Continuing its connection with the Beehive State, the University of Hawaii basketball team today secured a commitment from a combo guard from the University of Utah.
Hunter Erickson, who played in all 70 games the past two seasons with the Utes, said he has accepted a scholarship offer from UH and will join the Rainbow Warriors in June. Erickson, who began his NCAA career at Brigham Young University, will have one season of eligibility for the ’Bows.
Erickson is the third Utah-reared transfer to commit to UH in the past eight days. Tanner Cuff, a 6-7 guard/wing from Evansville, and 7-foot Isaac “Big Fish” Johnson, who played in 65 games the past two seasons with Utah State, are graduates of American Fork High in Utah. Erickson and Cuff were teammates at Salt Lake Community College; Erickson and Johnson were teammates on the Utah Prospects U-17 team. UH assistant coach Gibson Johnson was the point recruiter for all three.
Erickson said he based his decision largely on the UH coaching staff, particularly Johnson.
“I have a relationship with him and some of his family,” Erickson said of Johnson. “I’m good friends with both of his younger brothers.”
Erickson said he welcomes the “kind of opportunity that is there in Hawaii and with that program. I think it’s fantastic. Obviously, I have one year left, and I think it’s a fantastic way to try and put something together for the last year.”
Erickson is expected to compete at both guard spots. During the 2023-24 season, he primarily played the point for Utah in 37 games. He was used mostly as an off guard for 33 games, including two starts, this past season.
Erickson was a standout guard as a Timpview High senior, when he averaged 22 points and was named to the Deseret News’ 5-A All-State first team.
After graduating, he served a two-year church mission in North Carolina. He then played two seasons at BYU. After playing in 19 games in 2021-22, he decided to transfer to Salt Lake Community College to improve his game. He started 30 of 34 games in his one season there while averaging 12.1 points, 3.9 rebounds and 5.4 assists.
He then played the next two seasons with the Utes. On Nov. 30, 2023, he came off the bench to score 15 points against the ’Bows. He also established himself as a deep shooter. During the 2023-24 season, 75.7% of his 95 shots were launched from behind the arc. He opted to enter the transfer portal following a head-coaching change.
“I think the new coach will be fantastic,” Erickson said of Alex Jensen, who previously was an assistant coach with the Dallas Mavericks for two years and the Utah Jazz for 10 seasons. “He’s a former player. … My draw to Utah from the start was the previous coach, Craig Smith. With him being gone, I felt it probably would be best for me to find a new place and a new coaching staff I could connect with. I found that there in Hawaii.”
