This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
BYU's basketball coaches are having themselves quite a week on the recruiting front.
A day after BYU landed 2016 freshman Colby Leifson, the coaches got a commitment from one of the country's top 150 players in the 2017 class.
Christian PoPoola Jr., a 6-foot-3, 180-pound guard who will be a senior at Las Vegas' Bishop Gorman High School this fall, wrote on his Twitter account that he has committed to BYU. PoPoola played his sophomore year at Lone Peak High, a BYU basketball pipeline, along with Duke signee Frank Jackson.
PoPoola was known for his quickness and court sense and is also considered an above average defender for a high school player.
PoPoola is ranked as the 143rd top prospect in the class of 2017 by Rivals.com and will sign with BYU in November when basketball's early signing period begins.
According to various recruiting websites, he also had offers from San Diego State, UNLV, Stanford, UNLV, Memphis, New Mexico, Rice, Rutgers, Princeton, Richmond, Utah State, Utah Valley, Washington State, Arizona State and Oklahoma.
He averaged nearly 15 points per game for Lone Peak in 2014-15 before returning to his hometown of Las Vegas for his junior season.
ESPN.com rates him as a three-star player and the fourth-best prospect in Nevada.
According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, former UNLV coach Dave Rice offered PoPoola a scholarship two years ago, but new coach Marvin Menzies had not contacted the prospect in mid-July.