This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Utah's women's basketball team announced the signings Thursday of Sacramento point guard Erika Bean and Killeen, Texas, wing Jordanna Porter.
The 5-foot-8 Bean averaged 18 points, 7.7 rebounds, 8.3 assists and 7.2 steals as a junior conference MVP at Bradshaw Christian High. Head coach Anthony Levrets said in a news release that Bean is an excellent athlete. Bean reportedly chose the U. because of her faith in Levrets.
"I bought into his vision for me as a basketball player and beyond that. After visiting Utah, it felt like a place of familiarity, a family."
Porter, 5-foot-11, averaged 15.5 points, 6.2 rebounds, 4 assists and 3.5 steals. She echoed Bean's reasons for choosing the U.: faith in Levrets and the family atmosphere.
Levrets calls Porter "a multi-dimensional wing player."
"She handles the ball well enough to be a matchup problem both inside and out from the wing position," he said.
Utah will graduate senior star Taryn Wicijowski but returns much of its young core next season, to include at least two true freshman Levrets believes may start this season.
"Once again, we have signed a quality group of young people to help continue the tradition here at the University of Utah," Levrets said in the release. "I'd like to give the coaching staff a ton of credit for the amount of time that they put in toward building relationships and finding the right kind of person who can play here at the `U'. This class would not be possible without the work of our staff. Both of these kids are good players, but they're even better people."
— Matthew Piper
Twitter: @matthew_piper