed the letter with Utah to send it to the conference office and once he did that, the signing became official.
Players who signed with the Utes already this fall include Daniel Deane, a 6-8, 245-pound forward from Judge Memorial in Salt Lake City; Curtis Eatmon, a 6-3, 175-pound point guard from Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.; David Foster, 7-1, 220-pound center from Lake Forest, Calif.; and Kim Tillie, a 6-9, 205-pound forward from Cagnes-sur-Mer, France.
"Along with the other four young men who signed early, this figures to be a very special class," Giacoletti said. "Recruiting is the lifeblood of a basketball program, and this class certainly helps us take another step in the right direction as we continue to build our program."
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