BYU Basketball Player Profile: Another Hartsock is in the building

Jakob Hartsock is a 6’8’’ 205 wing player who will play his freshman season for BYU this winter after returning from his mission to Las Vegas.

Coaches rave about his 3-point shooting touch, but this is really a small portion of his all-around game. He can put his back to the basket and is athletic enough to get up and down the court in transition.

In recent seasons, coach Dave Rose has lacked tall and athletic wing players that can shoot in order to spread out defenses and keep teams from keying in on primary scorers like Tyler Haws and Kyle Collinsworth. Strangely enough, it seems that these types of players are everywhere on the roster now. (Hartsock, Jake Toolson and Zac Seljaas all fit that mold currently, with commits Connor Harding and Gavin Baxter also on the horizon).

Toolson will probably take most of these minutes early in the year, but don’t expect Hartsock to be a bench ornament this season. He’ll get his minutes and his points.

Jakob was also recruited by Utah State and Missouri State. The easiest comparison for his game would probably be his older brother Noah, which is fair. They both shoot well and have great turnaround jumpers. On their differences, Jakob says, "I think I’m a little more athletic than Noah."

Even if he is not, BYU fans will just be glad that a Hartsock is back in the building.