Coach Dave Rose received some good news on Monday when Timpview swingman Gavin Baxter announced his intention to play his college basketball at BYU. The extremely athletic Baxter is listed anywhere from 6-6 to 6-8 according to different recruiting sites. He has extremely long arms which helps him wreak havoc as a defensive player and his jump shooting and slashing abilities make him valuable as a stretch 4 or a very long small forward.
Excited to say that I've committed to BYU. This is a dream come true. Can't wait to see what the future holds. #GoBYU pic.twitter.com/CS9YNVQIch
— gavin Baxter (@gbax35) June 8, 2015
Baxter also had offers from Arizona State, UCLA, and Utah State. He also drew interest from several other Pac-12 schools and Wake Forest.
According to the 247sports Composite, he four-star recruit and the third best player in the state. He is also listed as a top 100 player according to most sites. Baxter's defensive abilities could make him a huge pick up for the BYU program as it seems that most players recruited in the last few years are offensive minded and defensively challenged. While Baxter is not the most polished offensive player, he does have some good skills that will mean the Cougars won't be playing 4 on 5 when he is on the floor like we've seen with Josh Sharp and even Corbin Kaufusi (early last season).
Baxter averaged over 15 points and six rebounds per game during his junior season at Timpview. He will serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints immediately following his high school career and then return to play with what could be some of Dave Rose's best teams.
Here's a few of Baxter's highlights: