The Utah men’s basketball team has seven international players on its 2025-26 roster. Of those foreign talents, two — Jacob Patrick (Germany) and Lucas Langarit …
The Utah men’s basketball team has seven international players on its 2025-26 roster.
Of those foreign talents, two — Jacob Patrick (Germany) and Lucas Langarita (Spain) — arrived to Salt Lake City after competing in one of the many professional leagues Europe has to offer.
Recruiting players from pro circuits overseas has grown in popularity over the past few years (just ask Gonzaga and Arizona how its worked out for them), but with the rise of NIL and the challenges the NCAA has enforcing its eligibility rules in court, more and more NBA and NBA G League players alike are looking for avenues that lead back to college.
Utah has explored whether those paths are a viable option for the program as well, according to Runnin’ Utes head coach Alex Jensen.
“We’ve explored all that,” Jensen said Tuesday when asked whether he’d consider adding a G-League player or more professional players from Europe to the roster. “It’s interesting because there’s still a lot of questions of who has eligibility and who doesn’t, and you’re trying to anticipate how those rules are going to change.”
Jensen, a former assistant coach with the Utah Jazz and Dallas Mavericks, has an understanding of how college and the NBA operate. The professionalization of the collegiate game has started to blur the lines between it and the pro level over the past few years, though, allowing for former second round pick James Nnaji to join Baylor midway through the season and Charles Bediako to return from the G League to Alabama.
Amari Bailey, who entered the 2023 NBA Draft after playing one season at UCLA, is striving to become the first person to return to college after playing in NBA games. Bailey made 10 appearances for the Charlotte Hornets after being selected by the franchise in the second round of the 2023 draft.
At the moment, Utah doesn’t have anyone on its roster with that kind of experience. Patrick has the richest pro background, having played four seasons with MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg out of the German BBL prior to joining the Runnin’ Utes for the 2025-26 campaign. Langarita, a 6-foot-5 guard who joined the team in December, averaged 16.3 points, 3.1 rebounds and 3.4 assists in nine games with Casademont Zaragoza in the ACB U22 league.
The teams that have enlisted a former G League player or NBA draft pick have been subject to scrutiny by fans, coaches, media members and the president of the NCAA himself, Charlie Baker, who in a statement released in December said that the NCAA “has not and will not grant eligibility” to anyone who has signed an NBA contract before.
Gonzaga head coach Mark Few gave his perspective on the “wild” landscape following a Dec. 28 game at Pepperdine.
“It’s just wild out there right now,” Few said. “I mean, we really don’t have any organization or any real rules right now, and so guys are just trying to do whatever they can do. Until there’s a rule that says you can’t do it, it’s hard to blame anybody for doing what they’re doing.”
To Few’s point: until there are hard and fast rules stopping coaches from doing something they think will give them an edge, they’re going to look into it.
“We haven’t focused on one thing, but I think it’s the type of player,” Jensen said. “But yeah, we’ve explored all that.”
Here’s more of what Jensen had to say about Wednesday’s matchup with Arizona State, what he’s learned in his first year at the helm of his alma-mater and much more during Tuesday’s media availability session.
Reflecting on his first season as Utah’s head coach
“The first year — it’s not an excuse — is never easy, but again, it’s day by day. And when you’re trying to build something, when you know next year rolls around and people come in, they can sense — I’m always hesitant to use the word culture — but what [and] how things are done, and what the expectations are, which has gotten better over the year. Again, being the second year, I think it’ll get better.”
On matchup with the Sun Devils
“I think they’re dangerous, they’re explosive. They can score a lot of points. I think there’s some similarities to Oklahoma State.”
“Hopefully we can be led off of our defense. I think that helps us offensively. Then vice-versa; if we shoot shots on the first and second side, as opposed to the third and fourth, it makes defending them a lot harder, and I think it plays into their strengths.”
On preparing for the transfer portal during the regular season
“That was one of the things that stuck out to me. I knew it was going to be like that, because we’re busy in the season, and that’s the advantage of this year, because obviously we weren’t here [this time last year].”
“You got to have somebody dedicated to that kind of leading that charge, instead of the coaches, because you have games and scouts and the other players that are here. But you kind of have to prep, so when the portal comes, you’ve done that work.”
It’s kind of fun, it’s interesting. It’s similar to the NBA in some aspects, but the pools so many more players, so it’s actually been fun.”
On discussions with players about coming back for next season
“That’s another reason I think you need a general manager, or even a front office, because the communications with agents is crucial because it’s got to be ongoing throughout the year, whether it’s next year or injuries with players. That’s one thing [Utah general manager Wes Wilcox] has been invaluable for us, because he has those conversations and leads that charge.”
“We’re in those discussions at the same time as trying to win the next game. But I don’t know how you do it without somebody like Wes.”
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Source: Utah News