BYU Basketball Player Preview: Nate Hansen

Nate Hansen

Height: 6-3

Weight: 178

Hometown: Provo, Utah

High School: Timpview High School

Class: Freshman

Nate Hansen Player Preview

Hansen is one of four true freshman on the roster that returned home from their missions this offseason. He is also one of four players on the roster — along with Gavin Baxter, Casey Brown and Hunter Erickson — that committed to BYU back when Dave Rose was coach. Pope and his staff moved on from other 2019 Rose signees Shengzhe Li and Bernardo Da Silva but decided to retain Hansen’s scholarship.

Hansen was high school teammates with current Cougar Hunter Erickson and also had scholarship offers from Portland, UC Davis and UC Irvine. Hansen was one of the top Utah prep players in the state as a senior, being named First Team All-State and the second leading scorer at the 5A Level. Hansen averaged 24.7 ppg on three made three pointers per game, including two games of over 40 points.

Hansen was diagnosed with a rare blood disorder known as rhabdomyolysis in March 2017, and spent the summer and fall recovering. Darnell Dickson of the Daily Herald reported on Hansen’s inspiring story back when Hansen was in high school.

Player Comp: Spencer Johnson

Hansen is bit smaller than Johnson and doesn’t have the same length, but he can look at Johnson as a model to emulate. Johnson bounced around at multiple colleges during his first few years, but he’s found his way into BYU’s rotation with good defense and timely shooting. Hansen can shoot the ball and is crafty off the dribble, but if he embraces the persona of a role player then he can carve out a role during his career.

2021-2022 Expectations: End of Bench

Hansen can hit shots and has shown the ability to make plays at point guard, but there are too many guys in front of him in the backcourt to realistically make plays. In the first season back from his mission, Hansen can study veterans Te’Jon Lucas, Alex Barcello and Spencer Johnson to learn the college game.