Branden Carlson shares why he decided to play college basketball close to home & dives into his success thus far

Power Players with Dan Clark

In this episode, Branden Carlson shares why he decided to play college basketball close to home and what's made him such a successful college athlete thus far.

This episode is sponsored by Strong Automotive. Thank you for supporting Talkin' Utes and Utah athletes.

About Branden Carlson:

WATCH LISTS

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award Center of the Year

ATHLETIC HONORS

2022-23 Preseason All-Pac-12 First Team

2021-22 All-Pac-12 Second-Team

2021 Sunshine Slam Tournament MVP

2021-22 (JUNIOR)

Started in 23-of-24 games he saw action in and missed eight games due to health & safety protocol (3 games) and an appendectomy (5 games) … led the team in scoring with 13.6 points to go with a 6.0 rebounding average … was the 11th leading scorer in the Pac-12 with his 13.6 ppg and 13th in rebounding (6.0 rpg) … started the season with six-straight double-digit games, including a double-double in the season-opener against Abilene Christian with 14 points and 10 rebounds … picked up another double-double against Tulsa in the championship game to help Utah capture the Sunshine Slam Tournament crown with 15 points and 13 rebounds – which earned him the tournament MVP honors … reached double-figures in nine of the final 10 games in the regular-season – including a double-double vs. Oregon State (12pts & 10rebs) … scored a career-high 25 points at Colorado on 11-of-19 shooting with eight boards – 21 of which came in the first half … closed out the year with 14 points and six rebounds in the opening game of the Pac-12 Tournament against Washington (3/9).

2020-21 (SOPHOMORE)

Started in 21-of-25 games in his second season with the Utes, averaging 9.4 points and 4.6 rebounds with a team-high 42 blocks … was third on the team in scoring, both overall and in Pac-12 (9.5 ppg) play … was second on the team in shooting percentage (.551) and sixth in the Pac-12 … his 1.68 blocks per game ranked second in the Pac-12 … had a season-high four blocks against Utah Valley (12/15), Stanford (1/14) and UCLA (2/25) … reached double-figures in 12 of his last 16 games … recorded a pair of double-doubles on the road, first at Washington State (1/21) with 14 points and 10 rebounds and then at Stanford (2/13) with 12 points and a career-high 11 rebounds … scored a new career-high 18 points at Washington (1/24), going 8-of-13 from the floor with five boards ... had 13 points against Washington (3/10) in the opening round of the Pac-12 Tournament.

2019-20 (FRESHMAN)

Started in 29-of-30 games he played in his first season as a Ute … ended the season averaging 7.0 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.4 blocks with a .549 shooting clip … his 43 blocks is the third-highest among freshmen at Utah … made his collegiate debut and start at Nevada (11/5), scoring 8 points with career-high 10 rebounds … recorded a career-high 14 points against Mississippi Valley State (11/8) … tied career-high in points with 14 against Tulane (11/24) at the Myrtle Beach Invitational … recorded his first-career double-double with 15 points, 10 rebounds and 8 blocks against Stanford (2/6) and became 1-of-29 players in 2019-20 to record 8-plus blocks in a single game … followed up with 12 points, 4 rebounds and another 8 blocks against Stanford (2/26) on the road and became just 1-of-3 players to register 8-plus blocks in multiple games.

HIGH SCHOOL

Served a two-year LDS Church mission following high school graduation … among the 2017 graduating seniors, was a four-star rated forward and the No. 1-ranked recruit from the state of Utah according to ESPN … top-100 player in the nation according to ESPN, Scout.com and Rivals.com … helped lead Bingham to a 24-2 overall record in 2015-16, which included defeating Copper Hills to win the Utah Class 5A state championship … shot better than 63 percent from the field and a 70 percent effort from the free throw line as a junior … also managed to register 15 blocked shots on the season … picked Utah after receiving offers from UCLA, Stanford, BYU, UNLV, Utah State, UC Davis, Santa Clara and Weber State.

PERSONAL

Son of Bryan and Heather Carlson … has a twin brother, Hayden, two younger brothers, Ethan and Devin, and a younger sister, Alexis … recently married to the former Maddy Woolf in the spring of 2020 ... father played basketball at Chico State ... following high school, he served a two-year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Manchester, England … majoring in communications.

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