Today is the first day of the NCAA's early signing period for basketball, which marks the first opportunity 2015 basketball recruits have to sign a National Letter of Intent (NLI) to play for the school of their choosing. Given BYU's current scholarship situation and lack of open spots, this year's early signing period wasn't expected to be as exciting for the Cougars as last year. Fortunately, BYU head coach Dave Rose and his staff were still able to sign an important piece for the future of the basketball program.
BYU received a National Letter of Intent from four-star Bountiful High School prospect Zac Seljaas earlier today. Seljaas, who committed to BYU back in August of 2013, is a 6-foot-7 small forward who held offers from Utah, Utah State, and San Francisco.
According to MaxPreps, Seljaas averaged 18.8 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 3.9 assists per game while shooting 50 percent from the field and 41 percent from beyond-the-arc as a junior for Bountiful last season.
His ability to hit a high-percentage of his shots from the outside combined with his long frame make him a valuable piece for the Cougars. Defending a player who is 6-foot-7 and can stroke it from the outside is a challenge even for the most talented defenders.
Seljaas is more than just an outside shooter though. As Steve Pierce pointed out back when Seljaas committed, the Bountiful Brave has a complete skill set that should benefit the Cougars.
While his marksmanship should go a long way toward opening up driving lanes for guards like Nick Emery and preventing opponents from sucking in on post players like Eric Mika, we shouldn't view Seljaas as just another one-dimensional shooter...This is a kid who can also hit the boards and pass the ball - both skills that will help make him and his team more effective.
Seljaas will likely be the only 2015 signee for BYU and is another big get for Coach Rose, who has signed five four-star prospects in the past three years. When Eric Mika, Nick Emery, TJ Haws, and Payton Dastrup all return from their two-year missions for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and we get to see all this talent on the floor together it should mean great things for the Cougars.
What do you think of the addition of Zac Seljaas to the BYU Basketball program?