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

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. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.