This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
The Utah State basketball team will apparently be adding a familiar face to its roster at center for next season. Carson Shanks, who originally joined the program back in the fall 2013 before transferring to the University of North Dakota, announced on social media that he will transfer back to USU for his final seasons of eligibility.
The 7-foot tall, 245-pound Shanks announced earlier in the week that he'd be leaving the North Dakota program as a graduate transfer for his final season and thanked the university and community for having supported him.
Friday, he posted on Instagram, "I could not be more excited to announce that I will be returning to Utah State University in the fall to play my 5th and final year in the Mountain West Conference and pursue a Master's Degree. Cannot wait to be an Aggie again!!"
Shanks would be eligible to play right away for the Aggies as a graduate transfer.
Shanks spent his first semester of college as a member of the Utah State basketball program. Shanks, a native of Prior Lake, Minn., spent the fall semester of the 2013-14 season at Utah State and then transferred to North Dakota for the spring semester. He sat out the spring semester as well as the fall semester of 2014-15.
Shanks was ranked as the third-best high school senior coming out of Minnesota, and ESPN ranked him the 77th-best center in the nation following his junior year of high school.
He played in 19 games as a redshirt freshman for North Dakota after he became eligible in 2014-15, and played in 31 games (24 starts) last season for the Fighting Hawks. He averaged 5.5 points and 3.3 rebounds last season.
This season, he came off the bench for North Dakota as the team made its first NCAA Tournament appearance as a Division I program. North Dakota played the University of Arizona in the first round in Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City.
This season, Shanks has averaged 5.3 points and 2.2 rebounds per game while shooting 54 percent from the floor in 31 games (two starts). He also led the team in blocked shots with 22.