It was confirmed on BYUSN that Gavin Baxter is now a Utardian. Also, Knight entered the portal as well.
Weird that Baxter would go to Utah to be a walk-on. Knight was a regular in the rotation and started some games. I wonder what is going on? No announcements yet of any incoming transfers. Right now this all looks bad.
The Utah Coach Smith is very good coach, I think Baxter is hoping that he can “resurrect” his career. Not sure how that can happened because he gets injured so often.
He has transferred twice before coming to BYU, so I think it is more about Knight mental state than it is anything else.
I think this will be Knight’s 4th team. With George coming back, he may see less playing time. The all mighty dollar is messing with these kid’s heads.
Baxter won’t get better coaching there. He may get the classes he wants there.
Smith is a winner where ever he has gone. Good guy, much like Pope, a player’s coach.
I personally think Knight is more about himself than anything else. But that is only an opinion.
The bigger question is the “Why” half the team went into the portal? “What” is going with Pope and the basketball team behind the scenes.
Just look at Utah with their last coach, the sign of a problem is how many players transferred out was the beginning of the end of the coach at Utah.
Something is going on at BYU.
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Knight just isn’t that good of a player but neither is Johnson or Knell. We have a lot of role/bench players on this team. Baxter is a legit player and IF he can stay healthy he can really impact a program. Utah could be getting a good one. Knight is no loss. But it is concerning that we will have to land 5 transfers into the program with 2 being legit posts and 2 being legit PG’s. Burgess left for a reason and he had plenty of money. Rumor has it that he isn’t happy about the recruiting of the BYU mens program and not seeing eye to eye womens vb program
Update from a Utah coach. Burgess got pressure from his wife to move to Utah because she thought Pope wasn’t taking Burgess as serious as his other assistant coaches. Burgess had good relationship with Baxter. Burgess also has 3 daughters who all have D-1 vb potential and BYU wasn’t giving them the looks that the Burgess wife thought they should and the wife is a complainer behind the scenes and moved the family to Lone Peak HS because she wasn’t happy with the Pleasant Grove HS coaching situation. At Lone Peak the coach is a big Burgess supporter and will do what the Burgess wife and daughters want him to do. Utah coach says that LP won the last couple of state championships with the daughters but that the team was totally loaded. Anyway, the oldest Burgess girl is a Ute freshman and is supposedly very good but not a hard worker and there is concern in the Ute program that she needs to put in more work.
Also was told that the LP HS admin let the vb coach go and hired the mom of that big recruit who went to Wisc on vb scholly. The Utah head coach thinks that there is troubled waters ahead for the Burgess girls and LP vb because she doesn’t think the Jardine family (LP coach) likes or gets along with the Burgess family. Funny HS politics but if 25% is true it could explain the Burgess move to Utah and out of BYU bound Big 12. Which made no sense from a bb standpoint unless some of this political stuff holds water.
I’ve seen that kind of petty stuff in my business where the wives would get into fights and destroy the husband’s opportunities. Sounds like it’s better for Pope in the long run. Now, get some players, soon!
Baxter would start at BYU. Here’s a situation where parents mess up with their kids.
Baxter following the big man coach to try and have a career year makes good sense to me. Maybe a different fitness coach will make a difference as well?
I have often wondered why BYU football and Basketball players seem to always get injured. Maybe they need a new Strength and Conditioning coaches?
It’s the LDS marriage culture. Mickey, Rocky’s trainer, said it best, “Women weaken legs.”… among other body parts.
There are plenty of injuries to players from all schools. Even in the pros where they have the best trainers. What’s happened over the years is players are stronger and move quicker, faster and hit harder all the time. I think we’ve hit a possible limit to what the body can do without injuries and it’s therefore time for the 2nd Coming 
100% agreed.
My sources all tell me that Pope is golden and all these transfers are for obvious reasons.
very nice line of thought, thanks for sharing.