2018 Rock Canyon / Colorado Hawk Sam Masten Commits to Northern Colorado
Fresh off a championship run at the Mullen’s High Profile Tournament, Sam Masten a 6’3 guard returned to his home and committed to the University of Northern Colorado Men’s Basketball program Monday morning. His accolades and accomplishments are numerous at the high school level. Masten is an All State and All Conference guard. That as a junior led the Rock Canyon Jaguars to the school’s first league championship and first ever 5A final four appearance. He is without a doubt one of the top guards in the state and is an important contributor for his club team the Colorado Hawks.
The lanky guard is excited to be a part of a program on the rise. ” I want people to get excited about basketball at UNC again. They were a tournament team six years ago, and I feel like the program isn’t far from reaching that level again,” he said from Las Vegas as his Hawks prepare for the start of the Adidas Summer Championships tomorrow.
“It feels really good. It’s a big relief off my shoulders because now I can just go play you know. It’s something I don’t have to stress about and focus so much on,” said Masten of his commitment. It wasn’t an easy choice though for the left handed guard though. He had an offer from Air Force and considerable interest from some schools like Idaho State and Dartmouth among others.
“It was a very tough decision. I got to meet a lot of great coaches and programs. Whenever you feel like you’re ready, you just start thinking about so many different aspects. Then you begin to overthink it. I talked with my parents and Coach Grams (the head coach at Rock Canyon) a lot, and they supported me with whatever I wanted and so ultimately I was comfortable with my decision,” he said.
What was the deciding factor that led to Masten to commit to UNC? ” I just think it was easily the best fit for me. I loved the idea of getting to play close to home and stay in state. The opportunity to come in and play right away. Coach Linder and his assistants being so big on developing their players and then just being comfortable with the school and the campus being up there so many times over the years ultimately was what did it for me,” the new commit said.
Masten likes the vibe of his future coaching staff at UNC. “They’re just good people, and I felt really comfortable with them. They really took the time to make my family and me a priority. They just made me feel like I was family almost,” he said.
Could there be another in-state commitment for UNC? Possibly, if Masten is a good of a recruiter as he is at finishing at the rim, there could be. “Yeah, I mean I room with Bodie Hume on most AAU trips. So I’ve already begun getting on him a little bit, but definitely, I’ll start trying to get guys to come in and really build something special.”
